Monthly Archives: September 2017

How To, Liquidation

Some Liquidation Tips and Tricks – Buying Product

I’ve been purchasing liquidated items for over a year and a half now and I’m not an expert by any means.  But the process I have developed helps me get the best product at the best price from Liquidation.com.

Same Seller: Find a seller that works for you.  You can discover them from trying new ones out of the blue or discussions with current resellers.  I find out a lot of my tips and tricks through my own trial and error, but also through a large Facebook group that I have formed relationships with resellers and liquidators.  You can visit their group here.

Make a List of Products: Once you start to get the hang of reselling then try and stick to the same items that do well.  I have started a running list of products that I intentionally comb through manifests to find.  Once I find these manifests I add the auctions to my wishlist.  I then look up other other high priced items on the list to gauge profit.

Homework: Make sure you put in your homework and comb the manifest prior to bidding and check your shipping costs.  I take the top 10 or so items and look up their value on eBay.  I look at what they are actually selling for, not what they’re listed at or what their MSRP is.  Ultimately their value is only as good as what they are selling for.  To understand your net profit then before bidding make sure to quote your shipping cost so you know what your total cost is all and what you can expect to sell your items for.

Gut Check: Keep your wits about you when you’re bidding.  Don’t let the thrill of bidding and getting new product keep you hooked into bidding.  If the bidding gets too high, meaning it gets over what you think your profit could be on that total auction then let it go.  There will always be similar auctions with similar products.

The only secret is doing your homework and networking.  It will not guarantee that you will make money but it will increase your odds of winning.  You will make as much as the effort you put back into this process.

-Chris
LiquidationOH@gmail.com

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eBay, How To

How to Cancel an eBay Order

As a seller on eBay you will run across a time when you will need to cancel an order that either a buyer won or used a Buy It Now.  There are many reasons why an order would need to be cancelled.  Here are some reasons why orders have been cancelled in my experiences

  • Buyer wanted to cancel because they bought it in error or they didn’t read the full description (where I sell items for parts or not working)
  • Shipping is incorrect and buyer wants me to change the address.  DO NOT edit the address on the label purchase screen.  If you edit the address you forfeit your seller protection
  • You are out of stock or item is damaged (seller defect).  Use this rule as a seller will give you a defect.  If you fall below 0.50% then you will lose Top Rated Seller, and I’m assuming if you get enough of them eBay could step in on your selling account status.
  • Seller doesn’t pay for their item after their auction, and a case is opened for unpaid item.

Buyer Requests Cancel:

For issues where buyer simply wants to cancel an order I always first request that the buyer cancel from their side.  You should have the ability to go into the listing and cancel it if its shortly after they’ve purchased the item.  If they cannot do it then I will go into the sold screen on eBay and cancel it.  Be sure to click “Buyer request for cancel” so that you do not get a defect on your account.  This will usually issue an immediate refund through PayPal.  I believe you will lose $0.30 per cancel from PayPal for the transaction.

Address is Incorrect:

Again make sure you select the right reason when you cancel this order type.  If the buyer requests that you change their address on the label then make sure you ask the buyer to cancel and rebuy the item with the correct address.  They must make the edit in PayPal before completing the transition.  If you edit it yourself and the buyer opens a case you will be fighting an uphill battle.  eBay will most likely refund the buyer and you’ll be out of the item!

Out of Stock:

If you are out of stock then you will be hit with a defect.  Understandably eBay will give you a defect because they want sellers to know their purchase will be fulfilled.  I always check my listings to validate that what I have listed is what I have in stock.  Sometimes I have seen that I will have duplicated listings and I can go in and end the listing.  As you grow your number of listings, I can see this happening.  Sometimes I will get a hiccup in the system or something will glitch out and I will duplicate listings.  Go in and look at your store every so often to make sure what is listed is what you have in stock.

Tip:  If you relist and listing that had multiple quantities, then that relist will also pull in that same multiple quantities.  Make sure to edit this number so you’re listing doesn’t have more than you physically have!

Unpaid Case:

If you setup auto unpaid case opening for unpaid auctions then this will not impact you as much in terms of cancelling an order.  If you do not have it open automatically for you, then you will have to open a case manually, and then manually close it after a certain time period.  Once the case is closed your item should be auto posted again.  In all cases make sure you check that the listing is reposted.

Sometimes I have heard some strange stories at why people want their order cancelled.  Probably the most infamous and most frequent is that “so and so” took my phone and ordered it.  The only inconvenience is that if you had watchers on your listing then it will take awhile to get that back.  I always feel that it hurts the chances of my item selling and extended it from selling.  What are some of your strangest stories on why a buyer wants to cancel an order?

Want to follow my daily progress? Click on the video and subscribe to my channel!

-Chris
LiquidationOH@gmail.com

eBay, How To

Tips for eBay Success – Listing Daily and Bundles!

As I have been listing items the last few days I wanted to share some tips that have been working for me.  Also something I’ve started doing with my slow moving inventory.

Slow Moving Inventory ($0.99 auction):
When I first open my liquidation.com box I usually list the top selling items immediately and move on to the next box.  Then there becomes a backlog of lower priced items that sit around for awhile.  These items sit because I get other lots coming in and I’ve already made my money on the box.  Here’s what I’ve started to do moving the slow items.  I will move these items as $0.99 starting auctions, but the key is to cover your shipping cost.  I will not do free shipping but start the auction at $0.99.  Even if I make minimal amount on the item, then its better than it sitting in my basement making $0.  Two take aways:

  • Start Auction on slow items only when you’ve made your money on the lot.  Start them at $0.99
  • Cover your shipping cost on these items. DO NOT DO FREE SHIPPING.
  • These type of auctions also work for items that do not work (condition: for parts not working).

Listing Daily:
I’ve had great success listing items daily.  I try to at least list one item a night.  Now don’t get me wrong listing more than 1 is great, but getting in the habit of something every day works wonders.  I’ve heard rumors of listing daily gets you better search results for buyers, but I’m not so sure.  I usually sell between 2 to 8 items daily.  My current goal is to get 400 active listings, so I need to list more than I sell.  Plus having more listings allow for more sales!  Increase your probability of a sale!

Bundling Lower Priced Items:
Not only listing lower priced items as a $0.99 cent auction is good, but if you continuously get the same lower priced why not sell them as a bundle?  My recent example is iWatch bands that I get a ton of in my boxes.  When I look online I see bands going for anywhere between $4 and $7 depending on the band.  If I were to list each one individually it would consume all my free listings, and my time.  I’ve already made my money on these lots so netting $3 profit is not worth it assuming they’d even sell!  So I bulk listed all 40 bands for a buy it now listing of $50.  It sold within the week!  This is a greater bang for my time and my listings.  This also works for electronic items that are defective.  I have three defective PlayStation 4 headset units that I’ve bundled together.  People will buy broken items to fix and resell.  Instead of throwing them away I will make some money on them and get them out of my inventory.  But make sure to calculate shipping and your fees correctly to not lose money!

Lastly if you haven’t seen my latest video please check it out.  I’m interested in learning on how you handle local sales and how you’ve achieved success if any with them.

Keep listing and innovate how you sell your items.  There is money in everything!

-Chris
LiquidationOH@gmail.com