Selling a product someone else is selling on Amazon and ebay...

[Ceaton]

I will keep this short and snappy.
I am just starting out here and i have found a product on alibaba i would like to sell, but someone has already got that exact product and is selling very well on Amazon and eBay. What would happen if I bought the product and started selling it?
Help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[terry54661]

If its not a unique product and openly available, start selling it as well I cant see the issue.

 

[paulears]

Can you sell it at the same price and still make a decent margin? If you undercut the other seller, will they then be able to undercut you, and leave you with stock you can't sell? Happened to me - my best seller was wiped out by an idiot starting out who was happy with making £3 on each item, rather than the £16 I'd been making for years.

 

[Ceaton]

Thanks for the replies guys.
@paulears
sorry about your product.
If i sold the product at the same price then i would make a pretty decent profit margin. all my calculations have been based around this seller so I'm mimicking the product hes selling, that's why i was worried about being undercut.
Would i be better finding a similar product and branding it myself instead of buying that exact product there selling?

 

[Robin_Denis]

Thanks for the replies guys.
@paulears
sorry about your product.
If i sold the product at the same price then i would make a pretty decent profit margin. all my calculations have been based around this seller so I'm mimicking the product hes selling, that's why i was worried about being undercut.
Would i be better finding a similar product and branding it myself instead of buying that exact product there selling?

I would definitely do that. buy similar or exactly the same product and sell under your own brand.

 

[paulears]

I agree - and the factories will be happy to do this subject to MOQ. Also - take your own photographs and add more features and benefits - remember, consumers do NOT buy features, they buy the BENEFITS the product offers them. On ebay, because other people had the same product, I started listing it in another area, a different one, mixed in with other products of totally a different type, but working out that people looking in that area might be interested in my product, and I sell more from that section now than the obvious saturated one!

 

[Ceaton]

Cheers guys!
All useful information I'm taking on board.
Another thing, What about packaging? If my competition has the same product but they have packaging or boxes and i don't then wont that be an issue?

 

[Leather Briefcase Company]

Design your own packaging, and get the factory to source it.
It's not an expensive project, and done well can really lift sales.

 

[paulears]

They can supply in what boxes usually, with no numbering at all. I then use one of my own EAN numbers and have sticky labels that cover three sides of the box. Looks quite nice, and my own design.

 

[Ceaton]

Thanks guys appreciate it.

 

[LinkBright Media]

Agreed - create your own product. If you're selling on Amazon you'd have to share the product buy box with the other seller. Creating your own branded product would mean obtaining your own barcode / ASIN and having your own buy box which you don't have to share with anyone else.

 

[brandy11112]

i think you could creat your own brand and customize the products

 

[Smart Web Studio Ltd]

Make sure that when you're calculating your margin, you will take under considiration all business overheads, costs of growing, etc. etc.