I just returned from the ASD/AMD Wholesale Trade Show in Las Vegas. This is one of the largest wholesale trade shows in the world with over 4,000 vendors showing their products and looking for people like you to buy from them.

Wholesale Products for eBay & Amazon

I listed a lot of these sources in my last newsletter, The eBay & Online Seller’s News. But I have also compiled 44 of the best sources onto an interactive web page where you can click on the links to access the sources. And, I have all of the information in a Free eBook Forty-four Free Wholesale Sources.  You can download the eBook in PDF. It is completely free –you don’t even have to supply your email address to get it.  And you can freely share of give away copies of the book to anyone you want.
Out of the thousands of manufacturers, distributors and importers who exhibited, I tried to concentrate on those products and companies who had products that worked for selling on eBay and Amazon and that small sellers who cannot buy in large quantities could afford.

eBay dropshippers

On the list are three companies who drop ship for eBay sellers. One is a company that sells outdoor gear including the popular airsoft guns, another sells all types of small appliances including the Roomba Robot vaccum cleaner and a third who will drop ship musical instruments including guitars.

So just click here to get free access to 44 Wholesale Sources for eBay and Amazon Sellers. It’s free and now its yours!

I would love to hear if this information helped you and if you would like more. So leave a comment and let me know what you think and any requests or advice you might have.

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Complete eBay Marketing System

I have many more sources available at the Wholesale Resources member’s website that you get for free when you purchase The Complete eBay Marketing System.  We update the member’s area every month with new sources and new bonus materials.

The rest of them will be uploaded to the member’s area of the website where those who have purchased The Complete eBay Marketing System can get access.

The show was excellent this year. In past years a lot of wholesale vendors didn’t want to work with eBay sellers. This year they were all over me when I said I was an eBay seller. The show had fewer attendees this year which made it more pleasant –but it was busy nevertheless. And the vendors were selling.  I spoke with several vendors who said business was brisk and they seemed to be upbeat about the economy improving.

In one of my first books when I wrote about wholesale dealer auctions, I said that if you have a desire to be mugged, you can walk in Central Park after midnight or you can attend a wholesale dealer auction.

Wholesale dealer auctions are held various locations around the country but most of them tend to be in the Southeast.  Essentially they are auctions of liquidation and surplus merchandise, factory seconds and returns and warranty items.  There is no question that there are great bargains and profits to be had. Personally I have purchased goods for as little as 10¢ on the retail dollar and been able to triple or quadruple my money on eBay.  But I have also been burned.

As with my article yesterday about buying at small local auctions  –this is an area where experience counts (See that post below for more advice about buying at auctions).  The only way to get that experience is to dive in  –but make sure you aren’t jumping off a diving board into the shallow end of the pool.  Here are some tips to help you prevent getting mugged and to insure you only buy profitable merchandise.

1. Visit at least one dealer or closeout auction where you just observe. Don’t buy anything at your first auction no matter how tempted you are. Look at the people. See how they dress, how they act, which ones hang out together. Look at what the professional dealers are buying and the prices they pay. Take a small notebook and jot down information to review later. You will be surprised at what you can learn by just watching.
2. Look out for shill bidders.  If you observe carefully they are actually pretty easy to spot and they tend to congregate together during the breaks
3. Never buy a “lot” of boxed mixed merchandise[1]. It has been picked over and all the premium goods have been removed. If the seller or auctioneer swears it hasn’t been picked through (called cherry picking in the trade) – run the other way.
4. Buy only new merchandise (they are called “shelf pulls” in the trade). This is typically merchandise that didn’t sell during the season, or didn’t sell well at all. Sometimes that means it was not a saleable product, but it could also mean the store just bought too much of it, or another hotter product came along and the storeowner needed the shelf space.
5. Be careful with items described as “returns,” or "store returns." Ask if they are "shelf pulls" or "customer returns." There will almost always be some damaged or non-working items in a “customer returns” lot. It is ok to buy returns from established closeout dealers who will tell you the mixture. If you can buy returns at 10 to 15 cents on the dollar you will probably do okay because there will be enough good stuff mixed with the bad.
6. Stay away from freight damaged goods unless you can visually inspect all the products in the box. Some times it’s just the boxes that are damaged. If this is the case, and you can be sure, then go ahead and bid.
7. Never buy merchandise you cannot physically and visually inspect. Buying goods at a closeout auction is a case of Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware).
8. Never buy “damaged returns” unless you are capable of repairing the items yourself. If something looks great but is not attracting any bids, leave it alone. There are a lot of professionals at these auctions. If they are not bidding there is usually a reason.

