Auction Selling Revealed Blog

The hardest part in ebay selling is to find out where you get your merchandise to sell. No powerseller will tell you where they get their products. It’s a business secret. The best thing for you to do, if you are new to ebay is to know who’s who in the industry. Know the people that you can negotiate with, the same people that businessmen run after when they need some merchandise to sell. It could be manufacturers, wholesalers, manufacturer’s reps, dropshippers or brokers. These people play a good part in the wholesale game.

Manufacturers. It would be a great advantage if you could go directly to a manufacturer. But manufacturers transact big business. They deliver in high volume. They usually require large minimum orders from retailers. Or you may otherwise find some retail store to share with your order but it may not be a good idea unless you are really in good terms with your partner. For fashion apparels, manufacturers may allow small purchases every end of season when they want to dispose out of season fashion apparels.

Wholesalers: Here’s your first step to finding your middleman. Wholesalers purchase direct from the manufacturer in large quantities. They sell the merchandise to smaller retailers who can’t take advantage of the discounts from manufacturers for large orders. Find a wholesaler who is familiar with (or better yet, specializes in) the type of merchandise you want to sell. Obviously, someone who specializes in prerecorded DVDs and videos will not have a clue about the fashion market and vice versa. Don’t forget to check local wholesalers, as described in the “Finding merchandise locally” section.

Manufacturer’s reps: These are generally the type of people you’ll meet at trade shows for marts. They represent one or many noncompeting manufacturers and selling their merchandise to retailers for a commission.

Jobbers or brokers: These independent businesspeople buy merchandise anywhere they can at distressed prices. They deal mostly in liquidation or salvage merchandise.

Don’t forget to negotiate. Almost everything in the wholesale merchandise world is negotiable. Although merchandise may have a set price, you may be able to get a discount if you offer to pay on delivery or within ten days. Ask whether they can help you out with shipping costs and perhaps promotions. They just may give you a discount if you promote their product through banner ads. Ask, ask, ask. The worst they can say is no.