Profiles of Successful eBay Pickers - David Dean and Rhonda Conner

I'm starting a new series on my blog to showcase eBay sellers who are making it work. eBay is getting a lot of bad press lately about not being a sustainable business, losing traction as a trusted marketplace, or being inferior to Amazon. I reached out to sellers on my eBay seller Facebook group, which is now approaching 16,000 members, to find sellers who have a proven track record of selling on eBay and maintaining a sustainable eBay business over time.

My hope is that we can see similar characteristics across these profiles and define the qualities of a successful seller, then work to achieve those qualities and reach success.

The criteria I set for participating in this series:

1. Full time eBay seller for at least 3 years. (To show sustainability.)

2. Does not sell on Amazon. (Because they were doing so well on eBay, they didn't need to go to another platform.)

3. Sells inventory purchased at thrift stores, yard sales, estate sales, auctions, consignment sales or any combination of those sources. Does not purchase inventory wholesale, from liquidators, retail stores, from China, or drop ship. Must be a "picker."

4. Is an "at home" seller.

5. Must be willing to share eBay ID. (Keeping it real.)

We'll start with David Dean Conner.

When did you start selling on eBay?

May 2010

Why did you start selling on eBay?

I purchased a bunch of Thomas wooden trains for my son for $30 on Craigslist. We had so much that at that time he didn’t need all of it so I gave him half and sold the other half for around $90 making a large profit and having trains for my son. After that I started buying and selling all the trains I could get my hands on.

What is your store name? 

Treasuristicthriftshoppe

Do you specialize in a certain niche, or are you open to selling anything?

We are open to selling anything and are expanding our knowledge everyday. I specialize in  toy trains, vintage electrics/appliances, vintage rollers/curlers and my wife specializes in plush,  and vintage dolls.

If you specialize in a certain niche, why?

The more products and categories you know allows you to stream line your business, less time at the store figuring out what to buy or what you have in your cart, less time researching online for what you have and what it is worth. You can buy more items, list more items and  benefit of slowly building your store as a place to come to find certain items.

How many items do you typically have in your store?

We generally have upwards of 1000 listings with a goal of raising that 10% each following month.

What is your average monthly profit? 
(We are focusing on profit here because that's what you get to keep!)

We average between $2200.00 and $2800.00  per month for a normal month.

How many hours do you typically work a week on your eBay business?

Between the two of us about 30 hours a week on average.

Many eBay sellers are being shamed into selling on Amazon, as if it is a superior platform. Why have you never sold on Amazon?

Actually we have sold on Amazon before, I played the retail arbitrage game for awhile, we currently do not sell on Amazon. That is because Amazon does not currently fit into our business model. I am not anti-Amazon but I am also not a big cheerleader of Amazon either. Any platform that also sells what it merchants are selling is a scary thing. I feel that Amazon sellers are research drones for Amazon and once a new product has been discovered by a Amazon seller it is only a matter of time before Amazon will also be selling the same product usually at a lower price.

4th quarter can be a lucrative time of year for many online sellers. Have you typically seen an increase in sales during 4th quarter in past years?

Yes sales do increase during the 4th quarter but on the flip side returns also increase during 4th quarter and into the first quarter of the next year.

Do you sell anything different for holiday selling season, or just sell more of the same kinds of things you normally sell all year?

We sell more Holiday themed items and toys, plush, electronics all see a sales spike.

Do you list more items in anticipation of holiday sales? If so, when do you start this process?

We try to list as many items as we can regardless of the season. It is true we make a large amount of sales and profits in 4th quarter but we also try to  list just as many items in other months as well.

Do you have any hired help for your business?

No currently we do not have any hired help. I do anticipate that to change in the coming months as we ramp up our expansion. They will do routine tasks, cleaning of items, packing and shipping, inventory, etc.

What is one piece of advice you would give to new sellers who want to transition to eBay full time?

If you want to make a real income that you depend on having a eBay business then treat it like a business, a dedicated workspace, proper equipment and tools, and keep proper records, hold yourself and your business accountable.

Anything else unique about you or your eBay business you would like to share?

We started this on a whim with some trains, and now we have a successful online business and are branching into the offline area. This business has allowed us to stay home and care for our son with Autism and still make a living. It hasn’t always been easy but we wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.

David and his wife Rhonda are also in the process of opening a brick and mortar store. Find out more about their venture here. 

Be sure to follow this series here on my blog, and make sure you have subscribed to my newsletter  as I have a special 4th quarter related offer coming out this week.

More successful pickers:

Michelle Farmer

Antique Chic

Nicole Bilbao

Kathy Bradley

 

How Will Amazon Pantry Affect Grocery Sellers?

