Selling things on eBay...

[camgear]

Fancy having a dabble with this, have read some of the business section, and looked through Alibaba, how risky is it?

I take it I need to notify the tax office that I'm selling stuff, and keep good records of what I sell, but is it worth a punt? How do you know what's worth getting sent over and what isn't?

Totally new to this, but am very interested! (Just for beer tokens really)

Thanks!

[MarkoTVR]

Read this and tell me if you think it's worth it..........

http://www.t3.com/news/britain-announces-its-first...

Nice bloke, too!

I don't think everyone who starts something up realises the same level of success, but I know other people who don't do badly from it. My cousin part runs a games console business, and they shift a fair bit via eBay.

If you have a good/popular product, why not?

Edited by MarkoTVR on Thursday 23 April 23:28

[camgear]

Haha, is it you?

[MarkoTVR]

I bloody wish!! Sadly, the only similarity is in the name!!!

[maser_spyder]

You'll find most 'cheap' stuff is already being done by other people with more experience and deeper pockets than you.

There are still items out there that you'll do well on, but don't think you'll come up with a winner straight away.

Mobile phone cases, camera memory, ipod headphones etc. - Forget it, too much competition!

[camgear]

I was thinking maybe something like this: http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/227514640/Silico...

[pgilc1]

camgear said:

Fancy having a dabble with this, have read some of the business section, and looked through Alibaba, how risky is it?

I take it I need to notify the tax office that I'm selling stuff, and keep good records of what I sell, but is it worth a punt? How do you know what's worth getting sent over and what isn't?

Totally new to this, but am very interested! (Just for beer tokens really)

Thanks!

Hmm. This is the online equivalent of 'i want to start a business but i dont know what to sell'

But here goes (based on a lot of personal experience and the thousands of other threads out there!)

Start by selling on the stuff you have around the house that you're not using - i do a clear out every six months - if it hasnt been used in that time flog it! This will give you a taste of what its like and build you up some feedback. Also there is no tax implications in this, so there is no requirement to inform the tax man.

Then find an area you want to specialise in. AVOID cd's, dvd's, computer parts, laptops, pcs, as they have been done to death and its very cutthroat. Find something that you enjoy and is 'niche'. THEN, like any business, find a way of getting the goods at a price that allows you to make money.

Its not impossible to make money on ebay, but its certainly a lot harder than people think - good luck!

[maser_spyder]

camgear said:

I was thinking maybe something like this: http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/227514640/Silico...

If you want encouragement - then yeah, go for it.

If you want advice - you're wasting your time with this type of product. Take a look at ebay, it's littered with people selling these products already. The sellers doing it have far more experience and deeper pockets than you have. Add VAT/Duty/Shipping to the price that seems quite good, and you'll probably find you can buy it cheaper from ebay UK than you can from China.

Right idea, wrong product.

Good luck.

[JustinP1]

You will never make money as a sole trader selling things that are low cost and common. Everyone sells them lower than you.

You can find a niche though and use this as a market system.

Ebay works because of supply and demand. When things are not in demand then they don't cost much. Ice in Alaska you can't give it away, but in Saudi Arabia worth more than oil.

So, you buy something from a small market and sell it to the big market.

With ebay that is easy as your market is the world. So, does your local charity shop have collectable books? To the 50 customers they have a week they are not even worth the 5p they are asking, but to the 100 collectors in the world market those books may be worth a tenner each.

Start small, see how it works and get a feel.

[camgear]

Thanks for the helpful input, I'll give this more thought over the weekend.

Thanks again.

[CzechItOut]

Has anyone ever heard of or used a Web site called China Grabber?

http://chinagrabber.com/

They seem to have an interesting range of unbranded phones - I was wondering if they are genuinely decent, cheap phone or just a load of cack?

[jas xjr]

also take a lok at amazon marketplace.a bit expensive but works well for me.and very secure

[maser_spyder]

CzechItOut said:

Has anyone ever heard of or used a Web site called China Grabber?

http://chinagrabber.com/

They seem to have an interesting range of unbranded phones - I was wondering if they are genuinely decent, cheap phone or just a load of cack?

Load of cack.

You would be nothing but disappointed! The 'look' is about the only thing going for them I'm afraid.

[Chris_w666]

I'd certainly second the advice about selling stuff you have around the house to get used to ebay and the postal system generally and trying different selling techniques, e.g auction, buy it now, combined listings, bulk listing etc. Look into how the shops work and don't make the mistake some do of not including ebay and paypal fees into your profit estimates.

As others have said ebay is cutthroat and deeper pocketed/better connected people will undercut most newbies even one with no overheads. To avoid this the best thing to do is have a small range of items that are always changing or do something in a couple of areas that you could also treat as a hobby.

I have found the bigger money on ebay can be made from older collectable things, this works for me as I have a friend with a computer games shop that passes any retro stuff my way, and I also have an interest in old dinky/corgi toys that I fund through selling things I pick up but don't want on ebay.