Preparing for the Back-to-School Sales Rush on eBay

Back-to-School is just around the corner. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), American consumers will be spending $38.4 billion on back-to-school merchandise in 2010. Meanwhile, the National Federation of Retailers are pegging it at a higher amount, approximately $55.12 billion with each American family spending $606.40.

Here are some tips for starting your eBay marketing campaign for back-to-school season:

• Discounts. Discounts. Discounts. One of the prime reasons consumers will want to buy from you is because you are offering a good deal. Create promos for products, give special discounts on themed items and offer savings on bulk shipping.
• Advertise early. Back-to-School season marks a big event for most retailers. It is also the start of the third quarter of the year as well as the fall season. Several advertisers will start their online marketing efforts early and so should you. The second week of July is the ideal time to start. (Start now!)
• Communicate to your customers why they should buy from you. Competition can be tough and the big retailers will definitely be your major contenders for school supplies and other must-haves. So, hype on what makes your eBay store/inventory different – be it the price or your delivery options.
• Target the right audience. During Back-to-School season, you actually have two major audiences: the students and the parents. Between the two, it’s the parents that have control of the budget, but do not discount the purchasing power of the students.
• Highlight the right products. School bags, backpacks, shoes, shirts and school supplies are the top sellers during this season. Make sure you are offering a good deal on the bare necessities such as pens and paper products.

Happy selling!

Article from the Shopster blog

Shopster is an eBay Certified Solutions Provider providing additional product and inventory for eBay sellers through drop shipping. Shopster has customers in 22 countries and provides full service drop shipping to both the United States and Canada.

Best Practices for Selling on eBay by Shopster

Article from the Shopster Blog

Best Practices for Selling on eBay

Whether you are just starting your eBusiness and are new to using drop shippers to sell on eBay, or if you are an old hand at selling online; test out the following tips and watch your sales sky-rocket!

Research

Before you list a product, confirm what other products have sold for. Search completed listings and Terapeak (eBay marketplace research solution) for pricing and other eBay info to increase your sales success.

Pricing

Spend some time learning pricing strategies. The bottom line with pricing is you need to create buzz around your item/listing. You need to price the item low enough to get people excited about what you’re selling, but high enough you are not undercutting your profits. Looking at completed auctions (and Terapeak) for historical pricing data prior to setting your opening bid is a savvy way to figure out your starting bid price.

Selling Formats

eBay has many different selling formats. Fixed price listings, auction style, etc. Learn about them, learn the pros and cons of each and then make a decision on which format works best for your niche. If in doubt, experiment and see what works best for you.

Merchandise your item

When building your eBay listing make sure you have created an eye-catching title. Have an effective and well-written product description and a clear photo of your product. Put yourself in a buyer’s shoes - buyers click and purchase items that grab their attention, so it’s important to spend the time and showcase your product to the best of your abilities!

Customer Service

The key to having a successful eBay business is customer service. Make yourself available to answer customer questions and queries. Good customer service will help you close sales and encourage repeat business. Don’t forget to ask for feedback either. Learn how you can better service your customers next time around – they’ll appreciate the thought and be more likely to buy again from you.

Shopster is an eBay Certified Solutions Provider providing additional product and inventory for eBay sellers through drop shipping. Shopster has customers in 22 countries and provides full service drop shipping to both the United States and Canada.

What eBay Sellers Should Think About When Developing a Returns Policy by Doba

Blog post taken from Doba's Dropshipping Blog

No retail strategy would be complete without a customer service and return policy. Retailers take very different approaches to this, and the successful ones often incorporate their policies directly into their branding. Nordstrom, for example, is famous for its extremely liberal return policy, while a big box retailer such as Best Buy may have very restrictive policies.

More important than the policy, is the transparency and communication of your return restrictions and service options. Learn and understand first-hand the process and impact an eBay seller’s policy (or lack there of) has on their business and how that translates into a likelihood of success or failure.

There are many aspects eBay Sellers need to consider when creating and implementing a return policy. For many, the best place to start is to look at your own expectations as a consumer and choose merchandise, suppliers and marketplaces that match up with your own personal philosophy. Others should take a more pragmatic approach. The category (electronics versus clothing), the marketplace (your website versus eBay/Amazon) and your product pricing strategy all affect a return policy in different ways.

When an eBay seller considers the cost of returns, do not overlook shipping. One of the largest shortcomings of ecommerce is the cost associated with shipping. Shipping is a fixed cost that is absorbed by the supplier, retailer, or consumer in every return. It is not margin nor lost time, but a payment to a carrier that must be paid regardless of the reason for the return (with the exception of carrier-related damage). Be mindful of the cost of the goods themselves versus the costs of shipping. In many cases, you will be better off to ask for forgiveness of the customer, let them keep the return, and give them a refund instead of eating three shipping charges on a replacement. Again, this is a retailer policy issue and only you can create the strategy that will work best for your business.

In the end, your customer support and return policies should communicate clearly to the consumer what they can expect when purchasing from you. It’s important to take control and own your customer’s experience and understand your decisions need to be acceptable to your business independent of the shortcomings of suppliers, marketplaces, and even overly demanding customers.

This article has been condensed. Read the full article here.

