The New ebay by Todd Alexander

Author:Todd Alexander
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2013-04-22T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Sourcing products to sell

Finding the right product to sell in Australia’s busiest marketplace is one of the most important things you will need to do. To identify the ‘right product’, here are some of the crucial things you need to consider:

• Can I find a supplier who has the right to sell it to me for resale on eBay?

• Can I find more than one supplier in case something goes wrong with my initial supplier relationship?

• Can I rely on enough supply?

• Can I store (warehouse) the product properly or is there an opportunity to have others store it for me?

• Can I purchase it at a price that will give me a clear profit?

• Is it already for sale on eBay? If yes, can I compete with the average selling price and will that give me clear profit? If no, why is no-one else selling it? How easy would it be for another seller to source the same product and sell more profitably than I can?

• Do I know enough about the product to answer all of my buyers’ questions?

• Can I send the product throughout Australia easily? If I need to expand into overseas markets, can I send internationally without exorbitant postage or export/import costs?

• Is it a fragile product or will it withstand delivery easily?

• Would I be breaking any laws or any eBay policies by selling the product?

• Is it the kind of product that buyers might want to return — for example, is it susceptible to performance issues or flaws that will increase my operating costs? That is, can I afford to refund or exchange a percentage of my sales and still maintain my profit?

• Is it the kind of product that will need professional installation and/or ongoing customer support? Do I need to consider warranties or a guarantee?

• Is the product subject to any limits on resale, such as exclusivity rights or brand ownership? (Refer to chapter 33 for more information on the Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) program.)

Once you’ve considered all of these questions, you can begin looking for the right product a little more seriously. The one question I’ve been asked most often over my years of helping eBay sellers is ‘What should I sell?’, and this question is asked by the smallest right up to the very largest eBay seller! If only the answer was as straightforward as people seem to think it should be, or there was some magical equation we could apply to eBay data to generate a list of results. In short, however, there is no magic answer and you have just as much chance of choosing the right (or the wrong) product to sell as the next business.

Following are some options you may wish to consider for sourcing the right products to sell on eBay, but remember to consider carefully the ‘right product’ questions outlined earlier in this chapter, and the profit considerations outlined in chapter 22.

Use your network

Take a moment to think of every close friend and family member you have and make a list of the companies or industries they work for.

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