My fledgling ebay business

[odoreater]

So, since I have a long time off between graduating from law school and starting work, I've been doing some selling on ebay to make some lunch money. My operation isn't that big. I only put about 3 or 4 items for sale per week.

Right now I have the following for sale: A NWT 17x35 Ermenegildo Zegna Dress check dress shirt, a NWT 17.5x36 striped Ermenegildo Zegna dress shirt and a used 36S Hart Shaffner Marx suit in excellent condition. I will also be putting up a John Varvatos sport coat in IIRC a size 40R next sunday.

If you want to check out my auctions my ebay name is "vujnati"

I'm also wondering if any of you experienced guys have any tips for a new guy. What I've been doing is basically scouring the clearance racks at outlet stores looking for good products at a deep discount that I flip on ebay for a small profit. However, I have financial backers that are willing to invest up to $10,000 if I find something that is worthwhile. I was thinking of contacting some manufacturers to see if they would be interested in supplying products for me to sell. For example, I could contact C&J and see if they would give me a good price on their shoes for me to sell on ebay or through an ebay store or something. I just don't know if I want to get into something big in the middle of studying for the bar exam or a few months before I start working for a law firm.

 

[VMan]

Originally Posted by odoreater

So, since I have a long time off between graduating from law school and starting work, I've been doing some selling on ebay to make some lunch money. My operation isn't that big. I only put about 3 or 4 items for sale per week.

Right now I have the following for sale: A NWT 17x35 Ermenegildo Zegna Dress check dress shirt, a NWT 17.5x36 striped Ermenegildo Zegna dress shirt and a used 36S Hart Shaffner Marx suit in excellent condition. I will also be putting up a John Varvatos sport coat in IIRC a size 40R next sunday.

If you want to check out my auctions my ebay name is "vujnati"

I'm also wondering if any of you experienced guys have any tips for a new guy. What I've been doing is basically scouring the clearance racks at outlet stores looking for good products at a deep discount that I flip on ebay for a small profit. However, I have financial backers that are willing to invest up to $10,000 if I find something that is worthwhile. I was thinking of contacting some manufacturers to see if they would be interested in supplying products for me to sell. For example, I could contact C&J and see if they would give me a good price on their shoes for me to sell on ebay or through an ebay store or something. I just don't know if I want to get into something big in the middle of studying for the bar exam or a few months before I start working for a law firm.

The thing with ebay is that you can't sell anything at near-retail prices (unless the item is insanely popular or collectable).

I don't think the C&J route would work to well as an ebay item needs to sell at 35-75% off retail for it to seem worthwhile to the consumer. So, unless you'd be able to find that sort of deal, it would be a hard sell.

It's a very finicky marketplace.

 

[johnpemberton]

I am an established seller on ebay. The best way to source product for ebay is to cut out all the 'middle-men'...this is very difficult, as factories tend to deal in the 1000's of garments....hence why wholesalers exist. However I have just managed to get into the Hugo Boss factory in Italy for a 10% commission to my UK wholesale contact....the prices are amazing...this however has taken me 2 years (to find trustworthy and honest people to deal with). Buying from a retail shop during a discount can sometimes work, but your margins are going to be tight....you need to build up a good reputation before people will buy. I found that after I hit the 1000 feedback mark, people trusted me to buy pretty much full price from my shop (note I hardly do any auctions - they are too precarious). The limit on ebay is around £400/$800...the lower your reputation, the lower the consumer is willling to spend.

Hope that has helped!
John

 

[mack11211]

I'm smaller-league than Mr. Pemberton, but I can say that you can prevent a lot of time-consuming queries by including as much info in the listing as you can, esp sales and return policies and measurements of the garment. This is esp. important with used garments, which may shrink be altered, but also true with new ones as well. Detailed measurements and other product details make people more comfortable spending larger sums -- check out the detail of theworldsfinest listings, for ex.

 

[johnpemberton]

I agree with mack11211....providing just the right amount of detail is essential. I receive very few questions to ratio of sales. See my listings for examples.

 

[chorse123]

I've passed up a number of inexpensive items from one Brooks Brothers seller because he does not include measurements. And when I've requested them, he's given me an incomplete set. Not very smart on his part.

EDIT - also, I'm not sure eBay is the way to go. It might be better to set up a dedicated website. But 10 grand in seed capital - don't know how far that's going to go. And it doesn't sound like you want to start a long term business.

 

[odoreater]

Originally Posted by chorse123

I've passed up a number of inexpensive items from one Brooks Brothers seller because he does not include measurements. And when I've requested them, he's given me an incomplete set. Not very smart on his part.

EDIT - also, I'm not sure eBay is the way to go. It might be better to set up a dedicated website. But 10 grand in seed capital - don't know how far that's going to go. And it doesn't sound like you want to start a long term business.

I've been using A. Harris' guide to measuring items for ebay to provide as many measurements as I can and my items have been doing pretty well so far. The problem is that I am very meticulous about what items I buy at discount and then resell on ebay which means two things: (1) it takes me a long time to find an item that I'm going to sell, and (2) I don't find very many items.

But you're right, I don't want to start a long term business, so I'm going to probably turn these guys that are offering me money down. Right now, it's more of a hobby that makes some pocket cash than a real business.

 

[odoreater]

Up for auction:

John Varvatos 2-button single breasted blazer ($1095 Retail) 40R: This thing is awesome and I would have loved to keep it if it was in my size because I think it would look killer with a pair of jeans. Starting bid: $215, BIN: $255.

Corneliani dress shirt EU size 40: (US 15.75 or 16, collar measures 16" when I measured it): This shirt has a pretty cool hidden buttondown collar, which would make it good with both a tie, and with the top button unbottoned in a more casual or business casual outfit. Starting bid: $40.

Ebay User ID: Vujnati
Click here to see my ebau auctions