My flagship items have abour a 30% margin. If I sell at $100 my profit is $30.

This does not include the amount i pay for services like cable internet, terapeak etc..

However, those costs, along with other misc business expenses are written off tax time.

This forum just proves to be more and more useful. Great post hitch.

Other than something gigantic like a pool table, and something that is not branded. What would I possible by from alibaba in great bulk. I don't know what this could be that is not electronic. Any help?

I'm about to import $2-4k in unbranded goods from China via Ocean freight. Should I get a customs broker? And if I should, how much should I be paying for one? Any recommend brokers? Not sure if I missed this piece of info in the thread. Thanks

Nevermind found the answer on pg 4

You need to have a broker, if the goods already left a port in China you MUST contact a broker immediatly to file ISF papers.

Youre broker will handle the customs clearante, ISF filing all of that.

It costs about $150/brokerage fee per shipment.

ISF papers to be files are about $50

You need an import bond which is about $400/ year (Some brokers let you import on a per time useage.. but it's like $100-$200 for that.. if you plan on importing regularly get a yearly bond)

Don't forget about Customs fees, this ranges depending on what you are bringing in.

If this is your first time bringing something in, your goods will likely get tested off site by customs, you'll be responsible for pay the shipping to and from the shipping exam center. It won't be too much if it's LTL

Contact ShipCo or Expiditors.

Thanks for the detailed answer. I was going to do a small order first to see how quickly the product moves, even though I see other sellers moving 3-5 a day just on ebay. And I'm hoping to move a few extra a week on CL. I guess at first I'll just be breaking even after all of these fees. No wonder there isn't a lot of competition.

Do you ever do unbranded electronics or just avoid all together. It seems that nothing in China is fcc certified and therefore can be seized at entry. Even from my understanding, a simple flashlight.

thanks

I don't do any unbranded electronics. The quality is just horrible, and I'm not going to spend the time and money trying to hunt down good stuff to sell.

Last spring I sold android tablets... talk about crappy quality. If I was trying to get over on my buyers I wouldnt care.. but I have a heart, and when people ask for refunds because the tablet the bought for their kid fails I'm gonig to refund them.

The other thing, say you sell an unbranded microwave or something.. would you want to risk that thing blowing up in someones kitchen, burning down the house? This is an extreme situation, but it is a possibility. I don't want to touch it.

Unbranded memory is basically a waste of time, too many sellers are selling bootleg crap, so you wont make any money.. and the memory will pretty much be useless, fake false stats, etc.

dbl post ?

Yea those 7" are what got me interested in this whole reselling business. I sold quite a few of those, but then refunded a few also. It was really stressful having people call back complaining and I always gave in. I'm working really hard to find some other goods.

Does the price of 2600 for just a 20ft container sound right, the shipping is from china to Chicago?

Best Regards

Thanks to this thread I just bought a 5k load from Canada and I was wondering if there are any specific LTL companies that you recommend? Google seems to be flooded with spam and low quality sites that just have been seo'd the life out of them... I'm currently considering YRC Freight. Also, will I need a broker when crossing the border from just Canada to USA?? I haven't been able to find a clear answer...

is it actually possible to make any profit legit on egay these days? With their ridiculous fees and competetion I just cannot see it.

hi, mate

just read and learnt a lot from u, and thanks for great share!

Ebay is updated very timely, and it is much more difficult to make money than ever.

hope to have more from u

thanks!

Originally Posted by stressfree

is it actually possible to make any profit legit on egay these days? With their ridiculous fees and competetion I just cannot see it.

you ask this question every month. The answer is yes. Just because you can't see it does not mean someone else can. For those who can't make it work move on, move out of the way for those of us that know what we're doing.. I'll gladly accept your customers

ebay is NOT a get rich quick business though..there is not a method that will start getting you $100/day with little to no work.

eBay takes time patience and real business related skill.

It all comes down to your system of BUYING goods that people want. Buying is more then half the battle. Identifying a niche with a demand is the easy part.. actually buying the stuff gets a little bit trickier.

THEN to top that off, you have to have a system in place which can allow the volumes necessary in some niches to make money.

