Dropshippers and Ebay

[The Chef]

Since this is the only message board I frequent with any regularity I figured I would ask you guys here. Do any of you guys have any experience with dropshipping companies and making a profit? Im not necessarily talking about Wholesale where you have to have a resale license and the works to do it legally, Im talking about the basic middleman, ie. Doba for instance. Im pretty sure I know what Im getting involved in and Im in a free preview for 2 weeks so its low risk but so far the prices arent very good for ebay but not so bad if you could drive the traffic to your own website. Im looking for any stories about previous experience with Doba or any similar company and how it went for you. Its probably more of a money making tool for Doba then the consumer but with the amount of products they have there has to something on there that people can make money doing, of course there is always the thought that everyone is pilfering that website for the same items so places like ebay will be completely oversaturated with the same items. Anyways, any feedback would be appreciated, thanks.

[The Chef]

Re: Dropshippers and Ebay

Well I guess since Im the only sucker/idiot/guinea pig on here I will reply to my own thread for anyone else who might have given an idea like this some thought. Ive pretty much looked up as many different products that would sell and the prices are just not good enough to make a profit off of unless you list basically nothing but high end televisions and then you have the chance to make money there. I have to ask though, how many of you guys would actually purchase a new hdtv off of ebay instead of a local retailer? I know some have purchased from websites like Amazon and Vans in the past but ebay is a different animal entirely and unfortunatly I dont think I would feel secure buying such a high ticket item from there.

To give you an idea of what Im talking about here are a few prices of items that are pretty common for what most of us are interested in here...

Metal Gear Solid 4- 51.20 + 4.60 Shipping=55.80
Planet Earth BR- 65.30 + 4.60 Shipping= 69.90
Sharp 46-Inch 1080p Aquos HD-LCD TV- 1,462.99 + 53.06 Shipping=1,516.05

Now obviously the game sells for 59.99 in stores but try selling that for 59.99 as a private seller and you are going to sit on it until the cows come home. Planet Earth isnt completely terrible for retail but for ebay its at a price that you might break even at after the fees, otherwise its another loss. The TV sells for 1,649.99 + 195.00 shipping through Amazon, but as is typically is, there is someone on ebay willing to mark it down to 1,349.00 + 199.00 shipping for a total of 1,548.00 so that still kills my ability to sell it there as well. I guess Im trying to help anyone who was in a position I was in and wanting to make some extra money.

In the end, unless there is something on there Im not seeing yet, and thats entirely possible since they have a ton of products, this website is a complete waste of time for anyone actually wanting to make profit of any kind. If I had a resale license and the proper paperwork then supposendly Worldwide Brands is a much better option who actually puts you in touch with the real wholesalers not the dropshippers who bought from the wholesalers through Doba, Im basically the 4th person in the line through Doba and that means the profit has already been dwindled down to nothing. Anyways, if nobody cares about this and I wasted my time then so be it, I thought it might be helpful to others on the fence.

EDIT- The example I have of that TV was really stupid, the television I was more talking about was the following...

Sharp 45-Inch 16:9 Aquos Television with ADSC/QAM/NTSC Tuners (1366/768 HD Resolution) Sku- LC45D40U Price-1,358.49 + 195.00 Shipping Total Cost- 1,553.49

Same TV on Amazon is 1,532.34 with an additional 195.00 shipping for a total of 1,727.34.

On Ebay the lowest priced one is 1,899.99 plus an additional 159.99 shipping for a total of 2,059.98.

That shows that there is some wiggle room on a fewer high end TV's but again, I dont really know of very many people that frequent ebay for high end televisions.

[RubenDouglas]

Re: Dropshippers and Ebay

most people on ebay from my experience make their money off of the shipping and "handling".

Charge $15 bucks when you know it only costs $8. you then have 3-4 bucks to cover ebay and paypal fees and 3 to walk home with.

you sell 100 items a day and it slowly makes you money.

but thats just me

[The Chef]

Re: Dropshippers and Ebay

most people on ebay from my experience make their money off of the shipping and "handling".

Charge $15 bucks when you know it only costs $8. you then have 3-4 bucks to cover ebay and paypal fees and 3 to walk home with.

you sell 100 items a day and it slowly makes you money.

but thats just me

True but apparently Ive had the few idiots then because there have been times where I charged a guy 10.00 shipping on something that cost me 8.90 to ship and they dont understand that the gigantic additional 1.10 might be to cover the gas. Ive actually had people complain about it in that same situation I mentioned. I think ebay has nearly outlived its usefullness, the profit isnt there, the protection for the sellers has never been there and with everyone being so tight on money, the website is quicky turning back into a flea market.

[mgoblue]

Re: Dropshippers and Ebay

True but apparently Ive had the few idiots then because there have been times where I charged a guy 10.00 shipping on something that cost me 8.90 to ship and they dont understand that the gigantic additional 1.10 might be to cover the gas. Ive actually had people complain about it in that same situation I mentioned. I think ebay has nearly outlived its usefullness, the profit isnt there, the protection for the sellers has never been there and with everyone being so tight on money, the website is quicky turning back into a flea market.

Good analysis on the products...basically you're right. It's possible to make money, but hardly easy nor is it guaranteed. I personally wouldn't want to invest my cash into something like that, I don't think your take is enough to make it worth it.

[The Chef]

Re: Dropshippers and Ebay

Good analysis on the products...basically you're right. It's possible to make money, but hardly easy nor is it guaranteed. I personally wouldn't want to invest my cash into something like that, I don't think your take is enough to make it worth it.

Well Im going to look through more products tomorrow but considering you have to pay Doba 49.95 per month, you really arent going to make squat. I read all the negative reviews and complaints about the pricing but its one of those things that you feel you have to try it for yourself, and they werent lying, so far that is. Maybe once I get out of my comfort zone and start looking at products Im not exactly familiar with I will find more deals but I have my doubts. Like I said, its a 2 weeks free trial so Im not out anything if it continues to suck, but between the ebay fees, the paypal fees and the monthly Doba fee, its not even worth it as a second income just to support your movie watching habit, its that bad looking right now.

If anyone has any interest, since you cant see the prices for items unless you sign up, please dont hesitate to ask me and I can look it up and let you know what it is. You could certainly make Doba work if you had your own website with your own traffic and your own reputation to bank on but I dont have any of that so it really isnt looking good. I will for sure let you guys know if I suddenly find a niche market for something that sells and provides a profit, as they say, I will definently share the wealth if there is any there to share that is.