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We Need Some Business Advice!


Gene Steinberg

Forum Super Hero
Staff member
Mrs. Steinberg, Barbara, and her sister, Helene, are aching to get into business for themselves despite the obstacles in this economy.

Their plan is to begin selling handbags and later other women's accessories, such as wallets and keychains with an emphasis on using eBay as a start. They've located a China-based source of fashionable goods to sell, but they need someone's hard-won retailing advice to make a go of this from a minimal investment.

If anyone here has the appropriate retail experience to mentor them, please let me know via private conversation. I'll put you in touch with Barbara and she can pepper you with questions.

We all are pushing for this to work, and it will with the right advice and planning.

Thanks for you attention.
 
If they are buying from China direct Gene, they should buy escrow, the agent handles everything, quality control, shipping, and customs, import duties etc, let them handle it door to door, best 5% they could spend.

If they want to talk business heres the place to start, The Wholesale Forums

Tell the girls to ask for pete or ron, theres other agents that handle orders there aswell, but those 2 have handled millions of dollars worth of stock from china in the last decade on there, from ordering samples, to choosing a supplier, to quality control inspection, the chinamen trust the agents to pay them, if you dont use an agent you pay up front and get what you given, if you get anything at all, agents are just as dodgy.

gents like pete and ron are worth their weight in gold, never mind 5%.

I hope their lucky with bags, but with a small budget, i would advise niche, one line, multiple outlets,

Shoe lace's would be good, example, trainer laces etc, you get alot of variety for your money, you can sell them cheap or bulk, either way, postage and packaging is cheap.

If you think lace's on ebay is to small fry, i suggest you check, eBay UK Item Purchase History

24k of just one line of laces there alone, just one seller selling one type, numerous colours, i bet those lace's are no more thn 20p delivered from china.
 
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Thanks. I'll send her to the forum to have a look.

Just remember, though, that they are doing with a few dollars, not thousands, and will be ordering merchandise in tiny lots as a test to see if they can sell them. That might be a little much to call in an agent.

In any case, this is one firm they are in contact with (anyone know of them?):

Eastleather
 
The agents are'nt bothered about big, lots do drop shipping, drop shipping is where they hold the stock, you sell it, and get paid, they post it direct from china to the buyer, thats why things are so cheap on ebay, you dont need stock even, you can sell theirs on commission..

you sell it, you get paid, you pay them, they post it, its a freeroll to a bankroll, and an instant exit strategy, with only your time wasted if it dont work out.

anyway be lucky.
 
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Been awhile since i ve been a regular, ask for pete or ron, or greenland, just tell em thinking of taking the china direct route, youve been advised to talk with pete [american living in china, must be 80 now, but dont let that put you off, lives for his work, and a big very efficient setup, or ron, he handles more lines, petes strictly electronics, lots there use his drop shipping service.

Angle shoot the drop-shipping gene, sign up where you can get the best deals, but dont pay anyone for the privilege of selling their stock, no licence, no site fees nothing.

All te info they need is over there.
 
There are also some good books on how to use ebay to best effect.

This is just an example

How to Use eBay and PayPal by Todd Alexander (9780733628092) - Books - The Nile AU

But there are others.

Ive seen some fascinating examples too, one guy was searching for spelling errors.
He had a nice little plan too for example "Peter Pan Figurine" He would search for alternate spelling based on proximity keys

Oeter pan figurines
Peter lan figurines
Peter Pan Gigurines/digurines/cigurines/rigurines.

You get the idea those keys next to the right key, classic typo algorithm

What happens is these typos dont show up in correctly spelled search string, so they dont get bids.
He was buying these misspelled listings low, relisting them with correct spelling and selling them high. joked about how he was selling some items at profit before he even had them delivered in the first instance.

Multiple listings is another tip. Dont just list an item once, find alternative descriptions for the item and list them as that too. increases your chance a search will pick it up

Avoid some items if you can, if you are selling shoes in the US, dont ship to countrys like australia where the sizing convention is different. you will have a higher percentage of returns on these items.

Like any business there are a lots of tricks to the trade. so i recommend some of the books that teach these

How to Use eBay (And Not Get Ripped Off) | eHow
 
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Well, my wife, Barbara, and her sister Helene have made a first foray into selling stuff on eBay.

They found a wholesaler with really great stuff and have posted a few items already, such as:

Handbag Republic Designer Inspired Fashion Handbag with Polka Dots Trim | eBay

Bora Bora Designer Inspired Fashion Handbag with Graphic Print | eBay

Loem Designer Inspired Fashion Handbag with Rhinestone Decor | eBay

Handbag Republic Designer Inspired Denim w Bone Satchel | eBay

Your comments about the merchandise selections and suggestions to help them make a go of this venture are welcome.

Yes, I suppose it's an ad of sorts, rather than just links, but it's my forum, so. :D
 
Of course, new businesses hit rough marks. The very first order came quickly. But the package, sent via USPS Priority Mail, is in "In Transit" hell and never reached the customer. So Barbara will probably have to send a replacement, and hope the insurance claim will be paid one of these days.

But the real craziness occurred when we auctioned off a designer leather jacket owned by my recently-deceased brother-in-law. The winning bidder on eBay disappeared and never paid for the item, so it has to be relisted. Sigh.
 
