posted on May 22, 2003 09:37:32 AM
Can anyone recommend a good book on selling on E-bay? Mainly want to learn how to list/sell/ship efficiently. And write good ad copy. Also, good sources for product to sell, even the best places to get shipping boxes, ect.
Most of the reviews I read on Amazon.com were not very good. Any recommendations? Thanks! MJ
posted on May 22, 2003 10:31:03 AM
The reason the reviews are bad is because it is so subjective. What I consider the best, someone else probably thinks is stupid. What works for china dishware won't work for tools. I would do some real world research instead of looking what a non seller writes about and probably knows less. Once you found a product to sell (you won't get very good leads in a book anyway) you should look at what people are doing, look at the bid history, look how they present their auctions - their terms, etc. See what they are doing right. This board is usually a good place to get advice for specific questions too such as listing, and even supplies. I think you will do far better than reading something like ebay for dummies, or something similar to that. Remember, a lot of it is trial and error. I've been selling online for 10+ years now, 6 of them in ebay. Who knows, maybe one day I will write a book - lol
posted on May 22, 2003 01:31:57 PM
"Also, good sources for product to sell,"
Sell what you know, or what you love.
Best way to learn, get in there and do it.
Write honest, clear decriptions.
Be prompt with EOA emails, and with shipping.
Pack items well.
For shipping boxes, try uline.com
posted on May 22, 2003 02:18:41 PM
Please don't take this wrong, it's not meant to come off as harsh as it's written...
Do you have any business sense whatsoever? If so, you'll know that rarely will people in ANY business you are trying to break in to going to share with them everything about the business, especially if you're going to end up being competition. Many of these people had to figure it out on their own. They are very helpful with some questions, but they will not do the work for you.
By the way...little hint...there's banner ads at the top of the page for suppliers. I hear lots of talk about SwapSellTrade.com
I cannot type lately! Too many mistakes.
[ edited by clivebarkerfan on May 22, 2003 02:23 PM ]
posted on May 22, 2003 02:27:07 PM
And none of it good, either.
Seriously, follow the advice to sell what you like and know or are willing to invest the time to learn about. Don't sell glass if you don't know anything about glass. Spend some time researching the eBay categories. Compare final bid prices with what you can get an item for. And look at the sell-through rate. Study sellers who have great sell-through rates. And study those sellers who might not have great sell-through rates but who always get a premium price for their items.
If you want to sell new products, contact the manufacturers directly (make sure you have your resale license) and ask for their distributor, and find out their terms--shipping policies, minimum quantities, drop ship or no, etc. Or look for companies that will sell pallet loads or box loads of returns, liquidations, etc but be sure and check their reputation first. Look local before you look on the net. Do not, whatever you do, invest in those "drop ship directories." They are a waste of time and money.
If you want to re-sell garage sale/flea market/live auction, etc stuff, read the threads that deal with those types of items and you will learn a lot. I think that type of item requires that you develop a "feel" for what will do well, and you have to know your categories well. Good luck to you.
posted on May 22, 2003 04:46:28 PM
The best information I have found has been on this board. I learned alot from reading post from the sellers that have been on E-Bay longer than myself. Opinions of sellers help alot.
posted on May 22, 2003 07:28:10 PM
Reading this board faithfully (but not asking us to do all your preliminary work for you!) is better than any book that could be written.
Also, if you have something odd to sell (this happens a lot in collectible), search for it, find auctions selling it or something very like it, bookmark them, and follow them. See how they end--at what price--or if they don't end. Best research, I believe, is on the "completed items" pages; if you study those that sold and those that didn't, look at how they wrote their auction descriptions, see what category or categories they listed in, look at what they had for a starting price, etc., you can learn a huge amount.
posted on May 23, 2003 04:37:10 AM
How do I access "completed items"? Is that something that's been staring me in the face, and I just haven't noticed it?
Thanks for the advice. Yes, I do have a little business sense, and a lot of common sense. I'm just looking for help anywhere I can get it. MJ
posted on May 23, 2003 05:28:42 AM
Mach9--Let's say you do a search for "Osama bin Laden" (just a little joke here! If George W. can't find him, perhaps we can?!).
A page comes up with "active items"--things that are up for auction right now.
At the left side of that page, at the beginning of the listings of all the sightings of bin Laden, there's a link to "completed items." Click on that, and it will bring up all completed items, whether sold or not, in the past couple of weeks.
This is the gold mine of information, as far as I'm concerned. "Active items" will tell you how much of the item is for sale right now and give you an idea whether the market is glutted or not. The completed items will tell you how they're selling. You may see 100 items currently up for sale, but "completed" may show that only 1 in 10 gets bids. May well be a red flag.
The other thing I stress to would-be sellers is that you have to be Very Organized, have routine systems in place, and locations in your home or office where things to be sold, things listed but not sold, things sold, are kept. A few times I've torn my hair, looking for an old book I"ve sold but which I've put "temporarily" somewhere else, absentmindedly. Out of sight, out of mind.
Then be sure you're equally organized when it comes to buyer notifications, making note of buyer payments, etc., and ANSWER YOUR E-MAILS! Good luck.
