New Wholesale Sources for eBay & Amazon Sellers from The 2010 Wholesale Trade Show

The Online Seller's News, March 10 2010, Volume 10, No. 4

Special 2010 eBay Wholesale Sources Issue

Tips, Tools, News and Resources for eBay, Amazon and independent Online Sellers
by: Skip McGrath

In This Issue:

Musings from eBay and beyond

1. New Wholesale Sources for eBay & Amazon Sellers from The 2010 Wholesale Trade Show
2. eBay Spring Sellers Update and Complete eBay Fee Schedule
3. eBay Niche of The Month ~ Renting/Selling Timeshares on eBay
4. New Wholesale Sources for March 2010

"If we could sell our experiences for what they cost us we'd be millionaires." ~ Abigail Van Buren

Musings for March 10, 2010

I just returned from the ASD/AMD Wholesale Trade Show in Las Vegas.  The show was very exciting this year. Attendance seemed to be down –The show floor was not that crowded which made it much more pleasant. But the vendors seemed to be happy. I certainly saw a lot of people writing up orders and the vendors I spoke with said business was good.  So maybe that bodes well for the economy. If retailers and resellers are adding inventory it means they are confident about the future.

Our first article is about the show and this issue will contain triple the number of sources in our normal issue. I found and researched over 200 new sources for all kinds of products and these will be added to the member’s area for those readers who purchase The Complete eBay Marketing System or The Wholesale Buying System where you get lifetime membership to our wholesale sourcing and bonus member’s website. (Remember the Wholesale Buying System is included in the Complete eBay Marketing System –so don’t purchase both!)

Besides researching wholesale sources for my readers, I was invited to speak this year on the topic of comparing eBay and Amazon for sellers. The talk went great –we had over 240 people attend –many of them were you, my readers and I really appreciate your support. Apparently my session was one of the best attended. So a big thank-you to all of you who showed up. I enjoyed answering your questions and meeting with you.

For those of you who didn’t make it to Las Vegas, you can download a copy of my presentation here.

I want to thank the many of you who registered and left a comment on the Internet Marketing Report Card.  If you would like to leave a comment or read my reviews, click here.

Remember you can join for free and you earn points for doing reviews and commenting. Each point can be traded for dollars.  It’s not the sort of place where you can make a fortune, but if you comment on a regular basis you could earn and extra $50 or $60 per month.

Most importantly, you can help keep this business honest by letting others know how you feel about the different products you have tried. This is a great place to report scams because IM Report card is far more credible than most of the so-called scam sites like Ripoff Report, which has been accused of extorting companies to remove listings.

If you are a regular reader, you know I am a big believer in niche marketing. Recently I was talking to long-time online marketing guru, James Jones. James is one of the Internet good guys. Everything he sells comes with a money back guarantee and James donates a good portion of his profits to worthwhile charities.

James’s flagship product is called Micro Niche Finder.  It is a tool you can use to find micro niches for eBay or for blogging and Twitter or Facebook sales, but the real value is in the 5 simple marketing techniques James shows you in his step-by-step videos.

The niche finder is a piece of software where you type in a basic keyword, and the program comes back with all the niches related to that keyword AND More Importantly –a series of micro niches that the big sellers are missing.

Now, here is the really important news:  James is about to come out with a new updated version that will be priced higher than the current version. However, if you buy the current version, you get lifetime updates for free. So if you buy now, you will automatically get the new version when it’s released in a few weeks.

Click here to learn more about Micro Niche Finder. This is a product I personally and strongly endorse.

Micro Niche Finder and James are both reviewed on Internet Marketing Report card with very high marks. So if you are not sure if it is for you, you can read an unbiased report before you buy.

Enough musing – Let’s get started with this month’s issue.

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1. New Wholesale Sources for eBay & Amazon Sellers from The 2010 ASD/AMD Wholesale Trade Show

I list the actual sources in the last article below, but first I want to talk about how to access and use these sources and about some of the products I found.

Let me tell you a little ab0ut the show first.  The ASD/AMD wholesale trade show is one of the largest trade shows in the world. It is held twice-yearly, in Las Vegas –always in early March and August.  I prefer the March show, as it’s still pretty cool in Vegas. Temperatures in Las Vegas in August can hit 105° during the day.

