Setting up ipod business

.17 hmr

Hi, my father and I are considering settin up an ipod selling service on ebay. We would like to know does anyone have any tips on where we could scource wholesale ipods from? Also, any other products you can recomend that would sell well on ebay or independently would be much appreciated!

safesecure.ie

.17 hmr wrote: »

Hi, my father and I are considering settin up an ipod selling service on ebay. We would like to know does anyone have any tips on where we could scource wholesale ipods from? Also, any other products you can recomend that would sell well on ebay or independently would be much appreciated!

Are you talking specifically about the 'Apple Ipod' or just generic MP3 players?

Personally I think you'll find it hard to compete on ebay with suppliers from Asia unless you buy massive quantities.

When sourcing Ipods, be sure not to get scammed into counterfeit ones. I was over sourcing stock in China and was amazed at the quality (looks wise) of them and Iphones - I did buy 2 out of curiosity - both of which broke!!

Best of luck with it though!!

antoinolachtnai

You can certainly source wholesale ipods. but the markup, even selling them at shop prices, is tiny.

You cannot really run this type of business from ireland. the vat rate is just too high to make money.

spartacus93

You won't get wholesale iPod's anywhere but from Apple. And I would imagine they could be picky about who they would supply.

I'm not sure of the current margains on iPods, I would say it's fairly small. You would be much better off looking into selling periperals and accessories.

There's a massive market for docks, speakers, car kits, chargers, etc and the margains will be significantly better.

antoinolachtnai

Yup, that's basically what selling ipods is about - you sell the accessories along with it and make the margin there.

Rex Manning

Probably more money to be made in doing repairs. I have no proof really, but a friend worked for an apple reseller and said the margins on anything apple related was tiny ( a couple of %). Taking the charges into consideration for listing them, ebay would probably make more money than you if you were to sell them.

Because ipods are sealed units most people wouldn't be prepared to have a go at taking them apart so you might make a bit money out of it. also cos they're small enough to post you could get business from all over the country (in theory).

scottie pippen

.17 hmr wrote: »

Hi, my father and I are considering settin up an ipod selling service on ebay. We would like to know does anyone have any tips on where we could scource wholesale ipods from? Also, any other products you can recomend that would sell well on ebay or independently would be much appreciated!

what about speaker-dock stations, the dencent ones that can compete with a hi fi system.
might be good Idea to stock ear phones & covers ipod covers too.


seen a link here a while ago for a wholesaler in china for runners, would be very intersted in the air Jordan's,but the site looked a bit dodgy, they have tonnes of stuff maybe look into something like this? couldnt see anything on eBay with a selection half as good.
http://www.cn2009shoes.com/index.htm

ZumGirl

The main challenge you will have (IMHO) is that people are very wary of brands like iPod being available at good prices over the internet as there is so much counterfeit stuff available from China. Do plenty of research!

antoinolachtnai

I personally think it would be great to run an apple repair centre in a city centre location.

EKRIUQ

Any type of sustainable business on ebay is pretty much cut throat, the prices from the asian countries for electrical products are very hard to beat.

Cianos

Why not branch out from the norm and consider specialising in Android phones? See here for a good list

irishvamp90

Cianos wrote: »

Why not branch out from the norm and consider specialising in Android phones? See here for a good list

Whats an android phone??

MOH

irishvamp90 wrote: »

Whats an android phone??

It's a humanoid robot that can do common houshold tasks, but also allows you to communicate with friends through its wireless network interface.

More in touch with reality, it's a smart phone along the same basic idea as the iPhone, but running the Android operating system

Shaneod21

Apple open reseller acoounts if you can make sales of over $100,000 per year. There is also an initial set up fee. Well worth it in my opinion. If you are using proper ebay research tools you can make a lot of money selling in international markets.

There are dropshippers aswell that you can use but obviously the margin is quite small. Wholesale is the way to buy anything if you can afford it. For example the iphone is selling like crazy but the only way you can make serious money from selling them is through wholesale.

I saw someone mention that its hard to compete against the asian sellers, however this couldn't be further from the truth. If you are selling genuine apple ipods on ebay they are not exactly your competition as the majority of those seller are selling generic electronics. The fact is that every 4 seconds an ipod is sold on ebay. If you feature first your listing at a competitive price and make it stand out you will make money. Trust me I know exactly how to sell on ebay! There are some initial cost but its like any business, if you invest in it you will see rewards.

Pixelcraft

Shaneod21 wrote: »

Apple open reseller acoounts if you can make sales of over $100,000 per year.

With a margin of 3% ! Unless you're doing it large scale I don't think it's viable. I love apple products, but you only have to look at the amount of resellers that have closed recently to realise it's a hard way to make a living.

Gloomtastic!

Zombie thread shut down