Once the customer places the order with you on eBay, it is up to you to place the order with the wholesale company. But from that point on, as the drop shipper, you lose a lot of control. You have to rely on that wholesaler company to have the inventory promised, price promised, address placed correctly and ship timing promised and get that product out to your customer. All you can do is sit back and wait and hope that you have chosen the right distributor to get the product to your customers.
At this point in any smart entrepreneurs mind when considering drop shipping, although it can save a ton of money on overhead, it is only a solid business plan if the right, reputable and dependable wholesaler can be found and used. How can that be done is the popular question on everyones lips every time I attend an eBay LIVE! Conference or am at an eBay education seminar. Drop shipping sounds like such an easy idea, and with all the infomercials out there telling us how much money can be made on eBay using wholesalers....it sounds like a piece of cake, right. Lets all just open up eBay Stores and start making thousands of dollars in profits in only months!!!!
BACK TO REALITY PEOPLE.....
Just like most infomercials and products featured in this kind of marketing that you see on TV, just like it says in fine print at the bottom of the screen "Results not typical, each story in unique" Truth be told, like I said there is money to be made using eBay and dropshipping product to your customers. In fact, when in the Powerseller area for eBay LIVE in 2006, most of the platinum powersellers that I met, that were there with MORE THAN 2 employees EACH, were earning a living for themselves and their employees full time working on eBay with various drop shippers and had never inventoried an item in their entire eBay Career.
These people were at eBay LIVE! as Titanium and Platinum level powersellers and the majority were drop shippers simply there to enjoy themselves while the hard work to build their eBay Store was done and other than order placement, the stores could practically run themselves. More proof that it can be done, but proof that as the small print says at the bottom of the screen on these TV infomercials can be translated into:
"Results not typical, each story is unique" = Your results won't be profitable, without some Hard Work"
As with any business and any search for something that is of value, finding it should be hard work and take effort, making the receipt of said object all the more meaningful in the end. Just remember what to look for and what NOT to look for in a reputable wholesaler and educate yourself before being scammed by those "for a small fee anyone can sell our product" type companies.
eBay is one of the most well known websites online today and you can take advantage of this fact by selling products on eBay. Here we share some success secrets for effective selling.
Do Careful Market Research before Choosing Products
If you are going to be selling on eBay professionally then it is important to start your business with careful market research and learn what is going to sell. Do keyword research using keyword tools such as the AdWords keyword tool and Wordtracker, look at the eBay Hot Items list, look in forums and see what people are buying.
If You Don't Have One Yet, Get a Paypal Account
Most eBay buyers use PayPal to pay and some may even be turned off bidding if you do not accept PayPal. If you can not accept PayPal then it is probably best to consider another way to make money online.
Find Drop Shipping Products
In order to make money online with eBay you should look for drop shipping products. Although you may make a little money by selling personal items, if you want to sell a lot then you will either need to be able to manufacture these items yourself constantly or else get drop shipping products. Drop shipping is usually a lot easier and saves you time to concentrate on marketing.
Learn Basic HTML
In order to successfully make money online with eBay you should also learn basic HTML to help customize your sales pages. This would also be useful if you want to start up another website to promote your eBay business or drop ship products.
Promote Your eBay Business as You Would Any Other Online Business
Learn internet marketing techniques and use these to promote your eBay business. Although some people may find you directly through the eBay pages, you will make a lot more money by promoting your business through other means as well.
eBay is a great way to make money online as it allows you to get traffic from one of the most well known websites on the internet today. In order to start a successful eBay business you should do some careful market research first to discover what people are buying on eBay and get yourself a PayPal account. Customize your sales pages with basic HTML and then promote your eBay business using other internet marketing techniques.
Ebay is one of the most popular web sites on the World Wide Web today. Ebay income can be easy and fun. You need to be consistent in what you are doing. There are many people who are trying to make money through eBay. Not all of them are successful in doing so. There are few points which are very important in this regard. Many people overlook such points and as a result these people are not able to make money through Ebay. If you want to make money through eBay, you need to know certain secrets. Pay attention towards these secrets and you will succeed.
1. The first and the most important thing is that most people start investing their money and their time in eBay without understating the web site itself. First of all you need to know how the website works. This will help you in making the right judgments.
2. The products you choose to auction on eBay should be high selling ones. Although there are buyers for almost every product on the internet, but the high selling products give you more profit.
3. You must choose the right category of products on eBay.
4. The auctions should be carried out on weekends. This will ensure a higher participation of people.
5. Promote your auctions properly. Try to auction as many products through eBay as possible. This will increase your earning through eBay.
These are few of the secrets which you need to know to succeed in making money through eBay. A lot of people are doing it. You can also do it. Pay attention to these small points and make a lot of money as a result.