This year’s show filled up all of the Sands Convention Center and ½ of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show is broken up into several segments. These are:

• Value and Variety - Encompassing the Upper & Lower Levels of the Las Vegas Convention Center, Value & Variety is the place to find apparel, convenience items, household and outdoor goods, electronics, military & personal security merchandise and much more.
• Gift and Toys - Looking for incredibly priced, margin building gift, toy & novelty merchandise that allows you to wow your customers and make a profit?  This venue has over 700 gift and toy wholesale vendors ready to sell.
• Style & Beauty - Located in the Upper Level of the Sands Expo Center, Style & Beauty features the latest in affordable fashion accessories, handbags, fashion jewelry, health and beauty aids, and Spa merchandise and travel accessories.
• Jewelry - Now, adjacent to Style & Beauty on the Sands Expo Center Upper Level, ASD Jewelry caters to the buyer who is looking for high quality fashion and fine jewelry.
  Most of the area was dedicated to fashion and medium priced jewelry including a number of sterling silver and gemstone sellers. A smaller section in the back had about 3-dozen vendors selling everything from diamonds to Rolex watches.

When you walk around the show the vendors are eager to speak with you and answer questions –yet I encountered very little high pressure selling. Most were happy to answer questions, and hand out sales sheets and catalogs. I collected so many that I had to ship them home, as my bags were full the first day. Many of the vendors offered show specials such as 10% off any order made at the show or free shipping on show orders.

In general, you can’t buy at the show and walk away with your purchase. You place an order and the vendors will ship to you.  Although a few vendors were offering “sample sales” –more so on the last day so they don’t have to ship them home. For example, I bought an Airsoft gun (fires plastic BBs used for safe indoor target practice) that was retailing for  $195. The wholesale price was $102 with a minimum order of ten pieces. But the vendor sold me a sample for $90 just as he was closing up on the last day. I also purchased a couple of DVDs for $5 each that were retailing for over $17.00.

A few of the companies only sell by the pallet load or even the truck load –but over 90% of the vendors exhibiting worked with Minimum Opening Orders (MOO) of between $100 and $500, and a few required a MOO of $1000.  But once you order from them your follow up orders can be smaller.

Many of the booths were crowded with hundreds of products and it really pays to keep your eyes open. I was standing at the Mac Wholesale booth and happened to look down at the floor behind the desk where the vendor Bruce was sitting. I saw a box that contained a dozen or so of the American Idol Singer’s Advantage Voice Training Program. It is a boxed set of 7 CDs that teach you how to sing so you can qualify for American Idol. It includes separate sets for males and females, voice coaching, evaluation, exercises and $50 worth of free Karaoke music.  MSRP on these is $49, but they are selling on eBay and Amazon for between $29 and $39.  Mac’s price was just $6 each.

But there is a catch.  These units were shelf pulls. Many of them had slight damage to the boxes such as a crease or banged up corner. A few of them even had smashed corners –but only to the boxes. The product inside was new, unused and in perfect condition.  So you could probably sell these for $18 to $25 each.  That is still a very nice profit. (If you are interested contact Bruce Moyer at BMoyer@MACWholesale.net. )

I tell this story just to give you an idea of the deals available at the show.  Some of the other interesting things I saw were:

This is just a tiny fraction of some of the deals I saw.  Below where I list the sources, I just don’t have room to list the individual products, so I will be listing the categories and product types. You will need to contact the vendors individually to get pricing and delivery.

IMPORTANT PLEASE READ

Some of the web sites I list below, are wholesale sites. Some give the products and pricing right up front, where others require you to register to get access. If a site requires you to register, you will need a sales tax number. (If you want to learn how and why to get a number, click here to read my article Sales Tax for eBay Sellers.)

Some of the sites will be plain retail sites. On these there will usually be a link in the navigation or at the very bottom of the page that says something such as “wholesale” or “dealers.”  When you click those links you will be taken to a page to register.  Most of these sites will not give you access to their wholesale side until they capture your name, address and email.