Amazon's Prime Pantry is a new service that allows Prime members to order enough "qualifying" grocery items to fill a specific size shipping box, with the shipping cost of $5.99 regardless of the number of items or the weight. Some current Amazon sellers and others interested in venturing into the grocery niche have expressed concern about how Amazon Prime Pantry will affect their sales. From my observation, it won't. Here's why:

1. According to the program description, qualifying items are "not cost effective to ship on their own." When browsing the qualifying items, I noticed that many products are large or heavy items priced under $15 like large jugs of detergent, 12-count boxes of soft drinks or sports drinks, 16-pound bags of pet food, and 14-pound plastic jugs of cat litter. I wouldn't recommend the typical "at-home" Amazon FBA seller offer these types of items anyway because they aren't profitable and the inbound shipping and storage fees would not be cost effective. Plus, who wants to handle big heavy items all day long when you can sell smaller lightweight items for much higher profit?

2. The other side of "qualifying items are not cost effective to ship in their own" is that many qualifying items are Add-Ons, selling for less than $10. Again, something I wouldn't recommend for the average at-home FBA seller because the profit isn't there, and Add-Ons can sit for a long time before they sell.

3. Qualifying items are only a tiny fraction of the 665,000 items in the grocery category. Here is how many qualifying items are available in each subcategory right now:

4. All of the items I clicked on are only offered by Amazon.com, not third party sellers. My observation is that these are products that we don't (or wouldn't) offer anyway and Amazon is testing out a new creative way to move cheap products in a more cost effective way. For example, what self-respecting FBA seller is going to bother with one can of soup sold for $1.88?  Or a 12-pack of Diet Coke for $3.64? Or a box of toothpicks for 85 cents?

So grocery sellers, don't despair. There is still plenty of opportunity for everyone because we all have access to different regional products and so many new grocery items hit the shelves each year it is physically impossible to buy and resell everything with an opportunity. (Like this Snow Cone cookie mix - I mean really? Who comes up with this stuff?)

The grocery category is unique in that sellers can often find a product in their area that no one else is selling, or bundle items in a unique way, and sell those items for months or even years with no competition. Just figure it out and keep replenishing every week. Not many other categories offer that benefit.

Check out my downloadable Amazon Grocery Course which is focused on:

Understanding how to sell products with very little competition

Understanding demographics and buying habits of Amazon grocery customers so you can serve them better with more products

How to avoid products that will go into Add-On status

How to test products before making significant investments in inventory

The types of products that are easiest to work with, sell the best over time, and are most cost effective with regard to inbound and outbound shipping

Related Articles:

Top 5 Summer Foods to Sell on Amazon

Top 10 Grocery Clearance Items to Sell on Amazon

Top 3 Grocery Items to Sell on Amazon

5 Myths About Selling Groceries on Amazon

Selling groceries on Amazon seems to be a hot topic right now around the blogosphere and on seller networking groups. Unfortunately, much of the advice being dispensed is really not the best advice for sellers, nor are the people offering the advice really very experienced in this niche. I'd like to take a moment to shed some light on some bad information floating around so that other sellers really can be successful.

I've been selling consumable grocery, baby, and health and beauty items online since 2007. I started this venture selling on eBay UK. Several eBay sellers offered consumable grocery, baby, and health and beauty items as order fillers. In other words, we created listings for products we could buy at regular retail from Costco, Sams, Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, Walgreens, and other stores. About twice a week, I would make the rounds to purchase items that had been ordered on eBay and ship them. This business model was great because I was able to use the customer's money to buy product and there weren't a whole lot of other sellers doing it so we didn't see the "race to the bottom" on pricing. (Click here to see posts about my eBay UK selling experience and how it worked back in the old days.)

I've learned a lot about selling locally-sourced consumables online since 2007. My philosophy has always been to make money as efficiently as possible and to find items that can be easily replenished that sell with an acceptable profit margin. Why reinvent the wheel every time, right? Figure out a product, sell it over and over again until it becomes unavailable or the market no longer supports the desired profit margin. So I come to you with this list of 5 myths about selling groceries on Amazon with a pretty informed and experienced perspective.

Myth #1 - You Should Sell Heavily Advertised Seasonal Food Products.
This is the absolute worst advice out there. Right now the heavily advertised seasonal foods are Easter items - marshmallow Peeps, brightly colored M&Ms, cake and cupcake mixes with spring colors, Pop-Tarts, Hershey kisses, Oreos with pastel colored icing, etc. If you see a big display of any of this kind of stuff at Wal-Mart, Target, or your grocery store as soon as you walk in - GUESS WHAT? So are hundreds of other Amazon sellers. What might look good now will be impossible to sell in a few weeks. A bunch of sellers will send in those products, the market will be flooded, and no one can make any money. This strategy used to work, but now too many people are getting into this business, the newbies flock to the seasonal foods on the big obvious displays, and the products are covered up with FBA sellers very quickly. There are plenty of opportunities elsewhere. Leave the Peeps and M&Ms to the people who don't know any better.

