alibaba and amazon

If you look, everyone is doing this... how are you going to stand out?

Sounds pretty shady. Why would someone buy your chinese crap instead of an established brand? Also, what happens when they want to get a refund?

>>1078043
it's not about standing out, it's about making money, just as everyone does. I don't think you can make money by being a special snowflake.

>>1078045
Well everyone already is buying chinese crap it's just that they don't know it. For example if you take a look at anything on Ebay or Amazon you'll find that most of that stuff came from Chinese manufacturers and were resold on ebay for like 150% profit

>>1078047

I think what >>1078043 is getting at is...if everyone's fucking doing it, how will you make money off of it? Why should someone purchase your cheaply bought Chinese shit when they can buy ebaydude51's cheaply bought Chinese shit instead?

>>1078040
80% of Amazon stuff is private labelled products from Alibaba.

>>1078047
Your business won't survive at 150%.

>>1078062
Well Ebaydude51 isn't selling everything on this planet is he? I am sure you can find something to sell that isn't sold massively. I'm not talking about selling things like earbuds and shit that is already massively sold, but you can find something that has a reasonable demand and not overcrowded supply.

>>1078064
>80% of Amazon stuff is private labelled products from Alibaba

Yea well, these things have to appear out of somewhere right?

>Your business won't survive at 150%.
I didn't mean 150%, I'd actually sell it 7x the price

I had already found an item with a reasonable demand, it goes for 1$ on alibaba and the cheapest this item goes on ebay is like 8 pounds, i'd sell it for 7.

I don't see why this wouldn't work. I am very open to discussion. I'd actually want to see why this wouldn't work, but so far I can't see how this could possibly not work.

(I'm not talking about making hundreds of thousands of dollars off of this obviously, but this business plan seems like a reasonable idea)

>>1078062
Thats a good reason to never do anything

You think most plumbers start a plumbing business by looking on google and seeing other plumbing businesses in the area and go "no its useless, why would they choose me when they could choose all these other plumbers"

Fucking retards man, you got to get involved,

YES THERE IS TONNES OF MONEY TO BE MADE RESELLING CHINESE SHIT ON EBAY. THATS WHY SO MANY PPL ARE DOING IT!

>>1078072
Dont listen to these retards man, they have day jobs or they're still in school and dont know shit about business in the real world. i say go for it.

>>1078073

The difference with your example is that it's far different buying a service as opposed to a product. Why buy from the small fish when you can go to a whale and get the stuff you wanted and more? What will he do/offer that helps him stand out?

Even the plumber in your example may try to either undercut the price (which sucks for everyone long term) or go above and beyond.

>>1078082
People buy random shit they clicked on all the time. If it won't sell on ebay put it on gumtree. If it doesn't sell there take it to a car boot. Its not rocket science.

Let me ask you have you ever operated a business in your entire life? Certainly doesnt sound like it

Mate give me a pallet of laser pens and i'll shot them all at a car boot sale for ten times the price.

It's simple.

>>1078086

I haven't, which makes my advice not as valuable, but standing out is important, isn't it?

>>1078101
standing out is very abstract and I don't think as important as you think it is. Imagine if everyone stood out? Do you really need someone selling dildos to stand out? You're just buying something

I Imagine standing out would be important if you wanted to profit from a youtube channel or a blog you're writing. I can't see how standing out can be so crucial when selling stuff on amazon or ebay.

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>>1078040
>dropshipper here

just couple of month but enough to understand how it works.
the more expensive shit you buy, the less you gain.
people want to buy cheap things because they are your first customer target. when you gain more feedback you can rise up your target.
i gained more with 0.25$ then 3/4$
if i can tell you something, do not confirm the goods received, if you confirm you start the warranty and if your customer ask for a refund you are screwed.
just wait close to expiration and you will be good (1 or 2 days)
always check the feedback and add a Gtranslator in your favorite bar. lots of russian left the comment but sometime a 5 star means a refund.
if the item is not like the one described ask for refund, if you try to contact the seller you waist your time. open a dispute asap.
did someone have some experience with taobao.com? it's only for chinese?

>>1078114
>if i can tell you something, do not confirm the goods received, if you confirm you start the warranty and if your customer ask for a refund you are screwed.

explain a little more?

also how much did you make so far?