Doba is a product sourcing company connecting eBay sellers and small online retailers with drop ship distributors, manufacturers and wholesalers. Doba is a member of the Better Business Bureau and has been an eBay Certified Service Provider since 2004.

eBay Sellers Can Find Additional Inventory with Worldwide Brands Product Sourcing Tool

Article by Worldwide Brands - this is a series of 14 blog posts providing information on how to find inventory and products to sell on eBay from wholesalers with Worldwide Brands and their Product Sourcing Tool for eBay.

Article #12 - Multi-Level Product Sourcing

As a new eBay seller becomes more successful with their eBay auction listings and first eBay Store sales, you will be able to fund more growth in your business. You can expand your offerings within your first niche by leveraging additional wholesale suppliers and drop shippers with complimentary products to those you are already selling on eBay.

So how do you select new niches and products, and how can you determine what works best without taking too much risk in inventory?

Market Research is the key. eBay Sellers need to identify products with demand and supply. Not all products can be sold on eBay. Some manufacturers have strict requirements. Start with your existing niche and expand the product choices. For example, tailor your eBay Store brand around your niche. Use the existing traffic to your eBay store to identify new top sellers in your Store.

The Worldwide Brands Product Sourcing Tool in eBay’s Apps Center can be very helpful to eBay sellers looking for additional product sources to help grow their online business. Worldwide Brands Product Sourcing Tool for eBay will research online to establish current demand and pricing on the internet and for testing different products, categories, niches and demand.

Access can be purchased to the Worldwide Brands Product Sourcing Tool. Through use of this tool, eBay Sellers will be able to drill down their options to find wholesale products in demand within a niche. The tool provides the contact details of drop shippers and wholesale suppliers willing to work with eBay sellers.

Drop shipping is most commonly used for testing new product ideas. When you notice an increasing trend in sales for one of the drop ship items, you can then start buying that item in Light Bulk (minimum wholesale orders less than $500). Of all the Light Bulk items, some will sell faster than others. Once you identify those, you can invest in volume inventory at even better wholesale prices allowing you to make more profit per item, or compete more aggressively. This is called multi level product sourcing.

Check out Worldwide Brands Product Sourcing Tool for eBay today! A 7 Day Free Trial is available.

Worldwide Brands is an eBay Certified Service Provider, providing product sourcing access and information for eBay sellers. They are the publishers of an extensive directory of legitimate, fully-verified ecommerce wholesalers and manufacturers.

What's New with Doba: New Features for Better Product Sourcing

Blog post taken from Doba's Dropshipping Blog

What's New with Doba: New Features for Inventory Notification by Email and Customizable Product Data

If you ask any of our affiliated retailers to list their top five Doba-related pain points, you’ll hear about items going out of inventory without any advance warning, as well as the sheer number of people attempting to sell many of the same products with the exact same product titles and descriptions. Today, I’m (Doba) pleased to announce we’ve (Doba) made significant strides with respect to both issues. Doba members can now easily customize product title, description, weight, dimension, and more; and, by accessing the new and improved Watchlist, receive updates about product inventory by email.

New Features

• Watchlist notification allows eBay sellers to receive updates about products within their Doba Watchlist via e-mail
• Inventory update notifications (choose frequency of updates)
• Set inventory notification levels (if available inventory falls below "x" amount, notify me)
• Custom Data Product Features (customize item title and price)

To read the full article on new Doba features and how to use them, visit Doba's Dropshipping Blog.

eBay sellers can try out Doba for 14 Days free!

Doba is a product sourcing company connecting eBay sellers and small online retailers with drop ship distributors, manufacturers and wholesalers. Doba is a member of the Better Business Bureau and has been an eBay Certified Service Provider since 2004.

5 Tips to Increase Online Sales by Shopster

Article by Shopster

eBay sellers and online retail store owners achieve success mainly due to their product offerings. With that, most sellers believe that what works offline (in the brick and mortar stores) will also work when they build an online store. But the truth is far from it. The internet offers retailers much more in terms of potential profit, simply because overhead cost is less. But to really use the internet to your advantage, here are some tips to help you out:

1. Offer unique product information. Unlike in real stores, online shoppers won’t be able to touch and feel the products you are selling. They will rely on pictures and the information you provide to help them decide. Manufacturers often provide the basic product descriptions. But you have to remember, these descriptions are also being used by other retailers. If you have the time, create your own descriptions using your familiarity with the product.
2. Encourage consumer reviews. You can do this by adding a feedback form, an application that allows product star ratings, or simply by putting up a page that highlights customer testimonials. Today’s consumers usually look for reviews first before they make any purchase decision. Keep it honest and real to establish credibility.
3. Don’t discount the power of search engine optimization. Add the right keywords and build links to your site to improve your visibility in search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. Doing so can increase the number of visitors to your online store. The more visitors to your site, the higher the potential for sales.
4. Cross-sell and upsell. Improve your product page such that it features related products you sell online. During the shopping stage, if your potential buyer realizes that the product they are currently looking at is not the one he or she wants to buy right away, then at least offer other options.
5. After-sales service and customer support matter. The real reason people would come back and want to buy from your is based on how you treat your customers. Be transparent about your policies (delivery, return, etc), any guarantees and all costs. Be ready to answer calls and help resolve issues.