Myth #2 - You Can't Find Any Groceries to Sell on Amazon at Wal-Mart.
I wish I had a dollar for every time I have read this comment on a message board. The problem is not Wal-Mart, it is the seller making the buying decision. May sellers are much to focused on sales rank and they pass over items that will absolutely work. About 50% of the grocery items I sell come from Wal-Mart and they are NOT national brands, and they are NOT on sale. Sellers have become too rigid in their decision-making process and are passing by opportunities right and left. See this video, Amazon FBA Smarter Scouting Tips.

Myth #3 - You Should Sell Items on the Amazon Movers and Shakers Reports.
No, no, no! The Movers and Shakers reports show the top 100 gainers in sales rank in the last 24 hours. Most of the items are sold by Amazon (whose price you cannot beat most of the time), or they are covered up with FBA sellers. Remember, the more sellers on a product, the more opportunities to be out-priced and the more likely you will lose money or your product will expire waiting for sales . Use these reports to study and identify product trends, but don't try to sell the exact items. You will be frustrated, disappointed, and lose money.

Myth #4 - You Have to Buy on Clearance to Make Money Selling Groceries on Amazon.
Referring back to myth #2, most of you are looking for items on sale. I guarantee there are products out there you can buy at regular retail 100% of the time and make a good profit. For example, I sold this lemon tuna for a year before my grocery store stopped carrying it. My cost was $36 and it sold for $67.97 for a profit of $17.53 per unit. Here is a sales snapshot:

I sold 50 orders over the course of a year (some customers bought 2 sets), and total profit was $1,034.27, on a single product sourced at regular retail. And guess what? This came in other flavors and I sold those, too. That tuna was a good friend and I was sad to see it go away. This is only one product that I sourced at regular retail - so imagine this scenario multiplied 10 or 20 times a month.

Myth#5 - You Have to Live in a Big City to Make Money Selling Groceries on Amazon.
I hear this one a lot, because I live in Atlanta and people like to make excuses for my success. There are many other ways to source groceries other than standing in a store scanning like a robot all day. I am not talking about ordering from huge grocery wholesalers or ordering junk from China. You don't have to travel to trade shows or go to scary bad neighborhoods to shop at liquidation stores. There are many other ways to source groceries and consumables that are convenient, safe, and only require some time at the computer.

I hope these ideas will give you a new perspective about what is possible. There are huge opportunities in the grocery niche and enough room for anyone who wants to play. Check out my course, The ABCs of  Selling Groceries on Amazon for more in-depth information about all of these concepts and many more strategies about making money in the grocery niche.



Related Articles:

How Kraft Foods Made a Mortgage Payment for Me in 2012

Top 3 Grocery Items to Sell on Amazon

Small and Mighty - Pay Attention to Little Packages

5 Tips for Selling Pre-Owned Women's Clothing on eBay

To an untrained eye, the women's clothing section of a thrift store just looks like a sea of colors and fabrics. But if you have a short list of what to look for, you can become a clothing picker fairly quickly and learn how to choose items that can sell for high profits on eBay. Here are a few tips for sellers who want to expand into the women's clothing niche:

1. Start with one product type at a time, master that area, then add something new. For example, start with athletic apparel, learn all you can and experiment, then move on to coats or dresses.

2. Always, always, always, include measurements.Your buyers can't try on clothing before purchasing it. They will compare the measurements of the item to another garment that fits them well. It will pay off in the end to spend a few extra minutes on each listing providing the measurements. Also include fabric content and washing instructions. Buyers don't want to find out when they receive an item that it is dry clean only, if dry cleaning isn't in their budget.

3. Add a return policy - I suggest 30 days. A return policy helps create buyer trust. Would you buy clothing off the internet from a stranger without being able to return it if it didn't fit? Most people won't. Don't worry that your buyer may wear the item and return it. Include this statement in your listing, "Returns accepted for 30 days after shipment date. Item must be in original condition." Sure, you may get a few returns, but the reward far outweighs the risk. (Note: I've been selling clothing on eBay since 2003. I rarely get any returns - maybe 1%-2% a year. You can always relist and resell it again.) Don't obsess over what your buyer might do to you, think ahead about what you can offer the buyer that other sellers may not. Be the better seller!

4. Learn your vocabulary words. Having the right keywords in your title will bring more buyers to your listings. For example, some of the hot styles right now are gypsy, peasant, Boho, tunics, sarongs, maxi dresses, fit and flare, and DVF dresses. You have to learn the terminology your buyer is using so you can connect with them.

