(02-13-2014 06:47 AM)bwaaahahaha Wrote: [ -> ] (02-13-2014 05:29 AM)flseo Wrote: [ -> ]Quasar you say "100 listings is just 5 auction listings-per-day X 5 days-per-week X 4-weeks-a-month. I can easily do this myself in 20-30 minutes each day" Does that include researching and finding the products? I find that very time consuming and frustrating.
You find it time consuming and frustrating because it's a bogus method. But I can give you the secret to making things happen quicker: Make it up like Quasar is doing, lol. 
@bwaaahahaha, your technique seems to be all attacks with no credibility to back you up.
Can you share some techniques that will back up your claims that you do know some other methods?
Not those that didn't work, but those that have returned good results for you.
You seem to take it for granted that people will just believe someone who just joined Feb 2014, so to me, it looks like you may be an long-standing BBHF member who, for some reason, decided to change their alias, but still expected their old status and credentials to back up their attacks.
Am I right?
cheers,
chuckles
Hi Guys!
I have hesitated to post ANYTHING about the outsourcing model because it will take your eyes off the target. You really do have to know how to do this yourselves first - and this is way ahead of where you are at now.
How can you pay and train outsourcers to do this if you cannot do it extremely well and profitably yourselves?
You would be throwing away money and time, right?
The first thing - and I mentioned this in another post - is to keep an operations manual about how you do every part of this (YOUR) process - and it does have separate moving parts. (It is vital you remember this.)
Remember, everyone does things differently. Everyone of you have different strengths and weaknesses.
As your business succeeds, you will have a firm grip on exactly how to train your outsourcer(s). You will already have your own bible about how things need to be done for you to make money.
(Yeah, there are more than a couple of really good reasons to keep an operations manual - journal.)
I have three outsourcers in my business(es). They don't just do Ebay - so keep this in mind. Ebay is just one of several streams of income and separate businesses I own and do daily.
I am still looking for a fourth outsourcer, but that is a further evolution of my model. (I won't make this more complicated than it needs to be by talking about what this person will be used for.)
I understand your inability to grasp the numbers.
They do seem pretty incredible - anyone that hasn't seen it work would think the same thing.
But first - and this applies to doing everything yourself in the beginning. DO NOT try to research, do pics, write listings, and do fulfillment ALL in one session.
Yes, it ABSOLUTELY will make you NUTS!
It doesn't work - it needs to be done as a staged, segregated process!
It is just like any other process in business. For example, I don't even try to write and edit copy for clients in the same session. I learned decades ago that each of those can be inhibiting and even destructive to the other.
Knowing this, I don't worry about editing everything I write casually - like in posts here. (This is as casual as I write anything - I don't worry about perfect posting in a forum. Even a lengthy post like this takes all of 10-12 minutes to write.)
So, do nothing but research one or two days, then do photographs another, then write the listings, then post, then etc.
Don't even go to Ebay while you are actually setting the listings up. You will get caught-up looking, and checking stuff that DOES NOT need your attention and COSTS YOU TIME AND MONEY.
Doing this seemingly important busy work will steal more of your time than all other distractions combined! It makes the specific tasks you should be doing look even more like elephants.
Doing things in stages or sections gives structure to your workflow - it makes it lots easier. You won't get burned-out trying to do everything all at one time.
Here is a highly capsulized framework of the flow through my outsourcers:
Outsourcer One does nothing but research - not just for Ebay, but EVERYTHING I do. She (easily) has the toughest job. It is a grind, but this is all she does. She is a star geek and fantastic at uncovering these deals. (Almost as good as I am.)
Outsourcer Two does all the listings EVERYWHERE I sell. A large part is Ebay, but I also sell on Amazon, CL and a few other venues that are part of what she does - and she is d*amn good at it too. She also checks Ebay prices daily, and makes sure the listings are competitive but profitable. I am almost never the lowest priced seller on Ebay.
Before I get to #3, think about the number of listings I stated in the previous post. It is possible to do this kind of volume because it is like a carefully choreographed dance.
Now - If you had all the pics, products, prices, and information that Researcher One has already gotten - all neatly aligned and in individual folders - how fast could you list?
In fact, how fast could you get EVERYTHING - ANYTHING - done?!
Pretty d*amn fast, huh?
So, this is not about being superhuman - or being smarter than everyone else - or any other trait that might be rolling around in your minds.
It is all about being extremely well-organized - and having clear definitions of who is doing what, when and how.
Every one of my outsourcers has a written and itemized list of responsibilities. They are held accountable for achieving XXX metric every day.
Outsourcer Three is the fulfillment guy. He does the buying and handles all the fulfillment from EVERYWHERE the goods are coming from - then ensures deliveries are on-time. He also has responsibility for making sure products stay available and the prices are consistent for the duration of the listings. When they aren't, he shoots an email or calls Outsourcer Two and she kills the auction(s). When I choose to inventory an item, he packs and ships too.
Got the basic picture?
All three of these people work d*amn hard so I don't have to. They cost real money - and they are worth every penny.
