I’m currently looking to purchase items from China to resell on eBay.

Following your advice I’m using Terapeak.com to make sure all the stock I purchase will sell on eBay as I have purchased dead stock in the past.

However I would also like to purchase new lines, items that are not selling on eBay at the minute. This is where my dilemma lies if there is no history of this product on eBay but I personally think it is a good product should I go for it, or just discard this idea?

Zak

Hi Zak,

Thanks for your question.

Business is all about taking risks, and your question clearly reflects that. Usually, the higher the risk you’re willing to take, the higher returns you get. This applies to investing in stocks, business ideas, product development and anything really that can bring a potential profit on your investment.

I don’t know your numbers but here’s what I would do:

If you already have a business bringing in steady income, DO NOT risk with too much money in new products. If they don’t sell you’ll face some serious cash flow problems. Personally I try to stick with 10%-20% investment in new products per month or order.

For example, if you currently spend £1000 a month on purchases (orders from suppliers), allocate no more than £100-£200 on new product lines. You don’t have to follow this rule of course but this way you’ll stay on a safe side rather than be sorry later.

Of course, if a new product proves to be a good seller within first few days or weeks, you can (and should) invest much more in re-orders! If it sells, you want to make as much money out of it as possible before everyone else starts selling same item, getting into a price wars (very typical on eBay).

But despite the fact that you personally think a product is good, you still need to do some sort of research.

• Is it a totally unique product? Or there are something similar selling on the market at the moment? If it’s an improvement over a current product, chances are people will be very interested in buying something that is better than previous offer. So you can still use Terapeak.com data and make your volume projections.
• You say no one is selling that product on eBay – but have you looked on Amazon Marketplace and web in general? I’m sure, if a product is being manufactured, someone sells it somewhere, right?
• Lastly, if product is totally new & unique and you can’t find any evidence of competition or similar products, you’ll have to use your brain and Google Keyword Tool to see – whatever there could be a demand for your new product.

Good luck & Hope this helps!

Thanks,
Andrew

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