Ebay Power Seller?

[crazi_daisy]

I would like to be a ebay power seller. I know that the rules say you have to makea profit of at least $1,000.a month for three consecutive months. That is a problem when you do not make much money. Is anyone on ehre a ebay power seller and can give me an idea of how to get started and make some money? I know I can't make any 1,000 a month but ideas of how others are making money on ebay let me knowplease?

I had the idea of buying in bulk, but what should i buy in bulk?i know cell phones make money but its a lot of money to start outwith. anyone have any ideas?help!help!

[GINA]

Why do you want to be a Power Seller?

[VW2.0Driver]

You really need a good thing to sell in order to make it big on ebay.

It either needs to be a Hot ticket item, or something everyone wants.

Not sure what else to tell you. But there are no ways to skirt the methods of becoming a power seller

[Moviequill]

I have been selling vintage advertising on ebay since 1998 and only one 2 year period was I able to keep up my Power Seller status. It really is no benefit.

[BUGINME]

I have been selling on ebay for almost three years and since I sell inexpensive items--most under $4.50, I will never be a Power Seller. Really doesn't mean much. Your feedback rating is much more important to buyers.

[dnyed]

Yes, I agree. Your reputation is way more valuable than being a "Power Seller".

I'd rather buy from a "mom and pop" operation, than a "corporation" on eBay, any day.

Just sell your stuff, be honest, ship timely, and you'll do fine.

[BAMABUG]

I shop on ebay from time to time and I've seen power sellers with terrible feedback ratings. I agree with the others, your reputation is more important than being a power seller. But if that's what you want to do go for it, just make sure you're fair and honest

[Oyveychris]

My wife and I were power sellers for awhile, but it seriously takes up a huge slice of your life, much like a real full time job....

[Herbie3Rivers]

Plus it's hard to make a living on just selling on eBay. I sell cars through work on there and all it is for me is extra income. I can't retire off it and it certainly doesn't match my salary. You could easily end up spending more than you'll make selling.

[ursabug]

I've been on eBay for over 6 years now, and I've had some real ups and downs with it.

As has been said, reputation is the top thing. For example, it's worth sending the buyer's money back if their $THING_THEY_BOUGHT arrived broken or not at all (if the item is not a zillion dollars' value). A negative or neutral is not worth saving $10 along the way.

Also, communication is very important. 1)Thanks for buying, here are payment and shipping details, 2)Thanks for your payment! I'm shipping your item $date. 3)Your item has shipped. I hope you enjoy it. Communication leads to better feedback, and repeat sales (sometimes).

If you want to actually make money at it, you need to investigate some things first (I'm sure there are more, these are just from my experience).

*Find an easy way to package and ship your items out to customers. Make it as efficient and easy as possible. Make it low cost if possible. Get packing materials for free if you can (I get packing foam pellets from Mrs. Bear's hair stylist - they throw it away by the garbage-bag-full because it is an annoyance). You can use USPS priority shipping and have stuff picked up at your house. Yes, it's more expensive for the customer to spend $4.05 for Priority, but it is some of the most reliable USPS shipping, is really quick, is priced reliably, and you can print postage from your home computer and your own printer. First class is another ball of wax and requires more set up to use. If you want to use First Class, find the cheapest accurate scale and the cheapest postage printing device you can get.. make sure that it is easy to "refill" postage.

*Another packaging thing: Pack things like you want to see them arrive to you... don't put an iPod in a bubble envelope or a USPS flat-rate priority envelope to save money... the USPS will crush stuff very often. VERY often.

*Find a product or set of products that are really easy to package - especially when they're low-cost items. If you're going to make $1.98 net profit from selling some awkwardly-shaped item (like a lamp or a sculpture), it's not worth it. It will take you too much time to deal with it. Coins are easy to package, as are small electronics, and electronics accessories, for example.

*Encourage the use of genuine USPS money orders (Something like: "Free first-class shipping when you pay with a genuine USPS money order!"), or decide how to deal with personal checks. PayPal/Credit Card Vendors (like VISA) cost quite a bit - but you have to balance profitability here: PayPal-enabled auctions DO get more hits, more sales, and more bidding wars -at a cost. Be sure to figure the cost of credit/debit acceptance into your profitability.

*Make a great "about me" eBay page. Mine pretty much sucks, but it didn't take much time, either. A great, professional eBay "me" page does good things for many buyers.

