While some of these tips apply more to larger, more established retailers, and those who own their own websites, the tips below will be of use to you, even if you are a new retailer as they provide insight into the life and times of the top retailers!

1 – Have a search function on your website and make it fast, fun and easy.

Have you ever visited a brick and mortar store and needed help finding something, but not been able to find what you need, or found no store attendants to help you?
Frustrating right? And that’s exactly how online buyers feel when they can’t find what they need.
Having no search feature on your web store is like giving your customers a blind fold when they enter your store, and disabling them from being able to find exactly what they want.

If you don’t already have a search function, get one and make sure you really optimize it by placing it on the top-right of your page, just like all leading websites do. See examples below.

2 – Boost sales by combining shipping and marketing

The majority of online retailers fail to see the opportunity to make additional sales from existing customers when they ship items to buyers.

To dramatically increase the chance of additional sales from repeat customers, all it takes is slipping a flyer (which you can make and print yourself) into each package and promote a specific product or offer them a discount on their next purchase.
Try this tactic for your next 10-20 purchases and see what kind of results you get.

3 – Offer a choice at every step of the buying process

What do people like most when they buy online, second to great value deals? They like choices! Never underestimate how much buyers value being able to choose between multiple options. Most importantly, they want shipping options. Offer at least two different shipping options such as overnight delivery at $12.99 or 3 day delivery at 4.79.

Let them decide what is important to them; getting the item fast, or saving money on shipping.

4 – Commit to content

As much time as you spend on listing items and refining your product range, you should also commit to perfecting the content on your website or marketplace listings. Aim for content that is free from grammatical errors, is easy to read and is informative for your site/listing visitors.

If you own a website, start with your refining your home page, then your individual product pages. If you sell on eBay or another marketplace, revise your listings and ensure you provide as much detail as possible about the time. You should also:

1 Ensure the most important information is displayed at the top of the listing description
2 Format your description in an easy-to-read manner. Avoid using multiple fonts and font colors which distract buyers and are an eye sore!

Get a friend or family member with a good eye for details to have a read over your content with a critical eye. What are their first impressions when they arrive on your website/listing and what questions are left unanswered?

If you sell from your own website, another way to use content to grow your store is to start blogging. A blog attracts new customers in two ways:

1 It pulls traffic to your store because Google and other search engines love when your website has fresh, relevant new content and will reward you with higher rankings
2 A blog also pulls relevant buyers who are interested in your products direct to you store and keeps them coming back when you update your blog, giving them an opportunity to make a purchase every time.

5 – Stick to fundamentals

Get the basics right first: There’s no point in going above and beyond with little extras like free gifts if you are not getting the basics right if you take 3 weeks to send an item.

When you think about getting the basics right in your business, think customer service (plenty of communication), fast fulfillment (shipping), and strong product descriptions. Master these before you try anything else.

6 – Think beta forever – for website owners!

What this means is your website is essentially never complete; it’s always in ‘beta’ which is a phase of development that is being tested to see how people react to it. Never stop testing what works best and what buyers prefer.
This point applies more so to larger sellers who develop their own websites with their own in-house team of developers, but it’s worth me pointing out, even if you are a smaller trader because your site can always improve, even if the only changes you make are to the text of your product descriptions.

7 – Nail your culture

For example, Coca-Cola exudes a culture that encourages socializing, youthfulness, and fun.

In other examples, baby products convey a caring culture and parental love.

You should try to build and radiate your own company culture by using the products that you sell as a pinnacle for your “culture”. If you sell sporting equipment, create a culture that celebrates sport, active lifestyle and sporting achievement. If you sell racy lingerie, your culture should embrace all that is sexy! Creating a culture is so important because it helps strengthen your overall brand which makes your products more valuable to your buyers.
Which of these super e-tailer tips will you implement now and in the future?

About the Author: Alice Delore is an education specialist for SaleHoo.com, an online community of over 92,000 online sellers and retailers. Their product range consists of an online selling course, ecommerce software and their flagship product, a wholesale directory.

Thankfully, there are many 100% free tools at your disposal that can help you reclaim some of your time so you can grow your business.

Here are my favorites:

PowerSellersUnite Auction Site Watch

PowerSellersUnite.com’s Auction Site Watch tool is a fantastic way for you to unearth new hot marketplaces and hot eBay alternatives.

The data records how many live listings the site has and how much growth the site is experiencing. If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of various other marketplaces, check this out.

eBay Tool for FireFox

For all the FireFox browser users out there: This tool allows eBay sellers to access your listings no matter which site you are on. It also offers some cool features like a price comparison tool and consumer reviews.

