Testing out different product markets on eBay

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Previously we have discussed expanding your business and deciding when to add more products. We have also touched on different ways to make your eBay business better.

Today I wanted to discuss testing out different product markets on eBay and how you can decide what products you want to carry in your eBay store. Over the last 2 years I have tried out a lot of different products and categories to sell on eBay. It is always a process to figure out what will work, what doesn’t, and how you can make your listings better. In the past I have sold: glassware, coins and supplies, stamps and supplies, jewelry, rock climbing gear, camping equipment, new toys, used toys, first aid equipment, books, and a lot in between.

More recently, I have been focusing solely on the outdoor sports equipment/gear. My current product lines include rock climbing ropes, camping equipment (cook sets, fire starters, and other equipment. With these areas, I have had a lot of success and they continue to boost great sales for me. However, as you can imagine, I am always on the lookout to expand my product line. Just last week, I established a dealer account with probably the largest manufacturer of adventure first aid and medical equipment – Adventure Medical Kits. This has opened up a whole new product line to me and once I make my first order, I should be able to make pretty good profits for the kits.

As I had mentioned previously in other posts, when establishing a dealer account with different vendors, most of them will require references to provide you with a line of credit. So to overcome this, I have been using a credit card to pay for my inventory orders. This has worked pretty good so far, but I’d prefer to start having some lines of credit with the companies as opposed to carrying a credit card with the potential of getting slapped with interest if I can’t make the full payments for some reason. To be able to swing my first round purchase of first aid kits, I am going to have to hold off on reordering another product that I carry – rock climbing ropes. Both companies have high minimum purchase amounts ($350-$500), so right now while testing out the market; I can’t afford to carry both. The profits of the climbing ropes can be anywhere from $15-$40 each and the profits from the first aid kits will be smaller, $5-$20 depending on the item. However, I’ll have a lot of different items to be able to make up the profits in the long run.

If I can create good profits from carrying these products, at least $150 from the whole order, I will definitely reorder. If not, I’ll have to think twice about it and probably hold off. I definitely want to continue to carry the ropes because of the higher profits on fewer items, which is always a bonus on eBay.

Here are some of the different things to consider when testing out a product area or niche on eBay.

• Always search for the item you are going to be selling. Look at how many other listings there are of the same or similar items. Also, try to determine how many other sellers there are (maybe 7 sellers/stores make up 95% of the listings for the same items or similar items or there could be a lot of individual sellers selling the same item).
• Research the completed listings for your item. After you search for the item in active listings, check the box on the left to narrow your results to just completed listings. This will give you a listing of all the completed listings (sold and unsold) over the last 30 days. This will help you see what prices the item is selling for and what is too high of a price for the item.
• After you look at the completed listings, determine if you can compete in the market. eBay is extremely competitive! If you need to lower your price too much to compete, look for another item to sell. However, if you can make a comfortable profit from the item and still be a bit cheaper than the competition, you will have some success.
• When people buy on eBay through auctions, they are usually not in a hurry to purchase a product and will wait to find the best deal. This means if your starting price is a bit lower than the competition, the likeliness of your sells is higher. If you get more people to watch your item, then you can create a bidding war for the item when it comes towards the last hours or minutes of the auction. This is great to have happen because sometimes your item will sell for a higher price than the competitions did.
• Add listings for the item you want to sell to your Watch list. Watch the action on the auctions for a few days until they end. If you see a lot of bidding going on, you can assume that there are a lot of people interested in the item. This is even better if there are a limited number of sellers.
• Look at what time auctions are ending. Most items are better to have ending on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday evening. These are the most likely evenings that people are browsing eBay because the week is winding down and they have more free time. Also, you don’t want your listing to end too late at night or too early when people would not be around the computer. Any time between 6-9 PM is usually a good time. Also, Sunday evenings are a good time, but you can also do Sunday afternoons as many people take Sunday’s easy and are around the house.

Did some yard sale shopping for eBay Last Weekend

Last weekend I set out early on Saturday morning to hit a couple yard sales in the area and see if I couldn’t find some good buys to be put up on eBay or Amazon. Well, I didn’t have much luck. I only picked up a few books, a game, and a few beanie babies. So, I am hoping the few items that I did get will at least bring me in some money to put more gas in my Jeep.

