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eBay Seller Tip: Off Season Inventory Buying

January 12, 2012 By 1 Comment

Ever wonder how other eBay sellers get their inventory? How they manage to get the products at the right price to make a profit?

There is a method to their madness! – Three simple words: Watch and Learn.

Keep an eye on your local retail stores, watch for when they mark down items season by season and even week by week. For example toys may get marked down every Wednesday, and at the end of the Christmas and Spring seasons they may even hold a huge 75% off sale.
It is usually the same week every year, so if you know when it was this year you will know when to expect it next year. Keep a calendar to mark the sales on for each weekly and seasonal sale. Then you will be one step ahead by knowing when to expect those sales next year.

Then you need to learn when items start to peak at their highest prices on eBay. For example, Back to School items begin selling early July, Halloween items in August, and Holiday/Christmas items start selling in late October/early November.
By knowing these things you will be able to have your store stocked ahead of time and set your prices accordingly to take advantage of being their first pick. This helps ensure more store sales, which keeps your listing fees down.

Watching for trends and learning what does well and when can take some time to get the hang of. It is what I do, is if you are ever unsure – just ask!

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Increase Your eBay Inventory to Sell Full Time

December 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

You might just be selling on eBay as a way to make some extra money. Not really selling enough to consider it a full time wage, but enough that maybe you are ready to take it to the next level.

Have you considered earning a full time income on eBay? To do so, you will need to build up your inventory – and some savings to help maintain the volume of sales that are needed to get to that next level.

Carefully consider what you have already found successful with your eBay sales. For example, if you have been selling part time for a while you may already excel in selling the gently used items from your own home. Whether that is gently used toys, clothing, appliances, etc.

Maybe you have already developed a good eye for what will sell on eBay in that area of “gently used” items. If that is the case, then expand on it! Put your skills to good use and build the inventory in your store to include some new hot products that are selling well on eBay.

One great way to do this is by helping others. Take any unwanted gently used items off their hands and then flip the items on eBay for a profit. Most of the time people are happy just to be getting the items out of their homes, and any amount they get is appreciated. Make sure to use your best discretion, take into consideration listing fees and final value fees.

Help friends go through their kids’ piles of books and toys, writing each item down. Spend a day researching them, and then break the items into different groups including:
Donate – Any toys that are not complete, broken or are otherwise not worth selling.
Sell on eBay – This can include any working toys that are in good condition, complete book sets, gently used clothing, video games, etc. These items should be things you have researched or are familiar selling and you know are likely to give you a good return on your investment.
Sell on Craigslist – Use Craigslist as an alternative selling market. Especially for delicate, big and/or heavy items that would be difficult to ship. The turn around time is usually pretty speedy.
Hand-Me-Down – Items that can be donated to schools, family and/or friends.

Go at your own speed, and remember that you will learn as you go. To be on the safe side offer to pick up items or have a secure location for dropping them off.

This is one way to boost your income with a little investment. Share your eBay ideas for success.

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Have You Considered eBay Auction Sniping?

November 22, 2011 By 2 Comments

Auction sniping – is to wait until the last possible moment before an auction closes to enter your bid, in the hopes of outbidding other sellers that don’t anticipate such a move. Auction sniping is not a violation of the eBay rules and is widely considered fair practice in auction bidding.

So why snipe? The main reason I am writing about this is to give you some tips on how to ‘auction flip’ by taking advantage of misspellings. This is a great strategy for purchasing items for very little and then resell them to make a profit! It can also be a great way to acquire inventory. It is also a superb way to obtain name brand clothing items for your own kids and then sell them later.

I suggest using a program such as typohound.com or fatfingers.com, there are many others also. Think of commonly misspelled words. For example you can check out: Hanna Anderson, Oilily, Gymboree, Baby Lulu – all of these are highly sought after brands. I like to look for my favorite brands, items that I know sell well, and even items that I prefer buying for my kids!

Make sure you do your research before you purchase ANYTHING, unless you already know from experience that it’s an item that sells well for you. I like Terapeak for eBay researching, but there are other programs that you can use also. Sometimes you can get enough information to make a decision about reselling or not, by using the eBay completed listings search. Once you have the search listings in front of you, sort by ‘ending soonest’ so that your turn around time is shorter.

Do not bid on anything just yet – doing so will only help to drive up the ending price. I suggest using a sniping program such as Gixel.com – unless you know you will be able to physically be at your computer to bid at the last minute. If you plan on bidding on numerous items, then you may want to use a sniping program to ensure you don’t miss out on any last minute bidding.

I’ve tried using SMS to my phone and proxy bidding, but it is much easier to use a program that does it all for you! Enter a price that you are comfortable paying and you’re done! Good luck and share any successes you have.

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Tips for Recession Proofing Your eBay Business

November 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

More than ever people are searching on eBay for great items at great prices.  While it is important to be aware of what has been working for you, be sure to keep an open mind when deciding what to sell on eBay.

Here are a few tips to remember when expanding your eBay business and to help ensure you don’t get caught in a recession.