Increasing your sales online is about bringing in quality visitors to your eBay Store and listings. Encourage buyers to make a purchase and ensure they have a good buying experience. Hopefully, they will recommend you to others and become loyal customers.

Shopster is an eBay Certified Solutions Provider providing additional product and inventory for eBay sellers through dropshipping. Shopster has customers in 22 countries and provides full service dropshipping to both the United States and Canada.

Would You Like Fries with That? The Benefits of Cross Selling by Doba

Article from Doba's Dropshipping Blog

If you’ve ever stepped foot in a fast food joint, you’re intimately familiar with cross selling. Think about it… who among us hasn’t been asked, “Would you like fries with that?”

If used correctly, cross selling can be a valuable revenue-generating tool for any online business. To get started, think of yourself as a consultant and not a sales person. What additional products, services, or information can you give your customer that will truly help them? The key here: Don’t be pushy; be helpful instead.

Successful cross selling starts with getting to know your customer. When the sales person from my example above started talking about plasma television sets, he might as well have pulled some sushi out of his pocket and asked if I was interested in buying a tuna roll. I could tell he just wanted to make a sale.

Small businesses especially have to work hard to compete in a crowded marketplace. Buyers need to look to you as the guru of the products you sell. Recommending an relevant product or two is a great way of showing your customers you know what you’re talking about. By doing so, you provide a richer experience for your customers, which ultimately increases the chances of them coming back.

In the world of drop-ship retailing, you have a wonderful advantage to group products together and cross sell without having to purchase or keep inventory on hand. If a certain combination is really taking off, then great! More revenue for you and your customers are happier. If not, all businesses have ups and downs, and you don’t have a warehouse full of products you can’t seem to move. Research additional products and try again. Remember, your goal is to be helpful, and if you are, your customers will sense your sincerity.

One word to keep in mind while you are looking through Doba’s catalog of suppliers and products is “accessories.” Does the product you are currently selling have any accessories that would make sense to offer your customers?

For example, I can’t wait for spring and the BBQ season. I just found a Smokeless Indoor BBQ Grill (ID 17409 in the Doba catalog) that I really want to buy. At the same time, I’m guessing there will be other people out there who would like it, also. If I sell the grill for the listed MSRP, I could make about $10 a sale, which is a pretty good little profit margin.

Taking it a step further though, I now notice that the Doba catalog provides a list of recommended related products that I might want to offer when selling the grill in question. Bingo… can you say “cross sell!”.

Good luck and happy cross selling!

This article has been condensed. To read the full article click here.

eBay sellers can try out Doba for 14 Days free!

Doba is a product sourcing company connecting eBay sellers and small online retailers with drop ship distributors, manufacturers and wholesalers. Doba is a member of the Better Business Bureau and has been an eBay Certified Service Provider since 2004.

Why Dropshipping Works by Shopster

Article by Shopster

Why Dropshipping Works
Business owners who are not familiar with drop shipping are missing out big time. Basically, this is a supply chain management technique that allows retailers to focus on more important aspects of their business.

If you’re thinking about building an online store an selling products online but don’t have the capital to start big, then consider this your best option. First off, you don’t have to purchase any inventory upfront. This also means saving a huge amount on the cost of storage. Second, it removes the hassles of shipping and handling from your end.

Dropshipping entails selling goods on behalf of a supplier. All the backend work involved in order fulfillment are handled by the said dropship supplier – this includes filling the order and shipping it out to the customer.

The trick to making money via a dropship business is finding a supplier with good pricing. Remember, dropship suppliers are not necessarily wholesalers. While there are those that offer items in bulk, some dropshippers are willing to supply to sellers looking for only a small amount of items. You can make profit off the dropshipped items with the difference between the supplier’s price and yours – this is called the profit margin.

Essentially, dropshipping is a good way to enter the retail business because it removes overhead cost while still offering you profit. Here’s a tip: choose items that are popular among young, internet savvy buyers. Plus points if the product is difficult to find in local stores.

One of the most successful dropship items last year was the Nintendo WII. Stocks were depleted in most local stores and the market – the younger audience – had no qualms about making purchases online. This combination made the Nintendo WII a huge seller in the dropship world.

Using popular sales channels like eBay, dropshipping can work for you.

Shopster is an eBay Certified Solutions Provider providing additional product and inventory for eBay sellers through dropshipping. Shopster has customers in 22 countries and provides full service dropshipping to both the United States and Canada.

Preparing to Contact a Wholesaler (What to Do and Expect) - by Worldwide Brands

Article by Worldwide Brands - this is a series of 14 blog posts providing information on how to find inventory and products to sell on eBay from wholesalers with Worldwide Brands and their Product Sourcing Tool for eBay.

Article #7 - Preparing to Call a Wholesaler

If you are new to selling on eBay, you are probably facing that time when you must make your first call to a genuine wholesale supplier. You want to open an account with them. You need to begin a fruitful relationship where you will have a continuous supply of products to sell in eBay Auctions or via your eBay Stores. There are steps Worldwide Brands recommends you should do before making the first call:

What Must You Do Before Contacting a Wholesale Supplier to Open an Account?
It is better to do some homework about the wholesaler BEFORE you make that critical call. For example:

• Have you done your market and product research?
• Do you know what products you are going to sell and why?
• Have you studied the wholesaler’s website?
• Have you read their Terms of Use, Policies and Procedures?

