Tips to successfully sell extremely competitive products

[realmdealsuk]

Hey,

I wanted to ask if anybody had any tips regarding the sale of very competitive products that sell  hundreds/thousands of times daily. (E.g. Usb cables, clear phone cases...)

Those markets are obviously very difficult to enter, because even if one has a very high quality listing, including lower price, great pictures, description etc... One might only end up getting a few sales.

Is there any strategies to end up/work towards the top of page one while there are already established sellers, for instance selling at a loss to increase a listing's social proof/sales?

I'd love to hear your ideas.

Jack

[nuclearomen]

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@gwzcomps wrote:

I though cassini wasn't a thing anymore?  Now days you have to be friends with eBay higher ups.  Once you make it to that level they will happily promote your listings on their social media accounts even if they break eBay and/or FTC policies 🤣

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I have issues with performing "special favors" or kissing arrrse - so I'll pass - but good tip lol 😆

[chapeau-noir]

Eh - get in good with the people writing the AI - probably some trogs in a backroom that could use some luuuuv - they'll work that magic for you if you bring in enough pizza and Doritos.

[nuclearomen]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

Eh - get in good with the people writing the AI - probably some trogs in a backroom that could use some luuuuv - they'll work that magic for you if you bring in enough pizza and Doritos.

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🙄lol... uhm...idk even what to say to this - except the only pizza i will invest in will go to myself... they can have the empty box when i'm done though 😅

[gwzcomps]

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@nuclearomen wrote:

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@gwzcomps wrote:

I though cassini wasn't a thing anymore?  Now days you have to be friends with eBay higher ups.  Once you make it to that level they will happily promote your listings on their social media accounts even if they break eBay and/or FTC policies 🤣

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I have issues with performing "special favors" or kissing arrrse - so I'll pass - but good tip lol 😆

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I dunno I kinda wish I was as privileged as the seller with 80k miscategorized listings to avoid fees.  As Brittney would say they can't discuss the special favors eBay affords to their preferred sellers.

[bigdeals.etc]

And here I just threw all my CDs and DVDs away. Hundreds of them. Boy am I lazy.

[nuclearomen]

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@gwzcomps wrote:

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@nuclearomen wrote:

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@gwzcomps wrote:

I though cassini wasn't a thing anymore?  Now days you have to be friends with eBay higher ups.  Once you make it to that level they will happily promote your listings on their social media accounts even if they break eBay and/or FTC policies 🤣

---

I have issues with performing "special favors" or kissing arrrse - so I'll pass - but good tip lol 😆

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I dunno I kinda wish I was as privileged as the seller with 80k miscategorized listings to avoid fees.  As Brittney would say they can't discuss the special favors eBay affords to their preferred sellers.

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"A lot of people do it,
It happens everyday.
Doubt you'll ever know it's gone, don't use it anyway.
So come on in you'll sit right down I gotta deal for you.
A matter of integrity, here's all ya gotta do." 

[southern*sweet*tea]

How much WORK  would it be to make $100 PROFIT from USB cables or cheapo phone cases?

(yeah, I'm lazy)

[nuclearomen]

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@southern*sweet*tea wrote:

How much WORK  would it be to make $100 PROFIT from USB cables or cheapo phone cases?

(yeah, I'm lazy)

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the cost to buy wholesale in bulk is $0.03 - $0.15 (typically) per cable - usually in lots of 500 - 1,000 cords - pretty much the same for things like ear buds - plenty of room to make profit but you have to compete with 9,000 other sellers on the platform + any other seller on other platforms + retail large sellers like walmart etc... + every retail B&M selling general products - gesh...that competition just keeps adding up here.

[2013grotz]

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@realmdealsuk wrote:

Hey,

I wanted to ask if anybody had any tips regarding the sale of very competitive products that sell  hundreds/thousands of times daily. (E.g. Usb cables, clear phone cases...)

 Sorry, no good ideas.  Most of these kind of accessories/cables and the like are about as rare as sand on a seashore and everyone has piles of it around.  Tried selling off my pile and had absolutely zero luck.  Still got more cables and the like than I probably need, but probably passed up double what I have in stock since I figured this out for myself.  If it's cables or anything relatively *common*, just don't bother.

[2013grotz]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

But hey, I've sold loads of CDs!  In fact, I don't think I've ever donated any, I just lot them up here or on Mercari and out they go.  I know someone who actually makes a side living selling CDs, but he's really good at it.  I just get beer money for mine, but it's a quick list and ship.

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Ditto, except I have had to donate a ton of things.  My incumbent slow sellers (longest listed) right now are all CD/DVD/Blu-ray stuff.  Throw books in there too on this kind of discussion.   They're good quick package and shippers if you get sales, but you gotta find people looking for that specific thing.  If it's not a rare/oop thing, coupled with low demand, you'll be giving it away.  Always interesting to see the CDs that pretty much effectively are selling for something like .10 or .15...