And some of the sites will be pure retail sites with no wholesale information whatsoever.  That’s OK. All of these people were at the show because they are looking for resellers.  So just look for a Contact Us link and send them a professional-sounding email requesting wholesale information.  Here is an example of an email that always works for me.

Dear Sirs:

I came across your insert name of product products that you exhibited at the recent ASD/AMD trade show.  I am a retailer and would be interested in carrying your line of __________.   Please send me a catalog or give me access to an online catalog site if you have one, along with price & delivery and minimum opening order.

Regards,

Your Name

Your Company Name

Your street address

City state zip

Phone number

Sales Tax number xxx-xxx-xxx

This type of request will work about 90% of the time. Just put the product they are selling in the blank spaces as well as your name and shipping location, etc.

Don’t be surprised if you get a phone call from a rep at the company. So it is best if you have a separate phone line that you answer in your business name. A lot of people handle this by purchasing a cheap throwaway cell phone with $10 or $20 worth of pre-paid time.

One more note about wholesale info.  A couple of months ago I told you about the free Wholesale Sourcing Information, available from Global Sources. That post generated a ton of positive email from readers who really found the free wholesale sourcing magazines valuable. Here is the link again where you can download your free wholesale sourcing magazine.  These are great resources.

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2. eBay Spring Seller Update

eBay has just published their annual eBay Seller Spring Update. Of course this issue is all about the new fee schedule.  This is the largest overhaul of how eBay collects and calculates fees in several years.  And it is the most confusing.  So take a look at the eBay Spring Seller Update.  Be sure and read the FAQs.  The schedule is so complicated and confusing, that you really need to read the FAQs to understand what is going on. You may even want to print out the schedule and put it in a notebook as, unlike previous fees, you will find yourself referring to this one for several months until you fully understand it.

There are a lot of surprises buried in the FAQs that weren’t specifically mentioned in the policy announcement so be sure and read all of them so you don’t accidently violate any of the new policies.

So just go here to the eBay Spring Seller Update after you have finished the newsletter and have at least an hour to dedicate to reading and understanding it.

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3. eBay Niche of The Month ~ Renting/Selling Timeshares on eBay

This is a great niche market on eBay, but unfortunately not everyone can do it. eBay policy requires that if you want to represent the rental of a timeshare or vacation unit, then you need to be licensed to do so or be an employee of a company that is. There are some clever ways around this but they are so complex that I can’t cover them here. As for representing the sale of a timeshare you have to be a licensed real estate agent or broker.

However there are a lot of starving real estate folks out there now, and dozens of travel agencies have cut hours, laid people off or closed altogether so there are probably many folks who can work in this niche.

So if you are a travel agent or a licensed real estate professional you may find you can do this. If you are not, but you have a friend or relative who is, perhaps you could talk them into setting up an eBay account and letting you do the work, but they would handle the paperwork when a transaction is done. You would have to work out some fee split arrangement, but it could still be profitable

Step number one is to read the eBay Travel Policy and The Real Estate Policy and Real Estate fees make sure you understand them.

The first thing you need to do is find timeshare owners who want to rent or sell. The best way to do this is by placing classified ads in Craigslist, Kijiji or Yahoo Free Classifieds.  There are tons of companies who act as agents to rent or sell timeshares, but most of them are pure scams.  If you have ever owned a timeshare, then you know you get phone calls from these people at least once a month. They all offer to act as your agent –but what they really want is an upfront fee of between $500 and $1000 to list your unit. These companies do occasionally actually rent or sell a timeshare –just not very many. Most of their income is from the upfront fees you pay.

So many timeshare owners have been scammed this way, that if you offer to rent or sell a timeshare on commission with no upfront fee, you will have plenty of takers.

The sell-through-rate of timeshare sales is fairly low on eBay.  That is because there are so many undesirable timeshares listed.  So the trick is to find the premium timeshares people want.  The best are those from Marriott, Starwood (Westin) and Wyhdam.  So many of the small timeshare companies have gone bankrupt that people worry about buying those.

The other factor is location. The obvious choices are Hawaii (preferably Maui or Kauai), The Caribbean including Atlantis in the Bahamas, St John, St. Thomas, St. Martens, Aruba and a few premium resorts in Jamaica. There are some others but if I was just starting out I would stick with these. Stay away from Orlando. There are so many timeshares in Orlando –and most of Florida that there is just too much competition.  (I’ve listed Disney World timeshares below but they look pretty special.)

Here is a screenshot of some current timeshare rentals to give you an idea of what they go for.

These prices are fairly low as the high season is coming to an end.  If you look at rentals in November & December that are for December thru March stays, the prices are about double those you see above.  A couple of years ago, we rented our 2BR unit at Harborside at Atlantis, Bahamas for $7500 for our scheduled week, week five.

Now lets look at the sold side. Here are some timeshares that actually sold on eBay along with some that didn’t.

Various sellers charge different rates for selling or renting a timeshare.  I would charge 20% for renting and 10% for selling. I know the standard real estate commission is 6% --but people are willing to pay more to sell a timeshare.

After you read and understand the eBay Policies, the next thing you should do is spend an hour or so studying the timeshare listings that were successful. Look at how they place the photos, the complete descriptions, how they “romance” the sale and how they list all of the important details.

Creating a timeshare listing can be somewhat time consuming –I suspect it would take most people up to an hour to create an effective listing when you are starting out. But once you get some experience you can do it in about ½ that time.  So you only want to represent sellers that have a good chance of selling (or renting). Don’t waste your time (or the $35 listing fee) on a property that is unlikely to sell.

There are a few dozen sellers on eBay already doing this and most of them do pretty well. I spoke with one seller last year who claims he rents as many as five timeshares a week during the high season and one or two a week during the rest of the year. If you are going to sell timeshares you should try for three or four a month during high season and one or two a month the rest of the year.

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4. New Wholesale Sources for March 2010

Before we get into our sources, I want to let you know that we have partnered with a new Wholesale Search Engine provider to help you find wholesale sources.  The new partner is Wholesale Central where you can find real wholesale sources in over 30 different categories. Once you go there, be sure and bookmark that page so you can return to it over and over again.

Now here are a few of the new sources I uncovered at the ASD/AMD Wholesale Trade Show.

California International Sales is a Distributor of new, recondition and refurbished, Panasonic, Casio, Olympus and Polaroid cameras and consumer electronics including home theater systems. And they offer a drop-shipping program for items with a selling price over $50. Here are a few photos of their items:

Trademark Commerce is a huge distributor of overstock small and large appliances such as coffee systems, vacuum cleaners, toaster ovens, irons. They also get laptops, tools and many other products and they also drop ship. One of the hot products they currently carry is the popular Roomba iRobot vacuum cleaner –but they only have a couple of hundred units left.  Once you register you will be set up for their drop ship program……  Don’t worry this isn’t one of those virtual membership drop ship companies. Trademark Global has a 200,000 sq.ft. warehouse with products actually in stock.  They handle liquidation for large chains such as Sears, Target and others.

Jay’s Record and Tapes, Inc. offers excellent deals on niche music CDs – as low as $1.10 or you can check out his package deals of 110 CDs for $99.00.  That works out to $0.90 per CD.

BDK Auto makes a great line of specialty automotive floor mats, steering wheel covers and car seat covers. Use the Contact form to register and get a password to see the wholesale pricing.

Next Success sells a very nice line of computer laptop tables –some with built-in fans and USB ports and some very neat fashion flash drives.

Put this next one on your list to contact in August. The Halloween Resource Center sells the most complete line of Halloween costumes and decorations you can imagine. Halloween is their only business.  No website. Email Steve Sellers at Hallrsctr@yahoo.com and he will send you a CD with the products and the pricing. Reference the ASD show in your email.

Mac Wholesale is a liquidator of a wide range of great products that work really well on eBay.  There are no products listed on their website because their inventory changes every week. Call them at 508-378-3500 and ask to be put on their mailing list and you will get an email with the wholesale specials they are running.

MAT Electronics sells a wide range of consumer electronic parts and accessories.  Example – Zune EB Premium Headphones for $3.50 per pair. They sell on Amazon for over $20.  There is a link on their home page where you can download their wholesale catalog as a PDF file and get immediate access to their wholesale pricing.

Whimsical Watches sells a very nice line of themed fashion watches. You can get watches for specific professions, hobbies and sports.  The website is pure retail. Use the contact form on the website to request wholesale information. Reference ASD/AMD in Las Vegas.

Design Time Watch, Inc. sells several lines of watches from fashion watches priced below $50 to the beautiful Giorgio Milano series of watches that sell for around $500.  Here are some photos of a few of the watches they sell.

M. Cornell Importers sells a complete line of decorative and collectible beer steins and accessories, flasks, beer glasses and the licensed line of licensed Jack Daniel’s Bourbon products.

CAVA As Seen On TV carries some of the hottest ASOTV products and they are happy to work with small online sellers.

JAFRUM- Carries a vast selection of leather jackets, biker apparel, plus size & motorcycle helmets. Click on the link that says “wholesale” to register an account or call 1-877-GO-HELMET. Jafrumalso drop ships some of their products.

Reiko Wireless sells the largest and most complete line of high-fashion cell phone, iPod and iPhone cases on the market. These are some really beautiful products that I have not seen on eBay. Be sure and ask for a printed catalog. They have over 1000 designs. Here are just a few:

Myco Imports sells a huge variety of specialized small tools for jewelers, electronic techs and other who work with precision tools.  They also carry a low-cost line of tools for beauticians, barbers and hair stylists, dental pics and hemostats and hobby pliers and tweezers.

Weiners Wholesale offers the nation's largest selection of brand name travel-size merchandise. $100 minimum opening order.

Perfume Miami is a distributor of World Famous Designer Name Perfumes, Colognes, and Body, Skin & Hair Care Products. Real wholesale Prices. They ship all over the world. New line in stock: "Biosilk".

KCP Wholesale Distributors distribute high end and drugstore cosmetics, skincare and eyewear – some names include Mac, Bare Escentuals, Bliss, Lancome, Loreal, Revlon, Victorias Secret, Clarins, Bath & Body Works, Burt's Bees, Anna Sui, Elizabeth Arden, Bobbi Brown and more.

NYS Collection Eyewear – Forget all of the designer knockoff sunglasses. The NYS collection is a collection of unique, high quality fashion sunglasses. You can’t access the website without registering, but it is easy.  Use the contact link or call them at 800-430-4211 to set up an account and get access to the pricing and online catalog.

Another great high-fashion sunglass and fashion accessory supplier is Creative Eyewear, Inc.  Just click on the link at the bottom of the home page that says How to Order.

Creative Eyewear

Tops Handbags is a supplier of high-fashion handbags with unique designs –as opposed to the many vendors who were exhibiting designer knock offs.

The Alexander Kalifano Company sells a large variety of high quality gifts and jewelry –again this is the retail web site, but use the contact form to get wholesale information after viewing the products.

Al-Zuni Global Jewelry sells high quality Native American Art and Jewelry. The website gives contact info. Call or email them for product information and pricing. If you call, ask for Nash and reference the ASD/AMD show.

Sun N Sand sells everything for the beach. Swimwear, fashion accessories, cruise wear and more. This link will allow you to download the wholesale catalog in PDF.

The US Navy Peacoat has been a fashion stable for over 60 years. The Sterlingwear Company of Boston makes both the authentic original and several modified fashion versions of this classic.  I once found a Navy Peacoat in a thrift shop for $5.00. I put it on eBay and it sold for over $70. Once again you will need to use the contact form to get wholesale registration.

The Russian Source carries a large line of Russian surplus military clothing. One of their items is a popular and fashionable blue & white horizontal striped Russian Navy sailor’s shirt @$10 each. These go on eBay for over $25.   No website, call them at 860-236-8763 or email them with your fax number and they will fax you a price sheet. russmil@comcast.net

Russian Navy Sailor’s Shirt

Eagle Emblems Inc sells a complete line of military pins, caps, license plates, medallions, military medals and patches. Click on the link that says Dealer Login to register for wholesale pricing.

There was a whole section at the show for military surplus –but frankly a lot of it was junk.  One company that really impressed me was Coleman Military Surplus. Email them through the website for wholesale information and be sure and reference the ASD/AMD show. You can also call them toll-free at 1-888-478-7758.