If you haven’t done this research, you can now access information on wholesale suppliers within My eBay! Worldwide Brands has created an application to help eBay sellers find products and wholesalers. This new application is part of the new eBay Selling Manager Applications feature. Sellers can subscribe to the Worldwide Brands Product Sourcing Tool and access supplier, product and trend information. (See our previous Blogs on how to perform rapid product and supplier research.)

Prepare the Flow of the Call
Remember, when you call the wholesale supplier representatives, they are interested only in WIIFM [What’s in it for Me?]. When you make the call, there are a lot of things that you want to know,for example:

• Does the wholesaler allow their products to be sold online specifically on eBay? [If they say no, ask why in an informative way.]
• Do they have support for other online retailers?
• Do they perform single item drop shipping?
• What is included in the drop ship fee?
• Does the supplier offer extended service hours?
• Have they tested how their products sell online?
• Will they open an account for you?
• Will they provide a Confidential Price List?
• How will they provide product images, descriptions and specifications?

Address the Wholesale Representative’s needs first. What interests the wholesale representative?

• What products will you sell?
• To whom will you sell them?
• How many will you sell?
• When will you start selling?
• When will you start ordering?
• In what order volumes?

What will the wholesale representative want from you?

• Business credentials
• Sales Tax ID Number
• Trade References
• Business Credit Card
• Purchase Order

When you start by giving the wholesale representative information they need first, you start building a relationship. If you start by asking a ton of questions about the things that are important to you, you lose the interest of the wholesale representative within seconds.

Following a Positive Call with a Wholesale Supplier, what do you want to receive?

• Account Number
• Confidential Price List
• Purchase Order Process
• Payment Terms
• Digital images
• Product descriptions (not always best for SEO)
• Product details and specs
• Proper packaging
• Customized packaging (if available)
• Video clips (if available)

Benefit from these and many other helpful education modules with tips available from Worldwide Brands.

Check out Worldwide Brands Product Sourcing Tool today! A 7 Day Free Trial is available.

Worldwide Brands is an eBay Certified Solution Provider, providing product sourcing access and information for eBay sellers. They are the publishers of an extensive directory of legitimate, fully-verified ecommerce wholesalers and manufacturers.

How to Manage Your Suppliers Information within eBay - by Worldwide Brands

Article by Worldwide Brands - this is a series of 14 blog posts providing information on how to find inventory and products to sell on eBay from wholesalers with Worldwide Brands and their Product Sourcing Tool for eBay.


Article #6 - Managing Your Supplier Information within eBay


How do you get information about genuine wholesale suppliers (not middlemen) who will directly support an online retailer and allow you to sell their products on eBay? How do you keep track of all your product searches and each Supplier's details?


eBay sellers can now subscribe to the Worldwide Brands Product Sourcing Tool for eBay as part of the Selling Manager Applications, also known as eBay's App Store. Everything you need to know about a Supplier before you call them is provided in one easy-to-use location, accessed from within your Selling Manager account.

In order to subscribe/add various selling applications to your eBay account, you will need sign-up for Selling Manager or Selling Manager Pro. Selling Manager is now free! Sign up here.


What Do You Need to Know about a Supplier?
Apart from the Supplier’s name, address, website and contact details, you need to know if they allow the sale of their products on eBay. You need to know what method they will use to ship orders to your customers and you need to understand their fees - especially their drop ship fee if you are going to rely on drop shipping to start eBay selling. You certainly want to have a clear understanding of the wholesale products they carry.


In the video below, you will see an extract of the kind of information now available to eBay Sellers through the Worldwide Brands application in eBay’s Selling Manager.

In addition to what you see in the extract, the eBay Seller can view more details about brand names and the full range of product types carried by each wholesale supplier. To accelerate the process of opening an account, Worldwide Brands provides automated account setup form. The system auto fills the form with the information from your own setup file allowing you to complete the form rapidly and email it from within Selling Manager and get it to the wholesaler before you make that all important first call.

At the press of a button, the system allows you to save each of your preferred wholesalers in the “Suppliers” section of you system so that you can recall their information without repeated searching. There is also a quick reference alphabetic listing of brands and products to help you locate specific items rapidly.

eBay’s focus is to help eBay Sellers reduce the amount of time it takes to find the right products for eBay selling. View this short video to see how it works.

Check out Worldwide Brands Product Sourcing Tool today! 7 Day Free Trial is available.

Worldwide Brands is an eBay Certified Solution Provider, providing product sourcing access and information for eBay sellers. They are the publishers of an extensive directory of legitimate, fully-verified ecommerce wholesalers and manufacturers.

Customer Service Tips for the Holidays by Shopster

Blog post by Shopster

Ensure Your Returns Policy Fits the Needs of a Christmas Shopper.

It may still seem far off, but Christmas is only 80 days away! What does this mean? It means you're going to have a lot more business coming to your storefront. It also means you’re going to have to modify how you support these customers over the Holiday Season. Adjusting your Returns Policy is just one thing you can do to get ready for Christmas.