When I go to yard sales or thrift stores to search for eBay or Amazon items, I usually focus more on books and DVDs. My reasoning for this is because I know I can sell them and I know that if they are not “worth it as a single item” they could be sold in a lot of similar items (a lot of dvds or a lot of books on the same topic).

But I am curious if you guys ever head out to the yard sales and see what you may be able to find? Withing planning for a wedding and also moving in with my Fiance soon, I have been thinking about them more lately as a great way to find deals on things we will need like furniture.

Anyway, just a quick post today about yard sales. Our community is having one this coming weekend and I am going to set up to try to unload some left of products from Valentine’s Day as well as some other stuff for my parents!

SaleHoo.com – Searching For Wholesalers and Product Sources Has Never Been Easier!

If you are an eBay seller like I am, then you are probably always looking for new products to sell, right? I know I am. My store and auctions mainly feature camping and outdoor items such as tents, stoves, fire starters, and other items. However, I have been trying to find new places to find products and wholesalers of goods to expand my inventory, and also to expand my income from eBay.

Finding wholesalers and dropshippers can be a HUGE pain in the rear. There is so much false information out there and different companies who call themselves “wholesalers” but all they really did is buy from a true wholesaler, mark up the items a small percentage, and then sell to people like you and me who think we are getting a great deal.

Until recently, I have had to sift through all the false information out there to find some real suppliers or take chances trying websites like Alibab.com to find reliable suppliers.

Now, with the discovery of SaleHoo.com, things have become a bit better. SaleHoo.com is similar to the other websites out there that provide you with a listing of different wholesalers and dropshippers in different industries, but they take it a few steps further! Their business model focuses on multiple areas besides just providing basic listings: product sourcing, software and researching tools, education, a community base, and providing excellent customer service.

About SaleHoo
SaleHoo.com is owned and operated by SaleHoo Group Limited, based in New Zealand. SaleHoo is one of the largest wholesale directors on the Internet and one of the first to offer international wholesale contacts to its member base. SaleHoo Group was started in 2005 by Simon Slade and Mark Ling, both entrepreneurs, and now services over 50,000 retailers and eBay sellers.

A Sneak Peak Inside The Members Area
SaleHoo has a very nicely designed members area that allows you to easily access your information and get down to business by searching wholesalers and doing your research.

From the members area you can easily:

• Look for suppliers
• Research new products
• Look at your favorite suppliers
• Look at your favorite searches
• Get instant news and supplier updates
• Visit/Search the Forum

Searching SaleHoo is very easy. They have broken down their suppliers into 18 different categories and then broken them down even further. You can either search by category and sift through the different pages or you can just enter your keyword and look through the different suppliers that pop up. One of the neat features that SaleHoo offers, which I feel sets it apart from its competition, is a “Research and Analysis Lab”. This area lets you enter a search term such as DVD Player and will provide you with information on: current eBay prices, current advertisements, eBay competition, and the demand. Although the research and analysis lab is in Beta, it is still putting out good and relevant information to the eBay seller.

The Learning and Training Center is a great resource for the new eBay seller or the young entrepreneur that is just starting to get into the business of wholesaling and dropshipping. They have a lot of different information on finding and sourcing products, importing and exporting, preventing scams, setting up a business, eBay selling, and some of the top tools to use.

So, how many people are using SaleHoo you ask? They provide live stats within the members area, which at the time of this posting, read: 46,883 members, 11,955 category listings, 644 supplier reviews, and 26,904 member comments. Not too shabby for launching in 2007!

Now, you are probably wondering how much it costs. Well, that’s a good question. And here is the answer - $67.00 for a lifetime membership.

Now, I am usually not a fan of paying for information that could be found on the internet for free, however, SaleHoo provides a great service to quickly connect you with a ton of possible suppliers for any item category you may be searching for. Even if it takes you a little while to find the right supplier and get your products selling, once you start turning a profit, it all becomes worth it. This is an investment that I would recommend making if you are wanting to get serious about selling on eBay or through your own website.

Any readers out there had experiences using SaleHoo? I would love to hear about them.