The Proven Amazon Course Launches Today

The Online Seller's News, March 7, 2011, Volume 11, No. 5

Tips, Tools, News and Resources for eBay, Amazon and independent Online Sellers ~ Published Twice Monthly since 1999
by: Skip McGrath

In This Issue:

Musings from eBay and beyond

1. The Proven Amazon Course Launches Today
2. How to Use Bundling Strategies to Compete with Amazon and Large Sellers
3. Wholesale Sources from The ASD/AMD Wholesale Trade Show

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." ~ Bill Cosby

Musings for March 2011

This is our annual Wholesale Sourcing Issue. Each year I attend the Seattle Gift Show in early February and the ASD/AMD Wholesale Trade Show in Las Vegas in late February/early March. Between these two shows I am exposed to over 4000 wholesale sources in dozens of categories. Each issue of this newsletter typically contains about a dozen new sources that I research each month. Between this issue and the next, I will list over 50 of the best sources that I came across.

The new iPad is out and eBay is once again restricting sales. Most sellers will be allowed to list iPad 2s; however, sellers will be limited on the number of items they can list per week.

• Apple authorized resellers will be allowed to list up to 50 items per week.
• eBay Top-rated sellers will be allowed to list up to 4 items per week.
• All sellers meeting minimum performance standards will be allowed to list 1 item per week.
  

Note: Sellers not meeting minimum performance standards will not be allowed to list the Apple iPad 2 during this release period. As always, any selling activity that appears to mislead buyers regarding the authenticity of the item may result in limitations to selling activity, including account suspension.

Speaking of the iPad, I took my 3G iPad to the trade show and it was a great way to check products on eBay, Amazon and with the free Terapeak App. When I came across a product that interested me, I would just tap the Safari button and check the item on eBay and Amazon. If it looked good, I could then go into Terapeak and look at details such as sell through rate, average selling price and so on. It was amazing just how many attendees at the show were using iPads and iPhones and other devices to do this.

By the way, I ended up with an extra Bluetooth keyboard case after the holidays and I am selling it on eBay at this link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370490571162&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT. Over Christmas these were selling for $130 --the price has now dropped to $99, but I am selling this one for $89 with Free shipping. If you click on this and its gone that's because some other reader beat you to it.

I started using Amazon's FBA a couple of months ago, but this week I did my first shipments using the third party service, FBA Power. FBA Power allows you to scan, create, launch and track your inventory items sent to FBA. When I compared the time it took to launch items directly with Amazon versus using FBA Power, I have to admit that the first launch took about twice as long. That was the learning curve. But the next three shipments took about 1/3^rd the time it took me to do the same thing on Amazon.

I met the owner of FBA Power, Chris Green, at last year's Amazon conference and we have maintained a correspondence since then. Chris gives every new user a free two-week trial. But, if you use this link: FBA Power, he will give my readers a free one-month trial. (Chris is also one of the instructor contributors to the Proven Amazon Course I discuss in the first article below).

This is from my blog, but I wanted to make sure everyone who bought my book on selling used books saw this.

I just finished reading (and listening to) a super eBook and audio book by Frank Florance called Creative Sourcing for Book Sellers. The book is delivered on two audio CD's and an eBook if you prefer to read it.  They are mailed to you, so it takes a few days to get it, but believe me it's worth the wait. You also get a quarterly newsletter and support –if you buy his book, you can email Frank with questions for up to one year after purchase.

Even better, he is running a special deal of $20.00 + $4.00 S&H (regular price $49) for the next week -so don't wait too long on this one. (NOTE:  The price on the sales page says $49, but you will see the $20 price when you add to cart)

I am really good at sourcing books and cover this in detail in my best-selling book, How to Sell Used Books on eBay, Amazon and the Internet.  But Frank showed me about six different ways that I hadn't even thought of -including one way to get books for free.

The biggest problem new booksellers have, has always been knowing where to find enough continuing supplies of highly desirable, highly salable, books at low enough prices where you can make a profit. Creative Sourcing for Book Sellers solves that problem. Best of all if you are not happy, Frank's book comes with a money back guarantee.

For those of you who follow us from Europe and the UK, I have just updated the UK version of The Complete eBay Marketing System. You can read about it at www.skipmcgrath.co.uk. This version contains all of the recent changes on eBay UK right up to last month.

Lets get started with this month's articles:

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1. The Proven Amazon Course Launches Today

Hundreds of my regular readers took advantage of the Proven eBay Course I, and the Proven eBay Course II. My good friend Jim Cockrum designed both of those and sellers have been using them to make consistent income since then. Those two courses quickly garnered a reputation as a no-bull way to step into an instant niche and start making money your first week.

For the last couple of months, I have been working with Jim on the first Amazon course, the Proven Amazon Course-I, Cashing in on Amazon FBA, that launches on March 7^th at 4:30 PM.

Pay attention eBay sellers. If you aren't including Amazon.com as part of your business model you're probably missing out on about 60% of the business you could be having.

For the past several months Jim and I have been seeking out and working with the most successful FBA users and together we've put together an amazing course that will show you how so many of us are taking advantage of the tens of millions of customers that are swarming Amazon.com every day.

eBay is now trying to play catch-up with Amazon. eBay only recently started putting a plan in place to try to compete with Amazon's FBA service. You can get in ahead of the curve.

Here is a short list of just some of the folks who contributed to this course:

• Chris Green: A FBA pro and our primary FBA coach
• Jim Cockrum: Founder MySilentTeam.com
• Julie Anna Schultz: Her family has been using FBA for a long time successfully
• Nathan Holmquist: An MST pro and FBA expert
• Skip McGrath: An icon of online selling success
• Stephanie Inge: Founder of Dallas eBay User Group and FBA user
• Steve Lindhorst: Long time Amazon pro and FBA user
• Suzanne Wells: A MySilentTeam.com coach and creative online seller
• Bob Willey: An FBA leader and 3-year veteran

Every one of these experts not only understands how Amazon's FBA works, they are all using it to make money today. That includes me. While I was at the trade show in Las Vegas, I sold 4 items on Amazon and Amazon did all the work. They collected the money, packed up the item and shipped it for me. All I have to do is wait for Amazon to deposit the money into my bank account.

That is why we call these courses "Proven." Every single thing you will learn has been tried and "proven" to work. There is no theory here -just step-by-simple-step instructions that show you:

• Where to find virtually unlimited sources of inventory
• How to easily ship your inventory in bulk at dirt cheap prices directly to Amazon's warehouse
• How to price your inventory higher than your competition while still outselling them easily
• How to automate the entire process so that you only check your sales reports
• How to run your business from anywhere.

Here is what you get:

1. FBA Course Audio Interview (and full transcript) with Jim Cockrum, Suzanne Wells, and Skip McGrath
2. 7 Course Videos
3. eBook: Amazon 90-Day Experiment
4. Report: A Craigslist Ad for Books that works instantly
5. Report: Tips for Cleaning Used Books
6. Report: Using Scanners to save time and increase profits
7. FBA Interview 2: Skip McGrath and Stephanie Inge
8. Report: Selling on Amazon's FBA Program
9. Report: Understanding the Amazon Customer
10. Report: How To Make Good Money Selling Used Books
11. Two-month trial of FBAPower and FBAScout to automate your business
12. Expert-monitored discussion forum area
13. MUCH more being added

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2. How to Use Bundling Strategies to Compete with Amazon and Large Sellers

One of the most frequent complaints you hear from Amazon sellers is that they have to compete with Amazon. Amazon sells many of the same products that we sellers do. For example, here is a knife that I sell on Amazon and that Amazon also sells:

As you can see there are 18 other sellers also selling this knife -all of them competing with Amazon.

So how do you counter this? Well I went to the manufacturer and asked them to create a unique Universal Product Code (UPC number) for a set of 4 Guy Fieri knives. Now I can create a unique item that Amazon does not have. Here is what that looks like:

Notice that it says sold by Healthy Home and Kitchen. My store name on Amazon is Summerdale House. The reason this listing is ahead of mine is that my shipment is still on the way to Amazon FBA. As soon as it arrives, I will be listed there in first place if my price is at least $1 lower than Healthy Home and Kitchen. If not, I will be listed on the second page with the other sellers.

That is an example of a bundling strategy. When you buy something on Amazon have you ever noticed that Amazon suggests other items that are frequently purchased together? Here is an example of a Krups coffee maker:

When a potential buyer selects this particular coffee maker, Amazon serves up two different accessory filters that they suggest you buy at the same time. Whenever you sell something on Amazon you must have a UPC (or EAN) number. So as a seller, you can go to a UPC service, buy a unique UPC code for a product that consists of all three of these items. Now you can create a new listing unique to you. This is called bundling.

Of course, once you create this, your competitors (including Amazon) can take advantage of your UPC code and start selling the same thing, but the reality is they seldom do this. In the case of the knives I showed you above, the reason there are five sellers, is that once I asked the manufacturer to create the code, they sent that to all their resellers. Had I created my own code, I would most likely have been the only seller for quite a while until other sellers caught on to what I was doing.

You can also use this strategy on eBay. Although you don't need UPC codes on eBay (yet?), if you are in a crowded product niche, by bundling your products you can create unique products within your niche to differentiate yourself from your competitors.

There are several sites where you can purchase UPC bar codes. Here is one that I use: Bar Codes Talk

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3. Wholesale Sources from The ASD/AMD Wholesale Trade Show

One sign that the economy is improving is this year's show was a lot larger than last year. Last year there were some aisles that I had to myself as I wandered from booth to booth. This year we were bumping into people and often had to wait to get close to popular booths.

STOP: Please read this first: A lot of these websites are either retail websites or the actual wholesale website but without pricing. Most of these companies require you to contact them first to get wholesale pricing. I suggest an email that goes something like this:

Obviously you would use your own name, company name and tax ID. A polite email like this will usually get results. None of the companies I mention here should refuse to work with online sellers.

I have so many new sources, that I will be listing half in this issue and the other half in the next issue in about two weeks. So let's get started:

1. Aimco USA is a manufacturer of power generators, power tools, portable air conditioners, battery chargers and jump starters and even barbeque grills. The products are made in China, but are warehoused here in the USA. I am working with the company to set up a drop shipping agreement for my readers. Right now they charge a $40 dropshipping fee, but I should be able to negotiate that down to $20. That may sound like a lot, but if you are selling a $400 item that costs you $200 it still leaves plenty of room for profit.

These are great products to sell as they have high price points and great margins. You may think that off-brand products such as these do not sell well and you would be wrong. This company sells thousands of units per year in the US. As for quality, think generic brand. This company manufactures these same products in the same factory for several name brand products you would recognize if they could tell you.

2. Garden Sunlight, Inc manufactures and sells a large variety of garden solar lighting. This is a product category that is pretty exciting as the technology for these products has changed dramatically in the past couple years. The solar chargers are now 30% to 40% more efficient than just two years ago. And the lights are now LED instead of incandescent or fluorescent. They also sell a really cool little spy camera that allows you to spy on birds and wildlife in your garden.

3. Tornado Personal Defense Systems sells probably the most clever line of pepper spray that I saw at the show. They have developed a really neat system of belt, keychain and armband clips and the product is incredibly high quality compared to other products I saw at the show.

4. Bluefin Distribution is the US stocking distributor for several lines of Japanese Action toys and figures. Just fill out the form to become a dealer to get pricing information.

5. Delta Children's Products sells licensed toddler and children's products including Barbie, Sponge Bob, Cars (the movie), Dora the Explorer, Fairies and others. One of their products is a really neat toy hopper.

6. Palco Sports sells a very high quality line of Airsoft guns licensed by Colt, Sig Sauer, Desert Eagle, Taurus and others. Unlike most of the cheap Airsoft guns, these are quality reproductions licensed by the manufacturers that have the look, heft and feel of the real thing and actually operate just like the real guns. They are so realistic that several police departments around the US are using them for training to save ammunition.

7. Jobar International was selling one of the hottest products at the show. Are you ready for this? Really ready? OK. It's Bedbug Mattress Barriers. That's right. It appears there is an epidemic of bed bugs in hotels all over America. So, more and more travelers are buying these to take with them on trips. Jobar also sells a wide variety of other products from beauty and bath, ASOTV, garden, toys, housewares and pet products.

8. Mayday Industries sells a complete line of Disaster Preparedness Products including Go Kits, first aid kits, Fire and evacuation supplies, Porta Potties, automotive kits and more. They even have a line of pet survival products (now there's a niche!) Use the Contact Us form on the website to get wholesale information.