Stock your inventory with a wide variety of items to meet the needs of a broader audience.  Always do your research and know what items sell well for you – keep these key items in stock.  If you find you are passionate about an item that sells well for you on eBay, that is an added bonus.  I tend to choose a variety of used and new Boutique clothing items, and then add in toys around the holiday season for extra sales.  That’s what I have found works for me.  A major tip to remember is to stock ALL seasons at ALL times.  Other countries are in opposite seasons, which makes potential sales endless.

BUT, be careful not to get stuck in your comfort zone.  Try new things and expand slowly by building your customer base to a large range of repeat buyers.  For example, selling clothing can limit you to only one target market.  This may require reaching out to the larger source of suppliers that can be found at World Wide Brands.  Try to find items that compliment what you are already selling.  Provide a ‘one stop shop’ feel for the buyer.  If you are selling children’s clothing, compliment those with baby bedding and/or maternity clothing.

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Getting eBay Inventory Without Spending Money

October 27, 2011 By 1 Comment

There are lots of people who would love to stay home and sell on eBay. The big question is – how do you buy inventory to sell when you don’t have the extra money? This is a very common concern. I started out in just this way – no money and no inventory – so I thought…Believe it or not a lot of the time what you have just laying around your house or taking up extra closet space can be worth more than you may think.

I started selling toys that were just sitting in my attic from when I moved out of my parents’ home. I’m talking about toys that were 10-15 years old at the time. I did some research on eBay and found that those toys were actually pretty valuable! Next, I moved onto novels – and they sold really well in lots of the same or the similar authors. The same goes for children’s books, same themes too. I even sold pieces to toys and games that were incomplete. I couldn’t believe it when I sold some old Monopoly pieces – I’ll never forget it! I believe it was the guy riding a horse, thimble, race car, and a few others. You will never know what may sell until you try!


So, what do you do when you’ve cleaned your house out and you have nothing left to sell?
A big, BIG option that helped catapult my eBay selling career, allowing me to buy new items to sell, was selling for other people. I sold mostly for family and friends. I knew quite a few people that were interested in making some extra money, but had no clue about eBay or just no time and no interest to learn. Here was an abundance of items that I could make money on and help someone else out at the same time – definite win-win! Just be aware that there is a lot of research and work that you must do to make this work. Be certain you are honest and upfront with your fees and the options if the items do not sell. I was motivated and ready to make some extra money for people and they were willing to help me make money as well. Without even realizing it, this helped me to learn what was desirable on eBay and what wasn’t.

Even today, I still sell for my friends. Their kids are always outgrowing their clothes, as are mine. I offer a set price for the clothing, only in excellent condition, and toys, only in complete and working condition. Learn more about being an eBay Trading Assistant.

If you found something that works for you on how to make money on eBay with little or no money invested – I would love for you to share in the comments.

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Tough Question Tuesday: Does It Make A Difference?

June 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

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I had a blast at the Hot Seminar Series last week!  It’s taken me just about one week to come down off of cloud 9.  :-)

I really enjoy talking to others about how to improve their eBay business.   A couple questions came trickling in after the show was over.  I thought it would be nice to answer them here.

Q:  I listened to you on a conference call tonight. Great call. I have a question. I get your emails, 2 or 3 a day on clothes mostly, but I don’t know which to buy and if size makes a difference. I don’t have the funds to buy one of every size or something from every site you send out. I only want to resell them. Do you list them before you get them or after?
 
Thanks again,
Bill B.

ebay store basinger12
amazon store bargin bills

A:  Usually, size will not make a difference.  It’s personal preference.  Some eBay sellers specialize in small sizes, some eBay sellers only buy bigger sizes.  Buy what is best for your budget.  Buying a couple sizes – like a size 3 and 4, for example.  That way you can cross promote them.  One example would be to state in your description that you have sibling sizes available – then link to the other item.
 
I list after I get the item.  That way I can take pictures of close up details, and if measurements are needed, I can put them in my description while the item is in front of me.
 
Hope that helps!

 

 

 

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Tough Question Tuesday: What Is A Good Amount Of eBay Inventory To Have Invested?

January 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment

What is a good amount of inventory to have invested?

Excellent Question! 

This could vary for everyone depending on your budget. If your budget is small, be selective and take note of what season you are in.

A lot purchases that will be made for clothing and holiday items for the purpose of resale will be made offseason, possibly taking some time to see a return.  This is why it could take a good year to build up inventory to sell all year ’round.

Right now stores are rotating out inventory, so you will see a lot of great deals out there, believe me, 75% off of Christmas items ARE around, you want to stock up fast!  

Stick with your budget.

If you only set aside $500 or $1,000, then stick to it.  In the begining it’s easy to get sucked into a good sale.  But always remember you have to do your research!  Just because it’s on sale, doesn’t mean it will always sell or sell for a profit.

Chances are if you’re keeping up with your research, or you’re keeping up with the Boutique Bargains Alerts Service that we offer with our Boutique Bargains Membership – you’ll see what sells well every season. ;)

Happy Selling!

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