How to start my eBay business

usman122

Hi,

I'm looking to get some advice on how to start my own eBay business. Im open to different markets I.e books, games or electrical accessories

However, I wanted to know what I can find such products so that I get cheap enough to make a little margin.

Any tips on wholesellers for games books or like would be nice.


Thanks.

RFW

If you're on here asking questions like that you'll be struggling before you get started.

Go to a wholesale district of your nearest big city and have a look around, even then if you aren't sure what you want to sell you won't know what is a good price to pay, so you need to pick a market and research it. You have picked three of the hardest markets to make any kind of money in, they are pretty swamped already.

QuackQuackOops

Make money on Ebay? Not so easy these days.

RFW

QuackQuackOops wrote: »

Make money on Ebay? Not so easy these days.

It's not too easy anywhere at the moment even if you know what you're doing.

soolin

Running an ebay business is the easy bit- getting the stock is the hard bit.

Some general tips here but basically you will need to do some leg work to find yoru own wholesaler or stockist:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/47120145#Comment_47120145

QuackQuackOops

I actually think its the other way round.
Finding something to sell is the easy bit.

Finding your feet and making a mark on Ebay in 2012 is so hard its disheartening. Figuring out how Ebay/Paypal work (as opposed to the actual law), making sure you keep your DSR's in order, which has been known to cause so much stress to some sellers that they have given up their account after years on Ebay and dont forget the wonderful Buyers Protection that you have to make allowances for.


I think it tells you a lot when you see how many sellers with feedback scores of 100,000+ have left this last year.

lovinituk

usman122 wrote: »

However, I wanted to know what I can find such products so that I get cheap enough to make a little margin.

That's the million dollar question!! Unfortunately anyone who is making decent money from any product is not going to share that information with anyone else! If they did, they would just be creating more competition for themselves.

Its all about research, research, research. Consider using Terapeak to research what is hot or not on ebay.

Borrisx

I used to run an ebay business up to 2009 as a second income (when I had spare time!). The fees are now so ridiculous now that unless you have something special and the ability to buy in bulk quantity or you'll struggle. A relative of mine found some fancy lipsticks on a local market stand for a couple of quid and sold them on for 20 or so; which was good while it lasted.

Quickbooks and Excel were the main things I used for accounts as well as a basic bank account.

Profits are subject to standard income tax/ni rates if you go for a sole trader route or corporation tax/capital gains as a ltd company.

Notmyrealname

usman122 wrote: »

Any tips on wholesellers for games books or like would be nice.

Good luck with that. Why should I tell you where I get my stuff from just so you can go undercut me?

Notmyrealname

Borrisx wrote: »

I used to run an ebay business up to 2009 as a second income (when I had spare time!). The fees are now so ridiculous now that unless you have something special and the ability to buy in bulk quantity or you'll struggle.

My listing fees are typically 9p an item. My final value fees are 2.4%. My paypal fees are more than my Ebay fees. If I sell a laptop for £200, I come out of it with about £188 after fees.

Pembroke

The problem you'll have with the markets you've chosen is that they are the popular ones inhabited by the big boys who operate on really thin margins and can afford to buy in quantities that most on these lists can only dream of. The trick is to find a niche with no or low competition selling your items at a good markup and making your sales more attractive than others in your niche.

What I do is either buy single collectors items from my local car boots and auctions to sell on or go for stock from closing down shops. You can also look in the 'wholesale and job lots' area on ebay. What you must do though is learn about the stuff you're selling as the more info you can give a buyer the more likely you are to sell.

Oh and one other tip, I'm suprised no one has mentioned. Don't buy branded items from China and expect them to be genuine.