[go-bad-chicken]

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@realmdealsuk wrote:

Hey,

I wanted to ask if anybody had any tips regarding the sale of very competitive products that sell  hundreds/thousands of times daily. (E.g. Usb cables, clear phone cases...)

Those markets are obviously very difficult to enter, because even if one has a very high quality listing, including lower price, great pictures, description etc... One might only end up getting a few sales.

Is there any strategies to end up/work towards the top of page one while there are already established sellers, for instance selling at a loss to increase a listing's social proof/sales?

I'd love to hear your ideas.

Jack

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@realmdealsuk 

Photos, Photos, Photos.

With eBay or any other online marketplace I have always beaten my competitors with better and more unique photos. Create unique photos that distinguish you and your brand. 

And then watermark the sh$! Out of them to keep eBay from stealing them from you.

[a_c_green]

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@jonathankirkland wrote:

As others have said, it's really really tough to compete in those spaces.

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You know that old saying, "Don't be the guy who dies on the last day of the war"? Don't be the guy who comes into eBay today with a plan to sell phone cases and USB cables. Those categories are so utterly and completely swamped that you would be just the latest grain of sand on the beach. (Hey, eventually I'm going to find an analogy that works, so stick with me...)

To succeed, you need to find a niche market that you can learn about and thrive in, something where you don't have thousands of competitors trying to eke the last penny out of a sale. If you can source your items cheaply enough to make a clear profit that rewards you on a dollars-per-hour basis, great.

Keep in mind that your time is valuable, so if it takes you an hour in total to list, sell, ship and pack one item, the profit on that is your hourly wage. If you can get more into one hour (total for the time you need to complete each step pre-sale and post-sale), then you're paying yourself more in total. Make it good.

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@jonathankirkland wrote:

If you can it'd be much better to source unique, obscure things.

Heck even some DVDs (which many people think of as fairly worthless) are worth some big bucks, if it's something obscure!

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Funny you should mention that. The spouse was going through a bunch of old jazz 78s this evening, and pulled out one title that had precisely one other listing for it on eBay, asking price $50. That's one example of the kind of niche that would be worth trying to exploit.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@nuclearomen wrote:

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@southern*sweet*tea wrote:

How much WORK  would it be to make $100 PROFIT from USB cables or cheapo phone cases?

(yeah, I'm lazy)

---

the cost to buy wholesale in bulk is $0.03 - $0.15 (typically) per cable - usually in lots of 500 - 1,000 cords - pretty much the same for things like ear buds - plenty of room to make profit but you have to compete with 9,000 other sellers on the platform + any other seller on other platforms + retail large sellers like walmart etc... + every retail B&M selling general products - gesh...that competition just keeps adding up here.

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In other words, too much work for too little profit.

That's why I like old paper - COGS free/5 cents/10 cents, sell for $10-$100 and no return worries.

[rosachs]

Forget the ultra-competitive products as a new seller, at least if your goal is to sell and not just to list.

Focus on things you know, things you can make great buying decisions about, things you know how to confirm value.  When I started, it was PC parts - I'd been building PC's since college (1977+) and was pretty good at sourcing and testing (it was part, but not all, of several jobs I held after college).

Once I'd gained experience to where I could competently explain eBay to others, I moved into consignment sales - mostly because I didn't have to buy inventory but also because it exposed me to all kinds of inventory.  Best client I had was a shoe distributor/wholesaler - but not the top-end, trendy-today-dead-tomorrow shoes.  These were comfort shoes - lots of sneakers, lots of hook/loop closures, lots of ladies flats and shoes with wide/stable heels.  That was the client that had me on-track to gross over $250K a year... until 2008 happened.

But I've always stuck with things I know, things I can quickly assess and value, and things I find I spend a lot of time looking for online.  Right now, my elongated pennies are a pause product -- I've automated so much of the process that it only takes a few hours a week to do everything I need to do.  Because my day job has me doing that same stuff, for my employer, across multiple venues.  Yeah, I went from consulting and consignments to management.  Never thought I would, but I can see now the natural progression.  🙂

For 6-7 years I was self-employed, living off my sales.  And I found out I didn't care for it - it wasn't at all what I thought it would be and if I was going to spend time doing something, it was not going to be something I disliked.  "Owner" was not for me, but "Manager" seems to be a better fit.

Find products you know, that you can source effectively, that you can sell consistently.  Let those products teach you how to handle eBay, eBay policies, and especially eBay customers.  Find out if selling on eBay, or even selling online at all, has any appeal once it becomes routine/dull/boring.  I've had several "careers" since I started working at 16 - learned from each of them, not sure I've found the last of them.  But it's been interesting, educational, and sometimes even quite gratifying.

-Bob.

[coolections]

No, you will ever be able to compete against anyone who sells thousands a day. Find something else to sell.