Is Wholesale Buying Good For Your eBay Business?

Anyone new to eBay probably starts by selling unwanted personal and household items and is often surprised how much they make on this hitherto ‘worthless’ stuff.  The selling bug bites and there’s nothing left in the house to sell?  Now what? 

The most common step is to decide between selling rare and one-off items such as collectibles and antiques or bits and pieces picked up at flea markets and auctions; or opt instead for consumer goods with regular selling potential such as clothing and household goods, pet supplies, garden furniture and business-to-business equipment.

Those one-off items are frequently big profit makers, often they break auction price records.  But as more people get to know about sometimes incredible high prices fetched on eBay, the more intense bidding becomes at local auctions, the more established traders start buying at flea markets before the public arrives, and the less scope there is for smaller and inexperienced traders to cash in on these fabulous ‘miracle finds’.

No such restrictions exist on buying consumer goods from wholesalers, and this is usually the best way to grow a profitable eBay business, and the reason it’s also top product sourcing choice of all the world’s top eBay sellers.

BENEFITS OF BUYING WHOLESALE

Like me, I suggest you use ‘Wholesale’ to include all means of obtaining goods in bulk at a discount on typical retail values, especially eBay prices.  So we’re including traditional wholesalers here, alongside manufacturers, job lot specialists, liquidation auctions, and so on. 

This is what makes wholesale buying so special:

*  Usually the more product you buy the lower unit prices become and the greater your profit margins will be. 

*  Wholesale products with reliable repeat supply lend themselves to multi-purchase buys, second chance offers, and back end selling to established buyers, and you can sell several times from one listing fee and you can use the same listing templates over and over again without changing anything.  It’s the way virtually all top eBay sellers work and it’s not only easy and effective but very profitable, too, even on a limited budget.  The process can change a small unit profit margin into a huge income earner on most repeat buy products. That’s because it’s by no means unusual to find ten or twenty different people bidding on one item fetching, say $20 unit profit, and half or more of those people accepting a second chance offer and generating $200 profit or much more on one listing.

Important: It’s very tempting to buy all you can at low prices but you must be careful not to over-stock on items that are cheap but don’t actually sell.  Instead look for wholesalers selling products individually and in bulk which means you can buy once to test number of bidders and price potential before buying in quantity later.   If you are quick, and your supplier is reliable, you might even make second chance offers immediately the auction ends, take payment and call next day cash in hand to buy more stock. 

*  Traditional wholesalers, the only type you want to buy from, get their products directly from manufacturers, as such these middlemen better understand their products and have close connections with manufacturers for further supplies, spare parts and repairs. Beware too many brokers in the chain between yourself and the manufacturer, called sub-wholesalers, who usually buy in bulk from liquidation auctions and job lot companies and rarely have contact with manufacturers. The more remote the link between those from whom you buy the product and those who actually made it, the more people are sharing in the profits and the smaller your profit margins will be.  Also the less chance you have to obtain replacement goods and back up support.

Advice: Try to avoid sub-wholesalers, and most dropshippers, except for products you have tested and found to be profitable.  The best scenario is to eliminate the middleman altogether and buy or have products dropshipped direct from the manufacturer. 

*  Niche markets are potentially most profitable of all, especially if you find a manufacturer or reliable wholesaler of unusual items that are not currently listed on eBay.  Niche markets are those whose members share a distinct interest or characteristic, such as dog art, adult material, racing and gambling plans, country music, scrapbooking materials, magic tricks, and much more besides.   

By their very nature niche markets are smaller than general markets comprising people buying food, clothing, toys, and other essential items.  But niche market buyers are among the most enthusiastic buyers of all and many will continue spending big time for the lifetime of their interest. 

Anyone who finds a supplier of niche market products not currently being sold on eBay stands to make incredible profits from a handful of products and only one point of supply.  It’s worth spending as long as it takes to find your niche.  When you find it, look for a supplier, preferably local, obtain a few products, list them on eBay, determine selling and profit potential, then form a contract with the supplier guaranteeing you sole eBay distribution rights.