5. Don't be afraid to try lower-end mainstream brands - the money is NOT all just in designer brands. Wal-Mart brands, Target brands, Old Navy, Kohl's, and clothing from mall and outlet stores can do very well as long as you are purchasing them at a low enough price to achieve your desired profit.

I am happy to announce that my popular class, "The Profitable World of Selling Pre-Owned Women's Clothing" is now available as an instant download. Learn how to get started in the wonderful world of pre-owned women's clothing without being confused or overwhelmed. You receive:

60 minute audio & video recording of the class
74 page e-book of the presentation
List of suggested supplies and where to get them
Clothing measuring tips
List of over 60 popular brands that sell well on eBay
My personal insights for the seller new to this niche

Cost of the downloadable course is $39.

Click here for more information and to purchase.

Happy thrifting and I hope you find lots of goodies!

Thank You, Amazon, for a Prosperous 2013

Looking back over 2013, I must say how much I appreciate the opportunity to be part of the Amazon Marketplace. I sold just shy of 3,400 items this year for gross sales of $69, 483. There are many sellers who sell much more than I do, however, Amazon is just one of many streams of income I have been able to establish and grow over the last 4 years.

I like to look back over the year and determine what worked and what didn't. Refining any business is an important part of growing and taking it to the next level. Refining is also important to step away from what isn't working and let things that no longer serve us go so we can move on to new ventures.

As I was doing my year-end evaluations, I saw some interesting data on keyword searches that might help other sellers.

223 orders for cereal, or an average of 18 orders a month. Isn't that amazing? People can buy cereal anywhere, but 223 people bought it from me on Amazon.

140 orders for coffee, or an average of 11 orders a month. You can buy coffee (or get it free) pretty much anywhere. 140 people chose to buy coffee from me on Amazon and have it delivered to them. Coffee I bought in my own neighborhood and shipped to Amazon.

90 orders for lemon flavored items. I'll refer to a quote from Mad Magazine, "We live in a world where lemonade is made from artificial flavoring and furniture polish is made from real lemons." And leave it at that.

67 orders for condoms. (Many were for more than 1 box.) Possibly hundreds of unwanted pregnancies prevented and helping prevent the transmission of STDs. Providing a product for people who want to be responsible, and are maybe too embarrassed to buy this product in a local store. I'm glad to be a part of that.

10 years ago when started selling online (because I went through a divorce and lost my job at the same time), I never dreamed earning a living could be this fun and rewarding. I'll be the first to say this type of business is work, but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Amazon has really evolved and offers a lot of opportunities for the at-home seller. If you aren't taking advantage of the Amazon platform, why not make 2014 the year to learn?

If you are on the fence about getting started on Amazon, here is an easy road map. First, download my FREE eBook about selling books on Amazon. If you are brand new to Amazon, I suggest you start with books since most people have plenty of them around the house (or they are really cheap to purchase used for resale), and books don't require a lot of extra packaging like other products. Books are easy.

After you have mastered books, move on to retail items. Check out my downloadable course, "Amazon Recipe for Success" which is a self-paced tutorial about how to buy items in retail stores to resell on Amazon.

If you are already selling on Amazon and want to learn more about the grocery niche (my specialty), check out my downloadable course, "The ABCs of Selling Groceries on Amazon."

Top 3 Grocery Items to Sell on Amazon

Selling groceries on Amazon has proven to be a profitable and interesting journey in my eCommerce career. I started selling groceries on Amazon in 2010 and quickly learned that the opportunities are endless. The most difficult concept about selling groceries for my clients to grasp is that not everyone is seeing the same grocery products that you are. Regional and specialty products continue to gain popularity on Amazon and it just takes some time and research to figure out how to make it all work.

I've noticed some patterns with my own grocery business that may be helpful to others looking to start selling grocery items on Amazon, or to expand your current product line and think outside the box a bit. So here is my top 3 list.

Coffee. According to Food Manufacturing.com, "Overall coffee consumption jumped by five percentage points this year, according to the NCA National Coffee Drinking Trends (NCDT) market research study. With this increase, 83% of the U.S. adult population now drinks coffee. At the same time, daily consumption remained strong and steady at 63%, while those who drink coffee at least once per week was up slightly to 75%." Coffee is an extremely diverse product line with many options. The variations range from brand, flavor, packaging, and caffeine level. Have you ever looked at how many different ways coffee is sold? Beans, ground, instant, pods, K-cups, discs, single serving packs, tea-bag style, capsules, and even ready-made beverages. Coffee usually has a long shelf life so you don't have to obsess over the expiration date, and it travels well, (no breakage). Amazon shows 62,000 offerings for coffee, only 8,200 are Prime Eligible - or 86% that are NOT Prime Eligible.  Remember, it is estimated that Amazon has over 10 million Prime customers - they are waiting for items to become Prime Eligible and purchase them. Lots of opportunity in this category.

