Ebay success?

Helsbells38

Hi All,

Just wondered if anyone has had any success selling stuff on Ebay. I want to try and buy some stuff wholesale and see what money I can make so I can take the kids away for the first time in 8 years!
Has anyone tried buying wholesale to sell on ebay? Also if anyone has tried, What sells the best on there? What experiences have you had with wholesalers?
I read one idea that someone had, buying older books with whole page images inside and then take them out and frame them with mounting and then sell individually rather than sell the book whole. I'm not sure what the copywrite issues would be with that.
Any ideas gratefully received. I found one wholesaler selling candles which would be great except I can only afford a one to two hundred pounds tops and their pallets of stock were alot more.
I want to just start slowly and possibly build up as thats the only way I can afford to do it.

Sharon :hello:

moneypooh

A friend of mine has a small business (as per the rules) selling childrens books. There are many web sites that sell sets of books and then she splits them up and sells them individually. She can make anything from £2 to £5 per book. I think she generally sells the text book type (ie for SATs/GCSEs) and popular series books like Jacqueline Wilson & younger children books like Thomas the Tank engine.
The good thing about books is that they are very easy to cost for postage etc..
I have sold a few of my childrens old books and they have gone very well.

As a general comment it's best to do loads of research on the site just to make sure your chosen item sells well.
I'll ask her if she minds me putting a link to one of her items, so you can see how she is set up.

Good Luck:D

bibbly

You need to be careful to avoid things that cost a lot to post - i.e. I think candles are heavy to send - therefore your postage costs are going to be high and you might not get such high bids. Unless you are selling "premium" candles and getting them for a really good deal to start with (i.e. Yankee candles or the like).

Personally, if you want to start slowly and build up I would start by buying things at car boot sales or charity shops. Ensure that you inspect them thoroughly for any flaws etc, wash and press them and then give it a go. I have a charity shop near me that sells the clothes very cheaply (some are extortionate!) and often car boots are your best bet. You will often get great deals on children's clothes if you are buying "in bulk" from one seller. Avoid the cheaper lines in clothing - go for Gap, Mini Boden, Monsoon etc and in adults clothes go for Boden, Per Una - even some Next. You will soon get an idea of what sells best.

I personally think that if you want to start slowly then that's the way to go. Don't make the mistake also of charging extortionate prices for postage like some people do - £3.95 for a tee shirt for postage???? A lot of people (me included) would avoid that seller on principle.

Hope you get on okay.

Bibbly
x

cazi

Hi! have you thought about dropshipping instead?

This would mean that you dont actually pay anything until you have sold the item. The item can be ordered straight from the dropshippers and they will sent items straight to your customer.

It would also mean that you dont have to hold stock.

Research this, there is a very good dropshipping forum that has tons of advice on this.

Good luck xx

maria340

I've sold quite a lot of flower seeds from my own garden, mostly poppy, lupin and delphinium seeds. Last season I probably made about £600 clear profit, not bad. The only problem is although they haven't cost me anything and postage is minimal you need to sell a lot to make it worth your while. I'm thinking about buying wholesale and splitting, but I'm not sure what will sell this year.

Helsbells38

Thanks for your ideas
I have heard of dropshipping although haven't looked into it too much yet, but I do like the sound of it and will do so over the next few days.
Good idea with the Boot Sales and getting stuff from there too, will try that...
Also the companies that send home the book magazines from school, they sometimes sell a whole series of books for a small fraction of the price, brilliant for putting on ebay, hadn't thought of that thank you.
Unfortunately with the plants, I have a knack of killing plants without too much effort, I wish I could grow things, but sounds like you have a knack for it maria.
Sounds like all of those will be cheaper than buying a pallet full of stuff that hasn't been handpicked by me to sell.
Thanks again

supersally

well i buy and sell mobile phones on ebay i know which days are good for buying and selling so can get a bargain sometimes especially if i can pick it up personally to save on postage same with looking for local stuff around your area within 10 miles or so you can still get a bargain that way;)

didi_nodebt

Hi firstly you need to do a heck of a lot of research, Ebay has changed and new sellers now have to meet a lot of new criterias with ebay, its not the same as it used to be.

If you are a going the drop shipping and whole sale route and you are acting as a company you now have to put your name and address and telephone number on your listing or your about me page, you also have to find out about paypal as a new seller you will have to offer paypal there are so many changes.

You should also go read the Ebay thread on MSE http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=40
just to get an idea of whats going on with Ebay and what other people are going through, very useful thread.

If you still want to go ahead you then need to go on to ebay, find and watch items that you would like to sell to see how they do and how often they sell.

To be honest the boom days of Ebay are gone, am not trying to put you off but please do your research especially with drop shipping, I do still sell, but will only be until i get rid of the stock I have, then no more.

Goodluck with it, but please do your research and please read the Ebay thread for more info.

p.s; for books you might want to try Amazon....

richt71

There is money to be made on ebay still but you have to do something better or different now. Might be worth looking at the internet marketing forum (lots to do with ebay) http://www.warriorforum.com