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Any Luck With iPhone Cases?
 

Hello,

Has anyone had overwhelming response with iPhone case? I found a seller who had sold 10,000 units of this item in the attachment. The prices on Ali were very high, but after month of research and negation I was able to source 300 units of the case + another 600 units worth of gifts that I give out with the case (Screen Protector, Pens, Cloth etc...). However I've had these units for 2 months, and every week I sell 2-3 or if I'm lucky. Is this normal for cases, given it's an extremely personalized item? I bought these pretty expensive, and don't have much room on the price. Any thoughts, and direction is appreciated.

Well unless you are buying from a legit apple supplier...Your going to be hit with Vero's, MC999's, etc.

I personally would stay away from Apple Cases but in reality it's up to you. I am sure there are a few on the forum who sell them and maybe they can give u some direction.

No logo anywhere on the case. The only thing this item shares to an iPhone is it fits the size of an iPhone 5.

Would not touch it.

No logo still can get hammered as Apple and Ebay both watch every single listing.

Just typing in " Iphone Cases "
You will get hit...
It's tempting, but you'll soon be stuck with a bunch of cases in your storage room

This guy had this same item for sale with 10K sells. He changed his prices, and with his new ad he is pushing 3K sales now: Item Number: 400445259608 . Maybe he is an eBay favorite.

LOL... Yea
eBay seller: pandamimi2011
Feedback: 99,306 at 99.7%
Current listings: 465
Account Location: China
Item location: Arcadia, California, United States
Item selling Price: $5.97 with Free Shipping
Level: Top Rated Seller
Member since: Feb-23-11

This seller has a tried and true account.
Are your accounts 2 years old with almost 100K in feedback?

Lol, nowhere close. How do these guys do this where they sell some items from USA, some from China etc... Shady and still push that many items, and under stress free radar. They must be really taking care of eBay. So corrupt.

That seller must be getting them at about $1-$1.25, hope you can compete with them!
Also that case cannot be Aluminum for sure, probably plastic.

I searched low and high for that price. It was almost non-existent.

Since when is there corruption in hard work?

As HWGA said, a tried and trusted account is the key.

Back to your drawing board

:juggle:

You're literally trying to compare yourself to a seller that makes millions of dollars. Hilarious buddy.

I'm confused.
I thought you guys said iPhone cases are tempting with a VeRo violation. No?

So, are you suggesting, that accounts over 2 years old, and 100K in feedback are alowed to sell VeRo items?

Your "tried and true" comments are suggesting something I'm not clear on.

no vero for unbranded uncopied cases but very competitive and low margins as a result

too many chinese sellers selling a 1p profit

I was selling a certain brand of case with about £7 margin on each alongside iPad cases that matched until there were a load ov VERO takedowns across the board. Made my money by then anyway.

wow I never thought iPhone cases (not pretending to be made by apple) would be vero'd. Maybe ⊗⊗⊗⊗ chargers etc, but not cases.

I'm thinking about just bringing my price down, and hopefully dumping these quick.

What brand are they?

They don't have any brand. It's 100% generic.

Some of the name brand phone case company's enforce their trademarks on eb quite actively.

Yes they do !

Hdavey10

Was the case a luxury brand.....

Yeah I guess it makes sense if they are designer / branded cases etc

Low Cost / High Volume for popular items is the only way to go. Dont fall for the "popular" or "hot" items. Most of the time it never works out. Idiots have the same idea as you. "Aw yeah the new xxxxxx came out. I am going to buy 20 and sell on ebay".....and so is everyone else. Now there are 10,000 of that hot new item, and its worth less than in the stores. Dont be that seller.

Yeah the truth can hurt sometimes, too bad there are sooooooooo many sellers doing this, you dont need unique items but the "hot selling" items will get unresponsible sellers in trouble :clap:

Agree.

Reminds me of the twinkies issue. Everyone in the world jumped on that and before you know it ebay make a killing and people got stuck with a ton of twinkies to eat.

Went from a dozen boxes on ebay to thousands killing the profits in no time.

Cell phone items of any kind will get all kinds of eye watching it no matter branded or not branded.

That's the yardstick for many newer sellers.

They see every other seller offering the same.

They jump in and wonder why nothing works.

:typing:

Sometimes you just have to tweak the wording or title of your listings. And profit margin is so low in these types of items, even selling 100/ day is almost not worth the time.

I was selling something similar - sold a bunch, but it sure was a hassle for very small margins (sometimes as low as $0.50 per item).

Basically, after a bit, I just sold them at cost so I could find something else to sell.

I may have been lucky, but I didn't have a Vero problem. My items were very generic, not branded in any, nor copies of anything else. But, as you I think have learned, it was brutal.

I also sold some branded cases. I set up a legit business, got a tax cert, and bought them directly from the manufacturer. It's hard to compete against the cheaters though, even with legit products.

The guys doing huge turnover are top rated sellers.
You need to sell one good seler at a loss to keep up big turnover and maintain good feedback.
But if you have a new account you need to be carefull .If you sell huge quantities ebay will block your account

I sell all generic cases for many types of mobile phone including apple ones which are supplied to me by a UK business wholesaler and because of price competition etc its not really worth it from a profit point of view since all these Chinese importers.

I'm lucky if i pull in £2 profit a day from all the cases and types I sell but I still do as in the end of the day its worth it to get the feedback! Feedback and number of items sold is what helps count towards getting that good account standing just as long as the goods are of a good quality and you keep a good stock or get them shipped next day for those all important DSR's.

You start going to branded cases or "imitation" then just like any other high risk item your asking ebay to scrutinise you!

I tried to bulk sell my cases and be done with it, no bites yet. I put it near what I bought them for. It's not really moving, it's like dead inventory. Every week, I sell one. lol

Starting to sound like an over-cooked egg.


Hard to get the items to move even for feedback.

:pout:

Maybe look at something else to sell - this business model sucks, no offense to you personally

I was looking at some other things, and came across Item number: 171045393008.

How can this be? This guy is selling more than 100/day of these, and they are clearly not their own design.

Someone, I have a feeling I'd get sued if I tried this. How can they allow listings like these?

@gordonf

TRS rating & there is possibly another account attached.

Look at the neutrals & negatives.

He is on the borderline now.

What's your account status? Yes ebay takes care more for power sellers then the regular one.If you wanna sell cases first of all you must have good inventory a few hundred cases is nothing.You must have thousands of cases different design,and then you will feel a little profit....If your niche is cases don't sell it just for iphone.Try Motorola,HTC,Samsung,Nokia and so on............. ipad,tablet as well.
Also don't forget about marketing
Just my 2 cents
Good luck

Dont forget that the seller may have already experimented a lot and seen what does not get taken down or trifled with

Variety being the spice of selling here.

:thumb:

Attachment 648

Spice control is important.

Why in the world would anyone want to sell iphone cases is beyond me.

So much competition, so little profits.

Even a guy in an old beat up van at a flea market I go to once a week sells iphone, ipad etc cases and covers.

Waste of time in my book.

Not enough profit and the competition is fierce.