One of my friends does over 3,000 transactions per day, he's closely approaching a million FB's.. His margins per transaction are about 2.. but at 3000 per day..you can do the math. But he has a system that can go through those numbers with ease. Most here today gone tomorrow sellers can barely handle 100 a month, let alone 3,000 a day lol

very interesting post from hitch.

Originally Posted by hitch

I have not gone to any bankruptcy auctions, or storage auctions. Mainly because it's a little bit more involved. Some people like that sort of thing. I prefer just to have a truck pull upto a loading dock, get packed with my items then shipped directly to my warehouse.. the less hands on i have to do the better

However, at any auction, you're destined to find some sweet deals.. however you need to get A LOT of inventory to make money, not just 1 and 2 items here and there.

Another thing that I do:

You can call up local manufactures in a niche like "toys" and tell them that you are a liquidation company , you help companies move distressed inventory. Ask them if they have any that they would like help moving. Out of 100 calls, I usually can get about 3 or 4 companies looking to sell goods at STEEP DISCOUNTS. But you can't usually buy 10 items. OFten you have to buy a lot ranging from $10k worth upto 1,000,000 pieces of items.. I shoot for the deals that I know I can move quickly, or sell to another liquidation broker for a few cents more then i paid. A few cents on 50,000 pcs can be a decent commission...

I recently had a warehouse sell me 56pcs of 8' pool tables for $23 each, retail is $249.00. I had them shipped directly to my warehouse. I'm saving them for this holiday season

You can gets lists from Manta.com, or hoovers. I like hoovers and have a yearly membership.

an 8' pool table for $23!? WOW

manufacturers often want to get rid of old merchandise, it costs them money for it to sit around. Both direct cost, and opportunity costs.

like people have said you need a broker..but i like this thread as legit is the best way!!

When contacting local manufacturers does it help to actually have a business license or can you get away with just saying you're an individual looking to help them move distressed inventory?

I've never been asked once to supply my business license information when contacting local warehouses/manufacturers.

All they want to know is:
1) How much can you buy?
2) How fast can you move it?

I can't wait to reply this post, it is really a pleasure to read. thanks!

great info thanks OP
+1

bookmarked. This is good info.

Hitch I heard your account was closed down by Ebay...True? What happened? What will you do now?

Hitch I know you posted a source for dvds but it seems that website is no longer offering dvds for sale. Do you have another source that I could take a look at?

there's a seller of real one from China for about $2 or something Legit , honstly, look for his thread in the wholesale section.

Hitch,

How did you find Chinese manufacturers? I presume you aren't buying from Alibab,DHGate etc? But straight from factories? How do we even start?

Is joining Terapeak a necessity to start with? Any other alternatives?

Thx

Originally Posted by stressfree

Is joining Terapeak a necessity to start with? Any other alternatives?

Thx

From my standpoint, Terapeak has paid for itself. I couldn't have been successful as quickly as I have without it. To me, it is a necessity but others have mentioned "other" programs like it, some I think are free. But Terapeak gives you a ton of information to help you find profitable areas.

The benefit of Terapeak is simply to research the niches to see what is selling well for other sellers and know what to expect from pricing.

There are 1-2 competitors of Terapeak, but honestly they are best.

Originally Posted by stressfree

Is joining Terapeak a necessity to start with? Any other alternatives?

Thx

OK Thx guys, Guess I'll be signing up then.

I like this thread very much legit is the best way

I'm going to read up more on this before i jump in. But this thread helped a lot thanks.

Originally Posted by stressfree

Hitch I heard your account was closed down by Ebay...True? What happened? What will you do now?

You're annoying. Every month we go through this. I'm going to stop responding to all of your questions now.

My ebay biz account is going stronger then ever and nearly fully automated and outsourced.

Life is good on my end.

I'm getting ready to send my 1st shipment off to Amazon FBA and have a quick question. Do you put each individual item in its own shipping box then put all those boxes in one large box or do you put all the items in one large box? I contacted Amazon about it and they weren't very clear.

hitch do you have any thoughts on gencomarketplace. I've been looking at their site and was wondering if they are reputable and if what the manifest states are on the pallets are correct. also have you ever dealt with manufacturers to buy your products? im just wondering if they will sell to me even though I dont have a store and i'm an online retailer.

