Identity Theft Plus

Finding products or a niche with good profit margins might seem like the hardest thing to figure out when selling on eBay. Maybe you’ve been frustrated when you bought a list of ‘authentic wholesalers and drop shippers’ and found that the items on the list sell on eBay for less than the ‘wholesale price.’

Now it’s obvious that it’s not the best business model to sell stuff for less than you pay for it. The only exception is that you have a strategy to have a ‘loss leader’ or overall strategy to make up for the losses in the front end. That’s an advanced strategy, so don’t worry about it if you’re just getting started selling on eBay. As a beginner, you should always sell items for more than what you buy them.

Also, I don’t want you to get stuck in the ‘dropshipping’ trap. I’ve wasted hours and hours literally going through every single product in a dropshipping company’s catalog only to find out that none of them are profitable to sell on eBay.

The real way to make money on eBay is to analyze what the big sellers are doing. How are they profitably moving inventory? You’ll soon discover that selling eBay is very different than selling on most sites. Yes, people are looking for a great deal, but there’s more you need to consider.

Let’s say you went on eBay right now and you were looking for a specific item. You’d probably find the most affordable item, with one exception. You don’t want to pay the bare-bones minimum because “you’ll get what you pay for.”

Some people think that if they are the cheapest price on eBay, that will guarantee them maximum sales. While that might be true in the short-term, chances are that their profit margins will be so small that they won’t be in business for long. Remember that you’re in business to provide an experience for your customer. This includes a great product at a good price. Also, it means that you make a reasonable profit.

So how do you enter a competitive market and earn peoples business when it seems that everyone just wants the lowest price?

There are various ways to do this. Because it’s a big step for people to buy from someone they’ve never seen, you need to stand out from the crowd. To get your customer to choose you over your competitor, you need to get their attention. Make sure that you have a great gallery picture to draw your customer away from the price tag. Make sure that your listing has the most relevant keywords in the title. Your goal is to get people to click on your listing, and then from there, you have a better chance of selling to your customer.

Once your customer makes the jump to your listing, they’re going to decide whether they can trust you. Your feedback rating factors in here, but in addition to that is also the professionalism of your listing. You need to show that you’re a quality seller that will provide the best customer experience.

How do you look professional? Have a good looking listing template, clearly defined policies, professional pictures of your item, and a description that you’ve taken the time to create yourself – not just copied from the manufacturer’s website.

Think of the times you’ve gone looking for an item and wondering if the seller was legitimate and if you could trust them with your money. You don’t want other buyers doing the same thing once they land on your listing or eBay store. Some people are just skeptics and you can’t change their mind, but many people are savvy buyers who want to do business with someone they can trust.

What people see is what they are going to get. If you can set yourself apart from the other “small time” sellers and model the successful ones, you’ll have a competitive edge to getting started selling on eBay.

Jesse Holmes is an expert eBay Powerseller, author, speaker and consultant. He is willing to show you how to make money on eBay with his easy to follow eBay 101 Start Up Kit, but only for a limited time. Go now for instant free access!