Peek at my Amazon Sales; and a New Secret to Book Selling

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

I've shown you some screen shots of some of the ridiculous profits I get for selling used books on Amazon -  books that cost me $1 and sell for $20 to $30 and up (= a return on investment - or ROI - of 2000+%).

Here's more proof - Click  here, here, and here. I bought these books at a local library and a couple book sales.  

I know 2,000% and 14,000% Return on Investment (ROI) sounds like I'm on crack, but the numbers are real. Walk into your local bank and tell the manager you want your CD to earn more than 3% ROI and call me when he's done laughing at you.

So you're convinced (I hope) that selling used books can be 'big business', as it is for me. But it can be hard to find enough places to buy profitable books. You'll remember that I addressed that by referencing Frank Florence's Creative Sourcing for Books e-book ($27, and still a steal).

I called Frank's book the 'S.W.A.T.' guide to used book inventory. And I didn't think Frank could top that.

But he just did, with BookSalesFound.

BookSalesFound lists the little-known upcoming book sales in your area, including ones that are not advertised on free sites like BookSaleFinder. The problem with BookSaleFinder.com  (unrelated to Frank's BookSalesFound) is that it all the booksellers access this free site to find the major book sales only - thus you'll likely get 50 other sellers like you showing up with their scanners at those sales.

So BookSalesFound is my new secret weapon for finding those 'under-advertised' book sales. 'Under-advertised' book sales mean lesser (or no) seller competition, which means more 'book gold' for me!

There's more. BookSalesFound also lists library book stores in each state. See, many libraries have their own store where they're selling books year-round! Not many other book sellers know about that.

I'm embarrased - because Last year, it took me a couple months to find and document the local, little-known libraries that regularly sold books. And that's just in my area (Long Island, NY). If BookSalesFound were around then, I would have saved a TON of time.

Frank's BookSalesFound comes with a 7-day free trial, and its introductory rate is $19.99/mo. That's incredibly cheap and delivers a lot of book sale intelligence to your fingertips. $19.99/mo is all you'll ever pay (you'll be locked-in, forever). For people who don't sign up, the price will go up to $67 after the introductory period is over.

Do you need to subscribe to BookSalesFound? Absolutely not! Just go to all your local libraries in the region, sign up for their 'Friends of Library' mailing list (which costs about $5 to $15 per library, per year) so you are 'in the know' before every one else. But if you have a lot of libraries in the area, like me, that's a lot to keep track of. Instead, BookSalesFound tells me when and where all the local library sales and library stores are.

- Remember, there is a 7-day FREE Trial of BookSalesFound. If you try it and don't like it, cancel within 7 days and pay nothing.

I'm personally adding MY OWN GUARANTEE to the offer. If you try BookSalesFound and, within 30 days, you decide to cancel, contact me via this blog, and I will refund you via paypal for the entire month's billing. That's how much I believe in BookSalesFound! (Disclosure - This guarantee is MY OWN - it is not offered by the owners of BookSalesFound.)

Have fun!

-J.B., Founder, HonestOnlineSelling.com

My Prediction - a Hot Toy to Resell This Christmas

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

I get the question all the time from online sellers: "What will be the hot toys that I can sell on eBay/Amazon this Xmas?"

And my answer is "Avoid the new fads, stick with toys in the traditional brands/franchises - Disney Cars, Barbie, Batman, Disney Princess, Marvel Spiderman, Disney Toy Story, etc."

That's because fads are unpredictable: last Xmas. the much-hyped Sing-a-ma-jigs and Squinkies were lousy toys to resell (=no or little profit to buy and then resell online). But the predictable franchises (i.e. Batman, Disney, etc.) do well every year because, quite simply, kids' demand for the toys frequently outstrips supply and/or the perception of buyers is that the toy will not be in stock if they wait too long.

But I think I *may* have a predicted winner here - the My Keepon -  *IF* you're able to get your  hands on it (it will only be available this October  - you can't get it now). There are 4 reasons why I'm predicting this will be a boon for online resellers:

-- Exclusivity. ToysRUs will be the only official retailer. That means scarcity. Scarcity mean low supply, and low supply drives up price for resellers like you.

-- Truly dynamic technology in the toy. Sing-a-ma-jigs and Zhu Zhu pets lost their appeal - and their price premiums - quickly because the novelty wore off. They were essentially 1-trick-pony toys. My Keepon has advanced software in it that makes the toy more 'human' and random in its movements and 'communication.'

-- Personalization - creators of the toy intend to make it customizable by other 'programmers' (not sure if that is everyday folk who can program it, or software geeks), and any product that can be sold and then personalized can command big bucks.

The price point is supposed to be around $50. My suggestion:  Keep your eyes peeled for this at your local ToysRus in October and snap a few up. Then list them on Amazon or eBay for $150 each and watch the competitive pricing closely. Adjust pricing accordingly - the worst thing that could happen is you break even or sell them at a slight loss - or return them if they're a total flop.

Again, I can't guarantee what's going to happen with this toy, but all indications point to a truly robust 'winner' that will be very hard to find as Christmas draws closer. So if you can get your hands on them in October (expect Toys R Us to limit you to (say) '2 per person'), you may be able to profit really nicely from them.

Do Great Stuff!
-J.B.

How to Dominate Smart Phone Accessories Sales on eBay

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

Hello, Online Sellers.

A few years back I worked at Nextworth.com, an iPhone/iPod trade-in company where customers can trade in their gadgets for cash. (Great concept, but a terribly-managed company).