Square Trade

SquareTrade is transforming the warranty industry! They offer warranties on all items – including all second hand items, and at just a fraction of the cost of other warranty packages offered by retail outlets.

The thing that gets me most excited about this is the fact that by offering warranties, you can increase buyer trust, and appeal to even more buyers (they even have special rates for online retailers!).

It gets even better: By selling your buyers warranties you can actually earn commissions from SquareTrade.

Here’s how it works: Simply click the link to activate Square Trade, log onto eBay and enable the Square Trade feature.

Easy!

Square Trade will then detect whenever you sell a warranty to a buyer and pass on your commission to you.

And don’t worry: There are no contracts, costs or obligations to you either.

Auction Alert

Auction Alert is eBay compatible software that lets you snap up the best buys on eBay so you can be the first to get to those low-priced Buy It Now listings and auctions. Keep them for yourself, or resell them for a profit – it’s up to you!

Auction Alert software brings eBay bargain hunting to your desktop when you download the software, but there is also an option to use Auction Alert’s email alerts so that you can bargain hunt from anywhere in the world, and with total privacy.

Business.gov

Your link to the official US Business website.

Calling all US Based Sellers: Do you know which taxes you are liable to pay? Do you have the correct licenses and permits to be operating?

Even small sellers who are making just a few sales per week need to go through the official channels and ensure that Uncle Sam won’t come after them!

What are your favorite tools that help you get through your day as a seller? I’d love to hear from you!

In my book, that means that I am officially allowed to start talking about Christmas!

See, I'm not one of those folks who whines about the crowds at the malls, or the overbearing Christmas carols, or dare I say, having to spend The Big Day with your drunken Great Uncle Merve.

Nope, I'm a huge fan of Christmas, and all that comes with it.

But do you want to know know my favorite thing about Christmas time? You guessed it – all the extra hungry buyers that send my sales tally sky high!

Did you know that according to Google Research, 64% of shoppers plan to spend more this holiday season than they spent in 2009!

As if that isn't lean-closer-to-your-computer-screen-exciting enough, the few weeks after Christmas also brings mass gold mine of items that you can snap up cheaply to resell for a big profit.

Here are 5 essential tips to making this season a profitable one:

1. Choose your audience

While many sellers simply buy an assortment of items and open fire on a number of different buyer audiences, this hit-or-miss approach isn't necessarily the right way to go. Here a few examples of buyers you could target:

Parents looking for children's gifts. People aged 0-18 are definitely the ones who get the most gifts around Christmas time. This is a huge market and encompasses many different products such as clothing, toys, DVDs and sporting equipment.

Hosts looking for decoration and table centerpieces.  This market opens you up to plenty of options such as catering equipment and Christmas themed décor for trees, and mantelpieces. You could also look at specializing in outdoor decorations and lights that many buyers go crazy with!

Corporate Christmas gifts such as luxury pens for bosses and business partners to dish out.

Environmentally and socially aware gift buyers looking for guilt-free gifts such as organic cotton clothing and fair trade jewelry.

2. Manage your supplier(s)

Ensure that your supplier knows that you are buying items for the holiday season and that you need them delivered promptly.

If you are looking at using overseas suppliers, get onto placing your order ASAP and only order smaller lots that can be air freighted to you. It's too late to have a large order sea-shipped now!

Keep in touch with your supplier so that you can be sure of exactly when your items were sent, and when they are due to arrive. Christmas is a very busy time for suppliers. If they can deliver your items on time and fulfill your order correctly, it could well be the beginning of a fantastic new business partnership.

3. Consider getting help from friends or family

When the hectic shopping season starts, you could end up with more sales than you can process. If this becomes the case, consider asking a younger cousin or a college student who is broke and bored on their winter vacation to help out by packaging your items and getting them ready to send out.

I don't know about you, but I find that there is a lot of busy work involved with selling items, so if you can get someone to help out with the more menial tasks, you can spend more time doing the important task of attracting more buyers.

4. Offer little extras to appeal to a wider buying audience

Broaden your buying audience by offering extra services such as gift wrapping and direct shipping to the buyers' gift-recipients.

Buyers love little extras such as gift-wrapping. It saves them time, and really increases their perceived value of the items you are selling, so they feel like they are getting a bargain.

In terms of different shipping options, you could offer your buyers the option of having a gift sent directly to whoever they are buying it for. This saves them the time it takes them to ship it once they have received it, and also saves them money on shipping too.

You could even offer to include a personalized message in the package as well so that the receiver knows exactly who it's from.