>>1078072
If you found a niche product go for it. Thats the hardest part (finding an item with decent margins thats not already over represented)

Just realize that its a race to the bottom because people are looking at listings everyday trying to find a new product with a little margin to skim sales from. One day thatll be your item.

Not a reason to not do it but just know the risks going in to dropshipping

>>1078101
There are millions of profitable businesses which don't stand out but make their owners richer than nazis

>>1078128
And in certain sectors not standing out at all is an advantage. People don't always want bells and whistles they'd rather go with a company that looks "normal".

Sometimes looking exactly the same as all the others means more profit.

This goes for pricing as well, if you try and be too cheap people will think it's substandard.

>>1078132
very well said

>>1078120
>if i can tell you something, do not confirm the goods received, if you confirm you start the warranty and if your customer ask for a refund you are screwed.

explain a little more?
> you can open a dispute within 25 days. if your item is good, everything is fine but if your customer will receive broken or with some issue (bad package or whatever) you must pay with no gain. where is my point? if your customer send you a picture of the item, you can open a dispute with the supplier and act like the item come broken . I'm not an English mother tongue i can't explain better then that

also how much did you make so far?
I'm at the beginning, I put some item on ebay and got some penny back, the best market is on facebook, find some group and upload the picture. tell the price via PM and do not put in the pic.
you can rise to 20$ but later you can contact back with an offer of half price (for one item you payed 0.25$)

>>1078114
I have experience with taobao. its a cross between ebay and amazon. I would go there first to buy as a consumer if I was in china *(last I checked most sellers only shipped china)

>>1078114
any recommendations for dropshipping??? can you link a good example tha wont endanger your business?

>>1078150
what sort of groups?

>>1078114
Do you ever resell replica shoes?

Bumping for interest

No idea why i'm writing this, but there is the path to the amazon business, more or less.

1. Scour best seller lists in the categories of Health & Beauty, Fitness, Kitchen, or Home goods. No electronics, no clothing.
2. Find best selling products that meet the following criteria: small, lightweight, not fragile, not a lot of moving parts, not a lot that could break, etc. and if you want better income something that people re-order (in other words it runs out or needs to be replaced every so often.
3. Aim for a selling price between $20 and $50. Now go on alibaba and make sure you can buy at like 10 to 15% of the selling price MAX.
4. Make sure the one being sold now is high ranking AND has less than 100 reviews (less than 50 even better). and/or a listing that has shitty images, poor description etc.
5. NOW, Read the negative reviews for the top selling you're going to be competing with. Look for what customers want. Things like "wish it was a little larger" or "the packaging was very cheap" or "It was perfect except it for blah blah blah".
6. Contact the manufacturer from alibaba and ask them for a prototype which includes the improvements that the customers want. Give the customers what they want! simple. If you need help describing or drawing this out, hire a local college graphic designer or go on fiverr.
7. Once you're happy with the new "improved' product, create a BRAND. This can be literally anything. Have the manufacturer stamp your brand on the "new" product. Take excellent photos (professional grade) and make the listing top notch.
8. Find a freight forwarder who can pick up your shipment at the docks when it arrives and ship it to amazon's fulfilment warehouse. Do some reading on how this step works. You could also accept all the packages direct and do this step yourself at first, which might be a good idea while you get your feet wet.
9. List the item, which is now at amazon's warehouse and ready to be shipped by prime.
... continued...

>>1080118
...
10. CRUCIAL - Have at least 25 people lined up who will buy the product AND leave a 5 star review. Paypal them the money first and even write the reviews if you have to. Just make sure they leave this on the item.
11. After you have 25 good reviews start paying for advertisement. On amazon, on facebook, even google adwords. If applicable send promo copies of the products to bloggers who write about your kind of product.

PROFIT. Just don't forget to check your stock and replenish when needed. Before you start register an LLC in your state as well and conduct all business through this. Read up on this as well. Teach yourself. Don't be lazy. Just take the first step and make it happen.

There is a lot more to do after this, such as creating your own web store and brand image stuff. As well as including a note in your package to redirect customers into your own channel for repeat purchases outside of amazon, but you can research all of this online.

Don't think small, like phone cases for pennies. Think about building a brand. Sell items upwords of $30 to $50 a pop for a ton of profit. There are buyers for every price point. Forget inventing something new. Just offer value by modifying a product and then do it again and again on related items, diversifying your brand.

Let me know if this was helpful. Good luck.