With a typical Returns Policy, customers only have a certain amount of time available to request a return on a product (usually 7 or 14 days). The trick with holiday gift shopping, is that people start buying early (late October is usually when sales start to pick up), but don’t actually open and use the gift until Christmas morning (well after the 7-14 day window). Without a Holiday Returns Policy, you may have upset customers by not accepting returns on products bought as Christmas gifts.

Our suggestion is to post a revised Holiday Returns Policy on your storefront and in your eBay listings. Make sure you announce the change on your home page (or even show the Holiday Returns Policy there so everyone is aware of it) and make the appropriate change to your Return Policy page.

When creating a holiday returns policy, you will want to give your customers a start date - meaning any order made after that date until Christmas will apply to your Holiday Returns Policy. Any orders made after Christmas should adhere to your regular return request deadlines.

You then need to set a cutoff date. In other words, for those orders that fall within your Christmas Return Policy start date, you will need to decide how long after Christmas these customers have to request a return should anything be wrong with the order. An extra 7-10 days should be more than enough.

Hopefully, you will not have to do many returns, however an extended Returns Policy provides customers with additional peace of mind, as they know that they can return a product after it has been opened. A Holiday Returns Policy can also benefit your Christmas sales, because customers are more likely to purchase from an eBay seller or a store that makes allowances for the holiday shopping season.

Shopster is an eBay Certified Solutions Provider providing additional product and inventory for eBay sellers through dropshipping. Shopster has customers in 22 countries and provides full service dropshipping to both the United States and Canada.

eBay Certified Provider Spotlight - DOBA

Doba is a leading product sourcing company for eBay sellers and online retailers. All Doba products are drop shipped directly from the supplier or manufacturer to the buyer.

Doba is best for sellers looking to test products on eBay or add related items to the inventory they already have. While margins on drop shipped products may not be as good as wholesale, sellers can benefit from drop shipping.

Features:

• Access more than 1.5 million products to sell
• Sell products from more than 250 wholesale suppliers and manufacturers
• Easily list products on eBay, an eBay Store, or even a ProStores website using Doba’s new Marketplace Manager
• Expand or round out your current product portfolio
• Basic eBay and eCommerce training helping you learn the basics of selling products online
• Product images, descriptions, wholesale costs and daily inventory updates

Benefits:

• Save time by quickly sourcing, listing, and shipping products directly to your buye
• Gain access to suppliers who don't normally work with eBay sellers
• Reduce risk by using Doba to test the market or up-sell related items
• Reduce startup costs and risks by not having to purchase or carry inventory

eBay sellers can try out Doba for 14 Days free!

Doba is a product sourcing company connecting eBay sellers and small online retailers with drop ship distributors, manufacturers and wholesalers. Doba is a member of the Better Business Bureau and has been an eBay Certified Service Provider since 2004.

Building a Profitable Business on eBay by Worldwide Brands

Article by Worldwide Brands - this is a series of 14 blog posts providing information on how to find inventory and products to sell on eBay from wholesalers with Worldwide Brands and their Product Sourcing Tool for eBay.

Article #3 - Building a Profitable Business

So you’re thinking of selling on eBay, or perhaps you have already started selling through eBay Auctions or an eBay Store. What’s your goal for doing this? Are you out to make money from a single ‘virtual garage sale’? Do you just want to clear your attic? Or are you serious about building a steady income from sales on eBay?

If your goal is to ‘Build a Profitable Business’ then you need to get serious about it from the beginning. There are phases most people seem to go through when building a business with eBay. The sequence may differ from person to person but these are the typical building phases:

1. Start Up Phase – selling a few products through eBay Auctions
2. First eBay Store – establishing a niche identity for a group of products
3. Combined eBay Store AND eBay Auctions – complementing each other

To build a profitable business, you’re going to need Wholesale suppliers to supply products. A common method eBay sellers use is called drop shipping. The eBay Seller creates their auction or store by uploading product images and detailed description and then waits for order the order to arrive. When a browser turns into a customer, the eBay Seller instantly places an order with their drop ship supplier who ships the product from their inventory directly to the customer.

Drop shipping has its conveniences but it also has its draw backs. The wholesale drop shipper has to charge a Drop Ship Fee to recover the cost of the extra work required in handling single item shipments. The eBay Seller earns less profit per item in a drop ship product sale. The eBay Seller is also at the mercy of the drop shipper for the quality of the packing, and the speed of shipment and delivery. Late or damaged deliveries lead to poor feedback and bad eBay Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs).

Expanding Beyond Drop Shippers
The best way to build a business is by purchasing product in bulk quantities. Many eBay Sellers, as they make some cash surpluses, contact selected wholesale suppliers to negotiate small quantities of inventory at better than drop ship prices. This is classified as Light Bulk Wholesale inventory. Typically eBay Sellers do this with the products that are in highest demand. With better wholesale pricing, comes a better profit margin. As business grows, an eBay Seller can then contact their wholesaler and negotiate volume wholesale pricing on high demand products with even better than light bulk margins.

