Buy and Sell Online|Wholesalers|Buy from Wholesalers to sell on e-bay

You may have read many stories recently in national newspapers or on the Internet about how people are making money from buying and selling goods online, some boast huge incomes while others say that they make a good living from it or just earn a bit of extra cash. Can this be done? The simple answer is yes, it can. With more and more people buying online, you can earn a living working from home buying products at wholesale prices and selling them on for a decent profit if you buy and sell the right product.

What can I sell?

The first thing to consider is what type of product/s you'd like to sell. If you are not familiar with product development then do make sure that you research your product thoroughly before putting it in the marketplace. Try to find a niche market, do some background research and think about what people are buying nowadays. For example, consumables are a safe bet because they are likely be repeat sales; whereas the latest gadgets will carry high volume sales. Books, Games, Cosmetics, Skin Care, Clothing and Air travel are all popular online purchases. Try to focus on a product that you feel passionate about. It will be much easier to sell a product that you believe in and would buy yourself.

Be Cautious

Three things to consider when buying to resell online - research, research, research! If you don't carry out sufficient research on your chosen product you may end up with a huge amount of stock that you can't sell, and ultimately out of pocket. Check to see what the current trend is, find a niche market that you think may be popular BEFORE you buy. The last thing you want is a boxes of products that you can't sell.

How much will it cost to set this up?

You will need money to buy your inital stock, so it really does depend on what you are selling. Find a wholesaler or supplier that will sell you minimal stock. Start small and buy more when you feel confident that your items are selling. Buying minimal stock will cost you more per until than buying in the 1000's but it is prudent to test the water before you invest in products that may not sell. If you own a website then that will have it's own costs, and if you are selling on sites such as ebay then you'll have the seller fees to pay.

What will I need to start selling?

Firstly you will need a computer and Internet skills. You'll also need somewhere to keep your stock, a spare room or a vacant garage would be ideal. You are going to need stationery and packaging materials to post your items. Get some FREE business cards printed to show your customers that you are professional You can get 250 free business cards printed at VistaPrint (you only pay for postage and packing).

Where can I find wholesalers to buy from?

Search online for wholesalers and suppliers, visit wholesale forums and ask for recommendations. You may also find wholesale directories useful.

Wholesale Pages offers an enormous list of UK Wholesalers, Drop shippers, Manufacturers, UK Importers and Car Boot Events, as well as International Directories such as USA, France and Hong Kong Wholesalers. Joining Wholesale Pages will save you time and effort, as everything you need to sell online is under one roof. They have a comprehensive list of categories in their database, which includes Clothing, Electronics, Cosmetics, Toys, DVD's, Jewellery and lots more. They claim that you can save up to 90% off the retail price, which will give you a great scope for profits. They also offer a 'Quotes Directory' where you can make a request for a specific product to thousands of wholesalers and drop shippers who will then reply to you if their products fit your needs. This system will save you trawling through the directories looking for specific items.

Wholesale Pages offer the following packages:

Bronze Package at £4.99 for 1 month.

The Bronze package is useful if you are not quite sure and would like to test the water first, but please note that this package only offers limited features. If after a month's trial you find that the system doesn't meet your needs then you do not need to continue with your membership and won't be at a great loss.

Silver Package at £14.99 for 6 months

This is a good startup package that offers a comprehensive list of Dropshippers and Wholesalers. Valid for six months, it's a good place to start - if you're happy with the results and the programme meets your needs you can renew your package or upgrade to Gold or Lifetime when your membership expires.

Gold Package at £24.99 for a 1 year

The Gold Package will give you access to all the features offered by Wholesale Pages, including all UK and International Directories. You will also benefit from all their Services and Wholesale Resources.

Lifetime at £39.99

If you're serious about buying and selling online then this one is for you. You will only have to pay a one time fee and will be eligible to use the facilities forever. This one works out cheaper in the long run.

Special Offers section ideal for e-bay sellers

Wholesale Pages have introduced a Special Offers section, which is ideal for e-bay sellers. These are real suppliers offering great products at dirt-cheap prices with excellent markup rates. They actually list each product that's available on a comparison table with purchase price, e-bay and amazon selling price, RRP and the 'mark-up'. Wholesale deals and special offers listed in this section are regularly updated. To purchase any of the products you will have to first buy credits from Wholesale Pages - please check website for current prices.

Want to find out more? Go to Wholesale Pages and take a look at the options and prices.

*Please note: All prices are correct at time of publication May 2011.

Who will my customers be?

Online shopping has become a huge enterprise. The average weekly value for internet retail sales in May 2011 (source: Office of National Statistics) was £527.3 million, and, furthermore, online sales are on the up. Retail sales in May 2011 compared to May 2010 saw sales volumes increase by 0.2 per cent.

That's a lot of online buying. So, as you can see, your customers will be varied and it all really depends on what you are selling.

Where can I sell my products?

You can sell you products on your own website or on online auction sites such as e-bay - suggestion list below:

How can I build my own site to start selling my goods?

You can use a sitebuilder, such as Moonfruit to set up your own website. Moonfruit has received great write-ups from national and local papers, so it's definitely worth looking into. Find out more here...

Accept credit card payments online with Paypal

When you signup for PayPal, you can start accepting credit card payments instantly. As the world's number one online payment service, PayPal is the fastest way to open your doors to over 230 million member accounts worldwide. Best of all, it's completely free to sign up! You can find out more about Paypal by visiting their site.

Income Tax

Don't forget to register as self-employed when you start your sales business. You can read our page on Income Tax and registering as self-employed here.

SUMMARY

Pros

Work from home

Be your own boss

Keep all the profits

Low overheads

Job satisfaction

Cons

You may get stuck with stock if it doesn't sell

Not a guaranteed income

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