Facebook local groups, theres dozens here i put stuff on, they are the best for price, see they are just normal shoppers, they pay £50 for something, and dont use it, they think offering it for £30 is fine, they are offering someone a bargain, they also think buying like that is good, buy/sell/exchange groups, womans groups etc.
 
Of course, new businesses hit rough marks. The very first order came quickly. But the package, sent via USPS Priority Mail, is in "In Transit" hell and never reached the customer. So Barbara will probably have to send a replacement, and hope the insurance claim will be paid one of these days

if it was going anywhere to so cal I'm willing to bet you dollars to donuts the black hole of bell gardens sucked it up
Google
 
Mrs. Steinberg, Barbara, has had some health issues in recent years, but she and her sister, Helene, are aching to get into business for themselves despite the obstacles in this economy.

Their plan is to begin selling handbags and later other women's accessories, such as wallets and keychains with an emphasis on using eBay as a start. They've located a China-based source of fashionable goods to sell, but they need someone's hard-won retailing advice to make a go of this from a minimal investment.

If anyone here has the appropriate retail experience to mentor them, please let me know via private conversation. I'll put you in touch with Barbara and she can pepper you with questions.

We all are pushing for this to work, and it will with the right advice and planning.

Thanks for you attention.

Gene,

I am in a similar process myself right now. However my focus is on Pillows & Linens as this is the industry in which my experience lies. I have decided to pursue a website rather than going the Amazon/Ebay route although I have sold product through both marketplaces in the past.

Have the wife look at startupbros.com/. I am in no way affiliated with the site but I have received a wealth of mentoring & I am learning how to safely navigate the alibaba marketplace & the ups and downs that come with importing products from overseas. At no charge I might add. The information I have gleaned from these guys encouraged me to visit namecheap to purchase a URL & I am presently working toward my goal of launching my own website. That said they do focus majorly on selling through ebay & amazon as well so she should find some information relevant to her business. This webinar may be of some help.. How You Can EXPLOIT the Holiday Sales Rush for Maximum Financial Gains!

Use the filters on the alibaba marketplace if she's using it. Select gold suppliers & select the escrow filter like someone else said. You'll avoid scams & rip offs. Hope this helps!
 
Gene,

I am in a similar process myself right now. However my focus is on Pillows & Linens as this is the industry in which my experience lies. I have decided to pursue a website rather than going the Amazon/Ebay route although I have sold product through both marketplaces in the past.

Have the wife look at startupbros.com/. I am in no way affiliated with the site but I have received a wealth of mentoring & I am learning how to safely navigate the alibaba marketplace & the ups and downs that come with importing products from overseas. At no charge I might add. The information I have gleaned from these guys encouraged me to visit namecheap to purchase a URL & I am presently working toward my goal of launching my own website. That said they do focus majorly on selling through ebay & amazon as well so she should find some information relevant to her business. This webinar may be of some help.. How You Can EXPLOIT the Holiday Sales Rush for Maximum Financial Gains!

Use the filters on the alibaba marketplace if she's using it. Select gold suppliers & select the escrow filter like someone else said. You'll avoid scams & rip offs. Hope this helps!

How does it work your end pigsinzen, importing from china, i mean you pay duty and or taxes at point of entry, but do you only pay duty/tax on the value of the goods, or the whole invoice, here they include shipping.
 
Yes, this is a concern we had. Barbara and Helene decided to use U.S.-based wholesales so they didn't have to mess with any of that. Perhaps the cost is higher, but the convenience and predictability outweigh such concerns.
 
Im going to run something by Gene, you may not realise it, but trade forums may seem helpful, and they are, but no-one on them is going to tell you their secret place's to buy, they dont the competition.

You talked about buying wholesale, which is o.k., but he is taking a chunk of your profit, thats o.k. to, if the profit is big enough whilst being competitive price wise on ebay.

Now i dont know your big chain store names, walmart i know that one, so use that as an example.

Reverse logistics, and centralised storage.
If you can locate their trade outlet, this is how it works.

They auction their surplus stock, plus returns, they have different grades of stock, they have huge amounts on a daily basis, now i know your probably thinking but we only have a few dollars, but thats all you need in some cases, just because they are huge, doesnt you have to be to buy their surplus's which are now just a costly burden to them.

Anything they sell, the remants of stock will be getting sent back from stores utilising floor space more effeciently, this means you can get goods they are still selling at 10/20% of retail, which is far below wholesale in the majority of cases.

I will give you a hypothetical then a real example from a high street store giant in the UK.

You find a trade entrance for a major retailer, you can buy 1 pallet of shampoo, a well know shampoo, retails for $4
You have paid 80c per unit for 500, you now sell them on ebay for $5 for 2, no-one on ebay or amazon can match that price, as the Brand is £3 wholesale with taxes paid.

You have only put out $400 Your return is $1,250, you only need to sell the first 3/400 dollars worth too be able then to buy another branded product by the pallet, and add a second line.

real life example

Argos Trade Clearance Auctions

Big UK chain store


Grade A, perfect retail condition stock, i mentioned shampoo, because there was a pallet the other day, around 18% rrp including delivery, they usually go on min bids dont often see many bidding squabbles.

Most of the big retailers have long relationships with auction houses, prefered agents, you just have to keep asking, and looking, as i said people are reluctant to share their secret places.
 
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