eBay PowerSeller Nick Sevino (a pseudonym) answers questions about buying and selling on eBay.

Dear Nick,
Where do you get inventory to sell on eBay? Do you buy from eBay or other online sites?
Anne

Dear Anne,
If I told you, I'd have to kill you. But seriously, sellers are very secretive about their sources, and the best ones are not widely known. The toughest job is to find merchandise to sell for a reasonable profit on eBay.

To answer your question, no, I don't purchase inventory on eBay. As ironic as it sounds, I hate bidding in online auctions. I only purchase Buy It Now items.

I do know some specialty niche buyers who purchase inventory from eBay for resale on eBay or to their clientele. They look for the holes, improperly described product or product that comes from low feedback and no feedback sellers. These items sell at a discount due to higher risk.

I've found that success lies in specialization, generalists have the hardest time. Individuals that concentrate in certain specialties develop a client base on eBay and outside of eBay. I actually get much of my product from advertising in a bulletin board devoted to the type of product I specialize in.

Coming into the forefront is the TA (Trading Assistant) program. Basically, individuals post items for others and take a cut. It works out quite well for all. The consignor avoids the time-consuming hassles of posting, shipping, invoicing, etc. And by springboarding off of the TA's high feedback, he often gets more for the item than if he had posted it himself.

My experience as a TA began a few months ago when I was approached by a dealer wanting to sell me a widget. I wasn't 100% sure of the value, so I offered him $45. Then I called a customer who specialized in that item, and he offered to buy it for $250.

At that point, I figured it was worth around $500, since my friend/customer is a real cheapo (are you out there Charles? He likes my column!) who likes to buy cheap. (Don't we all.)

I called the dealer the next day and said "tell you what, I'll guarantee you $50 and give you 65% of the selling price." (I pay commissions to eBay, credit card and other expenses). He agreed, and, to our surprise, the item sold for $700. Well, he was so impressed that he started sending me other items. They are high-end, high-value technical items that, with my background, I'm qualified to sell. To those knowledgeable in Trading Assistant, you might think my charge is high, but high-tech items are a whole different ball game. They require more work and selling ability. (Pat myself on back).

Long and short is that, so far, I've sold around $8,500 in around a month and a half with only 3 or 4 high dollar transactions. Boy, if I could only find five more clients like him.

Here are some related AuctionBytes articles:

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y203/m05/abu0094/s02

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y203/m07/abu0099/s02

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y203/m07/abu0098/s02

To comment on this letter, post a message in the forums at http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=6037

If you have a question you'd like Nick to consider for a future issue of "Dear Nick," send it to nick@auctionbytes.com.