Get the secret source of suppliers that Daylen (an eBay PowerSeller) uses: http://www.salehoo.com/learn-more
In this video, Sarah from SaleHoo interviews Daylen, an eBay PowerSeller located in the United States. He shares his insights about what he does, his methods, what makes him successful and the pitfalls that other sellers should avoid.
Ebay: Daylen’s First Selling Platform
Daylen first got started on eBay (which is how he became an eBay PowerSeller of course!). This is not a surprise. A lot of online sellers choose eBay to start with because it is one of the largest online selling websites in the world. It brings you in free traffic for your items, meaning all you need to do is to take care of the listing and fulfilling the order.
Like a lot of eBay PowerSellers though, Daylen is looking to move beyond it into his own e-commerce store, which is something he is just starting to do now. While eBay has the advantage of providing you with a source of interested buyers and free traffic, the downsides are the fees are very expensive. If you have your own online store, you get to keep more money. He is now going to be using SaleHoo Stores as his e-commerce platform of choice.
Daylen’s advice: Be honest with your customers.
In the interview, Sarah asked Daylen what is the biggest mistake that new eBay sellers make. His answer? Not being honest enough.
Be very specific about everything in your listing, don’t leave it vague. Give measurements, give exact colors, given exact state of condition. It isn’t worth it to be vague and to then get yourself negative feedback when the item arrives in a condition that the customer didn’t anticipate. Negative feedback can be the death of an eBay store.
There is another lesson to learn here as well: Part of what makes eBay PowerSellers so successful is that they create great listings! By being specific you are not only being honest, but creating a trustworthy listing. People are more likely to purchase from you if you provide them with lots of good information about a product. If you want to become an eBay PowerSeller, start creating detailed listings.
Wholesale selling, dropshipping or second-hand reselling?
When it comes to sourcing products on eBay, Daylen became an eBay PowerSeller by reselling second hand products. You can source second hand products by going to garage sales, thrift stores and even finding them on websites like Craiglist.
This has a lot of advantages. Since you’re buying one-off items, you don’t have to worry about moving a lot of stock like you do when you buy in bulk from wholesalers. And the profit margins are bigger than what you will usually find from dropshippers.
However: As Daylen is now finding, second hand selling has some limits. You can scale your business much more if you purchase items in wholesale bulk lots and sell them. Having a reliable source of products is a great way to become a trusted store that customers can come back to over-and-over again. Plus, it is easier to sell brand new rather than used items.
To find his wholesale items, Daylen is going to be using SaleHoo to locate low-cost wholesalers selling brand new products. To get your own SaleHoo subscription, click here: http://www.salehoo.com/learn-more
