Marketing Your Product
Heh, the magic word that people like to use – MARKETING! Now that you’ve found products you would like to sell, where and HOW do you persuade people to find them? No people = no profit! There are several avenues and mediums you can use online and I’m going to explain the pros and cons of each method.
Already Well-Establised Auction Sites
Leverage on the popularity of auction sites like eBay and Gmarket to maximise visibility for your products. As a beginner this is the surest and most effective way to get your products seen. eBay is the most visited online auction marketplace in the world. eBay allows you to setup virtual ’stores’ that you can use to keep your inventory (or a virtual inventory if you use dropshipping services, which will be discussed in the other sections).
Your Own Web Store
When you are starting out I do NOT recommend that you open your own web store. Why? Consider this scenario and put yourself into the shoes of an internet shopper. It is Christmas time and you are thinking of buying a Playstation 3 for your relative. More likely than not, you would do one of the following:
a) Type in Google ‘Cheap Playstation 3 for sale’ and browse through any results that turn up
b) Go to a popular Auction site like eBay and search for ‘Playstation 3′, and then browse through the listings for the most reasonable deal
In the case of part (a), Google will be likely to return search results of websites and stores that are already VERY established and are reliable. Even if you have a Playstation 3 for sale in your own web store that you have setup online very recently, the odds of your website turning up on the search results’ first few pages are very very slim. It doesn’t even matter if you have the cheapest-priced Playstation! Google will return websites of popular specialist gaming shops that are reputable and considered top notch by them. It is EXTREMELY difficult to get listed on Google these days because they are very strict about who gets listed. In the case of newly created websites (or web stores in your case), it is hard to get anyone to notice your site if there are already many established existing sites about a particular topic (in this case Playstation 3s for sale).
In the case of part (b), it’s a different ball game. When you list your item on an already established auction website like eBay, your item listing is sure to get some hits and visiblity. The difference between whether your item sells or not depends largely on the listing price and how you ‘dress up’ your listing to make it look attractive. Search for an observe other successful sellers selling the same thing and analyse their sell tactics. More on this will be covered in the other sections and the main blog on how to ‘dress up’ your listings using special pricing tricks and eye-catching ‘deals’.
Community Forums Like ‘Mass Order’ or ‘Online Garage Sales’
Community forums are a great way to start selling, and according to experience, I’ve actually had MUCH MORE success selling stuff to communities I am already a part of than through eBay, although my eBay sales are picking up (I’m currently dropshipping watches on eBay). With communities forums, especially garage sales and mass order sub-forums, you have the advantage of analysing the members’ buying habits and responses to other sellers’ items. More often than not, certain demographics often mix together in the forums. ie. figurine enthusiasts, novelty gadgets enthusiasts. Observe their buying patterns, identify a niche product, conduct an interest check and jump in for the kill!