Cereal.  Another diverse product line with many variations. There are 7,700 offers for cereal on Amazon, with only 1,675 of them Prime Eligible. In August 2012, The NPD Group reported that "Cereal has a penetration rate of about 90% in U.S. homes (97% in homes with kids)." It would be impossible for Amazon to stock every single option - there are just too many. Variations include hot vs. cold cereal, kids vs. adult cereal, regular size boxes vs. individual serving size, wheat / corn / rice / oat varieties, gluten-free, organic, Kosher, vegan, vegetarian, low fat, sugar-free, non-GMO, with or without dried fruit, the list goes on and on. Cereal travels well (no breakage) and it is a common household food in most American homes. My best tip here is to avoid selling cereal in single boxes because they can go into Add-On status and sales will stall. (Learned that the hard way.)

Nuts and Seeds. Amazon shows over 27,000 listings for nuts in the grocery and gourmet food category, but only 4,000 are Prime Eligible.That leaves a lot of room for FBA sellers to add these offerings to Prime Customers.  So let's talk nuts - another category with lots of variations - peanuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios, cashews, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, macadamia, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds. Nuts and seeds are sold in bags, cans, boxes, and single-serve packs. They travel well, usually have a long shelf life, and are a popular healthy snack.

When you consider the research, and how many products in the Grocery and Gourmet Food category that are already listed on Amazon and are not Prime Eligible - it just makes sense to make them available for Prime Buyers. What are you walking by in the grocery store every week that you could be selling over and over again on Amazon every month?

Check out my downloadable course, "The ABCs of Selling Groceries on Amazon" to learn more about this fun niche.

Related Articles:

How Kraft Foods Made a Mortgage Payment for Me in 2012

Using Grocery Stores as an Inventory Source

Sellers, Meet Your Newest Clothing Resale Site

This week saw the launch of a new online selling site that caters to selling designer clothing and accessories that the original buyer no longer uses. Tracy DiNunzio, who started Recycled Bride a few years ago, has launched Tradesy. The site may prove to be an alternative to eBay who has been hit pretty hard with a large number of counterfeit items in its marketplace. The site also debuted its mobile app Wednesday to appeal to more buyers and sellers.

Tradesy does seem to be geared toward the individual seller versus the person who is selling many items online. The new marketplace does allow new and gently used items and provides a relatively quick listing process for the less frequent seller. To list, the seller only completes a few description fields and uploads the image. Tradesy then removes the background of the uploaded image and replaces it with a white background automatically. This allows the product to appear as it would on a traditional retail site. It is free to list items on the site and Tradesy takes a 9% fee on any item sold. The site does use PayPal for payment processing.

The site even takes care of the shipping for sellers. Once the transaction has closed, Tradesy will send a pre-paid shipping label and package. The seller then just packages the item and drops it off with the US Postal Service.

While this site does lean toward the high-end designers (Louis Vuitton and Chanel), it allows brands such as Banana Republic and J.Crew as well.

With the fact that counterfeiters can be an issue on sites like this, Tradesy has instituted a policy that it guarantees each item on the site is authentic. If it is not, then Tradesy will provide the buyer a full refund or a site credit (depending on the situation). Generally, all sales on the site are final.

From a seller’s standpoint, this could be the opportunity to showcase your authentic inventory on another site that may have a higher profit margin than eBay does traditionally. It may also be a good source of product if designer items are your niche.

It has only been a few days since the launch. It will be interesting to see how the site develops. If you decide to use Tradesy and would like to share your experiences, please leave a comment below.

Related posts:

Is Thrift Store Clothing Still Profitable on eBay?

eBay Niche Product – Plus Sized Women’s Clothing

I Am Not Ashamed to be a Thrifter

Amazon FBA Workshop - Atlanta October 30, 2012

The next Amazon FBA Sourcing Workshop in Atlanta is scheduled for October 30, 2012. We will visit a huge grocery store and either a Walmart or Target where I will show you how to source items for Amazon FBA. Seller Engine has been gracious enough to provide a free download of Profit Bandit for iPhone or Android to attendees. Group size is limited to 5 people, so hurry and make your reservation. This class will fill up fast!

This is a great time of year to learn with so many seasonal products and unique buying opportunities available. One day workshop will focus on showing attendees how to source retail items for Amazon FBA using various techniques including smart phone apps, understanding retail marketing and positioning, identifying consumer trends, and more. The purpose of this workshop is to teach participants how to select profitable items to sell using Amazon’s FBA system and concentrates on items that are repeatable. Instructor will explain:

1. Basic scouting tips and shortcuts.

2. Types of items that sell well on Amazon FBA and why.

3. Items that appeal to international buyers and why.

4. Items to avoid that may be problematic in the FBA system.

5. Overlooked niche items.

6. How to examine shelf positioning, advertising, and hidden clues that indicate a product may be a good seller on Amazon.

