Dropshipping on eBay to Increase Money Profits from an eBay Powerseller

So, your here because you're serious about making money on eBay. Also, you're here because you're not buying into those people that make you pay to do it. Well, turns out I have the secret to making money on eBay. 

Here's the fun part: You don't have to have a garage full of stuff in order to be able to sustain yourself comfortably. In fact, you can even sell items you've never seen before! It's really, really true. How do I know this? Because I do it myself.

It all begins with process called dropshipping. What this means is that you can sell a supplier's products for them. That's right, you sell it, they do everything else. They pack it, they ship it, and they bill you only AFTER you have been paid for the item itself. There are some vital things you'll need to do before we ever begin to talk about dropshipping. 

Get your business numbers:

Many people start up businesses and get what it called an EIN number. Some states also require that you get a resell license. This isn't just for tax purposes, but it is also a number that you'll need supply your dropshippers because it shows that you are legal to retail items. Admittedly, many dropshippers won't require it, but the more legitimate ones will. 

Find a Popular Microniche

Finding a great niche on eBay is one of the more important thing you can do. A lot of people ask me: 'How do I find what it selling well on eBay?” Well, to be honest, it's not that hard to find out. However, you'll want to avoid the hot items all-together. This might seem counterproductive, but when you sell ipods, iphones, Nintendo Wii's, coach bags, etc., you're selling something that many people are already selling. You'll have a hard time carving out your niche because everyone is already selling those items. Your profit margins will be slim if anything, and those companies are not looking to hire anyone to sell their items either. Last time I checked, Apple was doing well on their own. 

Also, stay away from electronics for the same reason. If you want to make a profit on items sold, then steer clear. Believe me, it's more of a headache then you're willing to take. I only sell electronics or popular items if I get them as gifts and I don't want them.

Now, the eBay Pulse page shows you what keywords are most popular for a certain category. Really, the only one I would stay away from is the electronics category. Once you have chose a category, you'll notice that 10 more popular keywords show up for that category. We're still too broad, and those keywords are still way too saturated. Click on the drop-down menu again and choose categories until you cannot go further.

Once you have located the 10 most popular keywords for a very specific niche, erase all of the ones that have name brands associated with them. (Remember, these name brands are doing fine on their own.) The rest of the keywords are 'niches'. We'll investigate these in this category. 

Find a Supplier/Dropshipper

Once you have found your niche what you'll need to do is go to Google or a dropship directory in order to locate a supplier. Simply type in your niche keywords that you found in the eBay Pulse page + dropshipper and go down the line. When you contact these suppliers, don't tell them that you're going to be selling on eBay. Simply tell them that you're a licensed retailer (because you have your business numbers) looking to expand your product line. Request their product catalogs and from there you'll do your profit margin research. 

In the next installment, I'll show you how to make money from Dropshipper's price lists even if the bottom line shows that you'll lose money. It's a fun process and one that separates the people that just want to sell on eBay to those that do sell on eBay and make money.