I took something out of the 90k flipper thing a majig, ran with it, and made some money. I've already made more money this month as i expanded but that is neither here nor there. <--- Haha, I've always wanted to say that.
Ok, so I've been selling replica iPod Nano's for the last month and made decent money. Just over 7k net to be exact. No problems with eBay or anything eelse.
In fact, as long as you say it's a replica in your auction and in the title eBay really doesn't give a shit (they only really care if someone complains, at least in my experience). The only snag is if you get a customer that doesn't read shit and bitches because you sold them a replica. THis is a bit of a problem on ebay, but if you protect yourself in the description and title it shouldn't be a real big deal.
I've been purchasing these "iPods" off of Alibaba.com, now I know this will scare some of you because Alibaba is synonymous with scammer. However I assure you there are legit sellers on there, but it takes some questioning.
I think it was Yowza (probably fucked that up) or another member that said he had a brother in china that was finding all his connections and they were on alibaba. THERE ARE LEGIT SELLERS THERE!
A gold supplier is a start...
However I spend about three days questioning the individual seller looking for discrepancies and differences in his/her responses. I'll usually ask for some references of previous business, they will usually give up some if they are legit. I'll contact them askin the same type of questions and look for differences in their responses.
(Any "iPod" you get from alibaba is fake for the most part, however that doesn't mean you can't sell em for a big gain)
I'll then ask for a sample, most of the time is one or two units of the product. Most legit sellers will be willing to do the initial sample order, just say you are looking to do high volume every month. However most of the time if you do a sample they will say you have to pay close to retail. Whatever I don't really care because if it's legit, it's still less than a real iPod and I can usually sell that same one for a little profit.
Going after branded electronics on eBay is a waste of your time. Have you ever typed in "Apple iPod 30GB" into the search on ebay? Did you see how many pages of results you got? Sure you can make a couple bucks selling iPods but the real money is unbranded electronics.
Dehumidifiers, dvd players, dvd projectors, "ipod" replicas, this is where the money is at. I've made money with all these products in the past. Most people on eBay are looking for a deal. They are cheap! A ton of them can't afford the name brand electronics, this is where you come in.
There will always be a market for this stuff. As long as you test out the product yourself and make sure it's legit you won't have any problems. Just make sure to explicitly state that it is a replica. Most people have no problem purchasing a replica as long as it works like the real deal.
As far as payment for these items...
NEVER PAY VIA WESTERN UNION, WIRE TRANSFER, or BANK TRANSFER.
If you’re going to do business with people overseas, pay on your terms. You should use either Paypal.com, Escrow.com, COD, letter of credit, or credit card (cc is usually my last choice).
Here is the reasoning behind them all…
Paypal.com – if you do end up getting scammed, you can file a dispute and get a charge back as long as a credit card is linked to your account and not a debit card. Plus when you’re about to send someone money via Paypal you can see whether or not they are a verified user right before you send the money (I usually stick with verified users if I'm using paypal).
Escrow.com – I stress Escrow.com and not any other escrow service because there are a lot of escrows run by scammers that work with other scammers! Escrow works like an intermediary; they hold the payment until you confirm you’ve received the goods and tell them to release the payment. Escrow.com is very legitimate and I’ve used them tons of times, but I won’t trust any other escrow service.
COD – Cash on delivery is a great way of paying, however it is becoming more and more rare these days. However I have found wholesalers in the past that are willing to use this method.
Letter of Credit – This is basically like an escrow system through your bank. Your bank will freeze the funds in your account and contact the sellers bank letting them know that you are waiting for the goods. Once the goods are received, your bank will then release the funds to the sellers’ bank.
Credit card – This would usually be my last resort. I would have to be pretty sure about my transaction to use a credit card. However in the worst case scenario with a credit card you can do a charge back and then simply cancel that credit card. Normally credit card companies are fairly understanding if you contact them about getting scammed.
I know there is a ton of people saying, NAH you can't sell replicas on eBay or Alibaba is just all scammers. Well you know what, someone is making it work! If you aren't, someone is.
Do your due diligence with the seller and use common sense. If they are asking for Western Union or an outside escrow service then you're probably getting ripped off.
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