Another option would be to send items to the Christmas shopper's parent's house, or wherever they are spending the holidays. This will really appeal to buyers who live in one city, and are spending Christmas in another as it saves them the hassle of traveling with extra baggage.

5. Know when to stop

Shipping dates for the holidays are tight. For many areas, the cut-off date for getting items sent in time for Christmas is in early December.

Time your listings accordingly (leaving plenty of time for payments to clear), and make it clear in your listings that payments must be prompt to ensure that items will arrive in time for Christmas.

Additional money making opportunities!

Not only are people selling off their unwanted gifts immediately after Christmas that you can snap-up cheaply, but come late January, there is also a flurry of items being listed when credit card bills start rolling in.

This leads to many people selling off items from around the home to be able to make their re-payments on time.

They often sell off popular items such as laptops, mp3 players and designer clothing items because they sell very easily

In addition, as these people are desperate for cash and looking for a quick sale, they are often driven to setting low Buy It Now prices.

 While it's never nice to bask in other's misery by buying up their items they are forced to sell, I've personally made a real killing doing this in the past, and the new items I acquire have meant that my sales for January and February have soared as well.

This is where being an online seller really does a double pay-off around Christmas time: While many others are struggling to pay for their indulgent festive season, we sellers have extra cash from all the December sales we've made, and it's all just waiting for you to reinvest.

Ah, yes. Christmas really is the season that just keeps on giving.

What plans do you have for cashing in on the holiday season this year, and which of the above tips will you put into action?

About the Author: Alice Delore is a copywriter for SaleHoo wholesale directory. She also regularly publishes work on the SaleHoo blog.

Unfortunately, online retailers on the hunt for wholesale goods are one of the most highly targeted groups.

Online retailers fall victim to dodgy scams far too often for my liking, so to help keep you and your money safe, I’ve put together this essential guide on wholesale scams, and how to avoid them.

What is a scam?

Before we go any further, let me clarify what a wholesale scam really is. A scam is a con or trick where the ‘scammer’ pretends to be something or offer something that they don’t actually have, or don’t really intend to give you. Most of the time the motive is to get money out of unsuspecting victims.

What a scam is not is a company who does have the stock on hand and also has every intention of delivery it to you, but has poor customer service, and is slow at getting back to you.

A scam is also not a wholesale company that sells items for a higher price than those same items can be bought for on eBay. While these situations aren’t ideal for you it doesn’t make the companies a scam – just not the right company for you.

Why do scams exist in the wholesale industry?

Essentially, where there is a demand there are always bad people trying to take advantage. The rise in business newbies searching the internet for suppliers, and often cutting corners to try and make a quick buck, has only made it easier for scammers.

Scams you MUST avoid!

#1

The Scam: The “supplier” lures you in with unbelievable deals on hot items like Nintendo Wii, Coach Handbags, iPods, laptops or any other hot selling items on eBay.

How it works: This is certainly the most popular form of wholesale-buying related scams, and 9 times of 10, it involves a China-based supplier.

 It targets those who are new to online retail, and have brought a couple of very common misunderstandings with them, including:

• The assumption that sourcing ‘hot’ or popular items such as designer clothing or consumer electronics is easy, and:
• The misunderstanding that wholesale items can be bought for less than 50% of their retail cost.

Unfortunately, neither of these assumptions is true.

So back to how it works: You do a few quick Google searches to find a supplier for the items you are looking for and, find a site offering them at very low prices. You get excited when you calculate what you can buy the wholesale items for, and how much you can sell them for on eBay.  

After shopping around, you eagerly add items to your shopping cart and proceed to the checkout.

This is where it all goes horribly wrong.

You’ll usually be offered two payment forms: Western Union or wire transfer. These payment options should be avoided because they offer you no protection whatsoever if the deal turns sour.

If you enquire about paying via credit card or PayPal, you will probably be met with an excuse about their PayPal account being down or their credit card payment facilities being unavailable.

They’ll convince you to go ahead with the payment, claiming they offer a money back guarantee if you are not happy with the items, and maybe even throw in free shipping insurance to sweeten the deal.

Feeling confident, you go ahead and make the payment using their preferred payment method, then wait for your shipment to arrive.

But it doesn’t!  Despite the supplier’s claims that you can expect your shipment within 2-3 weeks, it never shows up.

Your email enquiries go unanswered, and your phone calls are ignored.

You’re left feeling defeated, coned and out of pocket.

