Question: How do you handle people who seem to blitz your site, who buy and do not pay. This has happened to us a number of times. They take a buy it now item remove it from my listing but do not pay. It's rather annoying. Do you have any solutions for this?
As long as I have been on eBay, I've dealt with non-paying bidders. There isn't a good solution for this problem, but there are a few things that may help.
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I'm in no way an eBay basher. I started my business on eBay
several years ago and am grateful for the opportunity they
provided me. But unfortunately, eBay has grown into a huge
bureaucracy and doesn't always do things the way reasonable
people would expect.
About 6 months ago, eBay decided to rid the site of "bad sellers".
I think this is a great idea. It creates more business for those of
us who are good sellers.
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A few years ago, I ran several tests on how effective the gallery image is in creating sales. The results showed a gallery image did provide a better sell through rate, but it wasn't enough of an increase to warrant paying an extra 35 cents for each listing.
I now use an automated program that makes the research a lot easier. I expected to find similar results. What I found, has me reconsidering using the gallery image for my own auctions.
In the month of August 2007, there were a total of 1,405,555 dvd auctions ran without the gallery image. These items had an average sell through rate of 20.58%.
During this same period, there were 443,195 dvd auctions ran with the gallery image. These items produced an average sell through rate of 48.82%. This is more than twice the sell rate of dvd auctions that didn't use a gallery image.
Lets look at these numbers a little closer.
If you were to run 1,000 dvd auctions, it would cost you an extra $350.00 to add the gallery image to each one. On average, you could expect to sell an extra 282 dvds for purchasing this option.
So should you purchase the gallery image for your dvds? It all depends on how much you profit per dvd. If you only averaged a profit of $1per dvd, you'd be spending $350.00 for gallery images to make an extra $282.00 giving you a loss of $68.00. However, if you are averaging a profit of $2 per dvd, then the gallery option would have made you an extra $214.
Ultimately, it's up to you to test your auctions and determine if this feature makes sense for you.
In browsing eBay recently, I see there are huge DVD sellers opertaing there who sell their DVD's for a penny. They're charging 3.95 for shipping, and I know the Media Mail cost for shipping 1 DVD is 2.65 these days. So obviously the only place they're making a profit is from the shipping charge. They can scarcely be making 1.00 profit by the time one allows for ebay and PayPal fees, to say nothing of their own packaging costs. I had hoped to make at least 1.50 each on any DVDs I sell.
My question is this: In order to really compete w/ these "big league" players, won't I need to price my movies at a penny just as they do, and then have to settle for a buck or less in profits per title sold? Otherwise, it seems there would be no inducement for eBay buyers to buy from me instead of my competition. Am I overlooking something - or will it be necessary for me to accept such meager profits in order to compete?
If you want a lesson on how to compete with the big boys, look no further than Moviemarz. You can read the details in this post. Becoming the top Ebay DVD Seller
Everyone has heard the old saying, "If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck". Well unfortunately, this isn't always the case on ebay. A lot of sellers on ebay are selling bootleg titles and trying to pass them off as legitimate. You can't compete with these sellers on price, but at the end of the day, buyers know the difference. Take a look at any of the auctions closed successfully by Moviemarz. I guarantee you can find 1,000 other auctions for the "same" dvd that sold for far less, but for some reason that buyer chose to pay more and buy from a legitimate seller.
Now there are some legitimate sellers offering 1 cent CDs and DVDs. Jayandmarie are a good example of this. But keep in mind, in most cases they are not offering new product. Most of the product they sell is used and bids up well past the starting fee of 1 cents.
Here is the strategy I use to price my dvds.
Good Luck,
Brent Crouch
Question: One of the questions I wanted to ask considering the most two popular auction & Marketplace are Ebay & Amazon, Which one is better marketplace to sell DVD or any Hot items in terms of profitablity/Cost(Amazon's Commission is higher than Ebay's combined fees including paypal), probablity of an item selling, ease of listing(Amazon does not offer product page creation for normal seller account) etc.? Also which marketplace would you choose to create a STORE if you have to? Any other differentiating attributes you can think of? What is your experience?
