The idea of using eCommerce sites to make money isn’t new. In fact, many people have been making great profits from the likes of Amazon and eBay for years.

What if you don’t have anything particular to sell, though? If there any way that you can get started on this anyway? Well, in that case you might want to consider eBay arbitrage.

This is also known as eBay and Amazon drop shipping. But what is it? And how can you benefit from it?

This is seen by many people as being a smart way of making some money with no risk. If you have never heard of it before then it is worth looking into. I did some research on the subject, to see what it is all about.

What Is eBay Arbitrage?

Let’s start at the beginning. You already know that millions of people buy items from Amazon an eBay. Some people prefer buying from one of these sites. Others prefer to use the other. So how can benefit from this difference?

One possibility is to take advantage of the price differences between these two sites. This is essentially what eBay arbitrage is all about. You buy a product cheap on Amazon and sell it on eBay for a slightly higher price.

Let’s look at an example. This eBay user is selling the Anker SoundCore Bluetooth Speaker for £39.78. They’ve sold 131 of them!

The speaker can be bought from Amazon for £29.99.

Every time the eBay seller sells a speaker, they simply order it from Amazon and ship it directly to the buyers address. After all eBay and other fees are accounted for, the user will make a £5 profit each time they sell one!

This sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it? It also sounds nice and simple. Having seen that people make money in this way, I decided to give it a try.

Is it something that provides a nice, regular income? Or is too much hassle or time-consuming for the profits that can be earned in this way?

How Does It Work?

Naturally, we don’t want to spend too much time looking for items to re-sell. Therefore, we need some software to help us. For eBay arbitrage, this software will look for items for sale on Amazon. These need to be products that you can then sell at a higher price on eBay.

I used the Profit Scraper tool to do this. This is one of many similar tools that you can choose from. It identifies items that you can offer on eBay. What if someone orders it from you? Then the software automatically orders it from Amazon for you to send it on.

The main benefit of using software is that is so much quicker. It very quickly finds thousands of items that you can sell. You just need to get the software to search the listings on both sites. The fact that it is automated means that you can get started without too much pain.

You then just need to clone the existing listing. So you find a listing that you like. Maybe it has a good potential profit. Or perhaps you have a reason for thinking it will sell well. It doesn’t take long to get dozens of products on your listings.

You are ready to go after doing this. Just be sure to check it is a perfect match you get. It can occasionally bring back a pair of listings that don’t match.

The tool then updates your price on eBay if the cost goes up on Amazon. This ensures that you are always working with a profit margin. Since the prices can move, this is an important point.

The fact that it is easy to do means that thousands of people are already doing this. Maybe you have already unknowingly bought something from someone using eBay arbitrage.

One point to remember is that the number of eBay listings is restricted for new sellers. So, you can’t just lump on thousands of products right away. You will need to start off with a reasonable amount, though. Having just one or two products listed is unlikely to work.

You also need to deal with your customers manually. This means answering queries and complaints as they arise. As we will see in a moment, this can eat up a fair bit of your time. However, neglecting to treat your customers well is a big mistake.

How Much Can You Earn?

This is the key question with any sort of money-making scheme. Are you going to be pulling in a fortune every month? Or is it more likely that you are going to earn a pittance from it?

There are two important factors to take into account with eBay arbitrage. The first one is the profit that you get from each item. The second one is the amount of items that you sell.

The profit per item can vary significantly. This all depends on the exact products that your scraper tool brings back. Some will give you a profit of just a couple of pounds each. Others could give you £5, £6 or something along these lines. You probably won’t see much bigger profits than this.

As for the number you sell, this depends on different things. For example, how many other people see the same item? What sort of competition are you up against? Since you can scrape other seller’s listings, others could be doing the same with yours.

All of this means that the earnings here add up but are still fairly modest. You shouldn’t go into this expecting to earn a fortune. It looks like it can give you a decent additional income. But let’s see whether it is a worthwhile way to spend your time.

My Test Results

I ran a short test on eBay arbitrage covering the months of November to January. The results varied quite a lot month by month, it has to be said. Some of this comes down to the Christmas effect, of course. I sold a lot of toys and other gifts in December, which really boosted the figures.

January had a pretty poor return, though. It seems clear that this is a seasonal business in some respects. If you want something that brings you consistent profits then this might not do the trick.

In November, my sales added up to £631.11, from 25 orders. The cost of buying the products was £482.98. Once we take off the fees of £92.29, I was left with an overall profit of £55.84. It was a decent start, although I had high hopes of things improving in the run up to Christmas.

In December, I had an impressive sales total of £1409.94. This came from a total of 89 orders made during the month. The costs added up to £1044.97 and the fees were £214.23. All of this left me with a profit of £87.32 for December.