*PowerSeller status doesn't help too much. I've been both a PowerSeller and not - I didn't see a difference in sales back when I was selling hundreds of dollars of stuff a month. At times (not all the time), PowerSeller actually becomes a stigma - there are PowerSellers that have hundreds of negatives. If you're a PowerSeller making bundles for eBay, they tend to look the other way on negative feedback. If you a mom-and-pop shop that sells $300 a month, and get a few negs, they'll drop you immediately...

*Don't charge huge "and handling" fees. Some "and handling" is just fine. Many buyers don't bid on auctions like this: "BIN price $.99, S&H $12.99" for a $2.00 item. If eBay doesn't come after you for fee avoidance, people will generally not find customer relations a good thing.

*Have fun. If it isn't fun or insanely profitable, don't do it. Life's too short.

There are a zillion more, but I'll stop there - I'm rambling.

Good luck with your eBay adventures!

[crazi_daisy]

I know i cant be a power seller, i jsut asked how others did it or what you sold to do it. i am honest. i want to know what i can sell in bulk and make some profit off of.
my brother works with a guy who done this:

took a piece of bread, toasted it, cut out darth vaders face in it, heated it up in the microwave and made it black by heat, and sold it on ebay for 10.00

im not looking to sell dumb stuff like this, thats just what i heard yesterda.y my thought for the day -dumb people are online too! lol

i was mentioned, clothings sizes you cant buy in stores. like, victoria's secret underwear that is plus size, they dont have them in stores you have to buy them online, so icould sell them one at a time, fair price not over charging, like bid starts at 1.00 or something.
my idea <

[GINA]

Originally Posted by crazi_daisy

dumb people are online too! lol

You don't say!!


Just to throw in my 2 pennies, it sounds like to be a power seller you really have to be committed. You may even have to lose some money before you start seeing profit. I don't have experience though, I've only sold a couple things on Ebay. I'm usually the one spending my money there

[FlwrPwer]

The Victoria's Secret idea is not a good one, just to let you know. Reason being, their plus size bras usually cost upwards of $48.00. You start the bidding at $1.00 and sell it for maybe $10, you're not making any money. You're buying the merchandise, but not making a profit off of it.

My sister has tried repeatedly to sell things on ebay. We live near a huge outlet mall. She has sold countless items from designer brands that she has gotten very cheap. The problem is, these items are things people are looking to get cheap. If they wanted to spend full-price on a Burberry bag, they'll go to Bloomingdale's where they know it's real.

She has pretty much given up her quest and is now just selling things she no longer uses. Her most recent: a $140 Dooney and Bourke bag that she is starting bidding at $25 for. She doesn't use it though, so she figured why not.

You have to look at what people want and what is hard to find. For example, the new Tickle Me Elmos (or whatever they're called now). Come Christmas, they're going to be hard to find and people will start to spend whatever they can on this item just to have it. Same will probably go for the new Wii--the game console. You have to know your merchandise and what people are in the market to buy.

Think about beanie babies. I had a friend make enough to put a $3,000 down payment on a car just by selling her beanie babies on ebay. Now, you can't get $2 for one. It's a very tricky business.

[GINA]

Originally Posted by FlwrPwer

Same will probably go for the new Wii--the game console. You have to know your merchandise and what people are in the market to buy.

Don't you DARE do this! How rude! There are some of us that camp out for these things because WE want to play them. Curse the people that buy them on launch day and sell them on Ebay.

...not that I'm a camper or anything.

By the way, the new Tickle Me Elmo I think is called TMX Elmo. TICKLE ME EXTREME!!! Or X = 10, for 10 year anniversary.

[FlwrPwer]

I wouldnt do this Gina, dont worry. This is why most stores have a limit on how many you can purchase.

The point I was trying to make is that you have to know what the market is like for certain items.

[GINA]

I know

I like how we're having pretty much the exact same convo here AND in chat

[FlwrPwer]

Originally Posted by GINA

I like how we're having pretty much the exact same convo here AND in chat

I feel everyone can benefit from our infinite wiseness

[VW2.0Driver]

Originally Posted by crazi_daisy

-dumb people are online too!

That sums up this thread

[Shay]

Originally Posted by FlwrPwer

I feel everyone can benefit from our infinite wiseness

Im sorry but

you Karen and GINA ()

[GINA]

Our wiseness. HA! Good one!
Thanks for shouting my name Shay I caught that!


How can I get this back on topic. ...I'm not even gonna try. I'm sorry for hijacking! I'm through here.