Hey guys, this is Neil Waterhouse.
Today I want to talk about
how I would build an eBay business differently
to when I first started eBay back in 1999.
Received an email from Mick Bozo,
apologies Mick if I pronounced your surname wrong,
"Neil, if you had to start an eBay business from scratch today,
knowing what you know now to be successful,
what would you do and what would you do differently?
Would you do this business again?
Or would you do something else totally different?
A 100% honest answer from the heart that you would tell your children."
Fair enough.
Well Mick, yes if I was starting from scratch today, I would certainly would do things
a lot lot differently to when I first started back in 1999.
A lot has changed over the years and I certainly made a ton of mistakes on the way
however, I try my best to learn from each mistake and try not to make it again.
Back when I started, we did not have all the tools and resources that we are blessed with today.
When I went full-time as an eBay seller back in 2005,
I had to continually fly back and forth from Australia to the USA to the UK
to attend eBay related seminars and also to meet successful
eBay sellers so I could pick their brands.
The first item I ever sold on eBay was a set of used "sidchrome sockets"
which I had lying around in the garage collecting dust.
Back then most items which were sold on eBay were used items.
85% of items sold on eBay back on those days were,
sorry, today over 85% of the items sold on eBay are brand new.
Back then it was mostly just used items.
From 1999 till 2004 I was just a hobby seller
It was in 2005 that we went full time.
Today there are many different opportunities/methodologies to make
money on eBay, including selling used items, new items, importing,
drop shipping and many others
Personally, I prefer to only sell new items
as I can create one listing
and then sell it over and over again.
You don't have to take more photos, more listing
et cetera.
Importing and drop shipping are my preferred methodologies these days.
Both methodologies have pros and cons
Importing has higher profit margins however it ties up capital,
whereas drop shipping requires zero capital however it has lower margins
Even though drop shipping has lower margins, the big advantage of drop shipping is you
can list tons of items without spending a cent.
Some people dismiss importing as they think they need to go to China all the time
However, nothing is further from the truth.
I used to also go to continuously China, Japan and other countries in Asia
however this is no longer needed as you can do better product research on your computer
at home
Back when I started it was nearly impossible to do the product research at home.
Today we are truly blessed with the software which is available.
When we first started we used to "guess" which products to sell
products which have a proven track record of already selling well plus we can prove
of already selling well plus we can prove products which have a proven track record of already selling well plus we can prove
the profits as well before, we purchase them
Taking out the "guesswork" completely changed the profitability of our business,
just getting ruled the "guesswork".
Another huge resource we have today is the
ability to easily and quickly outsource low-cost overseas staff.
As our business grew, our house quickly filled up with inventory and staff.
My wife and I had to park our cars on the street as the garage was full of stock
and the couriers were continually going in and out of the driveway.
Spare rooms and any spaces in the house
were also filled up with
flatpack boxes, computer equipment, printers,
packing materials, stock, you name it
We even used our attic and garden shed.
Today almost all our staff are overseas, with the majority of them
costing less than $2 per hour.
Another huge resource, which is just getting better and better is third-party logistics companies.
Third-party logistics companies or 3PL's as they are often referred too, are simply companies
where you send all your inventory
and they warehouse it for you and then ship it for you.
They also have great rates with all the major courier companies and postal companies.
Their discounted shipping rates combined with not having your own warehouse or your own
packing staff can often outweigh the cost of using a 3PL.
The great thing with 3PL's is you can start tiny with just one inventory item
and then grow and grow.
3PL's are all over the world, you can easily build an international business using 3PL's.
In the USA for example, we use Amazon to ship all our eBay orders, as well as Amazon as well, of course.
After our house filled up with inventory and staff we got a warehouse
However today, you do not need to get a warehouse, you can just use 3PL's.
If I had to start over again today, I would just use a 3PL every way.
By using outsourced low-cost overseas staff and using 3PL's, you can run the business
from literally anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection
which is pretty much everywhere, there's satellite these days.
You no longer require any stock in your house or any staff in your house.
Our goal was always to get out of the city and live on a farm. My wife Nicole grew up
on hundred acres in Canada and she was always craving to get back to living on a farm where
she could again have her horses.
In August 2015, we moved out of Sydney onto a farm.
From there we run all our businesses. This simply would not have been possible back when
we started.
So Mick, to answer your question, would I do something totally different if I was starting
from scratch?
No, I would do exactly same. However, eBay is not a get rich quick business.
Like every businesses, it requires learning and practice.
However, the great news is you do not need to reinvent the wheel yourself.
The path has been paved by many eBay sellers. In fact there are over 500,000 full-time eBay
sellers today
with more and more running their businesses virtually from their homes every day.
That's all for this week.
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Until next week, list more, sell more, this is Neil Waterhouse