'I want to start an ebay business'

soolin

As the recession starts to bite we are getting more and more threads about setting up a small business on ebay. Some of the regulars on here have a vast deal of experience and I thought it might be useful to put together a thread that people could be referred to. That way all the info, plus personal stories etc can be kept in the same place.

I will put up the first couple of posts as I can edit my posts if others want me to add vital info to them. Then I would encourage other sellers to post their own tips and even stories of how they started online selling to the thread generally. so people with more experience than me in importing etc please add tips and advice to the thread.

Basics:

buying or making item to sell means you are a business and as such should have a business account on ebay , You also need to register as self employed with HMRC

There are some HMRC guides here:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/startingup/

ebay:

registering as a business plus other advice:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/account/how-to-register-business.html

Obtaining stock

This is the difficult area and I will leave regulars to suggest current tips and hints of where to start and will edit my post to add them here

soolin

There are a number of websites that might be worth reading, although as with any suggestions on here don't buy anything, or pass over any money without doing all your research first. These are just sites I have seen people referred to and they are not personal recommendations and I have never personally used them.

useful websites:

http://www.wholesaleforum.com/discuss/

http://www.thetrader.co.uk/

soolin

My own personal story is probably not that unusual. I was (am ) a big sci fi fan and in the 1980s would often go to a launch or book signing in London during my lunch hour. Quite often people were limited to two items each so I would buy one for myself and sell on the second one to cover my costs. I actually started on a couple of online auction sites that have now long gone.

Then after a while I got braver and might buy a box of a limited edition items and sell them on, some online some at conventions and fairs, then people would ask me if I could get hold of other things that I wasn't particularly interested in like Gerry Anderson stuff so I was almost buying to order. In 1999 I started to sell on ebay.uk but very shortly afterwards the market completely dropped out of sci fi and cult stuff so I looked aorund to see what else was popular. Over the years I have moved markets constantly, I never stay too long in one market, as soon as sales dry up I move on. I see no point in holding onto a market out of nostalgia.

I got into dancing for a while and started importing through a contact in the Far east dancing items- but that market went when pricing in proportion came in as dance stuff was very light but bulky and my postage costs shot up overnight.

I've bulk bought books and had a very thriving business on Amazon for over 2 years, but that died last Autumn. I've sold clothes, I've sold costume jewellery, shoes- basically anything I can source. I now find more markets by watching ebay, I often sit and just browse and sometimes you just see something that gives you an idea. My competitors 'steal' my ideas and I watch their auctions and 'steal' their ideas as well as many of us use the same local sources.

I sell anything and everything, I might be selling gold coloured bath taps alongside picture frams and vintage silver plated tea sets. My family call me del boy.

I am currently managing to hold on to being a Power seller and TRs, although i have no illusions that those things are fragile things to rely on.

RoscoeFoley

I can tell I am really going to enjoy this thread if it continues. I have only just started looking at selling online, mainly getting rid of 4 ton of baby clothes (as my little boy is growing ever so quickly now he has turned one!). I work shifts and having 4 spare days every week and also I get 18 days off 5 times a year so I'm looking to fill some of my spare time (and earn extra money for our first house). I have found a huge online market place that sell mostly everything you can think of. I'm pretty sure you all know it anyway but alibaba.com is that said website. Now I know there are some great sellers on that site but I have heard of scammers and the such so I am pretty guarded about my choices.

Either way I will be checking this board frequently!

forgotmyname

Some tips from a buyer.

For me the main tip for for potential business sellers "REGISTER AS A BUSINESS" I am after a car part on ebay and prefer
a reconditioned one with a guarantee.

There is no way i am going to give £300 - £600 to a private seller who lists reconditioned parts but pretends to be a
private seller.

You need specialist equipment to recondition these items and unless you have a very large detached house with a quad
garage the machines wont fit.

Gripe over, lol.

Also been watching an electrical item usually sold by LIDL or ALDI? I know what they sold for and surprised to find someone
selling one as new but 25% dearer than they were selling for.
Relisted £5 or £10 less and its now being listed for its 4th time. Mad to pay that much with no warranty.