When I started my business, I sold exclusively on Ebay. A dvd is sold on ebay every 3 seconds. Consumers spend an average of 11 million dollars a month on single dvds sold on ebay. It isn't an accident that the top ebay sellers offer dvds.
A couple of years ago, I was invited by Amazon to list my products on their site. I was very reluctant. I had already wasted a lot of time trying to sell on Yahoo Auctions, Overstock.com, and a few others. These ventures turned out to be a waste of time. There was no other site able to provide the number of buyers I was getting from ebay.
After a few phone calls from Amazon, I finally agreed and took the time to list a few items. I was surprised a few days later to notice they actually sold! I listed more items with the same success. Amazon proved to be well worth my time. This year, I will do six figure revenue from Amazon.
I like Amazon because I don't have to pay a listing fee. I pay a flat 15% of the sales price plus shipping and handling. This is a great benefit when you get stuck with titles that just won't sell.
If I were starting my business all over, I'd have my products on ebay and amazon. I've talked to a few sellers that have had good results from half.com. Personally, I don't have any experience with that site.
Why limit yourself to just an ebay or just an amazon store? Why not open a store on both sites once your inventory level is large enough to support both venues.
Good Luck,
Brent Crouch
Question: Could you please tell me if the DVDs from the USA are the same format as the UK so they will play on UK dvd players as it will be the uk Market that I will be selling to.
There are 8 region codes used by dvd manufacturers. In the United States, our dvd players are configured to play dvds sold as region 1. In the UK, the dvd players sold are configured for region 2 dvds. You can't play a region 1 dvd in a dvd player configured for anything other than region 1. So basically, you can't order dvds from a region 1 dvd wholesaler, and plan to sell them to customers with region 2 dvd players.
My list contains a handful of UK suppliers in addition to the top supplier for the UK market. You can get more info at the following link. UK Dvd Supplier
I also found a very good article on dvd coding. It is worth reading and can be found at the link below. DVD Region Coding
Good Luck,
Brent Crouch
Question: I explained a few days ago that I have been approved by ***EDITED*** to purchase videos.
I received a call yesterday from one of their reps about methods of payment. It seems that credit cards, or a debit card are the cheapest ways to pay... however, they asked for a copy of my debit card. I feel this to be a very unusual request. I've had my account compromised in the past with unauthorized use.
I've never been asked for a copy of any credit card before.
You state that you've had experience with this company. Is this a common request from ***EDITED***, or any other supplier you deal with? I would like your opinion on this.
I'll hold off on sending the copy until I hear from you...
I'm not going to recommend you give your card to anyone if you don't feel comfortable. I don't have a credit card on file with this company. I pay for my orders using COD as they arrive at my business. This may be an option for you to discuss with your rep.
Personally, if I decided to use a credit card for payment, I wouldn't have any problem sending a copy to ***EDITED***. They are the second largest dvd wholesaler in the country. I don't know if there is much difference in giving a supplier your credit card number and sending them a copy, other than a copy allows them to verify you actually have the card in your possession. It is most likely a safeguard for them to prevent unauthorized card use.
Another option you can consider is giving them a credit card versus a debit card. If someone makes an unauthorized charge on your debit card, the money is immediately withdrawn from your bank account. It can take months to get this money replaced. You can completely avoid this problem by using a credit card.
Good Luck,
Brent Crouch
Question: I have already been selling dvds, cd, and books on ebay this summer and have reached silver level powerseller status as of last month after just starting in May. I bought your information becasue I am basically using another retail site as my supplier. They are not really a dropshipper. I have been using them as one though.
