Selling on eBay

[BUNTi]

Hello. my first post so here it goes .

So i'm 18 and want to start selling things on eBay...Not like out of my basement but starting maybe a "business" (best way to say it). I would like to maybe start..just for a example buying electrical goods such as memory cards..hdmi cables etc etc but havn't got a clue were to start, Am i.. a normal person with no business aloud to buy products in bulk for a wholesale price?.

Also someone said costco are good for this aswell :\...

Please help please i would like to start doing this..buying bulk and breaking down.

Thank you very much.

 

[Leo-InstallingIT]

Hi

Welcome to the forum.

In answer to your questions, yes you will be able to buy in bulk although you may have to prove you are in the trade. To be honest I would discourage you from starting to sell electrical items on ebay as you will probably struggle to compete with a lot of the people on there (from other countries etc).

The best way to go would be to try and find something unique, but that still has a big enough market for ebay.

I hope this helps,
Many Thanks

Leo

 

[MH1]

As mentioned I doubt you will be competitive, and ebay is a nightmare for small start up companies, try it if you wish but start and concentrate on your own site.

It won't take long before some idiot client wrecks your ebay dsr and feedback score.

 

[BUNTi]

Ah ok thanks alot...and yes i see that electrical goods are already well established on ebay so research is needed on that. But could you tell me 'How i buy in bulk and how would i prove i am in the trade? as i said im just and 18 year old looking to start from scratch with no licences or nothing?

Thank you.

 

[Business1Solutions]

PM sent

 

[Leo-InstallingIT]

There is no step by step guide, its all about deciding on the product you want to sell and finding a supplier that can provide them at the right price.

How much capital do you have? To buy in "bulk" in that area you will be talking large sums of money.

Many Thanks

Leo

 

[BUNTi]

Thanks for PM i shall read now

And i understand what you meen..and i would have MAX, £4,000 but i dont wont to just blow 4k on something i dont really understand how to do yet

 

[Blagger]

You need to research your products carefully whether selling through ebay or a website. The market you are choosing, electrical accessories, is very competitive. For instance HDMi cables can be picked up on ebay for less than £2, firstly it would be very difficult to find a wholesaler selling them less than that and secondly you would have to compete against the already established big sellers on there. This doesn't mean you shouldn't test the waters, it maybe a slow start but once you start building decent feedback up buyers start trusting you more. At the end of the day everyone has to start with 0 feedback unless you go out and buy someone elses account (no idea how that is done).

If you look hard enough there are plenty of suppliers out there to provide you with stock and for you to make a half decent income from. Just start small and see what works.

 

[genuinegraphics]

You also have to remember that ebay charges to post up your listing and also takes about 10% once you sell the item if it is under £50

 

[Blagger]

You also have to remember that ebay charges to post up your listing and also takes about 10% once you sell the item if it is under £50

That is minor, no matter where you sell online you will have to pay some sort of fee, be it google adwords, amazon or having an SEO to get your keywords in the top three positions of Google etc.

I feel ebay is one of the cheapest selling platforms and it is definetly the easiest and one with the least risk of starting a business up.

 

[mike.davis]

That is minor, no matter where you sell online you will have to pay some sort of fee, be it google adwords, amazon or having an SEO to get your keywords in the top three positions of Google etc.

I feel ebay is one of the cheapest selling platforms and it is definetly the easiest and one with the least risk of starting a business up.

How are your advertising/ outgoing costs minor?

Ebay is a terrible place to start selling, its so hard to make any money on there, its full of idiot who don't even think about percentages they just think about making a small amount on each product. Put an item in your ebay shop, the next day 100 other sellers will have it cheaper, it's then driven down cheaper and cheaper until no-ones making any money (of course they don't realize this).

 

[Blagger]

How are your advertising/ outgoing costs minor?

Well I was just saying from experience as I have run a successful business on ebay for over five years, as well as having my own website to compare (using SEO and adwords) and amazon. Until you have a well established website with plenty of traffic its still the most efficient way of selling online.

Ebay is a terrible place to start selling, its so hard to make any money on there, its full of idiot who don't even think about percentages they just think about making a small amount on each product. Put an item in your ebay shop, the next day 100 other sellers will have it cheaper, it's then driven down cheaper and cheaper until no-ones making any money (of course they don't realize this).

At the end of the day its the same with any business and you need to find a niche, however that doesn't mean you can't compete in a market that already has plenty of businesses doing the same thing.

Why do you think Argos, Tesco, Littlewoods etc all have ebay accounts and sell stupid amounts through there? They know its a good selling tool that has lots and lots of users. There is a large percentage of people who will search ebay for whatever they are after as they think that is the cheapest place (although not all the time).

 

[mike.davis]

Well I was just saying from experience as I have run a successful business on ebay for over five years, as well as having my own website to compare (using SEO and adwords) and amazon. Until you have a well established website with plenty of traffic its still the most efficient way of selling online.



At the end of the day its the same with any business and you need to find a niche, however that doesn't mean you can't compete in a market that already has plenty of businesses doing the same thing.

Why do you think Argos, Tesco, Littlewoods etc all have ebay accounts and sell stupid amounts through there? They know its a good selling tool that has lots and lots of users. There is a large percentage of people who will search ebay for whatever they are after as they think that is the cheapest place (although not all the time).

There are nowhere near as many people starting up shops not making any profit online compared to ebay, and you gave a bad example there - Argos, Tesco, Littlewooss etc. sell all of there graded returns on ebay, they basically sell off there ****, like so much of ebay is.

 

[Blagger]

and you gave a bad example there - Argos, Tesco, Littlewooss etc. sell all of there graded returns on ebay, they basically sell off there ****, like so much of ebay is.

Well obviously there is a market for it for which they get a good return from. You obviously don't like it.

 

[laserwhite]

You dont really need any capital, i started with zero money(2006) and sold over £30,000 on my first project. So theres plenty of opps there for you dont listen to the negative comments. Electrical goods do come with problems though i would advise against that. Once again through experience
good luck ff

 

[Leo-InstallingIT]

You dont really need any capital, i started with zero money(2006) and sold over £30,000 on my first project. So theres plenty of opps there for you dont listen to the negative comments. Electrical goods do come with problems though i would advise against that. Once again through experience
good luck ff

Just to make it clear, I wasn't saying you need capital to start a business. I was only saying to buy in decent enough volumes to compete in electricals you will probably need some capital...

 

[PhoneTrader1221]

I have had a lot of experience selling stuff on Ebay so PM if you need any help