How to avoid this scam:

1.    Only pay using either PayPal or credit card. These provide you with a level of protection when the deal turns to custard. It’s OK to use these payment methods if you 100% know and trust the supplier, and some legitimate suppliers prefer this as it saves them from having to pay PayPal fees.  However, for first time orders, and especially orders from international companies, stick with Paypal and credit card.

2.    Order a sample first before you dive in a place a large order.

3.    Don’t judge a book by its cover! Many scam sites are very poorly designed, and can be instantly recognized as a low quality site. However, many scammers have cottoned on to the idea that a better designed site makes it more attractive and most importantly, more trustworthy to potential buyers.

The image below shows a snapshot of a very well designed site. It’s simple, easy to navigate and appears professional.

However, I have read several accounts of retailers being scammed when using this site, so never judge a book by its cover!

#2.

The Scam: Drop shipping blunder

How it works:

You find a drop shipper that you want to work with and do the smart thing by ordering a sample to check out their service (how fast they deliver, and the quality of their items).

They send you out a sample which looks fantastic and meets your standards, so you go ahead and start selling the items

However, unbeknown to you, the sample the drop ship supplier sent you was one of their top-shelf quality items; what they send to your buyers is their low quality (sometimes even damaged or buyer-returned) items.

Because the drop shipping method gets the items sent directly from the supplier to your buyer, this goes unnoticed by you… until you check your feedback, that is.

You will probably notice a few bad feedback scores, or for eBay users, low DSR ratings for the “item as described” criteria.

Some would say that this isn’t so much a scam as it is a dodgy operation. Either way you look at it, it can really cost you your feedback score and subsequently, an unlimited number of sales. You could even have your selling account suspended if too many buyers have serious complaints about you.

How to avoid this scam:

Search for the drop ship supplier’s company name in forums such the AuctionCut Scams and Cons thread or the SaleHoo Scams, Ripoffs Fraud & Complaints thread.  See what other sellers have to say about them.

Regularly test your drop ship supplier by having items sent to a close friend or family member. You will have to pay for the item of course, but it is a good way to check how long it takes for the item to arrive, and also to see what kind of quality the item that shows up is.

Ask if the supplier sells on eBay. Many sub-standard drop shippers sell the same items on eBay that they are supplying you with, undercutting you from the beginning. By supplying your buyers with low-quality items, they are eliminating you as a competitor, and still making money from you by being your supplier, even if it doesn’t last long!

#3.

The Scam: DH Gate – A gateway to fakes and replicas?  

Many sellers want to know – can they trust DH Gate? This question really highlights a common misunderstanding about DH Gate, which is that DH Gate is not actually a product supplier itself, but is instead a platform where suppliers can advertise their items for sale and do business with retailers.

Really, the question should be: Can I trust this supplier I found on DH Gate? 

Many retailers are attracted to DH Gate for one thing: Cheap brand name or designer items. The problem is, the vast majority of suppliers offering these items on DH Gate are supplying cheap fakes and replicas.

While almost all suppliers know that the items they are selling are fakes, they will insist they are the real thing. Some even make up stories about connections they have with factory owners who make Louis Vuitton bags. Don’t believe a word of it!

Why you should never buy fakes!

The problem with buying fakes is that when you import them from overseas, your packages are often opened and checked over by Customs (especially if they come from China, where most fakes are made).

If they find fake brand name items, they are obligated to seize the items, and in some cases, notify the brand owner. If that happens, you could face prosecution.

If your items get through customs undetected (or you buy them locally) and you start listing them on eBay or another selling platform, you probably will be able to make a few sales, but it won’t be long before either VeRO (eBay’s program to protect ownership rights) finds out, or a buyer catches you out and reports you.

In this instance, you could either have your account closed down (and you may not be able to create a new one using the same personal and credit card details) or again, be reported to the brand owner who may press charges.

Too many sellers have had their retail careers cut short because they believed a phony supplier’s story about being able to source real designer items.  

Here’s how to avoid this happening to you:

How to avoid this scam:

Do not buy branded or designer label items from China-based suppliers. I can say with some authority that 95% of the time, they will be as fake as fakes can be!  

Check their DH Gate rating thoroughly. What is their feedback score? How long have they been trading, and how many trades have they completed? Also check out whether they have repeat customers (have any buyers placed feedback on them more than once?).

Have they always traded designer items? This is important because some sellers build up an account by selling generic easy to-sell items to gain your trust, and then start selling fakes. If they have been selling ball point pens, then suddenly switched to Chanel handbags, alarms bells should start ringing!

