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Questions I asked a 5-Figure eBay PowerSeller, Connie Ong

I am glad to have an interview with Connie Ong, who is both a friend and business associate of mine and is generating a 5-figure monthly income as an eBay PowerSeller. You will find out how she has started and most importantly, what and how she does things nowadays so that you can mimic her success!

If you are currently thinking or is already selling on eBay, the following answers from Connie in this lighthearted interview will most probably help you to accelerate your success in eBay.

1. When did you start to get into eBay business?

Actually to be honest my eBay business is really full of obstacles! The story below:

I was doing it pretty slowly on and off end of 2007 exploring the whole eBay site and then it was till end of Jan 2008 when I decided to step out of my comfort zone and resigned from my bank job.

I think that’s what they call putting yourself on the line…..Hahah then I told myself by hook or by crook I had to make it or risk going back to being an employee. But then after the resignation I started taking breaks like making long holiday trips with my mom to Japan and stock buying trips to Bangkok and the occasional KL trips….. just too lazy and I rested for 3 months whereby I play more than work. Then when I decided it’s time to get serious after resting for so long, I started selling aggressively and from May 2008 to Jun 2008 I saw tremendous improvement! It just shows that when you put in enough effort, you will get results! However around end of Jun my happiness was dampened and my accounts got suspended by eBay due to some unforeseen circumstances. I did not breach any of the regulations but I can just say what caused the suspension was due to someone’s wrong doing and in the end I still had to go about taking a lot of trouble to get my accounts back after waiting for 2 months as the person who had promised to help did not managed to do anything afterall! So then in AUG I started selling again from zero and I am happy that nothing bad has happened as yet till now.

2. What are some of the products that you are selling now on eBay?

I sell a lot of stuff meaning the quantity and not the variety. I sell merchandises like t-shirts, watches, accessories and stuff like books, collector memorabilia to some industrial related equipment.

Strange but true and I am lucky being able to get the stock supply contacts from some suppliers.

3. For your top selling product, what is the profit margin per item?

Taking my top selling product- Watches- (I shall not say what brand in case of more competition hee hee) My profit margin is about 30% to 50% of the cost price. So example if the cost price for a watch is $50, I sell it at $75 and earn half more. This is taking in consideration for listing fees, postage and packaging etc. Estimate more and you will not lose. Do your research on eBay and taking note of other sellers selling similar products, note down their prices and so you can stay competitive.

4. Do you currently have a eBay or an external e-commerce store? What percentage of the overall sales are coming from these stores?

I have a total of 5 eBay stores as of now and some do better than the other. I might be starting external e-commerce site in the future for fast selling products.

Overall sales seems to be 70% from stores and 30% on auctions.

5. How much time are you spending currently per day to manage your store / listing / shipping of products?

My typical day starts with checking emails and then replying to messages from buyers or people with questions for each account. Then I will do my standard listings for each account. These will take about 2 hours.

Next I will check my Paypal for the payments received and print out the shipping invoices/ labels. Then I will do the packing for each item that I need to send out. It’s all a one man show really (oops should be one gal show hee) for the time being till I get more orders or when I get sick doing it. Packing takes more time and perhaps takes me till around lunchtime. So after lunch I get a little lazy and either I check for last minute payments or just do some other internet stuff then I go to the post office around 3pm. I ship 3 times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and on those days when I do not have to go post office, either I spend the afternoon at home doing some affiliate marketing or I go out to replenish my stocks.

6. How did you drive traffic to your listing or eBay store?

eBay is a natural traffic place and there are people looking around to buy 24/7 worldwide. I do not drive traffic to my store as I leave it on its own, I only use auction listings to attract people to my store. The other thing I do is to enclose some thank you cards in my package and ask the buyers to recommend my stores to their friends. I have many return customers with bigger orders as they are consolidating orders together with their friends and ordering one time for discount shipping.

7. What type of listing format generates the most sales for your products (BIN, normal auction etc)?

I would say the store format with BUY-IT-NOW option as I realized some people don’t like to wait for auction to end and fighting with others resulting have to pay more in the end.

Usually my items are priced reasonably enough for them to BUY-IT-NOW.

8. If you were to start from zero, what are the first three steps you will take to create a successful eBay business?

Well I think I have started from zero many times already! You wouldn’t believe it but it’s true! From the day all my accounts were gone till the day I started each one painfully again, you will know what is starting from zero!!!

First you got to know what kind of products you wanna sell. It can be a piece of $0.20 sticker to an expensive item like a laptop but you have to determine your product first.

Second thing you need to do your research on eBay for similar items and find out the prices others are selling.

Third thing is to do a decent enough listing to convince people to buy from you. Since you start from zero, I take it as it is a brand new eBay account with 0 feedback as well. The listing does not have to be complicated and as long as you describe your item properly with clear pictures, it will work for you fine bringing in your first sale. You do not have to write an exaggerated marketing speech just to sell one item. Once you have some feedback, you are on your way!

9. Have you explore or use any auction sites besides eBay to sell your products? Care to share your experiences?

Not really. I only use eBay and only eBay cos I’m lazy hahah. But I do use Auctiva and I subscribe to MyStoreMaps to enhance my sales.

10. Do you have any advice to give to people who would want to start up an eBay business now?

Why not Get in and explore your potential as a business person! I believe that there is nothing such as you put in efforts and not see results. It will not happen unless you are damn unlucky. If you put in effort, you will see results that even you yourself will be surprised at! It is all action really. Take eBay as your basic learning curve and then develop it into a real business. I am achieving my 5 figures per month soon in such a short time and I believe you can too! Good luck!

The following is a screen shot from one of the 5 Connie’s selling accounts for the month of Sep and Oct (You can read more about her earnings in her recent blog post here):

Best wishes for Connie and your eBay success

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