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I'm 19 and I need help with my ebay drop shipping business

by 01123581321345589144
13 replies
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I'm inexperienced in both IM and drop shipping specifically. I recently purchased a WSO on drop shipping with ebay, promising 50-100 a day and I'm really struggling. I have 6 items listed on Ebay, some costlier than others, all of them I've been careful about the price I put.

I tried to do the math like the WSO said, add in the Ebay and Paypal fees, but it makes them very expensive, even if I just want to break even. Now I know that sounds like I have the wrong supplier and maybe i do, but I've been searching and talking to dozens of them and am still struggling.

Any advice you could give me regarding this would be greatly appreciated.

Please don't tell me to get a real job because my medical condition prevents me from doing much other than trying IM on my computer.

THANK YOU
#business #drop #ebay #shipping
  • Profile picture of the author WilliamVillagran
    The problem you are having is that you don't have the right dropshipper. It takes a long time to find the one that will give you the best margins.
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    • Profile picture of the author 01123581321345589144
      Originally Posted by WilliamVillagran View Post

      The problem you are having is that you don't have the right dropshipper. It takes a long time to find the one that will give you the best margins.
      Thanks mate. I'm guessing you won't help me find a good one? Because I swear I've talked to so many people working at these various suppliers and looked at terms and just can't find a good one with good margins. I was also told to only look for China suppliers. I don't know if that's right or not, or neutral. I've been told by people Ebay drop shipping is a horrible idea. I don't know what to think.
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  • Profile picture of the author kjamesnv
    Its very simple. You need products with better margins.

    If you're not able to make sufficient profit with these products then what's the point? Get rid of them and keep looking.
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    • Profile picture of the author 01123581321345589144
      Originally Posted by kjamesnv View Post

      Its very simple. You need products with better margins.

      If you're not able to make sufficient profit with these products then what's the point? Get rid of them and keep looking.
      Thanks man. I guess I'm just looking in all the wrong places
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  • Profile picture of the author johnben1444
    Apparently the problem is you.

    If you have done your pricing and calculations well you should have found out that you
    are going to sell well over than the average price on eBay and that's a big red flag.

    I see no reason why i would buy that same iPhone 5 at $700 when i can get it for $550.

    That's normal, things are a little difficult these days.
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  • Profile picture of the author James Howard
    You need to look at the products you are listing too, if you find someone can beat you on price then move onto a different product. The easy way to do the maths is to add on 15% and it will give you an Idea of what you have to add on.
    For exact maths take your price -3.4% -0.2 (paypal fee) -10% of your price (ebay) and what you are left with after item actual cost is yours.

    I sometimes sell items with only a profit of 50pence but up to £10 on others, I sell more of the smaller items so makes it worth it for the little time it takes to put it the order.

    The time is all on finding the products that will make you money, even if you can only make a little to start it will give you hope to keep going.

    Just checked and my sales for the last 60 days with only 5 items listed (and re-listed) and without trying are,

    Payments (last 60 days)

    Received £1,044.54
    Not received £40.89
    Total sales: £1,085.43

    Now of course that looks great and books will sell you on that, but as I just do it to earn some spare change very little of that is profit. If I wanted to earn thousands I would have to list a lot more than 5 items at a time.
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    • Profile picture of the author 01123581321345589144
      Originally Posted by johnben1444 View Post

      Apparently the problem is you.

      If you have done your pricing and calculations well you should have found out that you
      are going to sell well over than the average price on eBay and that's a big red flag.

      I see no reason why i would buy that same iPhone 5 at $700 when i can get it for $550.

      That's normal, things are a little difficult these days.
      Originally Posted by James Howard View Post

      You need to look at the products you are listing too, if you find someone can beat you on price then move onto a different product. The easy way to do the maths is to add on 15% and it will give you an Idea of what you have to add on.
      For exact maths take your price -3.4% -0.2 (paypal fee) -10% of your price (ebay) and what you are left with after item actual cost is yours.

      I sometimes sell items with only a profit of 50pence but up to £10 on others, I sell more of the smaller items so makes it worth it for the little time it takes to put it the order.

      The time is all on finding the products that will make you money, even if you can only make a little to start it will give you hope to keep going.

