How To Become An Ebay Powerseller Selling Liquidation Merchandise
Thousands of people would love to work from home with the status of an Ebay Powerseller. Some people, however, don't have the slightest clue how to get there. Most people think that Ebay Powersellers have top-secret wholesale sources that the average person can't get their hands on. Others think that all Ebay Powerseller are lucky enough to have an endless supply of antiques in their attic. While there are some Ebay Powersellers who would meet this criteria, this usually isn't the case. Probably half of all Ebay Powersellers get the products they sell from liquidation sources. This is the reason why many Powersellers can afford to sell brand new products on Ebay for well below the retail price. Since you're on this website, you already have a good idea of where to buy wholesale liquidation products from. After you get the products you need, you'll have to figure out how to sell the products on Ebay in a timely manner, turn a decent profit, and re-purchase new inventory with the profit you made.
Selling on Ebay is extremely easy, and is only hard if you make it hard. The first thing you will need is good pictures of the products you're selling. Images are "the most important thing" in your description. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words and has much better selling power than a fancy description. The only thing you will need to take your pictures is a basic digital camera which can be purchased these days for less than $100. To save some money, you might want to consider purchasing a refurbished or used digital camera from Ebay or Amazon.com. If you want to get a little fancy, you can purchase a lighting studio from Ebay which gives your products a solid background. This allows you to crop out the background and do as you please with the image. Make sure you take large, close-up images of the products so your custom knows exactly what they're getting.
After you take your images you want to create a description of your products. If the product is brand new you can probably use the manufacturer's description. I on the other hand prefer to use my own description. Sometimes a manufacturer's description may be a little boring and may not stand out from the rest of the crowd. I usually like to point out things in my description such as the product's price and my reputation of being an honest seller. This way, if somebody you're competing with somebody who is selling the exact same product for the same price, you can increase your chances of somebody choosing you over choosing the other seller. Another thing that won't hurt in your description is a fancy template, You can either use one of the templates that Ebay supplies for you, or you can hire a web designer to make something for you that matches up with the theme of your business.
Now that you have your description setup you'll have to decide what price method you will use to sell the products. One of Ebay's more popular pricing methods is the Buy It Now option. This allows you customer to purchase your products at a flat price without having to bid on the product. Since you probably bought the products you're selling at "below wholesale" you can take your chances by selling the products by regular auction. This method is actually cheaper and is what made Ebay so famous. In fact, you might even earn a little bit more using this method, and will probably sell your products more quickly. Remember, you want to make as much money in as little time as possible. Even if you're earning more money "per sale" with Buy It Now, you could actually be earning less money if it takes you twice as long to sell the products.
The best way to price the products on Ebay using the auction method is to start your bidding off at just 1 cent. This usually attracts more bidders, watchers, and bargain hunters. The more bidders your product has, the more desirable it looks to other people which usually pushes up the bid. Some people may watch the auction till the end and will often try to snipe it last minute. When listing your items for 1 cent, list the auction for "at least" 5 days. This gives the auction enough time to get enough watchers and bidders to get the price you want. I usually try to list my auction on Sunday so it ends on Friday when most people just got paid. When the auction is over, send the buyer an invoice using Ebay's system if the buyer doesn't pay immediately after the auction. Don't be too pushy though because some buyers may get angry, and will simply refuse to pay. I usually give my buyers up to a week to pay me because I don't won't to lose a potential customer for being impatient.
After you receive payment you'll have figure out how you're going to ship the products. Make sure you have the right boxes and packaging materials for shipping the products. You can purchase the boxes you need from a company like Uline.com or can get them from the shipping company. The two most popular shipping companies are UPS and FedEx. If you're a registered business, you may be able to sign-up for a business account with the company which gives you a little discount, and lets the company come by your home to pickup the items you want to ship. Always ship the products out immediately because some Ebay buyers expect that and will leave you negative feedback if you don't ship the products out in a timely manner. Include a packing slip in the box with the total cost of the shipment and the name and address of your company. You might want to get a little fancy and maybe even offer your customer a discount on future orders. It's a lot easier and profitable to keep your current customers than it is to go out and find new ones.
Selling on Ebay is extremely easy, and is only hard if you make it hard. The first thing you will need is good pictures of the products you're selling. Images are "the most important thing" in your description. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words and has much better selling power than a fancy description. The only thing you will need to take your pictures is a basic digital camera which can be purchased these days for less than $100. To save some money, you might want to consider purchasing a refurbished or used digital camera from Ebay or Amazon.com. If you want to get a little fancy, you can purchase a lighting studio from Ebay which gives your products a solid background. This allows you to crop out the background and do as you please with the image. Make sure you take large, close-up images of the products so your custom knows exactly what they're getting.
After you take your images you want to create a description of your products. If the product is brand new you can probably use the manufacturer's description. I on the other hand prefer to use my own description. Sometimes a manufacturer's description may be a little boring and may not stand out from the rest of the crowd. I usually like to point out things in my description such as the product's price and my reputation of being an honest seller. This way, if somebody you're competing with somebody who is selling the exact same product for the same price, you can increase your chances of somebody choosing you over choosing the other seller. Another thing that won't hurt in your description is a fancy template, You can either use one of the templates that Ebay supplies for you, or you can hire a web designer to make something for you that matches up with the theme of your business.
Now that you have your description setup you'll have to decide what price method you will use to sell the products. One of Ebay's more popular pricing methods is the Buy It Now option. This allows you customer to purchase your products at a flat price without having to bid on the product. Since you probably bought the products you're selling at "below wholesale" you can take your chances by selling the products by regular auction. This method is actually cheaper and is what made Ebay so famous. In fact, you might even earn a little bit more using this method, and will probably sell your products more quickly. Remember, you want to make as much money in as little time as possible. Even if you're earning more money "per sale" with Buy It Now, you could actually be earning less money if it takes you twice as long to sell the products.
The best way to price the products on Ebay using the auction method is to start your bidding off at just 1 cent. This usually attracts more bidders, watchers, and bargain hunters. The more bidders your product has, the more desirable it looks to other people which usually pushes up the bid. Some people may watch the auction till the end and will often try to snipe it last minute. When listing your items for 1 cent, list the auction for "at least" 5 days. This gives the auction enough time to get enough watchers and bidders to get the price you want. I usually try to list my auction on Sunday so it ends on Friday when most people just got paid. When the auction is over, send the buyer an invoice using Ebay's system if the buyer doesn't pay immediately after the auction. Don't be too pushy though because some buyers may get angry, and will simply refuse to pay. I usually give my buyers up to a week to pay me because I don't won't to lose a potential customer for being impatient.
After you receive payment you'll have figure out how you're going to ship the products. Make sure you have the right boxes and packaging materials for shipping the products. You can purchase the boxes you need from a company like Uline.com or can get them from the shipping company. The two most popular shipping companies are UPS and FedEx. If you're a registered business, you may be able to sign-up for a business account with the company which gives you a little discount, and lets the company come by your home to pickup the items you want to ship. Always ship the products out immediately because some Ebay buyers expect that and will leave you negative feedback if you don't ship the products out in a timely manner. Include a packing slip in the box with the total cost of the shipment and the name and address of your company. You might want to get a little fancy and maybe even offer your customer a discount on future orders. It's a lot easier and profitable to keep your current customers than it is to go out and find new ones.
Nov 12, 2008