See Also

• Learn How To Start and Run a profitable eBay Business with The Complete eBay Marketing System
  Printed training manual written by an eBay Power Seller who sells on eBay every day

Readers have a choice of several magazines –just select your product category. They include:

Sports & Leisure	Auto Parts & Accessories
Baby & Children’s Products  & Apparel	Hardware, Tools & DIY
Computer Products & Components	Apparel & Fashion Accessories
Underwear & Swimwear	Home & Garden products

These magazines are meant for importers, but they are really valuable for any seller. Most of the sources sell in large quantities, but many of them import directly and will sell direct from their US warehouses.  Also if you ever thought you may want to try importing, there is a ton of useful information in each issue.  These sourcing magazines normally charge over $20 per issue, but you can get a sample issue now for free.  Click Here to get your Free Product Sourcing Guide.

See Also

• Out of Work? The Used Book Business is a low cost – low risk – easy to enter business
  Complete sales manual shows how to make good money quickly selling used books on eBay, Amazon and other internet sites.

This is a great little wholesale sourcing secret and it’s a free way to find eBay wholesale sources. I told my readers about this tip last year and several of them wrote me that they had great luck with this.  It is not a way to find millions of products in all the popular categories –but that is OK, because those categories are pretty crowded and competitive. But, it is a great way to find those little niche suppliers that other sellers don’t have.

The secret: Free Trade Magazines.  If you don’t know what a trade magazine is, let me explain.  Almost every industry and product has an association or publishers who make money publishing free trade magazines about the specific industry or topic.  The magazines are free because they are completely advertiser supported. This is what is known in the publishing trade as Controlled Circulation Publishing.  The advertisers pay the magazines because they go out to a targeted audience –rather than just anyone.

To subscribe to a trade publication, you fill out a qualification form. For example, I subscribe to Hearth & Home, a magazine for the outdoor fireplace and BBQ industry. I had to fill out a form saying that I was an online retailer and list what products I sold (firepits and BBQ grills). It is done on the honor system –no one checks up on you.

So where do you find these trade magazines?

You can Google around for them, or you can go to one of the sites that list many of the magazines. The one I like the best is Tradepub. Tradepub not only has over 200 free magazines you can subscribe to, they also have dozens of free whitepapers on various aspects of marketing and selling that can really help your online sales –even if you only do eBay. I have read several of these white papers and learned a lot from them.

The other free magazine everyone should get if you sell online (eBay, Amazon your own website, etc.), is Website Magazine. There is a ton of great marketing advice in every issue and I have used it to find some excellent affiliate programs that have earned me a great deal of money.  Best of all when I signed up, I never got any spam from them.

See Also

• The Official Geezer Guide to Starting an Online Business
  We show you seven, low cost, low risk online businesses anyone can start to make extra money online

First off I’d like to wish you a very happy holiday season. I hope that you are enjoying the time with your loved ones.

I want to give you a quick heads up. I just heard from the nice folks at Worldwide Brands. They are running a special holiday promotion on the best source of wholesale information, resources and training for eBay sellers.  

Worldwide Brands has reduced the price by $100 and for the next 5 days, they are offering a 4-payment plan so you can spread the cost out.

By purchasing Worldwide Brands now you  will have immediate
access to:

• Over 8,000 wholesale suppliers and drop shippers who represent over 8 Million Products!
• 19 chapters of eBiz education
• A community forum to guide & support the internet seller
  (Including Direct access to the Worldwide Brands CEO who posts regularly)
• A ton of great content and valuable resources, and specials only
  available to the Worldwide Brands Members

BUT this offer is coming to quick end.