I have run into a snag with the big suppliers you have recomended. They want to do a credit check in order to qualify for the "direct to consumer" method of internet sales. For example, ***EDITED*** requires an open credit line of $25,000.00 to do "direct to customer' fullfillment. To be honest, there is no way I will qualify for that. I have been laid off from a job in the past that seriously affected my ability to keep up and my credit rating was damaged. Just recently I had surgery and was on short tern disability and am currently a tad behind. Now I have a good job and can catch up quickly, however, with my initial success on ebay i was hoping and dreaming to corner more of the market that I am in. My store is very small (300+ items) yet I am being very successful.
My question to you is this. What options do people in my situation have in order to have the opportunity to be as successful as I know I can be in this industry? I'm gonna go forward with ***EDITED*** to see what they say. I do know it will not be good. I know they have other options of payment that would entail them sending the product to me and then me forwarding on to my customer. I want to avoid that. That delays the process and customer service is one place I have an edge so far on ebay. I look forward to hearing any suggestions you may have. Thank you for your time.
Congrats on your success so far. It sounds like you are on the right path.
I have never drop shipped a single dvd that I have sold. Basically, if I don't have it in my possession, I don't list it. Customer service is important to me to. I don't want to take the chance that a title I sell is going to be out of stock when it is time to ship to the customer. Sure you can always check inventory levels before listing, but consider the following scenario.
You check with your supplier and feel comfortable listing a time that they have 1,000 of in stock. You list your item on a 7 day auction. Even if your auction ends successfully, not everyone is a fast payer. What happens when it takes your buyer a full 10 days to pay? Regardless of your terms, ebay allows buyers 10 days to make payment. In this case, 17 days have passed from the time you checked the inventory level to the time you are ready to drop ship your product. Are you confident your supplier is still going to have the title in stock? I wouldn't be.
With that said, it seems what you are doing is working well for you. If you can stick to your current model, then go for it. I don't have any magic words to convenience someone to approve you for $25,000 of credit. But maybe you can come up with some arrangement with the dvd supplier.
If you can't, you still have two options you can consider.
1. You already have some sales under your belt and have a good feel for titles. You can continue to use the supplier you are currently using to drop ship the bulk of your orders, and then use the top supplier on my list to order the titles you know are going to be good sellers. This will allow to establish a relationship with this supplier and maybe in 3 - 6 months you can ask them to reconsider a drop shipping arrangement.
2. You can use your knowledge of titles to order all your titles in advance. This is the method I use and recommend for most people. However, if drop shipping is working for you, then that would be my first choice.
Good Luck,
Brent Crouch
If you take a look at the top ebay dvd sellers, you'll notice one thing. They all have an ebay store. With a listing fee as low as
5 cents, ever serious seller should consider opening an ebay store.
There are a couple of drawbacks to an ebay store. The final value fee is higher than an ebay auction. Most dvd auctions will sell for under $25. Ebay will collect 10% of the final value of all store items sold at $25 or less. Another drawback is store items do not show up in ebay search results except in rare cases.
The top sellers run the bulk of their items as store listings. They run auction listing that provide links to their store and encourage buyers to click through. The most successful strategy is to include a navigation bar in your auction that lists your movies by genre. This is one of the most successful strategies I have found to encourage buyers to visit my store.
Good Luck,
Brent Crouch
Question: I have sold on Half.com and Ebay. I was wondering what you recommend about Half.com?. Do you sell on that site? I know there are drawbacks and advantages. The advantages in my opinion are that you do not have to pay listing fees. However, I don't think you get the exposure like you do on Ebay. I welcome your thoughts!
I don't have any experience with Half.com. So I can't help you much with that site. For the first five years, I sold exclusively on ebay. About two years ago, I received an invitation to sell on Amazon. I was a little reluctant at first. I wasn't sure Amazon could provide the amount of buyers I was getting from Ebay. Nothing could be further from the truth. This year my business is on track to do six figure revenue from Amazon alone. It was well worth the time.