9. Mid American Tool is a large distributor of over 100 brands of hand tools, power tools, air tools and more.

10. Fashion Electronics has one of the nicest lines of cell phone, iPad and Bluetooth products I saw at the show. This is really nice stuff. Their line includes cell phone cases, chargers, Bluetooth headsets, power supplies and batteries, chargers and more. One of the neatest products is an iPad case with a built-in Bluetooth keyboard.

You will have to email them through the website for wholesale information. Be sure and mention the ASD/AMD trade show.

11. Luyuan Inc features a really neat line of high fashion skateboards, dirt bikes and scooters. They have offices and warehouses in California so you don't have to worry about importing.

12. The Yelete Group is a fashion company that sells a really neat line of fashion hosiery, leggings, arm and leg warmers, toe socks, fishnet and men's and ladies' colorful dress socks.

13. There were several fragrance companies at the show selling actual brand name fragrances and some were selling knock offs. This is an area you really have to be careful. Interamerican Fragrances had the most complete line of legitimate brand name perfumes and colognes that I saw, although there were so many fragrance dealers that I just couldn't get to them all. They are also having some website issues, so be sure and email them for their 20 page catalog and price list.

14. COHBE is a company that sells a nice line of spa and skincare products. This product category is very hot on both eBay and Amazon

15. Creative Eyewear, Inc sells a really great line of high fashion sunglasses, readers and fashion accessories.

16. Almost every woman knows Cala Beauty Products and they had one of the largest booths at the show. They sell one of the most popular lines of cosmetic brushes and cosmetic accessories. This is a great area for eBay and Amazon sellers. Yes it's competitive but this stuff sells really fast.

17. Myco Imports sells virtually any kind of small tool you can imagine from tweezers, forceps, dental tools, jewelry making tools, tools for beaders, small pliers, 50 different types of scissors and more. They sell all their tools individually, so this is a great opportunity to put kits together for various hobbies such as jewelry making, beaders, quilters and so on.

18. The Frontier Watch Collection has a great selection of fashion and specialty watches including the Aquaforce line of watches for divers, climbers, yacht racers, rally enthusiasts, and pilots. All of the Aquaforce watches are water resistant to 50 meters. They also sell a line of their watches with the US Navy, Army, Air Force and Marines logos on them. The price range of the watches is from $25 to $60 but I think many of them could be sold for more.

19. I guess not every company has a website -including this one. Ballington Corp sells a really nice line of large cooking pots and burners, think really large stockpots, woks and steamers. They have a very nice catalog but you will have to email them at ballingtoncorp@gmail.com or call them at (626)279-2198.

20. Raphael's Wholesale Tools carries a lot more than just tools. I won't describe it too much -just take a look.

21. ISO Professional sells a very nice line of professional beauty products including one of the neatest lines of hair straighteners.

22. Militaria Inc. is a military and surplus dealer with a wide range of products that includes a large range of gun cleaning kits in camo pouches. Their website is currently undergoing reconstruction, buy you can email them at sales@militariainc.com and they will mail you a catalog.

23. Kakudu Australia manufactures a nice line of Aussie hats, bags, vests, jackets and accessories -all made down under. The quality of this stuff is excellent and the clothing is very trendy.

24. I saved one of the best for last. One of the coolest products I saw at the show was an eyeglass cleaning kit from Smitty's Glass wax. You are probably thinking "what's an eyeglass cleaning kit?" Well this is the neatest kit I have seen and boy does the product work. It not only works on glasses but it also works on computer screens, cell phones, iPads and so on. The neat thing about this product is that it not only cleans, it leaves a film that repels dirt and dust.

I usually have to clean my glasses at least twice a day. When I clean them with Smitty's, I am good for at least two days. The price point is very attractive and they are offering a show special where you get $512 worth of wholesale product for $364.00 wholesale. That allows you a really nice markup. I am not sure how long that offer will last so you may want to move on this one quickly.

You will have to call or email them through the website to get the wholesale sourcing information and pricing.

Well - that's it for now. Look for the next issue in about two weeks where we will have another 25 or so new sources.

Skip McGrath
The Online Seller's News

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

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