of our series on Ebay, we’re going to continue our
discussion with one of the most annoying parts of selling on Ebay. I’m talking about minimum quantity orders.
This is something that drives people absolutely nuts. The hottest product has just come out and you want to get your hands on it so that you can sell it on Ebay. You’re all psyched up and ready to go, only to find out that in order to get even one of these things, you have to order at least 1000 of them. Your jaw hits the floor and you curse the day your ancestors didn’t leave you a fortune in diamonds.
Unfortunately, especially with hot new items that everybody is trying to get their hands on, this is all too true. This is why the powersellers have such an advantage over the little guys. They can afford to buy as many of these things as they have to. The sky is the limit. So what’s the little guy to do?
Well, there is a way around this. It’s not something a lot of people think of doing because they just take things at face value and give up without even trying to get around the minimum order.
One way to get around this, and I am not suggesting you do this, is to use the old candy store trick you used as a kid. You know which one I mean. The one where you walk into the store, pick up that jumbo candy bar that you want, put it on the counter, the guy behind the counter tells you it’s 50 cents and after digging into your pocket you only come up with 45 cents. You then give the guy behind the counter that little boy look and he says, “Don’t worry about it, next time.” And he gives you the candy bar. Yes, it works.
Okay, maybe not quite in that way, but with a little twist, it can. How?
Simple. Tell the owner of the company, or whoever it is you are dealing with that in exchange for letting you order less than the minimum, you’ll give them a part of the profits, say 20% or so. Most people, if they are shrewd businessmen, will take you up on this offer. After all, you’re doing all the work. All they’re doing is giving you their product to sell and ultimately they’ll make more this way than if they just wholesaled the product to you. Remember, not everything is written in stone. Just because it says that the minimum order is 1000 units doesn’t mean that the minimum order is 1000 units. We are still dealing with human beings and human beings have the ability to make decisions and even change their minds. And, if it’s the owner of the company, he can pretty much do whatever he wants.
Will this work all the time? No, of course not. Some people are stubborn and stick to their guns. But you’re going to run into people who will be willing to bend the rules for you. Those are the situations that you MUST take advantage of if you’re going to survive as an Ebay seller.
In our next chapter of this series, we’re going to continue with deciding what it is that we are going to sell.
See you then.