      Just checked and my sales for the last 60 days with only 5 items listed (and re-listed) and without trying are,

      Payments (last 60 days)

      Received £1,044.54
      Not received £40.89
      Total sales: £1,085.43

      Now of course that looks great and books will sell you on that, but as I just do it to earn some spare change very little of that is profit. If I wanted to earn thousands I would have to list a lot more than 5 items at a time.
      Sounds like you're doing pretty well for just a few products at a time . Thanks for your helpful feedback. I guess I really need to dig in, look at competition, prices, suppliers and so on. It's not easy.
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    • Profile picture of the author Importexport
      Originally Posted by James Howard View Post

      You need to look at the products you are listing too, if you find someone can beat you on price then move onto a different product. The easy way to do the maths is to add on 15% and it will give you an Idea of what you have to add on.
      For exact maths take your price -3.4% -0.2 (paypal fee) -10% of your price (ebay) and what you are left with after item actual cost is yours.

      I sometimes sell items with only a profit of 50pence but up to £10 on others, I sell more of the smaller items so makes it worth it for the little time it takes to put it the order.

      The time is all on finding the products that will make you money, even if you can only make a little to start it will give you hope to keep going.

      Just checked and my sales for the last 60 days with only 5 items listed (and re-listed) and without trying are,

      Payments (last 60 days)

      Received £1,044.54
      Not received £40.89
      Total sales: £1,085.43

      Now of course that looks great and books will sell you on that, but as I just do it to earn some spare change very little of that is profit. If I wanted to earn thousands I would have to list a lot more than 5 items at a time.
      Why do you and countless others persist in working as cheap sales labor for wholesalers? You would not need to list more than 5 items to earn thousands if you bought a small inventory direct from genuine manufacturers in China or other countries overseas.

      I have taught hundreds of people in over 30 countries how to safely locate real manufacturers, not the fake ones that make up the bulk of the listings on the big, popular sourcing sites. They are able to buy small quantities regardless of the huge MOQs they see quoted, and the prices they pay give them massive profit margins.

      If you want to know how much margin, I can't make any claims but I can legally quote what some of my book buyers have actually posted on this forum if you like.
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      Use emotions and perceptions to build a great brand. Ask me about my book LabelsThatExploit. For safe sourcing and easy importing from 41 countries globally, see https://provenglobalsourcing.com
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      • Profile picture of the author James Howard
        Originally Posted by Importexport View Post

        Why do you and countless others persist in working as cheap sales labor for wholesalers? You would not need to list more than 5 items to earn thousands if you bought a small inventory direct from genuine manufacturers in China or other countries overseas.

        I have taught hundreds of people in over 30 countries how to safely locate real manufacturers, not the fake ones that make up the bulk of the listings on the big, popular sourcing sites. They are able to buy small quantities regardless of the huge MOQs they see quoted, and the prices they pay give them massive profit margins.

        If you want to know how much margin, I can't make any claims but I can legally quote what some of my book buyers have actually posted on this forum if you like.
        As your name is Importexport I am sure you can do a lot better but this is not my business and I only started listing as a hobby more than anything else.

        I am just trying to help someone out that might not have the start up cash to order even a small inventory and also as he stated "has a medical condition prevents me from doing much other than trying IM on my computer"

        This way very little work is needed at all

        If that does not help then sorry for posting but I also got a pm asking for help and gave honest answers and helped best I could.

        I am not and import or ebay expert and did not claim to be.
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        • Profile picture of the author Importexport
          Originally Posted by James Howard View Post

          As your name is Importexport I am sure you can do a lot better but this is not my business and I only started listing as a hobby more than anything else.

          I am just trying to help someone out that might not have the start up cash to order even a small inventory and also as he stated "has a medical condition prevents me from doing much other than trying IM on my computer"

          This way very little work is needed at all

          If that does not help then sorry for posting but I also got a pm asking for help and gave honest answers and helped best I could.

          I am not and import or ebay expert and did not claim to be.
          Sorry, I did not mean to cause offence, and what you posted may be exactly the advice the OP needs.

          I just wanted to draw attention to the fact that is repeated endlessly on WF, that profit margins in the dropshipping business model are very thin.

          I don't recommend it, but I have had students start importing with just a few hundred dollars, and they have succeeded because of the huge profit margins they can get. It is a slow process when starting very small but it can be done. The work involved is in fact very little, and if people choose to deal with small products there can be hardly any storage space needed.

          Postal services in the UK and the US will collect parcels, so a person unable to easily get around can mail out parcels without leaving home.
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          • Profile picture of the author WilliamVillagran
            I actually don't do too much wholesale. What I specialize is in finding products in stores and on retail websites and flipping them on Amazon. What I would suggest for you is to look at all the tradeshows around and contact all those vendors. Some will work with you and some won't. I went to the trade show last year and made some good contacts. I would suggest you do the same
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