Originally Posted by negdcom

hitch do you have any thoughts on gencomarketplace. I've been looking at their site and was wondering if they are reputable and if what the manifest states are on the pallets are correct. also have you ever dealt with manufacturers to buy your products? im just wondering if they will sell to me even though I dont have a store and i'm an online retailer.

In the original post hitch mentions he bought a lot from gencomarketplace, they have pretty good deals, and have a lot of good items you can add to your inventory. Will probably be trying them out first once I get my business license

Chill Hitch......Chill.

You're annoying. Every month we go through this. I'm going to stop responding to all of your questions now

Originally Posted by negdcom

have you ever dealt with manufacturers to buy your products? im just wondering if they will sell to me even though I dont have a store and i'm an online retailer.

Yes. Generally when buying from manufacturers directly you have to buy in larger QTY's. (which means you'll need a place for storage, like a fulfillment center)

Originally Posted by mrwho

I'm getting ready to send my 1st shipment off to Amazon FBA and have a quick question. Do you put each individual item in its own shipping box then put all those boxes in one large box or do you put all the items in one large box? I contacted Amazon about it and they weren't very clear.

Glad to see yo taking action I don't use FBA for various reasons.. working with smaller centers allows for more of a personal approach. Amazon's FBA is actually fairly expensive also when compared to smaller centers.. I suggest googling one near you so you can go visit, meet the owners, etc.

ok so I sourced a few hot products using Terapeak...looked oin Ebay for them...then went to DHGate and they are more expensive on DHGate than they sell on Ebay for?

Right..so it's not that easy. Do you have to deal with factories directly? Is Dhgate/Made in China too "middleman" expensive?

Thank you

Well after reading this thread, ended up with a mixed lot of 400 items at my apt. Fedex guy looked at me as if I was crazy. Anyways, listing these seem to be a lot more time consuming than I imagined. Been working about 8 hours a day listing and I seem to be averaging 10-15 min per listing (taking pics, looking up product info, writing description, looking at competitor's prices). In terms of time per listing, does that sound right to you or am I working slow? Any listing tools you use or listing strategy you use to speed up the process? I currently only use Turbo Lister, and a barcode scanner. There has to be a more efficient way to do this...

^^ let us know if you can turn any profit ^^

Ebay is so efficient and profits so low with MASSIVE competetion I do not see much profit

Originally Posted by Faded

Well after reading this thread, ended up with a mixed lot of 400 items at my apt. Fedex guy looked at me as if I was crazy. Anyways, listing these seem to be a lot more time consuming than I imagined. Been working about 8 hours a day listing and I seem to be averaging 10-15 min per listing (taking pics, looking up product info, writing description, looking at competitor's prices). In terms of time per listing, does that sound right to you or am I working slow? Any listing tools you use or listing strategy you use to speed up the process? I currently only use Turbo Lister, and a barcode scanner. There has to be a more efficient way to do this...

I think there's some software out that can automatically check prices and info on items scanned. There's one called FBAScout(uses Amazon) and its compatible with the iphone,ipad,ipod touch and the Scanfob™-2002 Bluetooth scanner.

Can't imagine where you put all those items if you're at a apartment and who did you end up buying from genco? congrats on taking action!

Originally Posted by Faded

Well after reading this thread, ended up with a mixed lot of 400 items at my apt. Fedex guy looked at me as if I was crazy. Anyways, listing these seem to be a lot more time consuming than I imagined. Been working about 8 hours a day listing and I seem to be averaging 10-15 min per listing (taking pics, looking up product info, writing description, looking at competitor's prices). In terms of time per listing, does that sound right to you or am I working slow? Any listing tools you use or listing strategy you use to speed up the process? I currently only use Turbo Lister, and a barcode scanner. There has to be a more efficient way to do this...

What kind of products are you selling? I had a little photo studio, bought a DSLR and photo tent, lighting etc. After a bit started getting lazy and ripped the photos from the official websites or Amazon. They sold at the same cost, and sometimes even better after that. Taking the picture was always the most time consuming part of it. I also copied the details from the websites too. Bad, but it worked and then I wouldn't forget anything important.

Some very good information in this thread, Thanks! I used to sell on ebay but I gave up to concentrate on SEO... reading your posts makes me want to go back into it!

Thanks for the websites.