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Testing Dropshipping Products On Ebay

by JDSalinger
7 replies
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I plan to use dropshipping to promote certain products on niche websites. The general products are already selling on ebay at this time. However, I am trying to find out which exact products would be the best sellers and potentially use ebay auctions to determine this. I know that some people have used this type of "fake auction" in the past to make these determinations based on the level of bid interest and prices offered. However, I also know that ebay says it may now investigate if they see a number of auctions where the seller backs out 12 hours before the end time.

For those who do dropshipping for niche websites or have done this type of thing before, what has been your experience in this area? Would this method still be effective? Is there another method that is more effective or less risky? Again my goal is to determine quickly which products sell the best prior to putting them on the niche website or do you use another method to determine which products sell the best?
#dropshipping #ebay #products
  • Profile picture of the author ivatel42
    If you use the ebay research data for closed items you will see what sells and for how much. That data is available for about 2 weeks I think or use Terapeak which will give you 90 days of historical data.

    If you are testing something that isn't available on the site buy one to sell unless it's loads of money of course.

    Be careful with dropshipping you need good reliable ones who will treat your business as though it were their own.
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  • Profile picture of the author nyrsimon
    I have a tool in the making (in fact goes into Beta testing today) - shows EXACTLY what has been selling in the last 90 days for a seller. You can research entire categories in minutes

    So until that is ready I would go in and look at closed auctions. Also remember to look at the auction TITLE - makes a huge difference on some niches.

    Simon
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    • Profile picture of the author ivatel42
      Originally Posted by nyrsimon View Post

      Also remember to look at the auction TITLE - makes a huge difference on some niches.
      Thats a good point and clicking through to look at individual auctions as well. you can learn a lot from that.
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  • Profile picture of the author Louise Green
    This will give you some idea of what people are buying eBay Pulse: trends, hot picks, cool stuff and popular searches on eBay.com
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    IMPORTANT MESSAGE: I'm currently on vacation & will answer all messages when I return - Happy Holidays!!
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan Briffa
    Just be careful who you deal with, when i started out i did dropshipping... but picked a bad supplier to do business with.

    In short i had a ton of trouble getting in touch with them after i listed items for sale on ebay and they ever sent out some of the items which i had paid for... saying that they're are good suppliers around... you have to be extra careful though and do research beforehand.

    I moved onto importing product for myself straight from China and rebranding. Built a nice 6 figure income doing that and become a powerseller gold level seller in 6 months. ;-)

    BTW - eBay is a transparent marketplace so you can see which products are selling the best and determine the amount of sales a seller is doing each day.

    It's just a matter of cut and paste but with a twist, try looking for similar products and then rebrand and make your product stand out more.

    Also, use eBay pulse to find markets, a good free resource.

    If you need to know anything else let me know.

    Dan
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    • Profile picture of the author JDSalinger
      Thank you everyone for contributing. There are some solid tips here that I will certainly use. What do you guys suggest for finding out how a product is doing if its not currently being sold on ebay but the niche it is selling in is doing well on ebay?

      For those who have bought a number of these products to test them. How has this worked out for you cost wise as there seems to be a nice little price risk? For example, lets say I auction 20 items that cost $200 a piece. That is $4,000 which is a big investment just for some testing. I know I could get some of the cost back but I would imagine I would get something like 70% of this amount back b/c of the lower pricing on ebay and some products would not sell. How has this method worked out for you guys and are you guys doing any fake auctions where you are pulling product before the 12 hour cutoff?
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      • Profile picture of the author Silas Hart
        Originally Posted by JDSalinger View Post

        Thank you everyone for contributing. There are some solid tips here that I will certainly use. What do you guys suggest for finding out how a product is doing if its not currently being sold on ebay but the niche it is selling in is doing well on ebay?

        For those who have bought a number of these products to test them. How has this worked out for you cost wise as there seems to be a nice little price risk? For example, lets say I auction 20 items that cost $200 a piece. That is $4,000 which is a big investment just for some testing. I know I could get some of the cost back but I would imagine I would get something like 70% of this amount back b/c of the lower pricing on ebay and some products would not sell. How has this method worked out for you guys and are you guys doing any fake auctions where you are pulling product before the 12 hour cutoff?
        Anything similar, with similar information.

        First, use Terapeak, I HATE spending money on monthly fees, but I use TeraPeak and I recommend it to anyone looking to do serious business. I don't just dropship, I dropship from CHINA, and my suppliers don't even know they are apart of my dropshipping business.

        You have to fully stand behind your products, and to do that, at least purcahse one of your items yourself, and sell it on eBay once you get it, even for a slight loss. If you can't afford to do that, you can't afford to dropship because you have to be prepared to offer money back which you've completely lost if you used your customers money to purchase the item and have it sent to them. This is your insurance money, and this breaks or makes most dropshippers. Not only are you having to refund your customer out of your own pocket but you have to offer them something to Not leave you negative feedback because right now, its all about being a Top Rated Seller which absolutely boosts sales.

        I've never done any fake auctions, there's no point. Its easier to purchase one of the products and inspect it and see how long shipping took, then I'll sell that item on eBay. Actually, I always buy TWO of the same item. Why is because with Terapeak, you get to test out this little tool called Title Builder, and it detemines the high sell-through rate based on your title, very similar to how people in IM figure out keywords they want to target. Using the same concept, you have to determine if you want a niche group of people to target your item, or a wide group of people to some-what stumble upon your item and purchase it.

        For example, you are selling a Vtech Phone. More importantly, your phone is a "Vtech LS5145 5.8 GHz 1-Line Cordless Phone" - Do you want to sell it as a "Vtech Slim Cordless Phone" which means a wide range of searches which means either less or More viewers depending on competition and demand, or do you want to sell it as a "Vtech LS5145 5.8 GHz 1-Line Cordless Phone" in which your market is pinpointed? You have to be able to determine how you want to target your product to potential buyers.

        Actually, when searching, I found a guy selling that phone and he's a dropshipper and extremely easy to spot as one. eBay My World - miked41066

        Check out his Feedback.

        Start with one product, and then expand. It sucks knowing that you have the potential of putting 2,000 products on eBay and earning money, but remember that just listing something on eBay is an investment. You need to focus on one product, build an awesome descriptive listing.

        If your product is coming from Rhode Island, you have to say so, even if you are from Arizona.

        RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH. Know how often the product sells, exactly what your profit is AFTER fee's, what kind of people are buying your products, what is the average price sold, then create an awesome listing, and you will be alright.
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