Slow and steady...

After reading a post in one of my groups, it sparked a topic I felt I should blog about.  It concerns new sellers and their quest for knowledge in finding what to sell.  Everyone wants to have that ultimate source for the killer stuff that sells almost as fast as you list it.  I mean after all, the web is filled with these sorts of people.  You see their success stories all the time.  Or do you?

While there may be a few like that, they are the exception rather than the rule.  What usually happens when someone discovers a product that sells well is this.  Word spreads and soon hundreds if not thousands of sellers are looking for the same item.  As they find and list them, each seller drops their price just a bit to compete with the next guy.  This continues until the product is virtually worthless because the price has been driven into the ground.  This is know as a race to the bottom.

The real success and sustainability with ebay is what we call bread and butter items.  These are the items that are priced anywhere from $25 - $45.  This is the sweet spot for decent items to sell at.  If you are sourcing correctly, these items will net you anywhere from $15 to $35 profits per item.  This is what you want the majority of your ebay business to contain.  They sell frequently and create a steady income stream, provided you have a decent amount of inventory listed.  That's not to say that you don't want to carry the higher end stuff, but you want stuff that has a constant influx of revenue.

The higher end stuff doesn't sell every day.  It normally requires the right person to see it.  That can take a few days or a few months.  These are what we call long tail sales.  They take a while to sell, but the profits are usually worth the wait.  Focus your energy on the bread and butter items.  Don't stress about finding the high end items.  You'll find them when you least expect to.

New sellers normally drop the "what sells best on ebay?" question.  My answer is almost always the same.  Sell what you know first, then expand.  As most seasoned sellers know, not everything will sell well for everyone.  It's an odd quirk with ebay.  One person can sell the heck out of coffee mugs while the next guy can't give them away.  Find your own way.  Find what works for you and quit obsessing over what other people sell.

New sellers almost always fall into the same trap.  It's called shiny object syndrome.  They either read about something or see a youtube video about something someone is selling, and immediately go out and start buying it.  They have not learned the basics of sticking to what you know and expanding slowly.  They wind up either giving up because they can't seem to sell stuff, or they wind up with a bunch of stuff being re-donated.  Don't be that guy!  Do your homework.  Research these items and be sure you can sell them at the profit margins you need.

Slow and steady.  Be methodical in your approach.  Expand your inventory into other products slowly.  Just because you listed an item and it sold in a couple days does not mean it is a hot seller.  Take your time and see how these new items perform over time.  Nothing sucks more than buying a butt load of product only to find out it will take 2 years to clear them out.