25% less i would think about it and maybe make an offer, Not 25% more.

I rarely sell and only usually to clear some clutter but i have been on ebay a long time and some things really annoy me.
Selling a bulb and listing it 500 times saying this one will fit the bedroom, hallway, table lamp..and 497 other possibilities.

When i search for an item i dont want the whole listing to be taken by one seller, Guaranteed to put me off buying from them.

martindow

Some people are considering importing items from China, USA or elsewhere abroad to sell on Ebay.

If you are considering this you need to check that the items are what you are expecting and of good quality. Try to get samples or a small trial order first to be certain. You need to be able to trust the supplier as many will want payment in advance. Investigate to check that you are dealing directly with manufacturers if possible. Factories do not normally accept Paypal so you will have to send a bank transfer before they will ship your order.

You also need to be aware of charges you will pay to import. Something you buy for a pound at a Chinese factory gate will cost considerably more once you have paid carriage, import duties and VAT on entry to the UK. Now compare this price with buying from UK wholesalers who may be able to equal or beat this price if they are importing in much larger volumes than you.

Bearing in mind postage, Ebay and Paypal fees can you sell it and still make a reasonable profit? You want to have a fair margin to cope with currency fluctuations.

You can do well importing directly but you must do your sums and research first.

DiiFMaritime

From my limited experience on selling, there are a few things that I have picked up.



Do your research
Without doing this you are destine to fail. I have seen some sellers that have priced their product so much higher than their competition that they don't sell many. Be realistic at what you can sell your product for.

Do you have the storage space?
If you are buying in bulk, make sure you have the space to store it

Product Listing
Make sure you have good quality pictures of your products and spend time on developing good product descriptions. If you can't be bothered to put in the effort, buyers are not going to buy from you - unless you are miles cheaper than any other competitor. Even then, buyers may still go to your competitor

Be nice
It goes without saying, if you had a choice, would you go back to a seller who is not very friendly in answering your queries? I do both buying and selling on ebay and I see the difference between different sellers in terms of their communications. Also, if you are friendly and professional, the feedback you get maybe more than just "Thanks"



I am a private seller who sells the odd bits and bobs but have always followed those points (apart from the storage one) and have managed to sell most of my listings above the average selling price:j:j

I am still in search of a market which will be worthwhile for me to register as a business seller. Any one like to share their profitable market with me and other MSE that read this thread?:D:D

soolin

Is there anyone that can explain how to host pictures on photobucket (or other online sites) and paste them into an auction - I daren't try explaining myself as I'll put newbie sellers right off.

hermum

I use, http://jpegbay.com/ upload the pictures that you want to use for each listing, you then get an HTML code, copy this.
On the description on the listing page change from standard to HTML, on HTML, paste the code in from the jpegbay.com.
Change back to standard (the pictures will now show up as pictures) & continue writing up your description.
I hope that I've not completely confused everyone.

pleasedelete

I had a successful ebay business by accident up until about 4 years ago. I grew up in an antiques shop. My family closed the shop about 15 years ago and sold the house about 10 years ago. They gave all the stuff to me to do as I wanted.

I had an eBay account from USA back in the days when we sent people usd in envelopes to pay for items.

I decided to sell the stuff on eBay. The company was still registered but no such thing as a business account then. My parents had sold mostly Victorian or earlier. From time to time they had bought a job lot with stuff from 50s onwards etc. They saw that as junk (and there wasn't a market) and so it stayed in the barns.

I got 40k from that junk in the 1st year. It then ignited my father who carried on buying more and I did the selling. We stopped about 4 years ago as the market just bombed. Too many sellers really.

But good whilst it lasted

marie-20

Also I always take the photos myself and NEVER use stock photos. As a buyer I always skip past the listings with stock ones as do my family and friends.

As previous posters have stated always be polite via emails - it really does do the world of good.

Finding a good wholesale supplier is hard but worth the effort when you find one - we currently have 4 for different items however our stock is changing frequently depending on what we can buy from where and for how much.

Good luck to you with your business!