Ah, here we are. The following will be a quick review on how to get started on eBay. Soon we will also be adding resources to help with your eBay adventures.
Register for eBay and PayPal.
First things first. You need to register at both eBay and PayPal. Why both? Well, you use eBay to sell your items and make money, but you must use PayPal in order to get paid. No worries, it's free to register for both!
PayPal is a great thing, really. It's very secure, protecting both buyers and sellers... and every one on eBay uses PayPal.. In fact, it's the only eBay approved way to make/take payments, other than directly charging credit cards.
Go to www.ebay.com to register for eBay.
Go to www.paypal.com to register for PayPal.
You will need to add a bank account and credit/debit card to be able to make/accept payments from PayPal. Adding a bank account can take a few days (they need to make small deposits into your account in order to ensure they have your bank information correct, and they are able to make deposits), but it is necessary. Make sure you have it all set up before attempting to sell anything on eBay.
Get Some Supplies, Create an Inventory!
The possibilities for supplies are absolutely endless! However, one VERY important thing to do before going and blowing any money on an inventory is RESEARCH! You need to make sure you can sell what you buy, and sell it for a good profit. In many cases, you want to avoid large, unusual shaped or heavy items, as items with a hefty shipping price have a hard time selling... and you don't want to use money out of your own profit to ship an item! Please see our Resources post!
Personal Items
This is ALWAYS a great place to start. Somewhere around the house, there's got to be an item or two you don't need and would like to get rid of. Rather than having a yardsale, try selling it one eBay! You may get more for the item that way.
Thrift Store Items
I was surprised to find out that this is such a great place to find inventory. I always thought that thrift store was a dirty place with second-grade items that weren't worth a second look. BOY, was I wrong! Since I've been prowling the thrift stores in my area, I have found a LOT of items in excellent condition, great antiques for really cheap, old and new treasures worth quite a bit of money, and even BRAND NEW items with their original tags still attached! I was shocked. And every time I go into the thrift store, I'm more and more surprised at the value of some of the things I find.
When you do get items from your local thrift store, you want to make sure of several things:
- The item is clean.
- The item is functional/operational (if applicable).
- There are no major flaws that would be detrimental to the item's value.
- If the item isn't in the type of condition of something you would own... it's probable that no one else wants it in that condition, either.
There are a lot of treasures in your local thrift store, and it is an excellent place to start! It is VERY low cost.. you don't need to spend any more money on it than you want to, and it's a great place for LOW cost supplies.
Yard Sales
It's no a secret that yard sales will often have amazing deals on items worth quite a bit. Some times, you'll find items at a yard sale that you can sell for about double what you paid for it... this will usually take quite a bit of hunting. You'll often find items you can sell for some profit.. and a lot of times, going to a yard sale will be a waste of time. But don't get discouraged, and DO NOT eliminate this as a way to gain inventory! You never know where you'll find the items that buy for for a couple dollars.. and sell for hundreds.
Dropshipping
The most important rule of dropshipping: DO NOT look for dropshippers in search engines! Many times you'll have to pay a fee to use their services, and their items are too expensive to make much of a profit anyway. Companies that advertise themselves as only dropshippers can be scams (there are MANY that are!), or really aren't worth it.So, where can you find drop shippers? Well, let's start with this. A legitimate dropshipper is usually just a wholesaler that is willing to send products that you pay for directly to the customer's address. Keep in mind, wholesalers DO NOT charge a monthly fee. Occasionally, they will charge you per order to do the extra shipping, but the fee is generally minimal. A lot of companies don't charge an extra fee at all!
Keep in mind, though, that legitimate wholesalers will require you to have a business and sales tax/reseller license. If you don't have one and/or are not planning on getting one, DON'T worry! There are plenty of other ways to get great inventory.
Bargain Stores- Ross, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Burlington coat Factory, etc.
Again, here is another surprising place to find inventory.. especially in their clearance sections! A great example of this is come CK onsies I found for $6.99 at Ross, and sold for $25.95 on eBay, three days later! It's always worth a look!
Storage Units
This is something I suggest for the more experienced eBay user, as they'll have more of an ability to recognize things they'll be able to make a profit from simply by a glance.
Usually, there are storage units in your area that will auction off items that are stored in their units.. most times, they'll auction off the entire lot within a unit. This is because the property is either abandoned, or the owner has not paid rent on the unit.
Getting your supplies this way can be incredibly useful and very profitable... but much like yard sales, it can occasionally be a wash. When going to a storage unit auction, you generally can't simply start buying every unit you see willy-nilly. Make sure you do some research.. or even better, wait until you have a good amount of knowledge on what you're able to sell on eBay for a profit. The reason for this is that some units will have items in there that are only junk, things you can't even sell on eBay... and you don't always get to have a good look at the items in the unit before partaking in the auction.
Local Newspaper / Online Classifieds
This is another great, low cost source of inventory. If you prowl your local classifieds frequently, you can find AMAZING deals! You see, many people will list items in classifieds as a means to simply get them out of their way. Sometimes, they even list FREE items! It's definitely worth checking out.
Take Photos of Your Supplies / Items to sell.
Here are a few tips for good product photos:
1. Have a nice, crispy background. White really works best! You can use poster boards for this, or a clean white sheet. If you vouch for the sheet option, make sure you get ALL the wrinkles out!
2. Take multiple shots of the item. This way, you can show all sides of the object if you want.. if not, you can choose the photo with the best angle. (It is always best to have multiple photos in a listing.. it helps a buyer feel more comfortable.)
3. Good lighting is key. Hint: Do not use the flash on your camera! A flash can distort the colors of a photo/product, and make it look white-washed. Try to use natural lightor 'daylight' lamps, as artificial lighting can make your product appear yellow or green.
4. Be sure to take a photo showing any damage or flaws. You always want to be honest in your listings... it will help the buyer feel comfortable, and put more trust into purchasing this item.
5. Blurry picture a no-no. Do not include blurry photos in your listing! If a photo comes out blurry, retake the photo!
To be continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment