See Founder J.B. In a Video (Off-topic, Just for Fun)

NOTE: This blog has moved to: http://www.HonestOnlineSelling.com

NOTE: This blog has moved to: http://www.HonestOnlineSelling.com

Hi Online Sellers.

I want to share with you a local TV news story that contains some footage of me and our 2 dogs (my wife was in a leg cast and did not want to appear in the story). The story was about our House-Call veterinarian.

I'm just showing this to you because I have read that subscribers to blogs like to familiarize themselves with the blog owner/writer, and see who is 'behind' all the postings. So here you go!

(At the very least, you can poke fun of my extra large forehead and uber-geeky voice).

Talk soon,
-Jordan "J.B." Malik
Founder, HonestOnlineSelling.com and FBAFinds.com

Amazon 'Sales Rank' Myths - Brush 'em off Your Shoulder.

NOTE: This blog has moved to: http://www.HonestOnlineSelling.com

Hi Online Sellers -

I'm observing - on some Amazon seller help forums - some 'experts' who are turning their noses up at the prospect of selling high-ranking products on Amazon -------------------------->

By 'high ranking' I mean 'slower-selling'. On Amazon, high rank of (say) 6,000,000 is clearly a sales dud - a pretty low chance of getting sold. Alternatively, an item with a low sales rank (i.e. 1,050 ) - is a hot item on Amazon with a fast sell-through rate.

But these 'experts' - who, like me, don't know what Amazon's 'secret formula' is in assigning its bestseller ranks - strike me as being pretty snobbish. Let me explain.

Personally, I will sell any legitimate product on Amazon, within a pretty wide sales rank range. I don't turn much down, even if it ranks as high as 1,000,000 (as long as I can make a decent profit, of course).

On my new membership site, FBAFinds.com (which advises you exactly what to sell on Amazon, and exactly where to find it) you'll see that I won't recommend a product to you unless it has a sales rank between 1 and *150,000* - and I think we're being TOO careful!

But would you believe that some sellers are even scoffing at that? I had one guy recently tell me that I was crazy to recommend a toy with a sales rank of 36,000 - he said it's not going to sell!

Well, I will show  you something that no other seller will - items with high sales ranks that, according to ALL those Amazon Seller 'experts', has NO CHANCE in Hell to sell! 

Well, I just proved them wrong:

For instance: I bought this at a local Marshalls, for $5, in April 2011 (you can tell by my Seller SKU - it includes the date I sent it to Amazon - 040211). It just sold for $17.94. (Full disclosure - mine was the lowest price among the competing sellers - but my gross profit margin was over 175%) The sales rank WHEN I POSTED it was 450,000. Right after my item sold, the sales rank JUMPED to 53,000. If I were a betting man, I'd bet you that plenty of other sellers turned down  buying that item to resell on Amazon, because of the sales rank.

Here's another example: I listed this audio book on Amazon a few days ago (I paid $3 for it). I just sold it on Amazon for $14.99 (over 275% Gross Profit Margin). Again, mine was the lowest price - but my profit margin was over 350% on that one.  This item's sales rank when I posted it was 650,000! After my sale: The sales rank got worse: 885,000. But my item sold at a big profit within just a few days of listing it! Unnecessary 'Sales Rank Nervousness' debunked again!

(Side Note: You might be asking  "J.B., How do you ensure you're always at the lowest price?" I use a repricer service - repriceit.com - for my Amazon FBA listings. I recommend a repricer (but it's not required) if you have a large # of items on Amazon (i.e. 100+ different ASINs). MOST of my items are repriced automatically - daily - to ensure they are the  lowest price. You don't need a repricer to compete with other sellers effectively, but it does save you a boatload of time)

Now, is this high sales rank 'success' common? Nope. I have lower - and higher - ranking items that take 6 months to sell, 12 months to sell, 1 month to sell, etc. But I'd rather do that (think about my investment 'long term') than chasing the same hot products along with a ton of snooty, competing sellers, whom would thrust me into a price war. I won't follow that mentality.

If they all run West, I'll run East. You comin' with me? Good.  Like the inimitable David Lee Roth once said, "We may be lost, but we're WAY ahead of schedule."

See Ya in the Forums,
-J.B. Malik
Founder, HonestOnlineSelling.com and FBAFinds.com

The Free Education Amazon Gave Me

NOTE: This blog has moved to: http://www.HonestOnlineSelling.com

Hi readers.

