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How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

I think it's unfair that chinese citizens are registered on UK Ebay and selling items when people who reside in this country have to take the long route and dropship or order bulk and even then it's near impossible to beat the chinese sellers prices since they're at the source of it, while we pay premium. I'm just starting out and i've got some knowledge on how to create accounts, but i just don't see how i can compete with these sellers, i know a lot of you are successful and been doing this for years and obviously not going to reveal the secret, but how do i find profitable items? Ali baba i compared prices and chinese sellers are selling belowbulk price, it's really not worth trying to compete with these guys, you'll just end up losing money. How do i get in touch with private suppliers instead of being forced to buy bulk on alibaba and sites like this? Very frustrating trying to do this in 2020, feels like if you aren't already experienced for many years and know the ins and outs, you got no chance.

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

Lots of homework has helped me to cherry pick items to sell.Here is were i have been looking to source items https://leelinesourcing.com/1688-agent/

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

That site doesn't show any products, they just want me to put my skype info in and they'll then tell me what they have or how does it work? don't see how i can pick items that aren't overly saturated already if they are the ones to pick it for me?

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

the site is 1688.com the link is for a personal shopper to buy from the site as its a china site and we can not buy from it.In regards to what to buy well thats for you to do ya homework yes they under cut the market but they can not ship first class like we can and they can't engage as well as we can with UK buyer's like we can so we have some advantages how you use them is up to you.see what they are selling lots of source it buy it ship it faster than them it works well for me.

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

The playing field with the Chinese will be leveled later on this year when Chinese sellers will have their shipping rates raised to at least the USA rates so their shipping will increase. The Chinese government, have for years, exploited the epackage service, charging their nationals a few cents to ship, USA, and other countries have to deliver the packages free, that finishes this year. This was instigated by the President. The Chinese sellers then will have to increase their prices and we will be more competitive.

If you are looking for a product to sell, I recommend a consumable item, less profit but more sales with repeat buyers.

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

I mean i was just browsing and straight away i see business information clearly showing the seller is from china/hk, and theirr item location is listed in the UK and delivery is 3 days, within 2 days dispatch, so the item is clearly in the UK, so delivery is same as UK sellers since they clearly have the stock in the UK.

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

check the feedback out i bet there's negs on the slow shipping.Homework find items there not selling.There's still lots of things there not selling YET its up to you to think out of the box keep looking you will find stuff. On all my listings it says fast&free shipping this is a big selling point compared to the other listings im competing with.

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

What would be an ideal amount of money to test the waters, i obviously don't want to dive into the deepend first thing, so i'm thinking about using a certain amount of money to order some product and see whether it sells or not.

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

once you pick out the products you think are promising,buy anywhere from 1-5 depending on price and popularity.
There is plenty of time to reorder.

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

as far as shipping is concern,the exchange rate is US$1 comes to cHINA $6.5 .
IF YOU CHarge 3 for shipping a light item with tracking,that $3 comes to almost $20 Chinese dollars,they can still beat you in item price and shipping,they just make less.

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

I see, i wasn't too hopeful about having an edge on them with shipping, since i checked a couple of chinese sellers and they seem to have stock in the UK, a bit unfair considering they aren't even in the country, will try 1-5 items and see how it goes, but i don't think that gives me a good read, even if 5 items sell, i buy a decent amount of stock, i will probably end up facing problems selling it, the people i'm undercutting might then lower their price and i can't lower it any further without going into loss.

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

You can compete by knowing the local market better than someone 10000km away. Many things you simply can't compete. Here in the US a 1oz package with tracking costs ~$2.75. Chinese sellers sell items 99c free shipping with tracking. Don't be afraid of competition. Adapt.

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

I’ve made a success by actually increasing the price but just packaging the same product differently and competed with Chinese sellers on the UK market and actually done more sales and more profit! Some people get the false economy sense and prefer to buy something that’s worth a little more for a sense of it will last or get better support.

As a couple posted have already alluded to your kinda selling yourself and the service your offering. Don’t just focus on the product solely

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

Many of the Chinese/HK sellers putting item location as the UK are in fact sending from China, they do it as some people are put off with item location being China.

Some have been putting Ireland or France, the parcels are all coming from China with 5-21 day delivery time.

Also most of the counterfeit items they sell will not list the brand, they use keywords. Try seaching for 'Childs football soccer kids youth kit shirt 19-20'

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

list stuff that very few sell....

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

Hard to find things that aren't already completely saturated and the ones that you can possibly find are being sold at such low prices that you think to yourself how those sellers are even making a profit, clearly foreign sellers (chinese mostly), maybe i'm searching in the wrong place, where do i begin to find the cheapest bulk sellers with a wide variety of products? preferably not any middlemen with high fees? I know the site mentioned above is in chinese and have to personally contact them regarding a specific item to get more information, but it's better if there was a catalogue that i could search and compare prices to ebay and see which ones are worth trying out and not so saturated. Finding national bulk sellers/company is quite difficult and i've had no success there either. Struggling to find profitable/worthwhile products and acquiring them from a good source.

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

The days of being highly successful on eBay and Amazon without some serious research seems to be over.

Spend a month on Terapeak.com and Alibaba.com, and you'd be rewarded with years of profit.

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

LOL.well, this thread didn't age well at all. I guess it will be easier to compete with chinese sellers now eh?

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

I am beginning to enjoy reading your posts,a dry sense of humor?
some buy on Ebay and resell on Ebay,do you know Ebay is the best hunting ground for brick and mortar 'antique' dealers !
My vendor just came back from Tucson Jewelry show,you should go and see for yourself,

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

it's called a dark sense of humor.

95% of what I sell on ebay, I buy on ebay.

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

Good use of the market :)

Re: How are new ebay sellers supposed to compete with chinese sellers/competitors?
 

Most people on this forum are buying bulk from china and reselling, not many are buying from ebay to resell on ebay and i would think the profit margins would be higher if you sold chinese stuff since it's so cheap to acquire. If anyone has a list of sites i can take a look at to find some products that aren't extremely saturated and worth selling, let me know please!