Let's look at how you do it. You work as an intermediary. You look
for items that are available for purchase on the internet at a discount,
and you list them on eBay as if you are the seller, yourself. Not to
worry. There’s nothing immoral about this. In fact, it’s becoming more
and more common these days. You should think of it this way. You’re
offering a needed service to those who aren't very talented with
internet research. You’re identifying inventory that they couldn’t find,
themselves. Now, there’s a little risk involved with this strategy, but
we’ll get to that in a minute.
There are many places on the internet where you can find truly
amazing deals on any number of items. Some common places to look are the
Amazon.com marketplace, alternate auction sites (besides eBay),
dropshippers, and online wholesalers. Once you find a great deal, you
need to do a little research to find out what the value is on eBay. You
can do a quick search of closed listings to see how much people are
paying for the particular item you’ve found. Once you’ve confirmed that
there’s a solid market for the item you’ve found, you list the item on
eBay. You can use a stock photo of the item for your listing.
You'll get an email notification as soon as the item sells on eBay.
Next, place an order for the actual item from your source. In many
cases, depending on the source, you can have the item packed by your
source so that it appears to have come directly from you. This is often
true in the case of dropshippers. Otherwise, you’ll want to have the
item shipped directly to you; then you can ship the item to your
customer. This incurs some shipping costs, and it takes longer for your
customer to get the item.
I said that there is a little risk involved. The risk is to your eBay
feedback score, which is basically your reputation. You incur this risk
by promising someone else’s product, and you’ll suffer if the product
is not available when it comes time to deliver to your customer. So, to
protect yourself, you should only list items that are in good supply. Do
not ever try to sell an item from a source that only has a few
available. In the event that someone places an order with you, and you
find that the product is out of stock with your supplier, you’ll have to
find another source fast.
The best way to protect yourself is to use a dropshipper and to
actually buy some inventory from the dropshipper, who then sets the
inventory aside for you. When the merchandise sells, the dropshipper
packages the item and ships it for you. This almost guarantees that
you’ll never receive an order only to find that your supplier is out of
stock. Though, there is a little risk with this method, too. Once you
buy the product, you own it, even though it’s sitting in the dropshipper’s warehouse, and if the market price drops for that product,
you’re out of luck. You may have to sell the product at a loss.
So, both methods come with their risks. You’ll have to decide which
one you’re more comfortable with. As long as you’re deliberate, you’ll
be fine. And you’ll stand a good chance of making some good money on eBay, while never stocking any inventory.
