I've been trolling this message board for a while and thought I would post my first method. I've been an ebay seller for several years now and wanted to share a nice little method with you that will hopefully give you some ideas.
Ok, I've done this a few times, but not my core business on ebay. This method involves buying gift cards and then using them to buy merchandise which you will then resell on ebay. I call this "twisting" which is sorta like "flipping"
Here is a specific example. I would do a search on ebay for Callaway Golf gift cards. You will see many listed as these are given away at promotional events etc. and people just decide to sell them. I would try to buy these cards for about 70% or less of the face value.
From this point I would create a listing on ebay for Callaway HX Hot Bite golf balls. Usually I would create auctions for 2 dozen, 4 dozen etc. When the auction sells, simply order the balls from Callaway, pay with the gift card you purchased, and have the golf balls shipped straight to the customer from Callaway (most of the gift cards include free shipping when used). I would clear about $4-5 per dozen golf balls sold, not a bad profit for a $15-20 item. This particular type of ball was sold in 2 packs at a discounted rate vs. what the listed price was on the website, so I was able to take advantage of that to make a bit more profit. Not a bad little method considering I didn't have to source product, stock it, or handle the shipping.
Obviously with this example there are a few more details involved as far as figuring out pricing, ebay fees, ability to combine gift cards etc, but the general idea is to buy gift cards low enough so that you can then buy a product to resell for profit.
Ok, I've done this a few times, but not my core business on ebay. This method involves buying gift cards and then using them to buy merchandise which you will then resell on ebay. I call this "twisting" which is sorta like "flipping"
Here is a specific example. I would do a search on ebay for Callaway Golf gift cards. You will see many listed as these are given away at promotional events etc. and people just decide to sell them. I would try to buy these cards for about 70% or less of the face value.
From this point I would create a listing on ebay for Callaway HX Hot Bite golf balls. Usually I would create auctions for 2 dozen, 4 dozen etc. When the auction sells, simply order the balls from Callaway, pay with the gift card you purchased, and have the golf balls shipped straight to the customer from Callaway (most of the gift cards include free shipping when used). I would clear about $4-5 per dozen golf balls sold, not a bad profit for a $15-20 item. This particular type of ball was sold in 2 packs at a discounted rate vs. what the listed price was on the website, so I was able to take advantage of that to make a bit more profit. Not a bad little method considering I didn't have to source product, stock it, or handle the shipping.
Obviously with this example there are a few more details involved as far as figuring out pricing, ebay fees, ability to combine gift cards etc, but the general idea is to buy gift cards low enough so that you can then buy a product to resell for profit.