It’s a lot easier to make little payments over time. But they can’t do it much longer. This offer goes away Dec. 31st!

Click here to read about the service and get this limited-time offer.

When the ball falls in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, the payment plan offer is over.

Don’t miss out on this great resource for eBay and small website sellers. I have been using WorldWide Brands personally for the past 5 years and still use it today. This is the only wholesale information service I recommend to my readers.

Click here to read about the service and get this limited-time offer.

See Also

• The Official Geezer Guide to Starting an Online Business from Home, by Skip McGrath
  Learn about six different home business opportuinities that work for seniors

My regular readers know that I not only personally use Worldwide Brands (WWB), but I have been recommending their sourcing tools and educational service for several years. This week WWB realigned their product offering by combining their product sourcing service and their educational product -The Whole $ale – into one integrated product offering and reduced the price by $100. You only pay one lifetime fee –they do NOT charge any monthly or ongoing fees.

However, my readers can also save an additional $20 if you use this link to order: www.worldwidebrands.com/skipmcgrath.

If you are not yet familiar with WWB, then use this link to read about the program and watch a short video that explains all of their services.  But be sure and go back to this link to get the additional $20 discount: www.worldwidebrands.com/skipmcgrath

Also they have created a great little eBook on wholesale sourcing for my readers. It is called Successful Product Sourcing – How To Find Real Products You Can Sell Online.  Just Click Here to download your free copy.

If you sell on eBay or Amazon or your own website WWB offers a great resource for one lifetime fee to help you source products, avoid wholesale scams and learn about the wholesale industry and how it really works.

Unless some big news happens, this will be my last post before Christmas, so let me take this moment to wish all of my readers a wonderful and Merry Christmas and Joyous Hanukkah and a happy, prosperous and successful New Year.

Skip McGrath

See Also

• The Complete eBay Marketing System – A complete training manual to help you start and run a professional eBay business
  Written by an eBay Gold PowerSeller who sells on eBay every day

Wholesale Sourcing for eBay

The series consists of 5 videos and several free bonuses for opting in
to see the series. I have seen the first two videos and they are excellent.
Each video is 8 to 10 minutes long and packed with great information for
the eBay or small website seller.

And it’s not just about wholesale sourcing. These videos contain lots of information you can put to use right away to build your business during this difficult economic environment.

Here is the link to see the first video and sign up for the whole series. And
yes –they are completely free.  http://tinyurl.com/4u3pzk

In case you missed it, my June 08 Newsletter is now available on the website at:

http://www.skipmcgrath.com/newsletters/current.shtml

Look for my next newsletter right after eBay Live. In the meantime be sure
and check my blog.skipmcgrath.com for any breaking news or events

eBay Live Info

If you are going to eBay Live, be sure and attend the free eBay Meet and Greet party on the evening of Wednesday the 18th, in the M/X Lounge at the Hyatt Hotel right next to the eBay convention center. The party starts at 6:30 and is a great chance to meet and greet your fellow eBay sellers.  This is NOT an official eBay event. This is just a bunch of sellers who get together each year to network and socialize.

I will be giving away a door prize –A set of DVDs from my latest eBay Boot Camp. Raffle tickets will be given out at the door between 6:30 and 7:30 with the drawing at 8PM.

Hope to see you there

Skip McGrath

See Also

• The Complete eBay Marketing System –a printed manual and workbook to help you start, build and grow a professional eBay business
  Learn to sell on eBay from a Power Seller who has been selling on eBay for 9 years and makes his full-time living on eBay
• The eBay Seller’s News is the largest and oldest FREE NEWSLETTER for professional eBay sellers
  Our twice monthly newsletter contains news, tips and techniques to help you build your eBay business

I have been trying to get these rumors confirmed or denied by eBay but so far have not had any luck. I hope they are untrue, as we always enjoy eBay Live.

I will be speaking at this year’s eBay Live on the topic of wholesale sourcing. My presentation will be in partnership with WorldWide Brands.  Watch this blog for the exact date and times.

