How to buy products that can make you MONEY on eBay
"Make money when you buy."

In my teaching and conversations with people that want to do business on eBay, the #1 question by far is where do I get the products to sell on eBay. I have become sort of immune to the question, so I've got a very pat answer...EVERYWHERE!

Getting product is the easy part, getting the RIGHT one is the trick. Nobody every asks me...Where do you buy your products from? That is what they really want to know. But they always ask a generalized version of the question. But everybody knows that is a secret. It is like the formula for Coke or Mc Donald's French Fries. That is a trade secret and it should be, unless you make them yourself.

I never reveal my sources, not cause I am some jerk or mean guy. No, I just can not afford to create my own competition. Why would you? You got kids and a family that rely on your income for food, clothing and shelter. That income comes from your business and your business should be as unique as it can be. This does not mean that I just lie to people or say Non Your Bees Wax, I simply say everywhere.

But I want to share with you some wisdom that was given to me as I do in my training classes. In business, you don't make your money when you SELL, you make your money when you BUY. This is a universal business principle that has been my personal mantra. It is as you live and breath air, this is just as natural in business. Find the right product at the right price, and you will be able to make a profit with it. Keep this in mind as you source product. Don't just go looking at prices on eBay and then say. Hey, I can get that for $10.00 cheaper so I can make money. That is NOT a good gauge when sourcing.

The best gauge that I have found is this. Find products that are no more than 25% off the retail price for sale on eBay. Of course there are exceptions to the rule. I would pay 50-60% off for a box of desirable electronics like an iPod. But that is the exception, not the rule. This 25% off retail is a good rule. Rules are made to be broken, but I am not going to focus on the trivial here.

eBay is a unique marketplace and you have to tailor your business for survival based on the market you are in. When it comes to regular consumer goods, eBay shoppers love to find bargains! If something is $100.00 in the mall, they want to get it on eBay cheap or below wholesale. If they can find that same item on eBay for $50.00, they love it! It will sell like hot cakes, if it is a desirable item. So this item needs to be purchased by you at no more than $25.00.

In your time of sourcing products, you find an item that is 25% of the retail value, that product has an excellent chance of making you money on eBay. Not all products that you get at this rate will make you money, but again, exception not rule. You find that same mall product in a wholesale store on clearance........BUY IT! I will give you an example...

Every once in a while I will go shopping in discount stores. My sister calls me the "Millionaire Next Door" (excellent, recommended reading for anyone that wants to be successful). I am not a millionaire....yet, but I shop for most of my close on the clearance rack religiously. She is miss TAG, if it does not have a brand name she is NOT wearing it.

So I told her, next time you are in Macy's and you see a pair of name brand shoes in the clearance rack, marked down 50% and then 50% again call me. So she called me one day and said she saw these cute DKNY shoes on clearance. They were some style that she loved, I don't know the first thing about shoes, still I told here to buy them all!

So I got these shoes from DKNY for $12 a pair. There were 5 pair brand NEW, in BOXES with MACY tags, HELLO? They were marked originally at $89.00. They were some cute everyday shoes, just with the DKNY name brand. I knew I would make money with them, and I had never even looked on eBay to see what they were going for. It really did not matter, they fell well within the range of 25% and they were bought site unseen by me.

I was only in it for $12 a pair so I started the auctions at $9.95. 3 pair sold in auctions at the $65 dollar range, 1 pair went for buy it now at $74.99 and another pair got bid up to $91.00. So the initial investment of $60.00 (5 pair @ $12) netted $360.99 for a profit of over $300.00!

That is how it is done, no big secret. Just buy stuff at the right price. I would not have bought these shoes at $50.00 a pair. Yes, they may have made money, but they did not fall within the price range. At the price of 25%, I could have liquidated them fast if they were a loser product and most likely make my $12 back. That would be hard to do if I had paid $50.00 for them. Who would not want a $89 pair of NEW in Box DKNY shoes buy it now for $19.95? You see how you can "hedge" your bets with the rule.

The farther you go outside the price range, the greater risk you take. Risk taking is part of being a good entrepreneur, but you have to know the base before you can asses the risk. Now you know the base. Remember MAKE YOUR MONEY WHEN YOU BUY, NOT WHEN YOU SELL.

Take that to the bank,

John...