Fulfilling Orders from Your Own Inventory
Depending on the quantity and size of the product, an eBay Seller may find a need for storage space and also staff to pick, pack and ship per the orders received. Many sellers successfully use their own home as a storage facility; however if the need arises, there are two main options available:

• Fulfillment Centers
  Most cities have companies who act as ‘Fulfillment Centers.’ You can have your inventory shipped to them and they store, pick, pack and ship your orders and manage your inventory for you. They charge a fee for this, of course.
• Own Warehouses or Storage Unit
  The more profitable and larger you grow, the more likely that you will get into your own warehouse space and employ others to pick, pack and ship for you.
• Continuous Product Sourcing is essential to growing your eBay business
  Excellent Product Sourcing is required every step of the way in building your profitability and your business. Product and wholesaler selection, wholesale pricing and product demand is critical. An eBay seller needs to make sure they’re working directly with a real wholesale supplier who allow their inventory to be sold on eBay.

The Worldwide Brands Product Sourcing Tool can be purchased and used without leaving the Selling Manager section of ‘My eBay.’ Sellers can find products to sell on eBay, within eBay!

With this tool, eBay Sellers can use keywords to:

• Research the recent Internet-based demand for such a product
• Obtain a complete picture of the current Supply and Competition status
• Obtain current pricing information for sales of the product in auctions and in retail.
• Obtain the direct contact details for verified wholesale suppliers who will Drop Ship or supply in Light Bulk, Volume Wholesale quantities, Liquidation lots and imports.
• Learn how to successfully conduct continuous product sourcing to grow your eBay business.

Check out Worldwide Brands Product Sourcing Tool today! 7 Day Free Trial is available.

Worldwide Brands is an eBay Certified Solution Provider, providing product sourcing access and information for eBay sellers. They are the publishers of an extensive directory of legitimate, fully-verified ecommerce wholesalers and manufacturers.

Getting Started with Product Sourcing, a Product Sourcing Checklist by Worldwide Brands

Article by Worldwide Brands - this is a series of 14 blog posts providing information on how to find inventory and products to sell on eBay from wholesalers with Worldwide Brands and their Product Sourcing Tool for eBay.

Article #2 - Your GPS for Getting Started – A Product Sourcing Checklist

Why do people like a GPS? It tells them exactly where to go, when to turn and even when to make that irritating U-turn! eBay and Worldwide Brands recognize that Beginners starting eBay selling may need some help and direction. We have developed a Product Sourcing Checklist with tips and videos to steer you in the right direction for excellent Product Sourcing. This checklist takes you from drop shipping to expanding and growing your business.

Beginners to eBay selling have a rich set of education materials available to them on eBay. All these tools are easily accessed through the dashboard provided by eBay’s Selling Manager. eBay’s Selling Manager is now available free in the “My eBay” section of the www.ebay.com.

One of the application solutions available for purchase through eBay’s Selling Manager is the Worldwide Brands Product Sourcing Tool and wholesale drop shipping database. You can source products from within Selling Manager without leaving the eBay selling platform.

Worldwide Brands provides a Getting Started Checklist for eBay Members looking to find products to sell on eBay. Users can access this checklist by selecting the Getting Started Checklist link from the list of menu items in the Worldwide Brands Member Center.

This checklist covers the following eleven important Getting Started steps:

1. Learn eBay’s Essentials
2. Decide whether Auctions or eBay Store First
3. Establish a Legal Business
4. Get a Business Bank Account
5. Determine What You’re Going to Sell
6. Don’t Just Call Your 1st Wholesale Supplier – Prepare First
7. Start Calling Wholesalers On Your Preferred Products List
8. Get Ready to Collect Your Money!
9. Create your eBay Store or eBay Auction listings.
10. Tell the World Where You Are!
11. Repeat These Steps to Grow Your Business

The checklist contains more detail for each step on this list. It provides pointers as to what to do and how to get it done quickly. It also has links to useful education videos and helpful resources.

Worldwide Brands is an eBay Certified Solution Provider, providing product sourcing access and information for eBay sellers. They are the publishers of an extensive directory of legitimate, fully-verified ecommerce wholesalers and manufacturers.

eBay Workshop Sept 22nd - Research and Find Products to Sell on eBay, within eBay!

Workshop: New Selling Manager Applications - "Research and Find Products to Sell on eBay, within eBay!"

Host: Worldwide Brands
Date: September 22nd, Tuesday
Time: 11AM - Noon PST
Location: eBay Workshop Board

Description: Finding drop ship suppliers and wholesale suppliers that allow their products to be sold on eBay just became 1 GIANT step easier. Now you can access Worldwide Brands Product Sourcing Tool for eBay quickly and easily in your eBay account with the release of Selling Manager Applications for Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro.

Join us in this workshop to discover why finding drop ship and wholesale suppliers is much simpler than you think. We have video, images, and lots of educational content to show you exactly how it works.

Worldwide Brands is an eBay Certified Solution Provider.

Visit http://certifiedprovider.ebay.com/ to learn more about eBay Certified Providers and the services and solutions they offer to help eBay sellers.

Visit the eBay Workshop Calendar to see all upcoming workshops and also to review past workshops.

eBay Seller Finds Success Sourcing Inventory with Doba and Managing eBay Listings with Auctiva

Article from Auctiva Education - powerful information for online sellers

To Sherri England of Melrose Best Buy Family Outlet (eBay Store) , there's a certain joy that comes with being able to offer bargain prices for high-quality, name-brand goods people might otherwise be unable to afford.

"It makes me feel good to know I can list items that I get at near-wholesale prices and pass on the savings to buyers," she says.

