The trick to making a huge amount of money on auction sites is by finding a handful of high demand products that no one else has that you can purchase at a wholesale or below price.
The first step to be able to do this is by conveying yourself in a professional manner. This would mean getting your business license, tax ID, some letterhead and a website to start with. This let's the wholesaler know that you are not just a consumer trying to get cheap products but an actual buyer that they can develop a successful business relationship with. You will also quickly find out there are many different types of wholesalers such as the following:
1) Importers - This type buys in huge quantities direct from the manufacturers in foreign countries. This will consist of mostly overseas companies and they will try and get you to buy in a large quantity. It's a good idea to first request a "sample" which they should provide to you either free or at a near wholesale cost. This will allow you to inspect the quality of the product prior to placing a large order.
2) Wholesale Distributors- These are huge companys that provide to retailers in major cities such as Los Angeles. You won't find them in a yellow pages but instead need to obtain something called a B2B Yellow Pages. This is a free guide from the phone company that lists business wholesalers.
3) Manufacturers Rep- These people are hired by large companys to get their products out into the retail chain. They will usually sell in smaller amounts then wholesalers will but usually at a higher rate.
4) Overstock Dealers - Buy overstock items from wholesalers, these are usually not high demand products and is where a lot of 99 stores get their products from.
5) Merchandise Marts - These are large groups of wholesalers in a concentrated area such as the garment district in Los Angeles.
6) Trade Shows - These are the best places to establish some really good connections. You will find a lot of startup companies here that are anxious to give you some really good deals.
To get you started go to the websites below to help you find some wholesalers.
http://www.thomaspublishing.com
http://www.crossmarket.com
http://www.wholesalecentral.com
http://www.wholesale411.com
These are all good searchable resources to help you find a wholesaler for almost any product that you can think of. Once you have found a wholesaler and established contact remember that everything including price and minimum order can almost always be negotiated.
Auctions
Even though you are looking for products to sell on an online auction site, don't rule out that you may actually be able to buy something and resell it for a profit at the same place that you got it from. For example many people don't use picture thumbnails which for a small fee can greatly increase the exposure to your auction. This simple step can sometimes increase your auction views by 3-5 times. Another good thing to look for is misspelling of search terms this will sometimes reveal an item that you can bid on for well under the going rate. For example many people spell apparel with an a as apparal, there are many others but that should get you started in finding some "hidden deals". Check the links below for some good sources for auctions.
http://www.maxamwholesale.com/
http://www.bcwholesale.net
http://www.dbldistributing.com
http://www.superiorind.com
http://www.smdistributors.com
http://www.closeoutcentral.com
http://www.liquidation.com
You can also start by attending "liquidation auctions" these are when something such as a hotel may go out of business and be selling it's entire stock of furniture. You will find these in most major cities and they usually post them in the newspaper or have ads on TV. Be careful that you don't pay to much and have a good idea what the demand for an item will be. Just because you can get a good price on something doesn't mean that someone else will want it.
Trade Shows
If you live in almost any major city you are familiar with trade shows though most of them are in Las Vegas & Chicago for some reason. You should be able to find a trade show for anything you may be trying to sell from Jewelry to Electronics. Trade shows are designed as meeting places for wholesalers to find buyers and develop good business relationships. Quite often you will have the opportunity to see future product that are not yet offered and this is an excellent time to be the first seller of that item on an online auction site. If you get lucky and find the hot item before it gets big you can make a lot of money just on that one thing. There will be both large and small companies there and admission is usually free or of a reasonable cost. However some shoes can have some expensive tickets to detour non serious people from attending. Be sure to bring a good stack of business cards and be ready to buy if you want the best "trade show only" discounts. You can find a large majority of trade shows gift centers from all around the world at
http://www.buylink.com
Direct Importing
Direct importing is by the far the best way that you can get a big profit for various types of items. This is where you obtain something direct from the manufacturer eliminating the importer, retailer, distributor and wholesaler. The following are some good websites from around the world that you can get various types of products from. Your best results for requesting a "sample" are to offer to pay either a nominal fee or at least pay the shipping.
http://www.globalsources.com
http://www.wand.com
http://www.landosmiles.com
http://www.i-at.com
http://www.indonesia-product.com
Selling After You Buy
The above are just some of the sources that you can use other good places are garage sales, storage auctions, estate auctions, customs auctions, antique sales and many others. Once you have gotten these products obviously you need to sell them somewhere. Other then online auctions you can try selling them at fleamarkets, swap meets & small neighborhood shops. You can get a list of some of these at the sites below.
http://www.fleamarkets.org
http://www.swapmeets.com
http://www.fleamarkets.com
Use the above resources and be sure to only buy products that you know you can sell and you too will be well on your way to making an online fortune.
