To help set you straight, I’ve listed the top 4 myths about wholesale buying that seem to derail new sellers every day of the week:

Myth #1: Buying products in wholesale quantities means buying them at at least 50% less than the retail price.

Sorry to start out on a bad note, guys, but this is seriously incorrect! In reality, the wholesale cost of an item is usually 5-35% below the retail cost. Some big-time sellers with massive buying power might be able to get better discounts when they are in a position to buy in big bulk. Wholesale buying is a volume game: the more you buy, the less you pay per unit. But, if you are thinking you can buy a container load of jeans for a just a few hundred dollars, you would be wrong.

Myth #2: Wholesale suppliers won’t want to deal with me; I’m just an eBay seller making 30 sales per month.

Wrong! The truth is plenty of suppliers are more than happy to deal with the likes of eBay sellers. While you might only make smaller orders through them, it’s all the smaller businesses that are often the backbone of a supplier’s business. After all, a supplier who relies on the success of 3 or 4 major buyers is not really safe-guarding their business!

When checking out new suppliers to deal with, you might find that they have a very high minimum order which you cannot meet. However, I suggest that you email the supplier anyway and see if they will make an exception: suppliers know that they need to support new and small sellers in order to help them grow their business and stat placing those big orders.

Myth #3: You can buy designer branded goods like clothing, sunglasses, and jewelry for next to nothing, and resell them for enormous profits.

This is a particularly popular one. If you think you can buy an authentic Louis Vuitton handbag wholesale for less than $100, and resell it for $500, you are sadly mistaken. While it is possible to buy the latest designer handbags, the sad truth is, unless you are buying them from an authorized distributor, hey are highly likely to be fake.

While there is a consumer demand for fakes, selling them is 100% illegal. eBay has a whole division dedicated to checking that all designer and branded goods sold on their site are the real deal. If they cotton on to you selling anything less, you will have your account closed pronto. Worse still, if Customs catches you importing fake items, you could face heavy fines and imprisonment.

To sell most designer branded goods legally, you need to become an authorized reseller. This means jumping through some very high hoops. For example, some brand owners require you to have a brick and mortar retail store and a very high sales turnover (think $100,000 per year).

You are much more likely to be successful when selling non-branded everyday items like sporting or hobby equipment.

Myth #4: The best wholesalers can only be found online

While the internet certainly makes it easier for us to find new suppliers, and instantly price-up potential items, it would be a mistake to overlook the many other product-sourcing avenues available.

So what other options do you have?

• Trade Shows:

Tradeshows are exhibitions organized by industry leaders to showcase new products. They are a great way to stay ahead of trends and find new niche items to sell. Tradeshows are also a great way to build relationships with big suppliers. This can go a long way in getting you better deals and greater access to new, hot products. To find tradeshows in your area, you can simply search Google for the keywords “trade show” + the name of your area, or visit BizTradeShows.com.

• Trade Magazines:

Trade magazines such as The Closeout News are a great way of finding new suppliers and hot deals on wholesaler items. This is how the wholesale industry used to operate – before the days of the internet!

What makes trade magazines so valuable is that very few online/eBay sellers use them as a product sourcing method, but plenty of suppliers continue to list their there (and some only list in print publications), so the prices get driven down in your favor.

So which of these myths did you fall for? Let me know the biggest lesson that you’ve learned about wholesale sourcing!

About the Author: Alice Delore is a copywriter for SaleHoo wholesale directory (http://www.salehoo.com). She also regularly publishes work on the SaleHoo blog (http://www.salehoo.com/blog).

- either leaving it as it is now with both parties deciding when & how to leave it
- once they have paid for their item then sellers can only leave them positive feedback or
- finally the option that ebay itself automatically leaves feedback when the buyer pays quickly.

It goes without saying that this has once again sparked off the old argument, who should leave feedback first -buyers or sellers? with no signs of movement in either side.

Skip McGrath, over at Auction Seller’s Resource reflects on some of the some of the more bizarre emails he gets from his eBay buyers, customers and readers to his blog. Seems like you can’t please all the people all the time. One of the best messages being with reference to a product called Ten Profitable Ebay Niches:

Product: Ten Profitable eBay Niche
message: I need to get a refund for this item. It looks like a lot of work. I look for free money from eBay.