It's also satisfying that, in doing so, England has grown her business beyond her expectations without sacrificing profits. But the best part, for her money, is that by using the drop-ship sourcing service of Doba, she doesn't have to manage the inventory, or deal with the listing details and delivery logistics.

England has more than doubled her monthly sales on eBay since signing up for Doba's Advanced package five months ago. She first heard about the sourcing service on an eBay Radio broadcast and decided to try the company's free trial after supplies from her overseas source became scarce.

Though Doba's pricing is not as low as having a direct manufacturing source, England finds the drop-shipping service to be cost-competitive and more suited to her needs than other sourcing sites she's tried.

Doba does everything," she says. "It's convenient, because you can push a product to your page without having to buy it first and you can sell items in individual quantities or case lots.

"You do have to watch your inventory lists and check Doba each day and night to see how much quantity is in stock, but Doba provides a listing tool that helps you see right away if something has sold out," she explains.

The one drawback, England notes, is that products sourced through Doba may only be shipped within the 48 contiguous United States. But even for merchants who sell internationally, Doba is still "a good way to supplement other merchandise you already have," she offers.

Because there's no startup investment beyond the membership fee, drop shipping can be a low-risk way for online merchants to expand their product sources. By leaving inventory handling to the drop-ship supplier, sellers can spend more time on product research, marketing, customer service and managing their businesses.

However, drop-ship order fees can cut into your profits, and there's always a risk that hot-selling products will sell out. That's why some sellers opt to work directly with product wholesalers or manufacturers.

But if negotiating with individual suppliers, and purchasing and storing pallets or cases of inventory isn't an attractive option, drop shipping can be a convenient, flexible and profitable alternative. Product sourcing marketplaces, such as Doba, offer customers access to millions of products from thousands of vetted suppliers of brand-name merchandise at competitive wholesale prices.

"We’ve designed our service so that even beginners in online retail can run a successful business," says Brandon Delgrosso, Doba's executive vice president. "Doba is a quick, easy, risk-free way to get started selling online."

"There's still so much to learn," England adds. "But one thing about Doba that's so amazing is they have an education component designed to help sellers be successful with their online businesses. That's so important—I was very happy to know they care about our success.

"I think using Doba selling with Auctiva is a fantastic combination," - Sherri England.

Read the full article titled "Source of Happiness"

About Auctiva - Auctiva is an eBay Certified Solutions Provider offering listing management solutions and features for beginner -to mid-to high-volume eBay sellers.

About Doba - Doba is a product sourcing company connecting eBay sellers and small online retailers with drop ship distributors, manufacturers and wholesalers. Doba is a member of the Better Business Bureau and has been an eBay Certified Service Provider since 2004. To learn more about Doba, check out the FREE 14-day trial membership.

eBay Certified Provider, Doba, Releases New Features and Technology

Doba, an eBay Certified Provider, recently announced a release of their new technology platform.

"This major release is in direct response to the requests from our members for easier, faster ways to find better selling products and more efficient ways to get those products in your sales channels." - Doba

What's New with Doba:

• A simplified browsing and searching in the Doba catalog through a streamlined product category structure
• Easier to quickly find the products you are looking for with a faster search engine and additional filtering options
• Enhanced product export tools to help with your inventory management

To assist Doba members with navigating the new site features, Doba has added a complete set of tutorials. The tutorials are located at the bottom right-hand side of each page and contain useful information about each page. If you find you are stuck or have a question about a certain feature of the Doba catalog, the tutorials should be able to help you out.

Current Doba subscribers can login into their accounts now to see the new changes.

With new technology is comes a few steps Doba subscribers will need to take to ensure their business runs smoothly:

• You will need to recreate any existing Saved Searches to match the new product categories
• You will also need to recreate dynamic Watch Lists that are based on Saved Searches
• Static Watch Lists will not be affected
• You should spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the new capabilities and format of the Data Export Tool
• Any automated export and input processes may need to be adjusted slightly to work with the new updates
• The Data Export Tool will also reflect the new category structure for each product

Doba is a product sourcing company connecting eBay sellers and small online retailers with drop ship distributors, manufacturers and wholesalers. Doba is a member of the Better Business Bureau and has been an eBay Certified Service Provider since 2004.

The Benefits of Dropshipping by Shopster

Article provided by Shopster

Dropshipping is a business strategy best utilized by those who want to sell online, but are unable to invest in purchasing inventory, or the storage space to keep it. In basic terms, to dropship is to sells goods on behalf of a supplier who then fills the order and ships it to the purchasing customer on behalf of the seller.

There are several benefits to dropshipping, but the two main ones are: no upfront inventory to purchase and a low start up cost. Dropshipping is ideal for those who want to start a business, but can not afford high start up costs.

Other benefits of dropshipping include:

• Allows the retailer to focus on making sales, and making more money. As it is the supplier that packs and ships orders, once a sale is made the retailer does not have to do anything except focus on making more sales.
• Dropshipping can reduce shipping and handling costs. As the product is delivered directly to the customer it does not have to be shipped to the retailer. Thus saving the cost of that one delivery. The savings can then be passed onto the customer by the retailer.
• It gives retailers the opportunity to test out new products lines without having to buy the inventory up front.