On or off DH Gate, if you are offered seriously cut-price designer goods, turn the other way. There is no such thing as a Coach handbag for $25! Designer items have very low margins for retailers; even retailers in brick and mortar stores make a very small profit when they sell these items.

Extra tips to help you stay safe, and scam-free when dealing with suppliers

Scams come in many forms, and new and more sophisticated scams arise all the time. Your best defense is to always look out for certain signs when you are dealing with suppliers.

Here are some extra tips to help keep you safe. I recommend you bookmark this list, and return to it when you go looking for a new supplier.

• Be careful importing unless the supplier has excellent reviews and has been online for more than 2 years (you can check this out by going to DomainTools.com and entering the URL of the website you are investigating).
• Don’t trust claims or seals of trust worthiness on the suppliers’ own website. It’s not hard for the site owner to copy these in themselves!
• Use Google to learn more about a supplier’s reputation. Try querying the keywords “supplier’s name + review” and “supplier’s name + scam”.
• Use Hong Kong rather than China for brand name goods. Many designer items are legitimately made, bought and sold in Hong Kong.
• Don’t use unsafe payment methods. Only risk what you can afford to lose!
• Never a use a supplier that doesn’t have a contact address on their website. A simple contact form is not enough.
• If you are looking at placing a larger order, place a few smaller orders first and take the time to build up a relationship with the supplier.
• Keep in regular contact with your supplier while they are processing your order & preparing for delivery.
• Ask for photos of their factory with a newspaper showing a very recent date. I personally would only ever ask this of a supplier I was thinking of making a large order as it does come off as rather inferring. However, it is worth being a little bold when your hard-earned cash is at stake.
• If you are looking at buying branded items, email the official brand name owner and ask for a list of their authorized distributors. Alternatively, give them a name and ask them whether they are on the list.
• Never rush into a transaction, or let a supplier rush you.

Overall, always read around a lot before you go ahead and order. Research is always your best defense.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s article, and I certainly hope that it helps you stay safe in the future!

Have you ever dealt with a supplier you didn’t trust? I’d love to hear your stories, so let me know by posting a comment – you might even help prevent a fellow retailer from being scammed!

About the author: Alice Delore is a copywriter for SaleHoo Wholesale Directory. She also regularly publishes on the SaleHoo Blog.

Well, there are two main reasons why the big players of eBay use manufacturers:

1. They are the very first link in the supply chain. This means that they can offer the very BEST prices available, which equals more sales, and more profits!
2. When you deal direct with a manufacturer, you gain access to hottest and newest products on the market. This is where rubbing shoulders with manufacturers really helps your profits skyrocket: if you can be the first to sell a hot new item, you can make a killing!

The only downside here is that in order to buy from the majority of suppliers, you need a big budget; many manufacturers require a minimum spend of $5,000 – $10,000 or more. This is why manufacturers are popular among PowerSellers who sell in high volumes and have the necessary cash-flow to invest in large orders.

The main reason that manufacturers have such high MOQs (minimum order quantities) is because unlike wholesalers, distribution to retailers is not really their specialty. Their interest is primarily making the items and selling them in high volumes to their wholesale distributors.

Don’t be put off by those figures though, plenty of retailers start out using wholesalers or drop shippers and then move their way up to using a manufacturer when they have the cash and experience to seal a fantastic deal.

When that time comes, you are going to need to know where to find them, so here is a quick rough-guide to finding manufacturers you can work with.

Where to find the best manufacturers:

While doing a quick Google search might seem like a good idea (after all, its how we find everything else we need), finding manufacturers this way can be like taking a wrong turn onto the Scammer Highway.

With so many new retailers out there deciding everyday to try their luck at eBay, dodgey scammers see an opportunity to pretty on their vulnerability. The result? Thousands of fly-by-night “suppliers” who set up make-shift websites and allure retailers in with low prices. When the retailer has placed their order, the phoney supplier takes their money and runs off into cyber space. Don’t let this happen to you!

It’s a nasty truth, and it happens far too often for my liking, but product supply scams is something that all retailers need to be aware of.

Better options are supplier directories such as Alibaba and SaleHoo.com.

Alibaba

Alibaba is a free-to-use directory full of Chinese manufacturers and suppliers. It’s a diverse platform for finding manufacturers – you can pretty much find anything imaginable there.

Alibaba essentially acts as a place where suppliers can meet retailers, showcase products and negotiate deals with retailers. It’s certainly worth looking into, but I would recommend that you take caution when dealing with these suppliers – Alibaba do NOT verify all of their suppliers, and therefore cannot guarantee that they are legitimate suppliers.

