Thursday, August 7, 2008

Products to Sell on eBay: What Will Make You Money and What Won't?

by Michael Cohen

Many think that selling on eBay is an easy path to riches. They are blinded by news stories about a people who find products to sell on eBay in their attic or a garage sale and make huge profits. In reality, this "get rich quick" image could not be further from the truth. In order to sell on eBay successfully, one must have the patience and willingness to do the research that are required of a profitable eBay business. Although there are many sources of products to sell on eBay, the most common are garage sales, foreign importers and mostly importantly dropshippers.
Garage Sales: Finding a needle in a haystack

Using garage and yard sales to find products to sell on eBay can be a fun and adventurous way to success on eBay. One must grow very knowledgeable on the items that will net a large profit when sold on eBay and many have used this method to successfully make money on eBay. However, there are several drawbacks to the garage sale concept. The first issue, is that you are not alone in trying to find gems to sell on eBay at garage sales. Every Saturday morning, you will find 100's of others fighting for the same items to sell on eBay that evening. Garage sales are also seasonal. You will find few if any garage sales going on during the winter and weekends of national holidays. That leaves you with very few opportunities to truly profit on eBay.

Importers: Can you really trust them?

Many aspiring eBay sellers aim to using imported goods that they can purchase at a large discount and then turn them around to sell on eBay for a profit. The first pitfall in using an importer is finding a company that you can trust. Language barriers can be a huge issue when selecting an importer. If you are unable to effectively communicate with your supplier, you will be unable to use them as a source of reliable products. Importers also require merchants to purchase large bulk lots of the items they are planning to sell on eBay. This means you must have a large deal of money available to spend before you even receive the products. Then you must find somewhere to store the products until you put them up for auction on eBay. If the items do not sell, then you are stuck with a large inventory of products collecting dust that you have already paid your hard earned cash for.

Dropshippers: A safe and powerful source of products to sell on eBay

The last and perhaps best option to supply products you intend to sell on eBay is dropshipping. A dropshipper is a company that will provide you with an online catalog of more than a million products that you can offer for sale on eBay. After you have selected a product to sell from the dropshipper, you will simply use the details and pictures provided to list the item to sell on eBay. If it does not sell, you don't pay the dropshipper anything. When the product does sell, you collect the money from the eBay buyer and then pay the dropshipper. The dropshipper will then ship the product directly to the customer and the transaction is done. Clearly the benefits of a dropshipper: a large catalog of items, nothing to pay upfront, and having all the holding of inventory and shipping done for you, make dropshipping the best option to find products to sell on eBay for large and consistent profits. Happy eBaying!


About the Author
The author has been selling on eBay for over 10 years and is the founder of DropshipHQ, the premier online resource for dropshipping and starting an eBay business. Sign-up for a free dropshipping trial at http://www.DropshipHQ.net today!

No comments: