Buying and Selling on eBay: Tips, Tricks, Problems & Questions

[Brianpore]

Quote: $50 = approx 300 pairs. So need about 10 people? I'd be in for $25 (approx 100 pairs?)

 

[Snoogz]

If you do 25$ increments, Count.Me.In.Coach!

 

[txwoodworker]

Yeah, I'm in, assuming it's not 3000per color. Would want split 50/50 black brown. Figure we'd have to pay the person who orders, splits and delivers for their time too.

 

[Snoogz]

Sounds good! Someone take charge and put together a commit to purchase list!

25$ increments seems to work for most.

I'm in!

 

[hbkshin]

^^
1st, let me say that like any thing else in this world, some people are just better at this than others. There is an art to capturing a static item and giving it a sense of movement or drama. Look at the brag thread, when people post ties or Belts. Some are on black, some are on white, some are on wood. Brian, jGill, Snoogz, hbkshin, Dan, atlnoob and several others have awesome quality pics that I believe help sell their items. The detail and focus from hbkshin and brian on ties is incredible. I'd be proud to replicate that.

Step one: DON'T LET YOUR PIC'S COST YOU A CUSTOMER.

But still, if I'm scrolling through 100 listings, I can pick out wes & spoo's items with one eye closed. Wes for Suits specifically, and his turntable makes the ties and shoes stand out, & Spoo for Ties/Accessories. I think that what draw people to spoo's pic's is, in fact, that he gets a certain amount of drama in his shots. In some cases, if you were going to bid on a black belt though, you might have trouble actually seeing the detail on the belt against the background, yet you are still drawn in.

I'm on this forum in the first place because of Wes's, Brian's and Spoo's photos. When I was a buyer, I kept seeing their items and really appreciated how good the photo's were that they included in their auctions. I wasn't ever going to bid on a poorly lit or a dingy looking item. I googled Wes's ebay store, that led to style forum, where I recognized spoo's and Brian's photo's from shopping on ebay.

That said, I always love that very clean look of something shot on a white background. However, somethings get lost on it. Cuff Links on white. A white dress shirt on white. Same for black on black.

I think once you have the technical photography down so that the shots are well-lit, details captured, it doesn't really matter what your background it.

I happen to like a textured background for accessories because it adds scale. I've been on the look out for a table with a leather top in black, english tan, white.....almost any color but something that might look like a place in your house where you staged your items while getting dressed. Take off a tie and lay it on the dresser. or put your cufflinks on a table while you're changing shirts. I like staging that looks like how someone richer than I am might use the item.....

Step two: DEVELOP A RECOGNIZABLE STYLE TO SUPPORT YOUR BRAND

Your staging becomes your signature and in the square, photo, preview box, you have 225 square pixels to tell a story that sells your item.

 

[richnet12]



I sold an item to a guy (accepted his third offer), who asked me if he could pay in 2-3 weeks after I accepted his offer. He also wants me to ship to South Korea and has 1 feedback. Should I just cancel the transaction?

I vote yes!

 

[jebarne]



Check this out

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/custom-round-wax-men-dress-shoelaces_1724829579.html?s=p

We could do a group buy, although it doesn't say the length; .07 each + shipping from China + shipping from whoever does the master order. Still looks much cheaper. I would be willing to go in on this, I could always sell any excess on eBay.

I emailed them earlier to see if we can get samples before we commit. I asked if they would make the order 70% black, 30% brown. Mix of waxed and unwaxed. Sizes from 24" - 36".

I was thinking of buying all 3000, organizing my stash, and then selling the rest at $2 per pair with a 4-5 pair minimum.

However, with the interest here, a split would work too.

 

[hbkshin]

I emailed them earlier to see if we can get samples before we commit. I asked if they would make the order 70% black, 30% brown. Mix of waxed and unwaxed. Sizes from 24" - 36".

I was thinking of buying all 3000, organizing my stash, and then selling the rest at $2 per pair with a 4-5 pair minimum.

However, with the interest here, a split would work too.

Just so you know, aliexpress isn't known for their customer service. Even if they say "sure" to that request, you're 75% unlikely to get your request.

I had a friend who would flip with aliexpress back when, said it was really hard to communicate and service was pretty much nil.

 

[jdrizzy]

Important Question.

