Hi Guys

I am in the process of opening my own Ebay shop selling sports supplements such as protein, creatine and vitamins etc.
I have a good knowledge in this area as I have previously worked for an internet company selling these.
I am already in the process of getting a template made for the listing.
I have a good supplier already for service and prices.
The only problem i see is that i will not be able to compete price wise, I however have thought that excellent service and a guarentee of some kind may beat the price factor.

So what do you guys think ?

Thanks any replies appreciated

George

Its not really a business model. Ideally you need to research the guarantee etc, what your service will be and then come back

by when i say service i mean 24 hour email response, and same day despatch.

guarentee wise i am stuck

Originally Posted by bigkipper

by when i say service i mean 24 hour email response, and same day despatch.

guarentee wise i am stuck

Problem is, from a quick look on ebay next day delivery is normal. I would imagine they are also offering quick comms

Umm I do also think that the price will beat everything.

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Last edited by fabfotty; 14-11-2009 at 03:21 PM.

For me, when it comes to ebay, PRICE is everything.
Service is secondary, plus I always buy off sellers with high feedback.

So as a new seller, it wont be impossible for you, but it will be hard.

Out of interest why will you be unable to compete on price? I thought these products had a high mark up, but I haven't ever sold them personally.

As for a good service etc, people expect this as normal on ebay or anywhere else these days. Guarantee wise, it would have to be something really good to make a difference, and unless these products work almost instantly I would consider most guarantees worthless.

Originally Posted by lighthousedirec

Out of interest why will you be unable to compete on price? I thought these products had a high mark up, but I haven't ever sold them personally.

As for a good service etc, people expect this as normal on ebay or anywhere else these days. Guarantee wise, it would have to be something really good to make a difference, and unless these products work almost instantly I would consider most guarantees worthless.

Hi

Yeah the markup is good but only if you sell at retail for example, retail on one popular protein brand is £49.99 i can buy at £25 delivered. after fees it would mean a £15-20 profit, but these are sold at £31 on ebay.
I have to add in £6 postage plus fees so i would be in loss, if I sold at say £36 do you feel people wouldnt buy ?

I know price isnt everything but what could i do to seperate me from the rest ?

Many thanks

George

Originally Posted by bigkipper

Hi

Yeah the markup is good but only if you sell at retail for example, retail on one popular protein brand is £49.99 i can buy at £25 delivered. after fees it would mean a £15-20 profit, but these are sold at £31 on ebay.
I have to add in £6 postage plus fees so i would be in loss, if I sold at say £36 do you feel people wouldnt buy ?

I know price isnt everything but what could i do to seperate me from the rest ?

Many thanks

George

In your situation I would offer a small qty/size via ebay to obtain the clients details, and then deal direct through a private site for the normal size orders. A useful method to build a client list, particularly if you can generate larger orders for other products to the same clients, ie sell one main item at cost plus another 50 lines at standard rates. This might be what your competitor is also doing.

IF the selling price on ebay is too competitive, you need to only sell on the platform for a good reason. Alternatively look for a more profitable line.

Thanks for the advice Lighthousedirect so, if i dont have the capital to afford a website ( a decent looking one ) so would you suggest dropping this idea completely ?

Thanks
George