7. How to move away from the herd of Amazon FBA competitors using creative strategies.

8. How to use both free and paid smart phone apps in combination with each other for more thorough and faster sourcing.

9. How to handle questions from other shoppers and employees if purchasing a large amount of inventory.

10. How to secure larger amounts of profitable items using your smart phone.

11. How to identify discontinued items vs items temporarily taken off the market and understand your selling window.

12. How to get deeper discounts on repeatable items.

13. How to scout with poor cell phone service.

Find all the details here, and submit the form to see if you qualify for the workshop.

Related Articles:
Thrift store haul for eBay inventory

Understanding the Amazon Prime Customer

Selling toys on Amazon

eBay and Amazon Sourcing Workshops - Small Group Mentoring Program

I am thrilled to announce a new service - eBay and Amazon Sourcing Workshops! Have you ever thought you could learn more about eCommerce if you had a personal guide to show you how to buy items locally for resale? I have taken a few clients to stores in the Atlanta area to demonstrate how the process works. Now, I have designed a program to personally mentor anyone who wants to learn more with hands-on instruction.

I am offering two types of workshops, one to teach how to buy thrift store items for resale, and one focused on buying new retail goods for sale on Amazon. These workshops are structured as "one-day intensives" with small intimate groups of 3-5 people. I am located in Atlanta where the thrift stores and retail stores are gigantic and abundant. It is a great place to learn if you are located in a smaller city. (Plus we have lots to do here in Atlanta and now you have an excuse for a road trip you can write off for business!) Or, I can travel to your location and help you in your own shopping environment.

Here is a summary of how each workshop is structured:

eBay Sourcing Workshop

The one-day workshop will focus on showing attendees how to purchase profitable items at thrift stores for resale on eBay. Product focus will be clothing, shoes, toys, household goods, sporting goods, kitchen items, craft supplies, and decorative collectibles. The purpose of this workshop is to teach participants how to select profitable items to sell on eBay and concentrates on items that are commonly found in thrift stores and are repeatable. As a full-time eBay seller since 2003 and over 25,000 sales, I have developed my own system for "thrifting for profit." (You can visit my eBay store here.) I will explain:

1.     Types of items that sell well on eBay and why.

2.     Bestselling brands, styles, and types of clothing.

3.     Explanation of bestselling clothing fabrics

4.     Items that appeal to international buyers and why.

5.     How to examine items before purchasing.

6.     Consistent sellers that ship easily

7.     Items to avoid that may be problematic to sell.

8.     Overlooked niche items.

9.     Listing tips, such as benefits of different listing types.

10.   How to “work” a thrift store and sections to focus on when shopping time is limited.

11.   How to get deeper discounts when shopping at thrift stores.

12.   How to handle questions from other shoppers and employees when sourcing.

Workshops will be held in Atlanta or your city ( if enough people are interested). Click here for more details about eBay Workshops. Be sure to fill out the information form. Workshops will begin in the Atlanta area in mid-October.

 Amazon FBA Sourcing Workshop

One day workshop will focus on showing attendees how to source retail items for Amazon FBA using various techniques including smart phone apps, understanding retail marketing and positioning, identifying consumer trends, and more. The purpose of this workshop is to teach participants how to select profitable items to sell using Amazon’s FBA system and concentrates on items that are repeatable. I will explain:

1. Basic scouting tips and shortcuts.

2. Types of items that sell well on Amazon FBA and why.

3. Items that appeal to international buyers and why.

4. Items to avoid that may be problematic in the FBA system.

5. Overlooked niche items.

6. How to examine shelf positioning, advertising, and hidden clues that indicate a product may be a good seller on Amazon.

7. How to move away from the herd of Amazon FBA competitors using creative strategies.

8. How to use both free and paid smart phone apps in combination with each other for more thorough and faster sourcing.

9. How to handle questions from other shoppers and employees if purchasing a large amount of inventory.

10. How to secure larger amounts of profitable items using your smart phone.

11. How to identify discontinued items vs items temporarily taken off the market and understand your selling window.

12. How to get deeper discounts on repeatable items.

13. How to scout with poor cell phone service.

Workshops will be held in Atlanta or your city ( if enough people are interested). Click here for more details about Amazon FBA Workshops. Workshops will begin in the Atlanta area in mid-October.

If you have any questions about how the workshops will be structured, or want to schedule one for your city, please send me an email at ebaycoach@yahoo.com, or message me on Facebook.  I look forward to working with you in person!

