ebay

[OCgringo]

last time in LOS I bought some stuff at a local market ,

 

Thought I could easily 2x-3x my cost when I took it home and sold it on ebay !

it was a 400 baht item , nicely made

 

WRONG , someone from LOS had it on Ebay cheaper then I bought it for at the shop ! and it had no bids

 

So yes you can make money , but you better find something original , or have someone make something for you.

 

Proffesional style Jerseys that say your hometown etc

 

But if its something at the weekend market you can be sure 100s of others are thinking the same as you about paying for their holiday thru Ebay

OC

 

PS....I bought my stuff in Chaing Mai not the weekend market , lukely I only bought one sample of each !

[dean]

I also think that Chiang Mai is a better place to pick up Thai merchandise at a cheaper price than Bangkok. I bought a 20 foot container, filled with mainly teak furniture, both indoor and outdoor, mainly for my own use but with the intention of showing it to interior decorators, to see if there is any market for it. I also plan on coming up with a brochure on the furniture. I also buy smaller items and either have it shipped or bring it back in one of my two large, empty suitcases. I haven't sold much yet (only to family members and friends for a small profit). The problem with furniture is that it takes up so much space in a 20 foot container that the cost more than doubles when shipping is included (this doesn't include duty yet because all the merchandise is for my personal use. This won't fly with customs if I ship another 20 foot container this spring). I'm not willing yet to quit my day job.

[pe7e]

You have made the fundemental mistake of trying to sell what you personally like, but what you should be selling, is what the market actually wants. The most profitable product I have sold in recent times was Burberry caps, I made many thousands of pounds selling these hideous objects, I wouldn't have been seen dead in one, but they where in demand, and i helped fill it. Before you buy anything for sale on ebay do a search for the item and find out how much it is selling for, deduct 20% from this figure for ebay fees and then see if you can buy the item for a price that will give you a worthwhile profit, if you can't then don't buy it, look elsewhere or find another product to sell. Do your research, find out what is selling and for how much, then go searching for potential suppliers, always aim to make your profit from your supplier, not your customer, it's much easier that way round. Holiday souveners don't sell outside of the holiday destination, ever! It's all basic stuff but many people still try to fight it. If you are buying from a public market or retail environment, you are probably paying aprox double the price that you could buy for direct from the manufacturers, whenever possible buy from the primary source. Many people try to make money by buying and selling, this is the wrong way round, you should aim to sell then buy, and you won't go far wrong. ::

[OCgringo]

I know I made a mistake not looking on ebay before I bought the samples , not a big deal only 1500 baht for all of it,

 

I only sell what I like , I stay in the market that I know ,

 

I think a bigger problem selling on ebay is "following the leader" too much,

you need PROFIT , not just sale

 

I would rather have one sale at $100 then 20 sales at @10 each,

probably not good "business" but its much easier dealing with one buyer than 20 , plus shipping etc

 

If you sell things you know nothing about you will get stuck with non-selling stuff too much.

 

You will make mistakes , hopefully you do not buy too much of any one item to lose money

 

Good luck

OC

[New Petchburi Pete]

Hello dean,

 

We've spoken and written to each other before regarding different issues. Presently I'm still in the States waiting for the surgeons to decide as to how to best proceed with my neck problems. I've got one more test to go (must wait until Oct. 11 !!!). I may be here for another 3 months, although I hope not.

 

On one of your trips to LOS, I'd like you to come to Pattaya. There is some amazing high end, very artistic furniture that I have a direct connection for. I'd be more than glad to introduce you to the wholesaler. The pieces are available both in teak and rosewood; and, they are not only beautiful, but custom size ordering is available. Send me PM when you're coming; but, understand that I may not be back for quite a while ... surgery + recouperation time. Chok dee.

[dean]

Hi, Pete. I'll be in S.E. Asia from January 1-April 15 and would be able to come to Pattaya at your convenience. I haven't been to Pattaya for 2-3 years but have been there a couple of times in the past. Walking around, I've found 3-4 shops that sell rosewood furniture and have bought several pieces from a chinese lady that has a store on soi 13/2 (near the Porn Hotel). One of my suppliers in Bosang (Chiang Mai) sells a lot of outdoor teak furniture to at least one store in Pattaya. I would agree that buying the furniture from the source at the lowest price is the most important thing, particularly with shipping cost going up. I've been in the hardwood flooring business for 25 years but I'm at the age now to either hire persons to do the sanding and finishing or get out of the business and find something else to do. I'll PM you in December and see if we can set a time to meet in Pattaya.

[Guest]

"this is the wrong way round, you should aim to sell then buy, and you won't go far wrong. "

 

Yes this is sure the safe way , but not that sure the most performing. Was talking today to one of my partners/competitors who started to work approximately when I was born. We actually kindda buy goods we feel we can make profit reselling, following more market trends than orders , then try to sell them, then try to get the money. My friend had the funny remark that if you want to sell goods to people who will pay you easily, just stop that business and open a pizza shop.

 

Kept thinking as usual of the issues related to hanging on the riskiest edges of our trade, then while leaving the office this evening saw one of our neighbours driving down rue Lafayette in his Porsche Cayenne . He allegedly started up with nothing, managed to marry a banker's daughter and became prolly the biggest iconic figure in the french market, now spending most of his time in Israel and investing big time in real estate. It seems that he did a big part of his profit working with financially very unsafe companies that scared away the competitors. Most people are not up for taking high risks and there are often rewards (but also pain) for those who take those steps.

 

Buying what you're selling is often a safe and sometimes doable plan but fastest develloping companies seem to invest quite a bit in their stock.

 

Random, sobriety won't last.

[pe7e]

this is the wrong way round, you should aim to sell then buy, and you won't go far wrong.

This was aimed at someone contemplating selling 'things' on ebay to support himself in Thailand, when he didn't appear to have much idea of what he wanted to sell or any experience in trading out of Thailand. It wasn't aimed at selling from a high street shop or selling on ebay from farangland, in that context I stick by my advice. Ebay is a unique buisness model, to sell on ebay you only need a photographic image, a potential supplier and a pay pal account. You don't need to carry stock, if it sells, (and you get paid), you buy the goods and fulfill the order, if it doesn't sell, you only loose your listing fee and you don't have an unsaleable item in your inventory. Once you have aquired the knowledge of what you are able to sell profitably you can buy in larger quantities (for a better price) and commit your money to stock. It is perfectly possible to make >15K bt a week with a stock investment of <7K bt, it won't make you rich, but it's easier than teaching English, and less time consuming.

If you have previous experience of a market sector then it is a different ball game, and large stock purchases may well be desirable or neccessary to obtain a good price and maximise profits. It's poor business practice to carry large inventories without a compelling reason to, or the certainty of a future sale. I would agree to some extent, that the greater the risk you are prepared to take, the higher the level of potential reward but also the higher the chance of failure. If you don't know the business you should have more than a gut feeling before spending your retirement fund on stock, 75% of all business start ups fail IMO due to poor market research, ebay is increadably easy to do the research on, used well it's almost foolproof, but very competitive pricewise, big mark ups are difficult.