The main advantage of getting your own website is “branding”. With a website you can display your company logo and build a strong brand awareness of your product(s) through your domain name and website. Although this can take some time, the long term gain is very good.
On the other hand, websites like eBay and Amazon already have literally millions of visits each and every day. This is key for new merchants looking for a fast return on their investment.
At first people were using eBay to sell personal items however these days people use eBay as a serious sales channel to their business. Selling goods on eBay can also allow you to establish relationships with buyers.
Now if you want to start selling on eBay but you don’t have any products don’t panic. You don’t need to be an experienced merchant selling products online. The first thing you need to do is to look for a reliable set of dropship suppliers that can ship products directly to your buyers on your behalf. This is what we typically refer to as “dropshippers” which allows you to any type of products even if you don’t have it on-hand.
Finding reliable dropship suppliers can be hard. Remember that your eBay reputation is at stake. If you choose a bad dropship supplier and they cause problems such as not shipping your products, or sending fake or counterfeit products to your buyers. These types of products can cause your eBay reputation to go down the drain really fast.
There are many scams online that try to sell you dropship directories that are outdated and have false information. Also beware of dropshippers from China. My personal recommendation is if you are running a business in the USA, then work only with dropship suppliers located in the USA. If you are selling in Canada, then you can use suppliers from both the USA and Canada however if you are located in the United Kingdom for example, then it would be wiser to work with local suppliers only.
When you find a supplier that can dropship for you, the first thing you should do is check them out on the BBB. Second, see if they provide a telephone number and call them up to see if they actually answer the phone. If you get a voice messaging system asking you to leave a message then its not a good sign.
Now once you have found a supplier that you like, you can start selling their products on eBay. Here is how the process will work:
First you will create an auction in your eBay account with the product image and description, which can cut/paste from the supplier website.
Once your auction sells, the buyer will pay you directly. Make sure that you configure your auction to include the shipping cost as well because the supplier will most likely charge you the shipping as well as sales tax. In the end, the important thing is that you pocket more money than what you will need to pay the supplier so you can make a profit. Don’t forget to also include your eBay listing fees in your calculation.
Once you receive the payment, the next step is for you to login to your reseller account on the supplier website. Simply add the item to the cart and go through their checkout steps. Make sure to enter your buyer’s shipping address during the checkout. Some suppliers will also provide you with an input box where you can enter some special instructions. Always include the text “BLIND DROPSHIP” in this input box. This will remind the supplier to not mention their name and the price you paid. After all, you don’t want your buyer to know how much you paid and where you bought the item from. Blind dropshipping will make sure of that.
In conclusion of this article, my recommendation is to use both an online store and an eBay reseller account. Each time you make a sell on eBay you can inform the buyer of your website URL so next time they may purchase directly from you instead.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Mike_Fender/127613