Related Articles:

Kindle eBook - What to Buy at Thrift Stores to Resell on eBay

eBay Success Story - From Unemployed to Living the Dream

Amazon Recipe for Success eBook

Celebrity Chooses Etsy TO Support Charity

Image courtesy of Rose's Etsy Shop Many of us use online selling sites as a way to create income or support causes we support. I have written in the past about stars who have chosen eBay to run auctions to support their favorite charities. Now a celebrity has chosen Etsy to support her latest cause.

Comedian and talk show host Rosie O’Donnell is now using the site to help raise money for a charity that is important to her and her family. The charity O’Donnell is supporting is The Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation. Her partner, Michelle Rounds, is battling the rare condition. Three in one million are affected by the condition that can be life threatening or even fatal if it grows undetected near vital organs.

The listings are original pieces of art that Rosie created. In the past, Rosie has used eBay to sell these items but currently there are no listing attributed to her eBay account. Rosie has used Etsy in the past to support her charity, Rosie’s Broadway Kids (now known as Rosie’s Theater Kids), which helps to fund arts education to low-income children in New York City.

To view Rose’s listings, visit Etsy. To find out more about this rare condition, please visit The Desmoid Tumor Foundation.

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eBay Seller Success Story - Old Spice Cool Contact Wipes

I recently received this eBay Seller Success Story from Lori McAulliffe of Rocket City Sales:

Greetings Suzanne – As you know my husband, Thomas McAulliffe and I have been an eBay PowerSeller for over 10 years now. I had to share this great sold story with you because it was inspired by you!

I often recall your FeedBlitz and eBay Selling Coach stories of finding no longer manufactured products and reselling for a nice profit. Through you I have learned there are people out there who still want to use these items and will pay for it.

My story started when I was spring cleaning inside my home and ran across several unopened boxes of Old Spice Cool Contact Wipes. I purchased these boxes several years ago on clearance at Target during my Extreme Coupon Queen days. Believe I paid $1 or less per box. My husband used them for a while, and then discovered they made him break out. So the unused boxes have been sitting in the closet for quite a while. I was almost about to throw them in the trash when all of a sudden it hit me – eBay – better check before I toss.

So as any avid eBay Seller knows the potential advantage of finding such a niche product is to research before you list. After researching closed listings, I found the average selling price to be approx $15-$19; with a sell thru rate at 100%. Oh me oh my – I did a happy dance. Needless to say I saved them from the trash and listed them on eBay. Here is a completed listing:






One of the buyers was soooo excited about their purchase, this is the feedback they left (click to enlarge):




So far we have sold 3 of the 6 boxes at $19.99 each. Now if only every item we sold on eBay would be this profitable!

Thanks Suzanne for being a great source of inspiration,
Lori McAulliffe

Do you have a great sale or an interesting eBay item to share? Send your find to eBaycoach@yahoo.com for consideration.


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Image Courtesy of NewParent.com

Pay attention to your feedback comments on eBay and Amazon. You can glean valuable information about why consumers are buying your products, and learn how products are being used for other than their intended purposes. This information can help you market your products better, and discover product niches that you may not have thought of.

I learned this a few years ago when selling on eBay UK. One buyer clued me in that Preparation H ointment as a wrinkle treatment. (People keep it in the refrigerator and dab it around their eyes in the morning to reduce swelling.) Another buyer left a comment about using Swiffer Sweeper refills as anti-static packing material for computer parts. And yet another buyer informed me that Kool-Aid powder is used as a non-toxic hair dye, or for art projects. Finally, one customer left a feedback that said, “Can’t get this in UK because of health care system.” The product was toothpaste with peroxide – it was not available for purchase in the UK. After reading that comment, I listed almost every brand of toothpaste with peroxide for sale in my UK store, and toothpaste became one of my best sellers.

I recently received this comment after selling a baby monitor, “Great product- does just what I wanted without static. I use it with an elderly parent since I sleep upstairs.” Aha. I had purchased quite a few baby monitors and surveillance systems on clearance from Babies R Us last summer. They all sold well at at least $20 profit. Later I learned that people also use baby monitors to monitor their pets kept in another part of the house or basement.

The point I want to make here is to pay attention to the feedback comments your buyers leave. Listen to your customers so you can provide the products they want.

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Canned Pumpkin Shortage - Big Money on eBay and Amazon!

The Northeast has had unfavorable weather conditions this year - flooding from Hurricane Irene, a wetter than normal spring, and fungus problems. The South has suffered record heat and drought. This combination of a tough growing season has caused a pumpkin shortage, which in turn, has caused a canned pumpkin shortage and rising prices.