If you do want to use Alibaba, always order a sample before you go placing a large order and pay only by credit card or PayPal. When you use these payment methods, you may have the option to perform a chargeback if something goes wrong, or if the supplier rips you off completely.

SaleHoo

SaleHoo is a supplier directory that lists over 8,000 pre-screen and verified legitimate suppliers, so worrying about being scammed is never a problem when you find suppliers there.

They list not just manufacturers, but also drop shippers, wholesalers and liquidators and have suppliers from every corner of the world.

Another great feature is their free trade show directory which lists local trade shows in over 100 countries. It’s the perfect way to find trade shows in your area so that you can get in touch with local manufacturers (and save a ton on shipping costs!).

Quick Recap on Manufacturers:

• Manufacturers are great because they give you rock-bottom prices and can give you access to hot new products, giving you a big competitive edge over other sellers.
• The only downside is that they do have high MOQs, but these are well worth working your way up to so that you can enjoy the benefits.
• When looking for manufacturers to work with, avoid doing a simple Google search, you could end up as the victim of a scam.
• Instead, use supplier directories such as Alibaba or SaleHoo. When using non-verified suppliers from Alibaba, make sure you always take precautions such as ordering samples and using safe payment options.

About the author: Alice Delore is a copywriter for SaleHoo Wholesale Directory. She also regularly publishes on the SaleHoo Blog.

Don’t even think about placing an order without first asking these 5 crucial questions:

1. Are the prices advertised on your site the prices I will pay when bulk-buying?
   All too often, buyers are put off by suppliers because the prices quoted on their site don’t add up with what the same items are being sold for on auction sites. The problem is the majority of suppliers do not advertise their wholesale prices on their websites.

   I know it seems strange that they would do this; after all, wouldn’t they want to attract new clients by showing their lowest prices possible? But suppliers operate purely on a volume basis; they rely on their clients to buy in large quantities to make a profit. Therefore, they price all their orders individually based on how much their client is spending on their order.

   So before you go deciding that supplier’s prices aren’t viable, email them and get a personalized quote.

2. Do you require a Reseller’s License/Sales Tax ID?
   Many US based wholesalers will ask to see your Reseller License before they will deal with you. This is because suppliers need to know that you are registered to collect sales tax, and may record your tax ID.

   Also, suppliers get enquires from many new and aspiring eBay sellers every day. Quite often, these clients will set up an account with the supplier, then fail to ever place an order. By asking for a Reseller License, a supplier can determine whether you are a serious business owner.

   If you are based outside of the US, and importing from a US supplier, you won’t need to worry about a Reseller License, as no sales tax will be paid.

   If you don’t have a tax ID, or if you aren’t quite sure if you need one, I wrote a really useful blog on how to get a tax ID. Check it out as tells you everything you need to know about how and what you need to get one.

3. Do you offer drop shipping services?
   Suppliers offering drop shipping services can come in very handy. You can either use it as your primary or secondary sourcing method, or use this service to check out new niche markets without having to risk investing in a new item or product line which may not sell very well. One thing drop shipping allows you to do very well is complete market research, risk free!

   Make sure you talk with your supplier about any extra charges that you will incur when you use their drop shipping service.  There are plenty of drop ship suppliers out there who will not charge you an account set-up fee or something similar, but some do.

   Also ask your supplier what drop shipping extras they can offer such as item photos and descriptions that you can use in your listings.

4. Do you have a MOQ?
   MOQ stands for minimum order quantity, and represents the minimum order a supplier will accept. Suppliers have MOQs because they make very little profit per item, and therefore rely heavily on volume sales.

   Some suppliers have no or very low MOQs which require you to spend only $100, for example. While this is great for many newer sellers who do not have a huge amount of capital to invest, it does mean that you will be paying more per item than you would if you were dealing with a supplier with a $1,000+ MOQ.

   Sometimes MOQs are quoted in units, so for example, you must buy 20 handbags, or 50 T shirts to meet the supplier’s MOQ.

5. What is your returns policy?
   Before you go placing your order, make sure you find out about your supplier’s return policy. It can be a bit of a nightmare when you order 150 units of something that shows up and is defective, or the suppliers gives you the wrong colors or sizes. Most suppliers will have fair returns policies that work in your favor, but some suppliers such as liquidators have a no-returns policy.

   Which question have you skipped when approaching new suppliers?

   About the author: Alice Delore is a copywriter for SaleHoo Wholesale Directory. She also regularly publishes on the SaleHoo Blog.