At Nextworth, I learned the ins and outs of the iPhone/Smart phone accessories market on eBay.

What I found:

> If you can get accessories from the right supplier, your selling margins on eBay can bring you a 200% to 400% ROI (Return on Investment);

> Being a U.S.-based seller means customers will pay you much more than buying direct from overseas (i.e. China), thus you don't have to compete with sellers' prices there.

> Bundling products (i.e. selling an iPhone with a charger, case and screen protector) means a higher profit margin than selling each component individually.

> Overall, the smart phone accessories market is silly-lucrative.  For instance, those 'Otterboxes' (protective cases for iPhones) selling for $80 on eBay. WHAT? It's a plastic case. But the sellers are selling consumers more than a box - it's a sense of security and style that they're buying.

Is selling accessories very competitive on eBay? Yes, but NOT NEARLY as much as it was a couple years ago since sellers have left eBay in droves -- now it's easy to stand out from the competition and get more sales than the next guy.  

Is there still a nice part-time income potential? YES. And I found a step-by-step e-book that will show you how to do it. (More details in a moment).

Do you need to buy an e-book to show you how? No! But the book nearly eliminates the guessing for you (and the  guessing will SERIOUSLY handicap you if you want to make a serious business of selling accessories online).

In short, you can get a steady, profitable revenue stream by:

1.) Snapping up accessories from poorly-represented items (i.e. blurry or wrong photo, misspelled or inaccurate title) on eBay, for as little as $.01 ea accessory; then receiving and re-selling them on eBay and/or Amazon.

2.) Finding a reliable Chinese supplier (use AliExpress.com, not Alibaba. I used Alibaba or a $500 purchase and the seller on Alibaba was a scam artist - he took my money and ran. AliExpress is a much safer source of suppliers).

3.) Focusing on accessories from the latest 'hot' phones i.e. the iPhone 4 or Blackberry Torch 2 (accessories for most 'yesterday' models lose demand quickly).

4.) Bundling your accessories into an 'Accessory Package' containing (say) a case, a charger, a car charger, a screen protector, or some similar combination;

5.) Emphasizing your 'U.S.A.' location when posting your Packages on eBay (buyers don't want their item shipped from China, they want it trackable, and from the U.S.);

and

6.) OPTIONAL, IF you also sell stuff on Amazon via FBA - Using Amazon's FBA center to fulfill your eBay orders. In other words, your accessory packages would be sitting in Amazon's Fulfillment center. When your accessory package sells on eBay, you can quickly have Amazon ship the item to your eBay buyer (Amazon does NOT take a comission from sales of this type). By using Amazon to fulfill your order, you can offer 2-day shipping or $9.95 overnight shipping (just increase the price of your eBay's accessory package accordingly). In other words, you're 'using' Amazon's fast shipping infrastructure for your eBay shipping. (This concept is explained in depth by Skip McGrath and FBAPower.com's Chris Green here).


Now about that e-book, "Auction Profits Formula" ($19), that shows you how to dominate the accessories market:

> It's a steal at $19. I think the author is crazy for offering it this low (I would have priced it at $27 or higher, because it's worth much more)

> It shows you, step-by-step, how to dominate the iPhone/Smart Phone accessories market on eBay

> It's written by Pete Bruckhsaw, a trusted and reliable provider of 'how-to' eBay strategies

>  I am personally DOUBLE-BACKING Pete's 60-day money back guarantee. In other words, if you request a refund and Pete doesn't honor it (he will, he's reliable), I will personally refund you immediately.

At the very least, watch the video on the sales page because if you thought the iPod/iPhone accessory market is saturated (like I did), you'll be surprised.

Have fun!

-J.B.
Founder, HonestOnlineSelling.com and FBAFinds.com

Amazon Reports Fulfillment Sellers, Sales Up in Q2-2011

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

If you sell on Amazon now (or you're considering it), you'll want to read Auctionbytes' summary of Amazon's latest earnings report, most notably:

"[Of key interest to online sellers:] active customer accounts exceeded 144 million; worldwide active seller accounts were more than 2 million; seller units as a percentage of paid units was 36% (up from 34% of paid units in Q2-2010); and worldwide paid unit growth was 56%.

Amazon added 13 fulfillment centers last year, and will build more than 15 globally this year ("we've announced 15, and you should expect a few more" by the end of the year)."

This means two things:

1. Amazon is committing its money - not just words (like eBay does sometimes) to sellers like us; and

2. Their business model (Fulfillment by Amazon, or FBA) is a 3-way 'win' for everyone involved: 

• Amazon makes money and can expand its product offering via us independent sellers who send our products to their warehouses;
• Sellers like us can make money ore easily than other online venues (i.e. eBay); and
• Buyers can a wider selection of products and better prices when they shop on Amazon.

If you haven't started selling on Amazon yet, you should start today. It is, hands-down, one of the least-expensive, easiest and fastest ways to start earning a part- or full-time income.

Here are a few ways you can begin:

> To learn for free: Download this step-by-step guide showing you how to sell used and new media (Books, CDs, and DVDs) via Amazon FBA.

> For 'Held-by-the-Hand' assistance, take the Proven Amazon Course by Jim Cockrum ($189 is all you'll pay for lifetime access - and it's worth every penny)

> If you already sell books on Amazon, but you want to expand your offerings to toys and games, Get my 'Amazon Inventory Secrets' Bundle ($37 with a 60-day, 'No Hassles' 100% Money Back Satisfaction Guarantee).

See you on the other side,
-J.B. Malik