A few final thoughts -

You may have come to this workshop hoping for a list of hot products or wanting to know what other successful eBay sellers are selling.
But I hope leave this workshop with something infinitely more valuable.

The knowledge that your success on eBay rests squarely between your ears. It’s in your mindset. It’s in your approach.

If you can get past these 10 Roadblocks I described above, or even most of them, there will be no stopping you!

I’m not saying it’s always easy, but it is DOABLE.

For everyone.

If you want to make an income on eBay, whether part-time, full-time or somewhere in-between, recognizing these roadblocks in your approach to product sourcing and then addressing them will move you forward faster than any list of “hot products” every will.

Thank you all for being here today and I look forward to answering your questions!

Well, Lisa, its Rebecca from rollingt1411. I just knew this was from 1:00 - 2:00 P.M. CDT but I guess I was wrong!!! I'm still trying to read through as much as I can after I joined WDIS and am thoroughly enjoying it...even though it is overwhelming
I'll read this all you have here and add it to my notebook I've started. Thanks again for all of the terrific information you have provided.

Do you need to find company's willing to sell to small businesses or individuals in order to sell items at a profit? If so how do you find a company that will sell to you at wholesale prices?
MIndy

Did you see my question?

Exactly, that is my stumbling block. Finding the wholesale prices.

This thread, so far, has not made any constructive suggestions as to where to actually buy stuff that is priced so low that it can profitably resold on eBay.

There was a lot of messages advertising one particular website, and a lot of general statements like "you have to be in the right mindset".

As a long time surplus buyer and eBay seller (selling under a different ID), I feel that our readers deserve something more constructive and practically usable.

My own recommendations to someone interested in selling surplus, overstock, and liquidation items would be

1) Do deal with what you like and know. In my own case, it is industrial items. Otherwise, eBaying becomes painfully boring and you can easily make buying mistakes when getting out of your circle of competence.

2) There are no good deals with "drop shipping".

3) Attend liquidations and auctions in your area. Try to understand what is being sold, which not always easy. If you unearth a box of valuable parts on a pallet full of rusted junk, you could make money.

4) Get to know scrappers, liquidators, in your area and let them know you are willing to buy surplus stuff and to pay cash

5) Browse eBay categories of your interest. There are two reasons for it:

* You can learn more about the marketplace
* You can find amazing local deals on poorly described items, large lots, and so on, and make money by reselling them back on eBay. I do it all the time.

6) Subscribe to your local craigslist listings.

7) Seek out all sales where the seller has no interest in getting top dollar, or is distressed, and so on. Examples are government sales (of which military surplus is perhaps the best), bankruptcy sales, pre-bankruptcy opportunities, and so on.

8) Government sales deserve a special mention. Check out govliquidation.com for local listings. Military pays top dollar for their items and often writes them off when they are still perfectly usable, or sellable.

9) Offering cash for items often reduces your buying price by a great amount, for obvious reasons.

I may have missed something, but I want to turn this discussion towards a more constructive track.

Thanks

You're next treasureforyou - Lisa's responses always a chapter in themselves (this is good!)

She'll be right with you,

Deirdre
eBay Community Development