Interesting Ebay tactic

 I found this article on a Internet Marketing forum and thought it would be beneficial to post here . Some of it I don't agree with like sourcing products from Tradekey , In my opinion they are as bad as Alibaba with lots of scammers but all good advice, I'm not familiar with Terapeak but I hear its a great keyword/niche finding tool.  

This is by far the best forum out there right now, and I appreciate all the methods mods and veterans do to help us along. Im looking into moving in another sector, and rather than leaving the knowledge on the table behind I need to give back. Since making money is a mix of methods, applications, and efforts, Ill break off a straight forward system I used to identify and make $1500 in an hour on ebay. For the sake of this particular product being a banned topic, I will not tell you what is (not even if you pm me - so just save yourself the time). The method is important in this situation, not the product. Teach a man to fish...


(1) Identify hot (profitable ) keywords - Terapeak - $100 /year subscription
(2) Source the product - tradekey.com
(3) Write the ad - Ebay
(4) Ship your product - Local Post Office / UPS
(5) Collect your paycheck - Paypal

-------------------------------------------------------

(1) Identify hot (profitable ) keywords - Terapeak - $100 / year subscription

Whether you realize it or not, your using some way (if not amazing intuition ) to determine what hot keywords or products are a profitable niche (Google Keyword Tool, etc). Terapeak shows you not only what keywords are being searched for, but which ones are hot, and how much each one pays out if youve got a similar product. IT LITERALLY DOES YOUR WORK FOR YOU. Not only does it tell you what to get, it shows you what keyword combinations maximize your money.

For sake of example Ill just use the term 'widgets'

-Your a noob and need to be spoon fed (most of us are)
-You get Terapeak despite wanting to try out a new tool
-You see using the hot keywords that 10 terms are trending well - balls, bats, mits, widgets, fidgets, rams, mats, muts, whats, and whens.
-Youve used widgets before and this since you know something about the product writing an ad that appeals to your audience isnt that difficult and even though it is, wouldnt seem like work
-You search for widgets
-You get a report on widgets for the highest paying in the past few weeks, the range in which most are selling, exactly what hour people are buying widgets, what colors, what sizes, and what are other attributes are paying well ( approx $150 for sale)
- You open up 'Title Builder' and begin breaking down what pays well
- You type in widgets and are shown several options
- At this point its like a freaking game show, just click the words that payout the best
- You have maxed out the number of keywords ebay allows and you have an average price of $150 for "widgets-purple-people-M-sewn-eater"
-You have your product that you need to source - just rearrange the words
- purple people eater widgets - sewn - size medium
-Now go find a source...

(2) Source the product - tradekey.com

This is all about testing and not overspending. There are alot of shady people on here and the language barrier is tough. The trick here is to remain focused, ask alot of questions, always get sent samples (usually 1 or 2), and always test new products even if its a trusted source (website) your buying from. And heres a tip from my own personal experience, DONT BUY ELECTRONICS. Hardware is usually fine, software is always another story. I know the markets are hot for these products, just deal with it and select another area.

Tradekey essentially is your hookup to small markets across the world. China, the middle east, whatever. Theres alot of sites out there that do the same things - Alibaba, DHGate to name a few, but tradekey usually has what Im in the market for

-Open up tradekey.com
-Search for widgets (dont worry about the specifics, just see how the results turn up - if theres more results that you care to go through add more keywords from your final terapeak search in step 1
-find a few vendors that have your product listed in their description
-signup for a free membership and contact them and ask for an email ( NEVER BUY FROM ONE OF THESE SITES WITHOUT ASKING THEM QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR PRODUCT FIRST)
-look at their website and see if the pictures or descriptions begin to match your product your looking for
-begin contacted them through email (this is usually tough because english is their second language, but getting what you want and not blowing your money is worth it)
-look at the price versus your $150. is this going to make sense to purchase and try and source ? margins differ for different people, but if your talking about half here it makes a ton of sense
- lets say we find these specific widgets for $50 after shipping on x website
-begin asking them to make sure they have EXACTLY what your looking and ie ( sewn, size medium, that matched your description)
TIP - go on ebay and find an auction that matches the product your looking to buy. send the link to your potential supplier and ask them what they are selling is different)
- if everything seems to look good at this point - request samples (its ok to pay for them, just buy in small quantities) (most vendors offer shipping breaks at 5 units, honestly just save your money even if its only 10 bucks. if the products are whack you have 2 bad products and 10 dollars, versus no cash and 5 units you get to trash)
- get the units shipped to you and inspect quality
- if its good to go your ready to write ads (if its bogus, dont give up and try a few more vendors before switching to a different product)
- test the ads in ebay and scale if they sell within a short period of time
- by this time your like man i gotta get more! - take your profits and source more - for this example i sourced 15 more after my first 2 units sold in the first day
- Post office will rip you off when you use their packaging, so go on ebay and searcing for packaging enough to protect your product, as well as tape, and packing slip envelopes that will fit (explained in step 4)

(3) Write the ad - Ebay

-Use your keywords verbatim in your title (be sure and mix up so not to look like other ads) (writing a subtitle with your value add here at this point is a great idea)
- Write the ad based on exactly what the product is. (purple people eater widgets - sewn - size medium) - If you get stuck here, look at other ads and figure out what message they are trying to display and put your own spin on it.
- Take your own photos - I got a couple of mannequins for cheap in my area ($20) that made my photos look professional
- If youve posted in a hot enough sector your will be selling like crazy. My version of these widgets i posted at 8 AM on a tuesday (the optimal time for this particular product for whatever odd reason based on terapeak ). by 8:15 im seeing $100 sales go by. By 9 oclock I was sold out and wondering wtf im going at my day job (this will get you hooked on internet marketing for life).
- I sold out all 15 units I bought at $50 apiece at $150 by 9



15 units X $100 per sale = $1500



NOTE: Your results may vary when you do this process, but use your brain and identify opportunities and you will get paid.

(4) Ship your product - Local Post Office / UPS

- I live in the US and get cheaper shipping (though it takes longer) through the post office versus UPS or FedEx
NOTE : Buying small products makes cheaper shipping, and thus increases your product margins (aka $$$)
- If your using Paypal, which most smart ebay users do - paypal will automatically print shipping labels - meaning dont stand in any lines when you cant print postage from your computer - usually works for post office and UPS
- at this point you need to attach the postage printout from your computer to your package in a way that it will survive the life of the journey and still be readable (buy packing slips off ebay prior to this that match the print out size and the size of the package)
- you can even schedule the post office or ups to come to your door to pickup - dont even have to drive to the post office...
NOTE : I personally always offer free shipping and buy it now. Take out all the hidden fees and let the customer think they are getting a great deal (just increase you price to make up the difference)
- Rinse wash repeat...and get paid

(5) Collect your paycheck - Paypal
- watch your profiles roll in and your margins increase the more you ship

Misc notes...
- Buying branded products definitely have increased margins, but will probably get your account flagged if your violating copyright laws - Use you moral compass here and youll be fine - if not im sure youll find a way anyhow
- If you want a great book to find all kinds of products especially if you have a tax id # and a real business - "What to Sell on Ebay and Where to Get It By" by Chris Malta and Lisa Suttora
- DONT PM FOR A COPY OF TERAPEAK I DONT HAVE ONE. Go pay for it, its worth it
- DO PM me for any questions I could help you with other, than the actual product I got paid off of. Like I said before its a banned topic thus the widgets metaphor
- If this replicates another method, great, that means it works, I haven't copied anything from anything other than my experience
- I have 0% affiliation to any website or anyone else listed in this. This is only to get you paid the best way I know how