If anyone can get me free money from eBay BTW, please drop me an email

More importantly what are these creatures called? is the topic of conversation at Ebay Strategies with Scott Wingo. Ebay’s latest feature, http://bestof.ebay.com/ which showcases the more interesting and bizarre items being auctioned has introduced these strange creatures to us. BestOf eBay is a digg like experience with users able to vote for each listing. Meanwhile I’m sure Scott will be relieved when he finds out exactly what they are called. Any ideas?

Only lasting for ten minutes or so, there are no excuses for not listening. It’s main question is whether to start your auctions at a high or low starting price – With the advantages of both explained, you can download it at The Times Online.

Containing reviews of popular eBay websites such as my own AuctionCUT, Power Sellers Forum and JennyHow, this is generating a massive buzz for this publication. All reviews are to the point and fair, not to mention a massive ego boost to the people involved (me especially!).

However, there’s so much more than reviews in the book. I was pleasantly surprised at the excellent content, guides and case studies it features which add tremendous value to the book.

The 10 eBay Con Tricks to watch out for, is one such guide educating users on how to stay away from bidding on illegal imports, counterfeit goods and items simply too good to be true, as well as showing us how to watch out for more advanced frauds such as sellers who inflate their own feedback ratings by operating multiple accounts.

Auctioning4U is involved in a detailed case study about Trading Assistants, showing why using Trading Assistants can be easier and hassle free despite their additional fees.

Then there are simple How To Guides, such as How to Open an eBay Shop, How to add Custom Pages, How to setup a Paypal Account among others, which are aimed at those new to eBay or those looking to take their eBay selling activity to the next level.

Additionally, more detailed topics are included such as Payment Processors, eBay alternatives and ebay Express. All the chapters are easy to read and follow, regardless of your experience. It’s not merely aimed at the beginners since the advanced sellers will certainly be able to pick up a point or two. Available on Amazon (non affiliate link – click here) at £7.99, this is one publication worth keeping by my side, 24×7.

Coming up in the series of “6 Question Interviews” is Scott Wingo, president & CEO of ChannelAdvisor has recently took over rival Marketworks in a surprise move.

1) Lee, What’s your ebook Auction Profits Unleashed all about?

Lee: Auction Profits Unleashed is a step by step blueprint detailing how to use eBay as a marketing tool. It’s NOT a guide going into detail about how to run a succesful auction. Instead it focuses on how to use eBay as a mechanism to build a list and make money at the same time.

I use these strategies everyday in the teaching niche and they have proven to be extremely effective. In fact, by discovering one of the Auction Profits Unleashed methods, I was able to treble my profits while also cutting down on the amount of auctions that I was running!

You can read the full interview at AuctionCUT

These days, no one would ever think of John like this and he is known as a well respected eBay guru, author and powerseller. His ebooks have sold thousands of copies to date.

Mentorship Monthly offers an exclusive digital newsletter, audio and video training, recommendations and tools, personal help with your eBay auctions and the opportunity of question John on any eBay related subject. Content will be updated monthly & of course you can cancel at any time.

Payment is processed by Clickbank so if you try it and find it’s not for you it’s easy to cancel and get a refund within the first few weeks. You can find details at: http://www.mentorshipmonthly.com.

[quote]I see less and less need for OTWA; with the eBay boards and groups and blogs and other social networking sites, we just seem archaic and stale and I couldn’t find anything, an iota of a reason for me to do this to you guys any longer. Our time has come, to just go quietly in to that good night.[/quote] says Jim, of OTWA

I can’t describe how big an opportunity this is, as Andy Williams (ezseonews.com) says Guido has  “made his name online by being honest, and looking after his customers.  He has produced a number of free tutorials, and those he does charge for are amazingly cheap.”

Experienced Ebay sellers could easily make this product pay for itself in a day. Check it out at: http://www.easywebtutorials.com/html-tutorial/reseller.php

“In addition, for the period of 7 weeks, you will have personal access to me via a private email address for advice on any of your own auctions. Millions of people place items for sale on eBay, and in reality hope for the best. By applying the principles I give you in the e-class, together with my personal guidance, you will increase the success rates of your
auctions to levels you never thought possible”, Brian tells me.

Brian has ran over 4500 auctions and his monthly newsletter has an audience of well over 10,000 readers so he’s very well positioned to teach others how to use eBay. You can check out more details about Brian McGregors eBay course here.