penguins_dont_fly is a Volunteer Community Mentor
mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
@qualitycustomercare wrote:To reply to all your questions and concerns,
I already know someone taking advantage of this shipping trick and has built his ebay business to bank near 6 figures yearly.
He was nice enough to explain it to me (requires multiple steps) but of course he's not going to give away his sourcing info. He has a handful of prodcuts that consistently get returns of 3x or more, and he pays half the shipping than anyone else.
I can't tell you exactly what it is. The hole would close certainly. But just think about it for a while: how could those Chinese companies sellthings for 25 cents, shipping all the way from China and still make a profit?
Because the Chinese government subsidizes postage for Chinese sellers shipping from China. And the USPS has a deal called ePacket where the Chinese pay less for USPS service.
Plus the UPU (Universal Postal Union) still classifies China as a "developing economy" ... so their transfer rates are lower.
And the Chinese are manufacturing their product themselves, using labor that paid in pennies, rather than dollars an hour (if that)
So ... what you are talking about is actually drop shipping from China, then?
Drop shipping carries its own set of (high) risks.
@qualitycustomercare wrote:
No it doesn't involve drop shipping from China. Remember I said local sourcing. I'm just dropping hints for people here.
And no, it's not using media. Neither is it unethical.
It is so easy to come to a forum or blog and post just about anything you want and offer no support for what you state. The only purpose that could offer is entertainment for you as it certainly isn't helpful to others.
So you come here to pick our brains for ideas of what you can sell and how to sell it so you can make a profit. You want us to do that work for you. Then you through this stuff out about loopholes and how you know how to ship via USPS and save a significant amount of money. Yet you won't share the details.
You want US to share our business knowledge with you for your gain yet you won't share something you say is possible for our gain. Humm!! That says a lot about you.
@qualitycustomercare wrote:Well I didn't intend for the topic to shift this way, I was just looking for ideas.
The person who tipped me off to this shipping method told me in confidence, so I'm not about to spill the beans, especially to some people here who appear somewhat cynical towards me. I need to prove anything here, it's not to my benefit.
However, if there does happen to be someone here that meets the criteria in my initial post, I may be willing to do trade secrets with them, and we both can benefit.
That is the point. YOU were looking for ideas from us to help you make more money. But when you bring something up that is supposingly money saving, you don't want to share that with us.
I respect a confidence between one another. I really do. But then if you couldn't elaborate on the subject, you should have NEVER even mentioned it. And because of this you feel some of us are being "cynical" towards you, go figure!!!
Oh so if someone is willing to give you advice that you feel you can truly benefit from, then you are willing to break your confidence with your friend and share the information???!!!?? Don't tell your friend!
@qualitycustomercare wrote:There is something called comprimise. Why do you think I'd just barge in here telling everybody about a huge money-saving opportunity for nothing?
Anyway, I'm done here. For those of you who keep PM'ing me, please don't, unless you have something real to bring to the table.
The point is ... you AREN'T telling anybody about a huge money-saving opportunity.
Your original post asked if it was possible to locally source things and sell them at 3-5x.
The short answer to that is: yes.
The longer answer is: Yes, but it takes time, effort, energy and research to find those items.
Sellers that do well, source well. They have put the effort into finding those items that turn a nice profit. They have done their homework and footwork.
And they haven't based their business plan on a "loophole" or a hack.
This whole business of "hinting" that you have a legal way of shipping for half price seems to be nothing more than an effort to get experienced sellers to tell you their secrets, without offering anything in return.
If your associate gave you this hint, why not just source the same things that he does and ship the same way? Why would you need us to tell you if it is possible? If he does it, then it is possible. Just copy his business model.
@reallynicestamps wrote:Plus the UPU (Universal Postal Union) still classifies China as a "developing economy" ... so their transfer rates are lower.
That loophole closed in the Fall of 2016, after a concerted "work to rule" by Western postal services , including the European Union, Canada and the USA, which put low value/ untracked packages from China as the lowest priority for delivery.
Remember all those posts from buyers whose cheap stuff had not been delivered after three or four months? That was the result of the action.
And China Post caved, finally.
It will still take a couple of years for China Post rates to rise to a more reasonable rate but it is underway.
This is why countries need international alliances.
Actually ... there is a lot more to it than that ...
The UPU (an arm of the United Nations) only meets every 4 years to propose and ratify changes to "terminal dues" which are based on a country's rating and spell out how much of a percentage of international postage gets passed between the different postal systems.
As of the 2018 session, beginning this year, China will pay 13% more to the other Postal Services (including USPS). They will increase the rate 13% more per year in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
But ... The ePacket deal is between USPS and China Post (and a few others). It sets a rate only slightly higher than the UPU.
That whole deal (supported by our very own dear departed John Donohue) needs to be renegotiated ... or scrapped altogether.
And the glacial pace of UPU changes needs to get dragged into this century 😞