The first step to be able to do this is by conveying yourself in a professional manner. This would mean getting your business license, tax ID, some letterhead and a website to start with. This let's the wholesaler know that you are not just a consumer trying to get cheap products but an actual buyer that they can develop a successful business relationship with. You will also quickly find out there are many different types of wholesalers such as the following:
1) Importers - This type buys in huge quantities direct from the manufacturers in foreign countries. This will consist of mostly overseas companies and they will try and get you to buy in a large quantity. It's a good idea to first request a "sample" which they should provide to you either free or at a near wholesale cost. This will allow you to inspect the quality of the product prior to placing a large order.
2) Wholesale Distributors- These are huge companys that provide to retailers in major cities such as Los Angeles. You won't find them in a yellow pages but instead need to obtain something called a B2B Yellow Pages. This is a free guide from the phone company that lists business wholesalers.
3) Manufacturers Rep- These people are hired by large companys to get their products out into the retail chain. They will usually sell in smaller amounts then wholesalers will but usually at a higher rate.
4) Overstock Dealers - Buy overstock items from wholesalers, these are usually not high demand products and is where a lot of 99 stores get their products from.
5) Merchandise Marts - These are large groups of wholesalers in a concentrated area such as the garment district in Los Angeles.
6) Trade Shows - These are the best places to establish some really good connections. You will find a lot of startup companies here that are anxious to give you some really good deals.
To get you started go to the websites below to help you find some wholesalers.
http://www.thomaspublishing.com
http://www.crossmarket.com
http://www.wholesalecentral.com
http://www.wholesale411.com
These are all good searchable resources to help you find a wholesaler for almost any product that you can think of. Once you have found a wholesaler and established contact remember that everything including price and minimum order can almost always be negotiated.
Auctions
Even though you are looking for products to sell on an online auction site, don't rule out that you may actually be able to buy something and resell it for a profit at the same place that you got it from. For example many people don't use picture thumbnails which for a small fee can greatly increase the exposure to your auction. This simple step can sometimes increase your auction views by 3-5 times. Another good thing to look for is misspelling of search terms this will sometimes reveal an item that you can bid on for well under the going rate. For example many people spell apparel with an a as apparal, there are many others but that should get you started in finding some "hidden deals". Check the links below for some good sources for auctions.
http://www.maxamwholesale.com/
http://www.bcwholesale.net
http://www.dbldistributing.com
http://www.superiorind.com
http://www.smdistributors.com
http://www.closeoutcentral.com
http://www.liquidation.com
You can also start by attending "liquidation auctions" these are when something such as a hotel may go out of business and be selling it's entire stock of furniture. You will find these in most major cities and they usually post them in the newspaper or have ads on TV. Be careful that you don't pay to much and have a good idea what the demand for an item will be. Just because you can get a good price on something doesn't mean that someone else will want it.
Trade Shows
If you live in almost any major city you are familiar with trade shows though most of them are in Las Vegas & Chicago for some reason. You should be able to find a trade show for anything you may be trying to sell from Jewelry to Electronics. Trade shows are designed as meeting places for wholesalers to find buyers and develop good business relationships. Quite often you will have the opportunity to see future product that are not yet offered and this is an excellent time to be the first seller of that item on an online auction site. If you get lucky and find the hot item before it gets big you can make a lot of money just on that one thing. There will be both large and small companies there and admission is usually free or of a reasonable cost. However some shoes can have some expensive tickets to detour non serious people from attending. Be sure to bring a good stack of business cards and be ready to buy if you want the best "trade show only" discounts. You can find a large majority of trade shows gift centers from all around the world at
http://www.buylink.com
Direct Importing
Direct importing is by the far the best way that you can get a big profit for various types of items. This is where you obtain something direct from the manufacturer eliminating the importer, retailer, distributor and wholesaler. The following are some good websites from around the world that you can get various types of products from. Your best results for requesting a "sample" are to offer to pay either a nominal fee or at least pay the shipping.
http://www.globalsources.com
http://www.wand.com
http://www.landosmiles.com
http://www.i-at.com
http://www.indonesia-product.com
Selling After You Buy
The above are just some of the sources that you can use other good places are garage sales, storage auctions, estate auctions, customs auctions, antique sales and many others. Once you have gotten these products obviously you need to sell them somewhere. Other then online auctions you can try selling them at fleamarkets, swap meets & small neighborhood shops. You can get a list of some of these at the sites below.
http://www.fleamarkets.org
http://www.swapmeets.com
http://www.fleamarkets.com
Use the above resources and be sure to only buy products that you know you can sell and you too will be well on your way to making an online fortune.