Each auction features a countdown clock. If this is allowed to reach zero, the auction is finished and the last person who placed a bid is the winner. However, every time a bid is placed the countdown clock is reset – either by 30 seconds or a few minutes depending on the auction. If an item is in demand I imagine that some auctions will go on for hours, with the countdown clock being reset constantly.

Countdown auctions at Redbread

The great thing about Redbread is you get ten free bids just for registering. Unfortunately it’s not clear what to do with them as Redbread offers several different auction types – but I struggled to easily find a clear explanation of each auction type. Of course bidding is easy enough, just hit the bid button and your away but it would help new users a lot if they could find a clear reference to each auction type as soon as they registered. Eventually I did find a brief explanation of the auction types within the help system. These are:

Penny: In a penny auction, each bid pushes the auction up by a penny. For example, if 184 members bid for the item the cost would by £1.84

Regular: In a regular auction, the bids are pushed up by seven pence per bid. If three users bid the item would go for 21 pence.

Fixed Price Auctions: Some items come with a fixed price so it doesn’t matter what the bid amount is pushed up to, the item will always sell at a fixed price. Again, the last person to bid when the countdown is allowed to reach zero is the winner.

Nailbitter: During a nail bitter auction, sellers are not allowed to use BidBuilder – the Redbread snipping system.

100% Discounted Auctions: These seem to be the best to me. If your lucky enough to win a 100% discounted auction, all you pay for is the postage and your bids. You do not have to pay the price the auction finished at.

Bids cost just fifty pence each (this is how the site makes any money) and are available in different packages up to the 500 bids package for £250. Personally I’d hope for the price of bids to drop below fifty pence if I spent more than £100 but instead Redbread rewards it’s members by including free bonus bids on the larger bid packages.

I love the concept and styling of Redbread, and am certainly going to have some fun this weekend using my ten free bids. Here at AuctionCut we’d love to know your experiences with the site. Your comments are welcome. Visit Redbread by clicking here.

Play.com (PlayTrade)

Play.com is the forth biggest online retailing site in the UK (ranked by visits) after eBay, Amazon and Argos. Play is strongest in media categories (i.e. music, books, DVD) but in total sells across 12 categories including clothing, electronics and tickets. Play is predominately a UK based site with a small US presence which sells DVDs only (playusa.com).

PlayTrade is Play.com’s fixed price marketplace. It works in a very similar way to Amazon with retailers adding offers to existing Play.com catalogue items and paying a commission on sales (15%). PlayTrade products can be sold across all Play categories in either new or used condition. All products on Play, including marketplace products, are offered with free shipping, so this must be factored into the price.

PixPlace (Pixmania.com)

Again modelled very much on the Amazon model, PixPlace is the online marketplace run by Pixmania.com. Pixmania is an online retailer owned by the Dixons group which sells across 26 different European countries. The background of Pixmania is in digital cameras and so the platform is particularly strong in this area. PixPlace allows sellers to sell across all of its 11 categories in either new or used condition and charges 15% commission.

PriceMinister

PriceMinister is the second biggest eCommerce site in France and has recently opened up a UK site (www.priceminister.co.uk). Like Pixmania the platform is pan-European and available to residents from 18 European countries and territories. Unlike Play and Pixmania, PriceMinister does not sell any of its own products with all products sold by individual and business sellers. Most items on the site are at a fixed price, although sellers can opt to accept offers, and can be in new or used condition. Listing an item is free of charge but naturally there is a commission on sales.

Etsy

Launched in 2005, Etsy is a fixed price marketplace for handmade items which must be made by the seller. Vintage items and craft supplies are also allowed. This is a niche which is not well served by eBay and not at all by Amazon. As might be expected from a craft and design focused site the site’s design and usability is great and there is a vibrant community of artisans.

On Etsy, commission listing fees are very low (3.5%) and there is a nominal $0.20 to list an item for four months. On the downside the service is very US centric

Abebooks

Abebooks is an online marketplace specifically for books, both new and used. The service is open only to professional sellers and has a presence in 7 countries. Booksellers pay a monthly fee dependent the number of listings and a sales commission of 8% (plus card a processing fee of 3.5% – 5.5%)

Alibris

On Alibris, professional or individual sellers can sell books, music and films either in new or used condition. The service has US and UK sites but also allows international sales. Like Amazon, Alibris has is own stock alongside which it allows third party sales. Sales commision is 15% and there is also a monthly fixed fee dependent on the number of listings.

