Now this is a popular one. As the world’s biggest marketplace, eBay has made its fair share of millionaires. What you don’t listen to about so commonly, is all the people who struggle to make a profit from eBay because 100 other people are selling the exact same products – for more competitive prices.

Buying and selling wholesale goods is frequently viewed as a sort of ‘get rich quick’ method, where sellers can make large profits from tiny investment or work. Two months after they started, people don’t understand why things haven’t gone according to plan! There’s one myths in particular that seem to lead would-be sellers astray time and time again.
Myth #1: Ebay is the best place to sell your wholesale goods.

The fact is, eBay is basically competitive in some categories. Electronics, jewelry, designer clothing and computer games are all dangerous territory for the new seller. You won’t stand a chance against established sellers who have already got a strong following and highly competitive prices.

This is not a new situation. Supermarkets and large discount stores often run at a loss on some items in order to attract more customers. For tiny or new sellers, this is a deadly scenario.

So what should you do? If your product falls in to these or any other highly competitive section, I recommend shifting your focus to less competitive markets such as selling through classified newspapers in your local area.

While you won’t be reaching audiences of the size that online auctions sites such as eBay provide, buyers that use these alternative mediums to purchase goods are 9 out of 10 times more likely to pay significantly more for products. Not only will your margins can be much higher, you’ll also have far less competition to deal with.

One advantage of eBay US however, is that the large amount of competition makes it a fabulous place to pick up cheap as dirt goods to sell elsewhere! It is not uncommon to find best prices on eBay.
Myth #2: You can find all your wholesale sources online.

It is and a lovely idea to try using eBay international sites such as www.ebay.co.uk or www.ebay.com.au, as well as other auction sites with less competition such as www.trademe.co.nz and www.ubid.com. I find that these sites give consistently higher margins compared to eBay US, and the number of buyers is still high.

The Net provides easy access to a great plenty of wholesalers these days, and it is a fast way of making initial contacts. However, it certainly doesn’t provide access to all wholesalers. If you are serious about finding the best wholesale prices for your products, then it pays to check out other sources as well.

Try looking through trade magazines such as Closeout News and Wholesale Merchandise, to name a few. With less people vying for stock, there is a lovely chance you’ll find some exceedingly lovely prices tucked away in the corners!

The time you spend building a relationship won’t only mean you are in a stronger position to get better prices, but, because you know your supplier, you’ll be more confident that things will go smoothly when you finally do place your order.
Myth #3: Pricing research is unnecessary and takes up much valuable time.

And another thing, in my experience, building up personal relationships with sellers is absolutely essential for getting the best priced goods. So whether you have found your supplier online or in a magazine, make a phone call, start up an email exchange, or have regular chats on MSN and get to know them.

The amount of people that pass over pricing research constantly amazes me. Everyone always agrees that it is important to research prices, but when it comes down to it, they seem to think that they ‘know’ how much items cost wholesale, and how much profit they are likely to make later.

Whenever I mention this one, people always chorus:’But of work they know research is important!’ Well why don’t you spend more time doing it then?

But how can they ‘know’? This is not information we are given at birth!(Or perhaps I am unlucky!) Prices are constantly in flux, and carrying out some decent (and yes, time-consuming) research is essential to a successful business for two important reasons:

1. First, it is important to get a lovely idea of the average resale price for your item before you get started. For a quantity of popular items (DVDs, electronics and computer games in particular), the profit margins tend to be low. Despite this, plenty of sellers see the popularity of the item and dive in head first. Overly-saturated markets mean a hell of a lot of work for tiny in return. Throw sizable, established sellers in to the mix and it is impossible to compete. But you won’t know this until you research it first! So visit auction sites, read classified ads and any material you can get your hands on until you have a lovely idea of exactly what you are going to get.

Finding a niche item that no-one else is supplying at a competitive rate is every sellers dream. However, if you think you are going to be able to find a wholesaler supplier for the item by doing a fast Net search for ‘Left-handed Guitar necks’ then you could not be more wrong.

2. The second reason for research is that your preconceptions of value may be wrong. People have a tendency to believe that ‘wholesale’ automatically means a fifth of the retail price. This is usually out of line! Some sellers have emailed me in shock when they realize that they actually must spend a significant amount of money on their wholesale stock. ‘I always thought that purchasing a container of wholesale plasma TVs would only need a few hundred dollars investment, but it looks more like several thousand,’ wailed one seller recently, ‘Am I looking in the wrong place?’ Well, I am sorry to shatter your hopes and dreams, but buying wholesale doesn’t always mean large profits for tiny investment. For some items, such a scenario is possible – but only if you do the research!
Myth #4: Niche items can be bought from individual wholesalers.

It’ll be a lot harder than you think, but if you have completed your market research effectively and you take the time to find a lovely supplier, then your hard work will pay off.

Niche products are hard to find precisely because they are not wanted by absolutely everybody. Thus, finding a supplier will take a bit of work on your behalf as these items usually cannot be purchased from individual wholesalers. In lieu, you’ll must contact large wholesalers, or even contact the manufacturer directly.

If you are interested in this argument check my blog dedicated to dropship at http://abcdropship.blogspot.com there are a lot of reviews and articles that are waiting for you!!