Expert: Russell Smiley - 2/25/2008

Question
QUESTION: Dear Russell,

   I created a listing on eBay today. I am selling a Nintendo Wii. Since I don't have time to get out and personally find items to sell,I signed up with a dropshipping company that had some Wii's (new in box) to sell. Anyway,after my listing was created,I got a couple of questions. One of the questions someone asked was: "How did you come about having a new Wii for sale at this point in time?" I don't really know how to answer that. I'm afraid if I tell them the truth,they might not be interested in buying or they'll have some smart-aleck response. How should I handle this? Also,in future listings,do you think I should tell prospective bidders up front that I use a dropshipping service and don't actually carry any product myself?

ANSWER: I would be happy to answer your question to the best of my ability. If the seller asked you if you use a drop shipping service, then just be honest. When you go to ship the item though the service, the seller will find out anyways because I believe it will have the drop shipping service address and not yours. This may make the seller mad, which may cause you to receive a negative feedback. If its a Nintendo Wii, most people wouldn't care as long as the item is brand new as stated in the description. Since the Nintendo Wii is hard to find, you will get many bids for the item even if it isn't from that seller. I don't think you should tell prospective bidders up front that you use a dropshipping service up front or list it anywhere in your add because its none of their business. You only tell them if they ask you. I have used a drop shipping service a couple times, and I never had a complaint. As long as the item is as advertised, then most people don't care.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Russell,

  Sorry to bother you again. I was wondering if you might take a look at my listings. You don't have to bid or anything. I just need an expert's opinion. One of the items I listed was selling good for a while,but now it's just stalled. If I sell it for my current highest bid,I won't make a profit. What can I do to increase my sales or get more people interested in my items?
  The first item # is 300199841378
  The second item # is 300200719346

Thanks.

ANSWER: Hello, I took a look at both of your items and I have a few suggestions. The Nintendo Wii still has 3 days before the auction ends, so you still have plenty of time to get higher bids. Many bidders including myself like to wait until the last min. to bid. You have 18 bids, which is great. You don't know what the bidder put for his max bid, so it could be much higher then the 202, then its going for, so if someone bids 220, but the max bid is 350, it will encourage that bidder to keep bidding until he is in the lead, or he/she drops out of the bidding war. I wouldn't worry to much about the Wii console. The cell phone you got listed is way to low, I would raise this price up right away, otherwise you might lose a lot of money on it. The phone still has 9 days, so it has a long time to get bids on it. You listed the items and wrote the descriptions well.

Here are a few things you can do to make sure you don't lose any money and most of all, make a profit on the items you are selling.

1. Sell more items to build up your feedback rating. You only have 10 positive feedback, so many sellers will feel uneasy about paying a lot of money to a seller that has a low feedback rating. I recommend selling things that aren't really expensive, I'm sure you can find things around your house that you don't want anymore. You can also sell used video games and computer games because these items are typically big sellers.

2. If you are using a dropshipping company ether set a reserve price or set the price for the item for what it will cost you. This will ensure you won't lose any money that way. Their is a small fee if you set a reserve price.

3. Research the item you are selling. You should see what other people are selling the item for. If they are selling it for 10-30 dollars cheaper, then their not likely to bid on your items because they can buy it cheaper from another seller. You should also see if that item you want to sell has any bids and what the bids end at. You want to make sure your item will sell.

4. List your auctions at a good time. I would recommend putting your listings at 7:00-8:00P.M, so that way your auction will end at that time. Since many people wait to bid on the last min, you want everyone to be able to place their bids. If you start the auction time to early, then many people will not be able to put their bid in because they are sleeping or at work and if you list your auction to late, then many people may be sleeping. You don't want to miss potential bids at the end of the auction.

5. The last piece of my advice is common since. Don't tell anyone including your family members, friends, and co-workers, what dropshipper you use to sell your items. Their's already enough competition on eBay, why create more competition by telling everyone.  Word travels fast, so just by telling one person a few weeks later, they may have told 10 more people, and before you know it 50 people will know about the dropshipping service.

I hope this has helped you, if you have any more questions feel free to ask me.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well,I ran into another problem bidder. He asked me why I expected anyone to pay the $600 reserve price I was asking for the LG Shine KE970 cell phone when they sell everywhere else for $200. His point,though valid,has made me question whether or not selling things on eBay is for me. For one thing,I'm just a guy trying to make a few bucks on the side and pay some bills. Two,the whole business is a one-man operation,so I have to take some risks or I won't make money,but I don't expect anyone to believe that. Third,my asking price wasn't that unreasonable when you look at some of the things other people were selling. I actually found a listing where some woman was selling - get this - her flu...for $12,000,part of it going to charity. Another seller was auctioning off a domain name for $50,000. And the topper - a donation to Hillary Clinton: $1,000,000 (20% going to charity). Was the bidder right? Did I set the price too high?

Answer
I think the reserve price was kind of high considering the same phone was going for $150-$200. Thats the thing with most dropshippers, most of the time you won't be able to compete because you will have the raise the price extra high to make a profit. I'm carious about the things other people were selling, sounds totally absurd, would you mind posting a link, so I can see.