Trouble finding profitable items.

[Mommy27]

I've joined a couple of dropshipping sites. However, most of the products are already being sold on eBay for cheaper than I could sell them for to gain a profit. I'm not looking to pay a monthly fee for joining somewhere just yet. I want to sell a couple things first to see if I like this. (I don't care if I only make a couple dollars income. It's just to test this.) Anyways, I'm wondering if this is just a tough system to get into for everyone. Does everyone spend alot of time researching different products to find some that work for you? Thanks in advance for any advise!

[Mom2Sami]

My hubby tried this. You have to pay e-bay fees even if you do not sell the item most of the time.

So don't get into a situation where you are paying to work. Make sure you have a product that will sell.

[beautifulsoul]

Originally Posted by Mommy27

I've joined a couple of dropshipping sites. However, most of the products are already being sold on eBay for cheaper than I could sell them for to gain a profit. I'm not looking to pay a monthly fee for joining somewhere just yet. I want to sell a couple things first to see if I like this. (I don't care if I only make a couple dollars income. It's just to test this.) Anyways, I'm wondering if this is just a tough system to get into for everyone. Does everyone spend alot of time researching different products to find some that work for you? Thanks in advance for any advise!

That's the way it is for most of those types of sites. Please save your money. I wish someone has told me to save mine. But if you are using a dropshipping site, you may wanna try to sell hard to find unique items. That way you won't have to worry about the competition.

Yes I do believe this is a tough system to get into, whether ebay or your own store. With ebay it's tough becuase there is a lot of competition and if you don't chose the right product to sell you could end up in the negative.

For most people it does take a lot of research, so don't feel bad. Trying to find a good product to sell is hard for many reasons. One the price may not be low enough, so you'll have to sell it higher which would be bad. Then trying to find a legitimate wholesaler that doesn't scam you and gives good prices is a tough thing to do online. Then also trying to find the right thing. It's definitely tough. But with consistency it can be done. Don't let your obstacles stop you from success. There is aways a way around them.

[tstowe]

Originally Posted by beautifulsoul

That's the way it is for most of those types of sites. Please save your money. I wish someone has told me to save mine. But if you are using a dropshipping site, you may wanna try to sell hard to find unique items. That way you won't have to worry about the competition.

Yes I do believe this is a tough system to get into, whether ebay or your own store. With ebay it's tough becuase there is a lot of competition and if you don't chose the right product to sell you could end up in the negative.

For most people it does take a lot of research, so don't feel bad. Trying to find a good product to sell is hard for many reasons. One the price may not be low enough, so you'll have to sell it higher which would be bad. Then trying to find a legitimate wholesaler that doesn't scam you and gives good prices is a tough thing to do online. Then also trying to find the right thing. It's definitely tough. But with consistency it can be done. Don't let your obstacles stop you from success. There is aways a way around them.

I agree with ya.

check out this - most ebayers dont know it, powersellers do:

eBay Pulse

eBay Pulse: trends, hot picks, cool stuff and popular searches on eBay.com

find a section that you like too and check completed auctions for items & prices.

also check amazon bestsellers

Amazon.com Bestsellers: The most popular items in Books. Updated hourly.

[yasser]

This book gives you access to 27 nice dropshipping companies

[Michelle Smithers]

Anyone have experience of selling hair care for children online ?

[JaneSv]

I remember I started selling electronics (digital cameras) and before I knew it I was in the poor house, then things got really bad when a promo came about and a lot of cameras w accessories were sold at a discount by the wholesaler... I bought about 10k of merchandise because the prices were good but thats when my luck ran out, my ebay acc was hacked and one of my clients sent the money to another paypal acc and ebay suspended my acc and by the time I cleared everything the products I had purchased had lost their value and I took a big loss... agrrr

I guess what I am trying to say is that when doing anything in ebay one must learn about perfect competition and laws of demand and supply besides being prepared for the worst case scenario...

[mrswahm]

I will ramble a bit on this topic as there is much to say about dropshipping. I will also provide and eBay seller who is successfully dropshiping products on ebay – See bottom of my rant-

Remember the old saying about thinking out of the box? This is truly what one must do in order to find success online, especially selling on eBay. Forget about the thousands of dropshippers out there who are advertising the same products!

I know of several large multi-million dollar Ecommerce websites that do not stock a single item; they have several suppliers who ship merchandise for them! They do not use dropshipers that charge a “program fee”, in fact most the suppliers that they use were sought out and not found in some dropship directory.
You can be successful finding suppliers and using the dropship model to ship from virtual warehouses across the country, but it takes great effort on your part to set up a fulfillment arrangement.
Call on prospective wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers and let them know you are interested in selling their product line. Make sure they understand that they have one responsibility, which is shipping. Your company will handle the sale and follow up with customer servicing of the account!
The key to a successful dropship arrangement is spending the time needed to source unique products and selling the concept to your source about the advantage of having an outside sales team sending orders daily!

Look up eBay seller mcgrrrrr - This is a fellow names Skip Mcgrath who is a best selling author of many eBay "How To" books. He is also an eBay certified instructor.

Skip has set up dropshipping arrangements with several manufacturers and you can see this from his auctions for Fire Pit Grills.

You can do this as well, but you must do the leg work involved in finding a unique product and making an agreement with a manufacturer.

[EZDisplay]

Believe it or not, I have an acquaintance who's friend and his wife actually go to Antique and Vintage type stores and buy whatever catches their eye. They have been selling the items on Ebay and have been making a steady stream of profit. Not to say they are making a killing with this venture, but dedicating their free time to this makes them think about doing full time everyday

[GAjewel]

I've been selling on eBay for many years. I tried dropshipping long ago and found it to be a waste of time. I buy specific kinds of thrift store items and resell for great profits. I've had used dinner plates that sold for $125 a piece on eBay, in fact. There is an art form the finding the right stuff, but I it worked a lot better for me personally. Most months, when I am eBaying, I can bring in $2000+ extra with this method.

I actually just published my first book on Amazon about it this week because I don't think a lot of moms realize how much of an income they can still make on eBay and they are scared to try. Some of my friends are doing it now and making good incomes. So, it can be done but I found dropshipping to be too difficult to maneuver for not a lot of return.

Good luck!

Charity