One criticism of dropshipping is that at times it can be challenging to find competitive pricing on an item, especially if it is popular. The base price on dropshipped products is not as competitive as wholesale or bulk, but for the most part the prices are cheaper than what you would find in a store, and the retailer can still offer competitive pricing.

Finding well priced dropship products is possible with research and a competitive niche or growing market opportunity. Watch out for over saturated markets, like the Nintendo Wii for example. While these items are popular with buyers, there are thousands of sellers trying to offer the product at the lowest price, resulting in small (if any) margins.

Shopster is a full business solution enabling eBay sellers to either start or expand their eBay business by connecting sellers to suppliers. Shopster is focused on drop ship product sourcing and listing tools for any level of seller.

Drop Shipping is a Low Cost, Low Risk Way to Start Selling on eBay by Worldwide Brands

By Chris Malta, CEO & Founder of Worldwide Brands



Wholesale Tip Series: Tip #10

When you are new to selling on eBay, you may not have a lot of money to buy in Light Bulk quantities, store inventory and manage your own shipments. Drop Shipping used to be a popular wholesale option that lets you avoid a lot of start up expense or risk. eBay is finding that eBay sellers who carry their own – even small – inventory are providing an excellent buying experience to their customers because they are always in control from the time of the customer’s order to the time of delivery to a happy customer.

You need to select your drop ship supplier carefully. Purchase one of each product you plan to list and sell regularly. Check and make sure the drop shipper picks, packs and ships within two days, preferably the same day. Test to ensure you have a good buying experience for yourself!

If you are starting out short of cash, you can work with those wholesale suppliers who offer drop shipping. Remember most wholesalers are not set up to sell single products at-a-time. Finding a good drop shipper is difficult. Typically, most web sites advertising drop shipping - especially in the search engines – turn out to be a wholesale scam.

With a REAL drop shipper, the process works like this: You establish an account with the drop shipper. The drop shipper provides product pictures and descriptions to use in your eBay auction listing and on your eBay Store. When someone buys one of the products you have listed, you immediately email your drop shipper, who picks packs and sends the item from THEIR warehouse to your customer's address, on your behalf. You have already received payment of the retail price from your customer. You now pay the wholesale price to the drop shipper once they ship the product. If you have sold at the right retail price, you make a profit! And you haven’t even touched the product you sold. The drop shipper typically includes all the out-of-pocket expenses in their drop ship fee.

Drop shipping is NOT a perfect permanent solution. Drop shipping products requires you pay a slightly higher wholesale price than you will be charged if you purchased those same products in volume. Wholesaling is a volume business. The wholesale price for a single item is higher than your wholesale price when buying in bulk or even Light Bulk. The drop ship wholesale supplier typically has to maintain a separate warehouse for inventory assigned as drop ship inventory. In addition they must pay employees in the warehouse to pick, pack and ship each individual product for you. Because it costs the drop shipper more in handling, your drop shipping costs are going to reflect that.

Drop shipping may be an excellent entry point into selling on eBay because it is a very low-risk way to test new products without having to invest in inventory that may not sell. Worldwide Brands recommends eBay sellers only use drop shipping to identify products that sell well from their eBay auction listings or eBay Stores. As these generate cash, the eBay seller should use the cash to start buying those better-selling products at least in Light Bulk to increase profit margins. Your business will start to grow. This is how most successful eBay sellers got started, and it should work for you!

Worldwide Brands is an eBay Certified Solution Provider providing product sourcing access and information for eBay sellers. They are the publishers of an extensive directory of legitimate, fully-verified ecommerce wholesalers and manufacturers.

The More You Buy, the Lower the Wholesale Prices - Wholesale Purchasing Tips from Worldwide Brands

By Chris Malta, CEO and Founder of Worldwide Brands

Wholesale Tip #5

Many new eBay Sellers don't realize the larger your purchase quantities, the lower the wholesaler price you can secure. We also hear many eBay Sellers complain their competitors' retail selling prices are lower than the wholesale prices they must pay. It's a valid frustration, but the reason is almost always that they are up against a competitor who is a much larger retailer and can buy products in much larger quantities. The larger Competitor is getting better wholesale price breaks.

Here’s how wholesale price breaks work. The per-unit price lowers as the order volume increases. If you buy less than 100 units of a product, for example, your wholesale price per item might be $5. If you buy from 101 to 250 of a product, for example, your price might lower to $4 each. Wholesalers make small profit margins; so they have to make their money by selling more quantity. The more you buy; the better prices the wholesale supplier can afford to give you.

Obviously, any online retailers who can afford to purchase products in larger volumes will get better prices. With better pricing, they can afford, in turn, to lower their retail prices and still make a profit. Don’t worry! Contrary to what some eBay Sellers believe, you DO NOT have to cut prices to compete. There’s MUCH MORE to selling than having the lowest price. Buyers may spend more to buy from a retailer who makes them feel secure. Effective selling is about building customer respect and trust, not undercutting the prices of everyone around you.

Begin with drop shipping and light bulk buying in small quantities as you can. When you determine the best selling products that earn more profits, you can negotiate better volume Price Breaks. This is the way to grow your online business at your own pace.

Worldwide Brands is an eBay Certified Solution Provider providing product sourcing information for eBay sellers. They are the publishers of an extensive directory of legitimate, fully-verified ecommerce wholesalers and manufacturers.