Do U Ebay?

[Ali G]

Ooops, I lied. Thanks Duncan for making me realise.

I have bought things on eBay for personal use and then sold them on eBay later on when I no longer wanted them. Now that I think about it, I have only ever profited from this. One item I bought sold for three times what I paid for it. I couldn't believe my eyes!

Now I feel stupid about my previous post...

 

[Peter 14.7]

Ooops, I lied. Thanks Duncan for making me realise.

I have bought things on eBay for personal use and then sold them on eBay later on when I no longer wanted them. Now that I think about it, I have only ever profited from this. One item I bought sold for three times what I paid for it. I couldn't believe my eyes!

Now I feel stupid about my previous post...

Ditto.

That the great thing. Ebay recycles.

Peter 147

 

[thefirstbruce]

Re ebay, when living in the USA, I saw guys chew away most of their downtime trading. They got unhealthy and obssessive. Defence force personnel seemed to be the worst. They had heaps of down time, and access to the net all day, and were often away from places where they could spend money more conventionally.

I bought a few pieces of computer equipment when living in the USA in 2001-2002. I was reminded how much things are out of your control when UPS left a refurbished notebook computer I bid $1000AUD for, to a house at the other end of the street. Fortunately, the uni student occupants were honest enough to bring it up when they got home. It had been left on their porch. My complaints to UPS didn't seem to faze UPS customer relations.

I am currently checking out ebay again after not visiting it in 2 years. Seems commercial listings are up heaps. And I am finding the effort one goes to to ensure unseen product is legit, wastes much time. Staying informed as an intelligent consumer seems to be getting more time consuming.

 

[Steve KKK]

I bought a few pieces of computer equipment when living in the USA in 2001-2002. I was reminded how much things are out of your control when UPS left a refurbished notebook computer I bid $1000AUD for, to a house at the other end of the street. Fortunately, the uni student occupants were honest enough to bring it up when they got home. It had been left on their porch. My complaints to UPS didn't seem to faze UPS customer relations.

I have recently had some bad experiences with UPS locally. They don't seem to communicate internally very well and when you urgently need an item cleared through their customs brokers but the brokers don't seem to want to contact you to help clear the package, it all gets a little bit frustrating.

My advise is, if you can, avoid using or have others send you items via UPS. I have had some recent dealing with FedEx and they came across much more helpful and efficient.

 

[Steve KKK]

Does anybody buy stuff on Ebay and then resell it on Ebay for a profit ??????

GG

I have on a number of occasions bought items on eBay from o/s and re-sold them locally. The trick is finding things cheap enough to make a profit from after you take into account all your costs.

Shipping costs are the killer. A hint is to buy in bulk (or at least a number of items at the one time) so that the shipping charges are averaged out over the whole shipment and therefore bringing your add-on charges per item down to reasonable level so that when you do sell them locally, you can actually make a profit.

 

[4GH1RH]

I agree that shipping costs are crucial! A friend of mine's first experience with Ebay was selling his wind surfer for $1. Of course the shipping was a nightmare.

I was charged $25 for shipping the pressure cleaner I bought, but when It arrived I saw that the postage was $54. Hope they had a good margin.

Some items actually seem to aim to make profit from the P&P as that is sometimes more than the item itself.

As for selling stuff, I find the shipping a total pain. I am too disorgainsed to coordinate visits to the post office etc!

 

[Simon]

There is a growing trend for India and China based retailers to sell what looks like complete bargains on jewelry, antiques etc. They can have incredible shipping fees hidden in the ad - upwards of $100 in some cases.

You will notice that these "bargains" have very few bids.

Cheers,

 

[Gordon Gekko]

Importing

Hi All,

Has anybody gone to the lengths of importing products to sell on Ebay. A friend of a friend imported 2000 corkscrews ( the nice ones ) and sold them in lots of 24.

Is anybody doing this??

GG

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Hi Gordon

I'll be bringing in a container of gym equipment in about 2 months.
Brought in a container of 38 pool tables a few weeks ago and sold 30 already.
Another on its way.
Looking for more product with potential.
eBay is an awesome international marketplace to sell product at a tiny cost per sale generated. I see it as a great part time income which anybody can achieve, potentially leading to becoming a full time business.


Regards

Adrian

 

[thefirstbruce]

Adrian, what gym equipment are you bringing in? I have been in the market for a couple of spinner bikes, and note a couple of guys on ebay must have brought in containers (symart88). I emailed one of the previous buyers who was happy with the product. The spin bike workout is flavour of the month in gyms. And I recommend them to a lot of clients in my physiotherapy practice.

I was also after a light mobile massage table. These retail in Brisbane for $300+.
Someone is selling them in bulk and I have seen them sell at $85. Previous buyers said quality was good as local product.