Contrary to a press release by Libby's (the major supplier of canned pumpkin), shelves are bare in many grocery stores across the country. Back in August, Libby's stated,

“While much of the country has been suffering from unusually high temperatures this summer, the weather seems to be perfect for growing pumpkin! That’s right, thanks to Mother Nature and the hard work of the dedicated pumpkin farmers in Morton, Illinois – the pumpkin capital of the world! – Libby’s Pumpkin is happy to report that consumers will be able to find a bountiful supply of their beloved pumpkin on grocer’s shelves in plenty of time for the 2011 holiday season.”

So, you be the judge. I've checked the grocery stores in my area around Atlanta, GA. There are a few straggler cans of pumpkin, but it is far from plentiful. Retail price for a small can of pumpkin is $1.39 and for a large 29 oz can $3.69 at the stores I checked. Here are some completed listings on eBay:

Overall, there are not so many completed listings with sales on eBay.

Amazon prices are even higher and grocery items sell better on Amazon. Check out this listing:

Stats on some Amazon listings:

12 can case of 29 oz cans: SR = 37K in grocery, 9 sellers, 1 FBA, AZ does not have it

24 can case of 15 oz cans: SR= 41K in grocery, 6 sellers, no FBA, AZ does not have it

4 pack of 29 oz cans: SR= 11K in grocery, 6 sellers, no FBA, AZ does not have it

(Please note that prices may vary in different areas of the country.) Whether there is a shortage or not, people are sure paying a premium for canned pumpkin online right now. If they are buying online, the prices are steep. Seasonal products can be very lucrative - timing is everything. Check your stores and see what you can find! Be sure to do your own research on this product before stocking up to sell and understand that market conditions can change quickly.

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Niche Product - Zumba Dance Accessories

One of the newest exercise fads is Zumba. It is a workout that combines a variety of music with dance steps that tone your body and provide a great cardio workout. Zumba targets your arms, legs, and abs while you burn fat. Plus, it’s easy and fun – always a plus for exercise!

Zumba uses mostly Latin music, similar to the type you would hear in a dance club. It also mixes Latin dancing such as Salsa and Flamenco with aerobic moves, making Zumba exercise more fun than just using weights and a treadmill. Zumba is low impact as well, which means it is great for beginners and people with a more advanced fitness level.

Although Zumba was only developed in 2001, Zumba’s website states that their program is not only the largest dance and fitness program around, but that it is also the most successful one. They have over 12 million people in weekly classes all around the world.

Zumba’s popularity has led to the creation of a large variety of products which are sold in brick and mortar stores and internet stores such as Amazon and eBay. There are Zumba books, toning sticks, clothes, CDs, DVDs, shirts, shoes, and even dumbbells designed specifically for Zumba exercise. The amazing popularity of Zumba means that these products are hot sellers right now.

According to Terapeak, the word “Zumba” results in a 69% sell through rate over a 30 day period. You will see Zumba items in the categories of clothing, sporting goods, video games, and DVDs. A 69% STR indicates an item is very popular and will sell quickly.





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Niche Product – Personal Care Wipes

One of the best ways to build an eBay business is to sell a consumable product. This helps keep your business consistent because the buyers will need to make regular purchases as their item runs out. There are many types of consumable products you can sell, but one slightly unusual one you should consider is personal care wipes.

There is a wide variety of personal care wipes available – baby wipes, of course, but there are also wipes designed to remove make up, wipes for bathing, sunscreen wipes, feminine wipes, and adult wipes. The market has expanded in an effort to make things easier for consumers – and it seems to have succeeded.

The success of personal care wipes has even led to new products. Manufacturers introduced children’s flushable wipes, which led to toiletries intended specifically for children. Existing products have also found new uses. Large pads that were designed to be used by medical professionals visiting patients at home are now being used by soldiers overseas who don’t have access to showers.

Personal care wipes are a growing field. Sales have grown around 6-7% in the US alone. Plus, personal care wipes have higher profit margins than many other products, including baby wipes. This makes them a great choice to sell online.

While selling personal care wipes may seem unusual, it is a field with healthy growth and frequent new additions. Because people are always looking for better ways to do things and ways to make their lives easier, the personal care wipes market is unlikely to go away.

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Niche Products to Sell on eBay

Below is a list of niche products that have been featured on the eBay Coach blog. Keep in mind that niche products are a moving target. What may have been hot 90 days ago may not be hot now. Products change, consumer preferences change, technology changes, and the economy changes. This list is meant to provide you with insight into the types of products that may be good sellers in the future and product categories to pay attention to. Also included in this list are links to helpful articles that contain information on how to research, recognize, and discover niche products to sell online.

Niche Products:

5 Pet Product Niches

Christmas Ornaments

Cigar Boxes

Cool Gadgets

Designer Maternity Jeans

Flight Socks

Geocaching Supplies

iPad Accessories

Kool Aid

Repurposed Cashmere

Sublingual HCG Drops

Zumba Products