The Garden Sunlight Company had without a doubt the best line of outdoor solar lighting at the show. The products are very high quality and the prices blew me away.  Last year I paid $49 for a set of 8 solar garden lights.  This company had a better looking and better quality set for $12 wholesale. Click on the link that says Wholesale Login to create an account and get access to the wholesale pricing.  Better yet, email them and ask for the catalog CD with wholesale pricing.

One of the hottest products at the show were various vendors selling the new electronic cigarettes.  They work by delivering a shot of nicotine with water vapor (you can even blow smoke rings). The Palm Garden Company is offering a business starter set for $100 ($250 retail value).  However you will have to sell these from Craigslist or some other auction site as eBay prohibits them. No web site – Call 702-768-0948.

D & W Distributors, Inc. was founded in 1988, and has become the nation's largest distributor for Milwaukee and DeWALT power tools.  They also stock Black & Decker, Makita, Skil/Bosch, Delta, and Porter Cable.    D&W also distributes small appliances such as Black & Decker, Windmere, Hamilton Beach, Proctor Silex, Toastmaster, and Sunbeam.   Their electronics line consists of GE/RCA and Go-Tech.

They sell both new and factory reconditioned products. I examined some of their factory reconditioned DeWALT power tools at the show and they looked brand new to me –and they come with a full factory warranty.

Airsoft America Inc. is a distributor for several lines of Airsoft guns. They sell in case lots or they will drop ship individual guns. They also sell personal security devices such as stun guns and pepper spray.  There website is undergoing work and is not yet loaded with all their products, so email them and ask them to mail a catalog and price sheet.

SSR Motorsports manufacturers a very nice line of dirt bikes, motor scooters and off-road Quads.  Although not a name brand here in the US, they are one of the best-known brands in Asia and have been manufacturing quality motorcycles and motor scooters for over 22 years.  Their products are competitive with Honda and Yamaha in terms of features and quality but cost almost ½ as much.

Boker USA is the authorized distributor of Boker Knives made in
Solingen Germany, which are known for their high quality and popularity among hunters, police and military. They are running a special called their “bucket of knives.” You get 6 each of 6 different magnum series of knives for $196.80. Suggested retail of all of the knives is $604.20. That is a 67% gross profit margin. You can get this deal by emailing Boker at orders@bokerusa.com. Boker also sells a beautiful line of high quality Damascus Chef’s Knives.

Self Defense Supply is the largest wholesale supplier of personal security, self defense and surveillance equipment in the USA.  They are aggressively seeking dealers and are happy to work with online sellers. They carry all of the top quality brand names in the field.

Emco Supply features the Red Rock brand of outdoor hunting and camping gear and also carries a wide range of survival gear. The website takes you to a link to contact them and they will mail you a full-color catalog and wholesale price list.

Lexage is a new company selling a narrow range of very high quality optical products including binoculars and auto focus range finders that are accurate to one foot over 1000. Their website is still under construction, but you can email them at info@lexage.com and ask for product information.

Zeikos sells a very nice product range of headphones, electronics, photo accessories, flash drives and Bluetooth devices. They have several products licensed by the NFL with MFL team logos.

Rex Distributors had one of the largest –and strangest booths at the ASD show. They sell a large line of knives –almost anything you can think of, but they also sell boxing gloves and other sporting equipment, and cutlery for manicurists and pedicurists as well as a dozen other unrelated categories.  I made the mistake of asking for a catalog and the weight of my backpack increased by over 5 pounds. But they have some great stuff and they are happy to deal with small online sellers.

Fox Outdoor Products specializes in camo clothing and packs, backpacks and gun cases for hunters.  All of their stuff is 1^st quality –not seconds or surplus as you often see from this type of dealer.

Well, that’s it for this special wholesale issue.  Remember you can get these and several hundred more sources when you purchase the Complete eBay Marketing
System or The Wholesale Buying System. Either of those books comes with lifetime membership in our Wholesale Resources membership site.

Skip McGrath
The eBay Seller's News

P.S. If you missed the last issue, click here to read it.

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