If you know any reliable manufacturers of gym equipment in China, I am interested in getting them to build something for general rehab purposes....basically, it would be a cable pulley construction with one stack of weights.

Would also appreciate hearing of your experiences sourcing product, and getting it into a container and into Oz. Do customs hold things up? and are freight costs high? And do things tend to go missing at either end? Do you need some sort of importer's licence for this stuff.

Any comment appreciated.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Hi 1stbruce

Those spinning bikes and magnetic resistance bikes are on my order list. (symart88) has been getting way too much market all to himself and I will soon be relieving him of some of that.

Re retail prices for this type of equipment, these are not a good indication as they are marked up by 1000% of cost at times.

I have sold some pool tables on ebay for 170% of what the rrp would be.

For sourcing check out some online sites like alibaba.com, globalsources.com, etc

Don't require a license to import.

A 20' container would cost about $1500 aud from certain ports in China.

The 1st container I got a month ago got picked up by quarantine randomly to be inspected, so it has to get transported to their yard which means more costs.

No problems with misssing stock so far.

Regards

Adrian

 

[Ruby]

(symart88) has been getting way too much market all to himself and I will soon be relieving him of some of that.

I've previously purchased off symart88 and was very happy with the product and quality. Not one of the bikes though!

What I did like about this seller is that, although he is based in Sydney he has set up fulfilment companies in Melbourne and Brisbane making pickup so much easier. In Melbourne, it’s a freight company’s warehouse and all you do is take along your emailed packing slip and they give you the correctly labelled boxes. I thought it was a great idea and would increase the seller’s marketplace when products are too large and heavy for cost effective shipping. Might be an idea to keep in mind for any serious sellers out there!

Looking forward to seeing what you have Adrian!! You are right symart88 has had it way too good lately.

Ruby

 

[thefirstbruce]

Adrian, re symart88, My correspondence with him left a really poor impression.
He may be Asian with very poor English, as I emailed asking if I could inspect bikes before buying (lots of quality variation in spin bikes). I got this answer that is totally illogical.

If you are interested, I think there are big efficiencies in having a warehouse presence in Syd.Mel.Bris for distribution, and inspection by careful buyers. Would get rid of a lot of freight overhead (at least the time to organize and'or pack). I would be interested in doing a JV in this field.

I think if you market your products well, and have good customer communications, you will blitz these guys who don't speak english.

Can I take it you haven't had direct dealings with the manufacturers of your products, but just sourced them via alibaba and globalsources?

 

[thefirstbruce]

Our posts crossed Ruby. Am thinking the same as you re warehouse pickup sites.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Hi,

Thanks Ruby and the first bruce for the inside info, might have to steal that method for myself in future expansion.

Firstbruce, deals were made directly with manufacturer. Product ordered to my specification adapted from previous models they had manufactured in the past. You can ask them to make anything for you and if it is possible they will do it.

I might have to give symart88 an email requesting an inspection and see what he gives up.


Regards

Adrian

 

[SugarFreeGum]

I run a powerseller account for my work, but we haven't imported anything directly as yet.

What freight forwarding companies do you find the best?
And do they handle everything from the goods leaving the factory in Asia to the goods arriving at your door?

Also do goods have to be fumigated, how is this process handled?

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Hi Sugarfrreegum

If there is any wood based material in the container then it must be fumigated. Much cheaper to get it done over there. Just tell the supplier to take care of it and get the certificate.

I have only done the 1 container so far and my wife organised with a shipping contact she had in China to get the goods here. Then you have to clear the goods and find a freight forwarder to take it from here. You could probably just do all the shipping requirements from here and they will organise all of it for you.


Regards

Adrian

 

[Ruby]

What freight forwarding companies do you find the best?
And do they handle everything from the goods leaving the factory in Asia to the goods arriving at your door?

For any containers or large shipments we use.......

International Trade Management P/L
4 Aviation Place
TULLAMARINE VIC 3043
Ph: 03-9335-5133
Fax: 03-9335-5364

Give Bruce Rutter a call or email him at [email protected] We've always found them to be very helpful and they handle everything.

For smaller air freighted shipments we find it more cost effective to just use Fed Ex. It really just depends on what you are importing.

Ruby

 

[thefirstbruce]

Hi,


I might have to give symart88 an email requesting an inspection and see what he gives up.


Regards

Adrian

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
me
I am interested in inspecting these exercise bikes before buying 3. The reason being that there is significant variation in build quality for spinner bikes, and I won't bid unless I experience the quality of this unknown brand name.

I live in Brisbane on the north side. Would you be open to personal inspection?

symart88
no worry, we don't have a store front
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

no address provided, so I presume when he says no worry, he doesn't know what it means.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

firstbruce,

That reply by symart is typical asian style talk.
They have a tendency to leave the endings off their words...

Adrian