MyShoppingBank

MyShoppingBank is a fixed price marketplace previously known as eDirectory. The site charges a commission on each sale and a fairly hefty annual fee (several hundred pounds). All products are sold at a fixed price and the platform is only open to professional sellers. MyShoppingBank differentiates itself from the other marketplaces by offering cashback, sharing some of its commission with its users.

Other Marketplaces

* eBid (www.ebid.net). An auction site with a presence in 18 countries.
* CQout (www.cqout.com). Online auction site with a UK and Irish presence.
* Specialist Auctions (www.specialistauctions.com). A collectables focused auction site.
* Toymart (www.toymart.com). A specialist toy auctions site.
* Wigix. (www.wigix.com). Catalogue based fixed price marketplace.
* Aroxo (www.aroxo.com) Reverse auction marketplace

Trevor Ginn runs the online baby store Hello Baby and is a consultant at Vendlab. He blogs at www.trevorginn.com and you can follow him on twitter @trevorginn

I hope you like what you see so far, but there’s plenty more exciting changes to come.

This is just the start.

1) How did RedBread Auctions start and what inspired it?

I stumbled across a well known German penny auction website and found the business model to be extraordinary. I know that us British are always on the lookout for shopping bargains and we are a gambling nation so putting these two together with the knowledge that the UK penny auction market was relatively unexposed I immediately commissioned a programmer to design a website for us. With a long and successful customer services background I believed from day one that there was an opportunity to have a slice of the UK ‘cake’ so RedBread was born in May 2008 with a six figure self-funded capital injection. From late in 2008 until April 2009 we were actively marketing and beta-testing the Redbread website and we finally went live on 1st May 2009.

2) Can you tell us about the RedBread Auction Format?

We use a variation of auction formats to offer our members variety. Our 100% Discounted Auctions allow members to pick up an auction and pay for just postage and of course the cost of the bids that enabled them to win the auction. Our Nailbiter auctions allow members to participate in auctions without the worry of competing against huge Bid Builders that some members place to try and ensure an auction win. With our bid packages costing a maximum of 25p per bid our members outlay in winning an auction is significantly less than that of our competitors.

3) What kind of team run RedBread Auctions?

We have a relatively small but growing proactive team at Redbread consisting of customer services staff who are only too happy to handle members calls and emails. Our policy is to reply to all enquiries within one working day of the enquiry being received. We also have marketing and IT specialists who provide important and continual operational support. Our marketing and IT staff all have many years experience within their own fields working alongside famous global brands. In addition we are also contracted to a number of specialist agencies working on our behalf.

4) What’s the best tactic for bidding on RedBread?

It is hard to establish what is the best tactic for bidding on RedBread as our auctions do kick up some strange results. Take for example one of our recent lucky Scottish winners who, with only 3 bids (75p) managed to win himself a 10 night all inclusive holiday for two in Barbados worth over £4000. There are other members who place Bid Builders that seem to run all day yet still get pipped by an eagle eyed member who is just waiting for that Bid Builder to finish. On the other hand there are many members who are successful with Bid Builders. Having said that there as many people if not more, who win auctions with single bids. There is no ideal time to start bidding on auctions as we have auctions that literally end after just a few bids whilst there are also auctions that seem to run and run. One tip I would give is to keep an eye on the volume of bidders on any particular auction. Once the volume of bidders starts to dilute then perhaps this is the time to get involved but DO NOT wait until the last second to bid or indeed rely on another member to bid at the last second as they may not bid and the auction will end with neither you or your co-conspirator not winning at all.

5) How could the auction format be made better & would you ever allow members to auction their own items on RedBread?

We are happy with our current auction format. We believe that we offer terrific value with our bid packages, we offer a fantastic range of products for auction on a daily basis and most importantly our members enjoy playing on a level playing field. Our auctions are tangible and within reach of everyone. As you can see from our website we are currently developing a sister website called Bluebread that will allow visitors to auction off their own goods for a minimal one-off fee. Although I cannot give you a definitive figure just yet, you can assume that this fee will be a standard charge of between 25p and 35p per item listed. There will definitely be no commission payment on items sold. I believe people are getting a little cheesed off with the extortionate fee’s that some websites charge their members to sell their goods and in recession fuelled times there is an opportunity for an alternative channel that will offer good exposure of the items being sold for a no-brainer fee.

6) What other developments does RedBread have planned for the future?

We do have expansion plans that involve the US market but we are still relatively young and want to concentrate on our own territory initially. We will be advertising for potential partners in the USA in due course so please watch this space.

AuctionCUT thanks Jane Taylor-Morris of RedBread Auctions for the interview and you can see a review of RedBread Auctions published on Thursday. You can visit RedBread by clicking here.