Maybe this will make it crystal clear why this is beyond anyone here right now. That remark was not made out of arrogance - I know what it takes to get where I am now.
No one here is ready for this. It did not happen to me overnight. There were many mistakes and failures along the path to making this work as well as it does now.
So, stick with becoming successful by developing into experts in this model yourselves first. You will know when you get good enough to spend the money for help - which should happen quickly.
For now - this is POSITIVELY ALL I will say about outsourcing - or being able to vastly improve numbers and processes! Doing it is easy, but you have to understand and get good at the basics first!
Rock and Roll!
Quasar - Out for now!
QUASAR........
I repped you......
May I get the download please?
I experienced an interesting thing:
After my first sale I relisted the item and I realized that I lost my watchers. So I decided to increase the quantity to two for a few days. I did it with multiple listings.
So what happened?
No views, no new watchers.
I reduced them back to one and I got back views and new watchers.
Probably ebay droped my listings, because they want more money. If you relist the item you have to pay listing fee again.
Any thoughts?
d*** SALES TAX! Every sale I make gets shipped to a state with tax. Im set to make about $20 on each item after fees, but after after tax I its about $1. I lost $2 on one item. All these groups say not to worry about the tax, it will sort itself out in the end. I sure hope so, but I dont see it. the states with tax have some of the biggest populations so it would seem to me they would buy more. I need someone in a non tax state to buy my item thats set to make me $200 quickly.
just a thought i had but has anyone thought of ways to incorporate being an amazon affiliate into this? If you are purchasing that much stuff from amazon then im sure we could think of a way to get your % as an affiliate too? Could be making alot extra on top
(02-14-2014 01:11 AM)rainbowdrifter Wrote: [ -> ]just a thought i had but has anyone thought of ways to incorporate being an amazon affiliate into this? If you are purchasing that much stuff from amazon then im sure we could think of a way to get your % as an affiliate too? Could be making alot extra on top
Nice idea, I remember years ago purchasing stuff on Clickbank through my own affiliate link to get a discount. However, Amazon's policy on this is as follows:
"You may not purchase products during sessions initiated through your own Associates links and will not receive referral fees for such orders. This includes orders for customers, orders on behalf of customers, and orders for products to be used by you, your friends, your relatives, or your associates in any manner."
Therefore, however you approach it, it looks like you would be putting your account at risk by attempting this.
Guys,
Please tell me you are joking here!
Sales tax is kicking you out of profit or into negative margins?
Do I even need to say the words?
You aren't even close to having the right products to sell!
This means most of you don't have margins that can cover less than 10% in most cases!
That is pitiful and I am 200% certain you can do better. If you cannot recoup sales tax in your selling margins, keep looking for other products - you haven't found acceptable ones yet.
And once again, yes the subject of Tony's ebook was Amazon, but there are lots of other online retailers that are happy to sell you products - some with - some without - sales tax.
When you are confronted with hurdles like this, expand your thinking to include other venues.
But I don't get it once again - It is just baffles the hell out of me!
Amazon is full of stuff that you can make two or more times cost on. Sales tax should be something you are laughing about.
I cannot (and will not) do this for you. It is a basic model that has worked for longer than any of us has been alive. You've got to keep researching and do this stuff.
Why is it some of you are writing me and telling me you feel like you are stealing while doing this - while others of you cannot even find stuff that covers f*cking sales tax and gets you into NICE profits?!!
And who the f*ck cares about watchers?! Watchers are a tiny metric that means you've got fence-sitters. If you have lots of watchers and no sales, what does this tell you?
Right I've just hit a big bump. I received an order for a product and when I tried to buy it on Amazon it said this:
"We're sorry. This item has a limited purchase quantity. We have changed your purchase quantity to the maximum allowable."
That's just messed up my day big time. This is my fourth sale of this product and I think they've blocked me out. Now I need to tell the customer I'm out of stock, even though the item is still in stock on amazon. Bummer!
(02-14-2014 02:19 AM)Quasar Wrote: [ -> ]Why is it some of you are writing me and telling me you feel like you are stealing while doing this - while others of you cannot even find stuff that covers f*cking sales tax and gets you into NICE profits?!!
And who the f*ck cares about watchers?! Watchers are a tiny metric that means you've got fence-sitters. If you have lots of watchers and no sales, what does this tell you?
lol, looks like a lot of them are the same ones chasing shiny things and downloading hundreds of crap WSO products.
Nice thread, you have covered a lot of good topics.
You guys make things way too difficult. (not talking to Quasar here, I'm talking to all you people that are MAKING THINGS TOO DIFFICULT. )
Good god, pick something and put all your effort into it, make it profitable and THEN move onto something else if you choose. Stay the hell out of the warrior forum, it's a shithole of newbie predators and rehashed bullshit. For every good WSO there are 1000 absolutely terrible ones. How much time do you waste with that garbage let alone weeding through it all?
My idea of a good business is a minimum of 5 figures a month with the majority of that being pure profit. Why waste time with a nickle and dime poverty mindset? Stop looking for ways to make a quick dollar here and there and build a d*** business that will provide for you for the rest of your life and become your biggest asset.