Dear eBay Queen:
I had a buyer leave a negative for me a few weeks ago, and after much cajoling on my part and a refund + a new item, they’ve agreed to remove it. I’m not sure how to do that. Can you tell me how to instruct them on removing it?
Linda
Dear Linda:
Did your buyer state that they would remove it if you gave them a refund and a new item, or did you offer that? If they demanded those things, and you didn’t offer them, I would contact eBay and let them know this. I would do this before I send a feedback revision request. I have heard of eBay removing the feedback when a buyer uses the ‘Do this and I’ll remove the feedback’ attitude.
To send a feedback revision on eBay, go here: http://pages.ebay.com/help/feedback/questions/remove.html and click on ‘submit a feedback revision request’.
Dear eBay Queen:
I’ve been selling whatever I can find for years. I was looking on eBay last night for my favorite Ralph Lauren Jeans, and I came across a seller that only sells Ralph Lauren. I’ve never heard of this. I see a few Ralph Lauren things here and there, at thrift stores and estate sales, but never enough to actually make a living just selling Ralph Lauren. I reviewed this person’s sales, and they are bringing in 10,000+ every month! It wasn’t a fluke! They are really bringing in over 10K a month! I want to do that! But how can I do that?
I would love to focus on just one thing, but how can I buy just one type of product or brand? If I do focus on one product or brand, what do I do with the product I have now? Should I keep my stuff all together? Or open a new eBay ID just for my branded product?
DAP
Dear DAP:
I do know people that sell just certain brand names, or just certain types of items, like jeans, or kitchen utensils or matchbox cars. I think a lot of times when a seller specializes in brand or a product, they personally collect it or at the very least know a lot about it. Is there a product or brand that you know a lot about that you could create your own niche market?
It’s hard to say where this seller is buying their Ralph Lauren products. If it’s vintage or pre owned, they most likely are hitting up 20+ garage sales or estate sales a week, and are going to 10-15 thrift stores a week. That’s a lot of shopping. I would also bet they travel around to a large area to find the right Ralph Lauren product. If they are purchasing their product new, they are probably are buying it from a wholesaler. When I did a preliminary Google search, there were many wholesalers that have bulk lots of Ralph Lauren. Buying a load from a wholesaler would cost anywhere from 1500 to 10,000 depending upon the lot you purchase.
Another way to achieve your goal, is to start small and work your way up to being a large seller of a name brand product without the wholesaler. To do this, go to retail stores when they are having their big discount sales. It will take longer to do this, but you won’t need all the money up front like you do for a wholesaler.
I was a lot like you I went from selling just about anything I could get my hands on, to selling a niche product. I really thought I should start selling under a new id and open a new eBay store. I never really got around to it, and I just added my niche product to my current antique and collectible inventory. I think the biggest reason I didn’t change, is because I had 20K+ feedback and I didn’t want to give that up.
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