>>1080124
Underrated post

>>1080118
>>1080124
Quality information thanks friend

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>>1080118
>>1080124

Many blessings to you my friend.

>>1080118
>>1080124
Damn anon you just summed up about 5 hours worth of Youtube videos in a couple of posts. Good job

>>1080171
>>1080173
>>1080193
>>1080211
Thanks all. And yes. It takes quite a few hours to learn this stuff. It's not the easiest to get into, but not super difficult. Most people will stop after reading this post. Another group will stop after reaseaching products for a few hours. And a huge chuck of the remaining people will stop just short of contacting a manufacturer. And that's why it's still a viable business. 99% will not make it to the end.

And to respond to posts above about standing out. You do want and need to stand out. In quality (or perceived quality) and in branding. If you are going to try to corner the higher price points (which I recommend) then make sure your packaging reflects that. Think about all the shit you buy day to day. Start searching for it on alibaba. You will be amazed how many items are available for private labeling for a given product.

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>>1078676
buy, sell, exchange. in your city or neighborhood.
if there are none, create one.

>>1078671
what if i can tell you i got a drop in china?!?

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>>1079339
nope, i can't find them.
only earrings, pendant, ring or bags.
pretty hard to find...

>>1080217
>Tfw photographer and graphic designer
>People always take my skills for granted when I sell my services
>Now I can use them to benefit more quantitatively

feels good man

>>1080217

How do you line up the 25 buyers/5 star reviewers? Is there a chance of getting in trouble for this? Also how safe is branding, what if someone with a patent or copyright go after you?

>>1078040
Don't listen to the people in this thread, I made like 5k+ monthly just flipping smartphones from Aliexpress to a nation wide Ebay clone. And yes, it was overfilled with sellers, I just sold my products better.

Stopped a year or so ago because it became a lot of work.

>>1080325
>makes 5k/month
>stops because "it's too much work"

>>1080118
Holy shit a decent /biz/ post. Someone grab a screencap

>>1080343
Yes, I worked for 10h a day, chatting with retarded customers and retarded chinese sellers. 10h a day 7 days a week, 30 days a month.

I have another business that earns me more with less than 1/3rd of that work.

>>1078127
What kind of listings?

I found an item that I buy for 10 and sell for 90. I'm milking this bitch to the bottom.

>>1080431
Sure buddy. So instead of hiring 1.5 minimum wage workers for 2100 bucks you just gave up

You just walked aeay from 3k a month that would be effortless

>>1080217
can i add you on skype or something? I am about to get myself into this wholesale thing and you seem like a guy that know this stuff

>>1080241
Mind sharing where to get bags?

>>1080431

What's your other business like?

>>1080241
do you sell them for the same price or discounted? If so by how much? Thanks

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>>1080217
Nice jewing. Took me all of 15 minutes to find a product that no one was selling and that had huge margins.

Just takes a bit of creativity. A trait 99% of people are severely lacking.

>>1080998
>>1081043
Remember kids. Anyone successful on here is not going to help you for free. Why would they? Just more competition.

>>1081607
When I ran my own software development business, I helped newbies as much as I could, totally for free. The difference was that I always taught them scenarios where large amounts of money/work had to be put up-front or scenarios which are perfect according to the book, but did not work out for me.

>>1080118
>>1080124
main problem for me would be probably EU regulations

>>1080325
What was the ebay clone....im looking to branch out

>>1080996
I was working from my home so hiring someone would be difficult. I was looking into it and I would need to pay a lot of money for bilingual workers (I was selling on a polish website). And having workers in general can fuck you over very good if you're not careful.

>>1081963

Allegro.pl it's a polish website though.

>>1082121
Good thing I'm multilingual :)
>polish
>Ukrainian
>russian
>english

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>>1081328
i sell it for 500$ the real price is around 12k

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>>1081043
check it >>1081607

>>1082322

How do you deal with customs seizures?

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>>1078040
I keep getting scammed from Alibaba so it don't use it.

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>>1083238
check it >>1078150

>>1083241
i like the people who don't know how to open a dispute.
i was refunded only because i asked, no matter if the item was good or bad.

>>1078082
>What will he do/offer that helps him stand out?

Faster shipping time if the buyer is close to the seller. Lower shipping costs by economizing packaging. Shipping time and costs are significant factors in a buyer's decision. Detailed, carefully written descriptions and very high-res photos are also things that can help a seller stand out.