Nothing to sell to you in this post. Just some inspiration.

Most of you know that I've been pretty successful selling on Amazon. (Just about anyone can sell on Amazon too.)  This screen shot shows what I earn on a very 'part time' basis (I run a couple other ventures, as you know.)

In a previous post, I explained to you how I paid $40,000+ for a Boston University MBA, and how I feel I learned more - and earned more - from my ventures online (I'm probably banned from the B.U. campus, now, for saying that).

I'm a fan of education, but not so much when education doesn't teach you how to make money in the 'real world'.

So aside from my 'selling success; on Amazon, I am ecstatic that I also got a free 'real world' education from it, too, in many different 'disciplines'. How?

> I got a free education in retail merchandising by competing with other Amazon sellers pitching the same products; and by learning about UPC Codes (required when you sell your own product or create your own bundle of products to sell on Amazon)

> I got a free education in pricing dynamics. Because of Amazon's extremely large audience, the price of a product can be influenced almost immediately by supply and demand from the consumer, and that phenomena can influence 3rd party merchandisers to compete on price. What you end up with is an economist's dream: product pricing that is very closely aligned with supply and demand.

> I got a free education in customer service. Amazon.com's customer service 'rules' for sellers like me are pretty strict. Sellers have to be very careful how they represent the products they're selling. If you call an item 'new' you'd better mean it. And if you ship the product from home, it had better arrive to the customer on time. And if you tell an aggravating customer to jump in a lake, well, you get the picture.

> I got a free education in social media. I hate the buzzword 'social media' because it's WAY overused. But Amazon (unlike everyone else) isn't 'buzzing' about Social Media at all. It's because they (arguably) invented it with their site's powerful software and algorithms that, among other things:
     > recommend products to customers based on their interests and past purchases;
     > influence supply and demand of a product based on customers' posted reviews of that product;
     > allow customers to create and share wish lists, etc.

> I got a free education in 'eco-friendly' initiatives. One of my e-books explains the tremendous profit potential in selling pre-owned toys and games on Amazon for big profits. Many sellers don't realize that by 'recycling' the product that way, it's one less toy in a landfill, one less new toy packaging to be tossed away.

So, how about  you? What did selling on Amazon teach you?

How I Make 2000%+ Profit on Used Books

NOTE: This blog has moved to: http://www.HonestOnlineSelling.com

Do you know what I love to sell the most?

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you'd guess 'Toys'. Wrong. I love toys, but I love books, better. Why? Because I earn MUCH MORE PROFIT per dollar spent.

I'll Explain:

I have found *new* Toys that I buy for $10 and sell for (say) $50. That's a gross profit margin (GPM) of 400% (which is phenomenal). BUT I buy used (and new) books and media for UNDER $1 ea and sell them on Amazon for $20 and up. That's a GPM of 2000% (yes, TWO THOUSAND), and I'd say 'that's a miracle' but it's not - because ANYONE can do the same thing.

Need some proof? Ok. WARNING: The $ value of each of my orders MAY SHOCK you:

This screen shot is one of my recent orders. I bought the item at a thrift store for $1.

Here's another one. I bought that item at a Library's used book rack for $1.

Here's another one; and another one. (a used DVD movie about Anorexia is worth $100+?)

I know what you're saying: "Yeah but these are only some of J.B. Sales. I'll bet his other sales are a lot less." Well, that's true. My average 'media' item (CD, Book, DVD, etc.) nets me about $8 profit. That's from an average purchase price of $1 each. So, yes - my average GPM per media item is $700, or 700%. Which is still higher than most of my toy sales, and is still phenomenal.

Like I said, anyone can do this. But you need a roadmap. I have just the e-book for you, and it's 50% off until June 6, 2011.

It's Frank Florence's 'Creative Book Sourcing' ON SALE NOW for $97 $47. Get this: You get ONE FULL YEAR to get your 100% of your money back if you're not satisfied. And I'm backing his guarantee with my own - If for any reason he doesn't refund you (I know he will), *I* will refund you the full amount you paid.

I have read Frank's ebook. It will SURPRISE you how easy it can be to source books and other media to create a solid revenue stream (just like I have done with the examples I showed you).

Remember: ANYONE can sell books and other media online. But if you want to WIN at it, you need a road map like Frank Florence's book. Again, the link for the e-book at 50% off is here, but the 50% off deal is ONLY good for a few days.

Till next time,

-J.B. Malik