For you guys that do this full time, how do you make this business profitable. I just set up a excel sheet to follow my expenses and profit, and it's made it a bit discouraging. Assuming that 13% of fees goes to eBay and PayPal, and I have to pay roughly 15%(assumed number) on taxes, selling 40k in sales profits me 22K(assuming I spent 6k on sourcing)

Do most of you have llcs, can someone break down how they started?

 

[capnwes]

Important Question.

For you guys that do this full time, how do you make this business profitable. I just set up a excel sheet to follow my expenses and profit, and it's made it a bit discouraging. Assuming that 13% of fees goes to eBay and PayPal, and I have to pay roughly 15%(assumed number) on taxes, selling 40k in sales profits me 22K(assuming I spent 6k on sourcing)

Do most of you have llcs, can someone break down how they started?

That doesn't sound discouraging, that sounds pretty damn good to me!

The only way to make it profitable = Buy as low as possible, sell as high as possible + give good service so the buyers who spent as much as possible will want to do it as often as possible.

 

[jdrizzy]

That doesn't sound discouraging, that sounds pretty damn good to me!

The only way to make it profitable = Buy as low as possible, sell as high as possible + give good service so the buyers who spent as much as possible will want to do it again.

Good point, those numbers were a bit hypothetical to see how my taxes turned up. But in terms of going full time and attempting to make the most out of it- Can I realistically make a career/living out of this?

I already understand( or try to) the importance of budgeting and finances, so there is no worry there.

 

[capnwes]

Good point, those numbers were a bit hypothetical to see how my taxes turned up. But in terms of going full time and attempting to make the most out of it- Can I realistically make a career/living out of this?

I already understand( or try to) the importance of budgeting and finances, so there is no worry there.

It's possible.

 

[DanM]

^^
1st, let me say that like any thing else in this world, some people are just better at this than others. There is an art to capturing a static item and giving it a sense of movement or drama. Look at the brag thread, when people post ties or Belts. Some are on black, some are on white, some are on wood. Brian, jGill, Snoogz, hbkshin, Dan, atlnoob and several others have awesome quality pics that I believe help sell their items. The detail and focus from hbkshin and brian on ties is incredible. I'd be proud to replicate that.

Step one: DON'T LET YOUR PIC'S COST YOU A CUSTOMER.

But still, if I'm scrolling through 100 listings, I can pick out wes & spoo's items with one eye closed. Wes for Suits specifically, and his turntable makes the ties and shoes stand out, & Spoo for Ties/Accessories. I think that what draw people to spoo's pic's is, in fact, that he gets a certain amount of drama in his shots. In some cases, if you were going to bid on a black belt though, you might have trouble actually seeing the detail on the belt against the background, yet you are still drawn in.

I'm on this forum in the first place because of Wes's, Brian's and Spoo's photos. When I was a buyer, I kept seeing their items and really appreciated how good the photo's were that they included in their auctions. I wasn't ever going to bid on a poorly lit or a dingy looking item. I googled Wes's ebay store, that led to style forum, where I recognized spoo's and Brian's photo's from shopping on ebay.

That said, I always love that very clean look of something shot on a white background. However, somethings get lost on it. Cuff Links on white. A white dress shirt on white. Same for black on black.

I think once you have the technical photography down so that the shots are well-lit, details captured, it doesn't really matter what your background it.

I happen to like a textured background for accessories because it adds scale. I've been on the look out for a table with a leather top in black, english tan, white.....almost any color but something that might look like a place in your house where you staged your items while getting dressed. Take off a tie and lay it on the dresser. or put your cufflinks on a table while you're changing shirts. I like staging that looks like how someone richer than I am might use the item.....

Step two: DEVELOP A RECOGNIZABLE STYLE TO SUPPORT YOUR BRAND

Your staging becomes your signature and in the square, photo, preview box, you have 225 square pixels to tell a story that sells your item.

some illustrious company I find myself in there. Thanks bro, really needed that pick-me-up today.

 

[hbkshin]

How does everyone feel about the non-existent mannequin look?\

http://www.ebay.com/itm/POLO-RALPH-...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

It looks pretty damn good to me. I was thinking about mimicing this. I've seen it on many store websites. It would add a bit of time to my processing, but not too much as I've played around with it before.

 

[Koala-T]

How does everyone feel about the non-existent mannequin look?\

http://www.ebay.com/itm/POLO-RALPH-...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

It looks pretty damn good to me. I was thinking about mimicing this. I've seen it on many store websites. It would add a bit of time to my processing, but not too much as I've played around with it before.

I like the context a shirt and tie add, but it is sort of neat.