Easily the biggest challenge to selling on eBay is finding products that can be sold for profit. eBay is the ultimate open marketplace with almost no barrier to entry and this makes it extremely difficult to find profitable products to sell. It takes a lot of patience, perseverance and time to effectively source products to sell on eBay. In this article I will outline some of the ways that I use to source products.
One way to source products is to go directly to the source. As we all know almost everything is made in China, and obtaining contacts in China can be a great way to source products. A drawback to this method is that many times the minimum order quantity will be very high. This means that you will be required to order large quantities of each product. So when this happens you must be confident that demand is high enough for the product to sell the quantity you order. For products that have a window of demand this can be a major challenge. Another frustrating aspect of ordering products from china is the shipping time. Your products will be shipped from the other side of the world so this can lead to delays of up to 3 weeks before you get your products. This is time that you could have been selling the product, and this can give your competition the leg up by being the first to market. The major advantage to sourcing directly from China is price. If you gain the right contacts you can cut all of the middlemen out of the equation and get your product directly from the manufacturer. One great resource for gaining new contacts in china is Alibaba.com
If you are looking to source name brand products, it is almost impossible to legally do this directly from China. It is extremely easy to find knockoff items in China, but selling these products is not an equation for a long term business. Instead it is best to source these products from the distributor. With some hard work it is not hard to locate the right contact for a distributor and to have them send over a price list and order information. In most cases you will need to provide proof that you operate a legitimate business. This means you should at the very minimum have a tax id number. It also helps to have a non residential address which shows that you are not operating out of a house. A website is also a great asset when gaining the trust of distributors. Sourcing from distributors will certainly bring a higher price, but with that comes lower quantity requirements. This is great because it will allow you to offer a bigger variety of products. The obvious key here is to ensure that a profit margin will be possible after all of your expenses.
The last way that I know of to source products is to attend local auctions, and purchase used goods and antiques. This has proven to be a great way for me to locate products to sell on eBay. It is the most time consuming method, but the rewards can be fruitful. Think of it this way. You are attending a local auction with 20 or so people, and purchasing an antique. You then take that antique and put it in front of the worldwide marketplace that is eBay. This almost always results in a profit, but it does require research both for the local auction to see what is available and then research to see what those products will bring. One way to save time is to submit absentee ballets for the maximum that you are willing to pay for the items you want. In most areas there are usually 10-15 auctions a week within 50 miles. A great resource to locate these auctions is auctionzip.com
I have just shared with you the three ways that I know of to source products to sell on eBay. Sourcing products is the biggest challenge facing any seller, but with hard work finding products that will bring a profit is only a matter of time. If you want to be updated on more posts like these be sure to sign up for our Newsletter.