If you need a hotel, I would not wait until Friday.  The best hotels are right downtown and most of them have shuttle service to McCormick Place.  The best deals are available right now on Hotwire where you can still get a really nice 4-star hotel for about $125-$150 per night.

Here is the link to register for eBay Live when it opens later this week:

http://pages.ebay.com/ebaylive/

Skip McGrath

See Also

• The New 2008 Version of The Complete eBay Marketing System is now shipping
  Get the latest tools, tips and PowerSeller Strategies with The Complete eBay Marketing System

A few weeks ago I shared a list of some of the awful terms that sellers use in their auctions. Today, I thought I would share some of the more interesting emails I get from readers.

These are just a small sample from the past three months. Some of them are well intentioned, other frustrating and others from people who I really wonder about.  And, yes, these are real emails from readers. You can’t make this stuff up.

I have copy/pasted them exactly as they came in, so the grammar, punctuation, spelling and capitalization are exactly as received with no corrections on my part: I have removed the names and email addresses to protect the guilty.

i think that people who sale on ebay should pay taxes becasue there no better than people who pick up pop can for a living and please do not give my email address or name thank you.

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 Skip McGrath is making so much money on ebay, why is he SELLING this information?
It looks to me, like he’s making money SELLING INFORMATION.
WHY should I BUY His imformation, when like everything else…it doesn’t deliver. WHY would he sell or even TELL his secrets?
Doesn’t he make enough on ebay without selling his secrets on a website.
I’ve sold on ebay for several years. (I looked up this seller and her feedback was 43, most of it as a buyer)

Skip – Your stuff is the best, but what should I sell on eBay to make the most money???

Your newsletter is just more ebay propaganda to get out money in more fees for ebay.

Skip do you teach me the secrets that work and if you do are they still secrets if you teach them to so many people? I want just the real secrets not the ones you sell to other people. Can we make a deal? I am happy to pay extra.

I looked at every wholesale source there is and none of them really sell at wholesale. How can people make money if no one really has wholesale prices. Why won’t real wholesale companies sell to me.

Mr. McGrath: What sells best on ebay? What is hot product and where can I get it? Thank you.

I live in Nigeria and work in orphanage and want to do eBay from here to make donation to our good cause. Can you send me a free book to help my orphans, God bless to you.

What products sells best on ebay and where can I find the best wholesale source.

You are screw job and so is ebay paypal why shold I buy you book ????????????? But I llike your newswletters

Mr. Skip I would like to be your agent in Nigeria and can sell millions of your product. Plesae contact me immediately to disuc uss this interesting and profitable business proposal. (This was sent from the same email address as the orphanage)

eBay hoses people and takes them for a ride why are you helping them skip mcgrath…I bet you make money too.

The last one is interesting.  I am not sure if he is confusing hoses with horses or where the ride will take me.

As you can see several of the questions are from people who want to know what to sell on eBay, or what sells best on eBay. I get this question stated several ways and is probably the most asked single question.  All of my books and several free articles deal with this question in great detail. I will take one more stab at the answer:

Forget selling hot consumer products. There is too much competition and the margins are very low. Find a specialized niche that is less competitive and most importantly find a niche that you know something about and enjoy working in.  Here is a link to my Free Articles page where you can read several articles about what sells on eBay, niche marketing and where to find the wholesale products to sell on ebay.

As for secrets; If you read the sales letters for my products, you won’t find many mentions of "secrets."  I don’t keep any secrets for myself.  Clever sellers are always looking for angles and often come up with new techniques, but once they use them then everyone else can pretty much see them.  So are there any secrets?  yes – but they don’t last very long. If you really want to make money on eBay, there is no substitute for learning the basics, doing the work and then staying on top of your business.

And I will leave you with a little advertising plug (I have to pay the bills too).

If you are struggling to find wholesale products, don’t forget that OneSource is having a holiday sale where you can save an extra $30 over my normal $20 discount on this excellent source of wholesale product information.  www.worldwidebrands.com/skipmcgrath.  This promotion ends November 30th.

See Also

• Wholesale Buying System for eBay Sellers
  Complete printed course teaches eBay sellers how, what and where to buy wholesale products to sell on eBay