Having said that, this is probably the best month of the year for online sales. The presence of eBay discounts with 15% off also helped to boost sales in this month.

Things were a lot slower in the month of January. During this month. I only had 6 orders totaling just £139.04. With cost of £103.38 and fees of £23.64, the overall profit was £12.02. Clearly, this was a meager return for a full month of sales.

So, in over the three months of trial, the profit was just over £150. Obviously, I would need to carry out eBay arbitrage for longer to get a real feel for it. I should also point out that I didn’t go full-out on this trial. There are selling limits for new eBay users which I will cover in more detail shortly.

Yet, this initial test was enough to understand it a lot better. I can now say that some money can be made in this way. Yet, it wasn’t as much as I had hoped for.

Is It Worth Using Gift Cards Too?

Another idea that I wanted to explore was that of using gift cards. This is a way of increasing the money you make from sales. Is it going to give you decent profits, though?

To start with, you buy these gift cards on eBay. But you need to be proactive as they don’t last for long. Is it going to take some effort to find the cards that you need?

These gift cards then come in useful for saving you some money. The idea is that you spend less. For example, If you buy a gift card for £90, you can buy £100 of stuff on Amazon. That gives you an extra £10 profit for every £100 worth of stuff you sell.

This helped me to increase the money made each month. If you wanted to succeed with eBay arbitrage, you will need to find a reliable gift card seller. That’s how the big players make their money.

What Are the Benefits of eBay and Amazon Drop Shipping?

Before we look at some of the main issues, let’s consider the benefits of eBay arbitrage. The fact that it is easy to get started is a big plus. Using the right software, you can be up and running in no time.

The lack of a big up-front investment helps too. You don’t need to buy anything until the buyer has made an order. So it is easier to manage your funds.

With more people than ever looking to work from home, this is an option. Will you make this part of your home-working strategy? It probably won’t be enough to make up your main income. But it can give you something extra each month.

However, you shouldn’t take this as being a simple way of working. There are still some issues that you can run into that complicate matters. Let’s take a look into this, to see what else you need to know about.

What Problems Can You Run Into?

I have to admit that eBay arbitrage wasn’t as much plain sailing as I thought it would be. The idea in itself is great but there are a few problems I ran into. These can take some off the shine off the strategy.

The first one worth mentioning is the competition. As I said earlier, there are lots of other people carrying out eBay and Amazon drop shipping. This makes it really difficult to get enough orders to make decent profits. What if many of them use the same software and identify the same opportunities?

There were also a few issues with deliveries. A couple of times, either the item wasn’t delivered or else the box was empty. This can cause you a bit of a headache. However, I found the customer service to be excellent from Amazon and eBay. Just about any issue can be sorted out with some time and effort.

You can see the order below placed on the 18th December. It says on the way, but it’s running late. The package never turned up. Luckily Amazon refunded the money so I could refund the eBay buyer.

Another thing to be aware of is the problems that you can with refunds. It is to be expected that some people will ask you for refunds. Yet, this can cause you a whole lot of hassle. If someone returns an item to you on eBay then you need to return it to Amazon.

The selling limits were also a bit annoying.

You can see my current limits of 300 items per month or £6500 in sales. When I started, the limit was 100 items or £2000 in sales. Once you hit the limit, you aren’t allowed to sell anything else until the next month. Obviously this slows you down. You can’t list thousands of items when you first start out.

I had to call eBay once a month to ask for this be increased. As part of that, they asked where the stock was coming from. I said I was drop shipping, without mentioning the site I was buying from.

This isn’t a problem as long as you don’t have bad feedback. However, the person you speak to might give you a bit of a ticking-off.

Items being out of stock is another problem you might come across. You don’t want to leave any of your ordered unfulfilled on eBay. If you do, then your listing will drop down and you will get fewer orders in the future.

So, what if someone orders from you but the item is now out of stock on Amazon? In this case, you need to scramble around to find it somewhere else.

This can be a real pain and take up a fair bit of time. For example, I had to buy from Asda once, and from another eBay seller another time. This sort of complication really pushes up the time spent on your eBay arbitrage work.

What About Using Other Sites?

What sites can you buy from and sell to? Is eBay arbitrage using Amazon stock your only option for this type of scheme? No, the idea of Amazon and eBay drop shipping is something that can work with other sites too.

Are there any benefits to be had from looking elsewhere at retail arbitrage opportunities? Well, this could offer you better profits if the price difference is better.

There is also the level of competition to take into account. eBay arbitrage using Amazon stock is an extremely popular idea now. This means that a lot of people could be selling exactly the same things. You might find it easier to make sales using other products from different sites.

So, using alternative retail sites could allow you to tap into less competitive markets. However, it probably still needs to have a fair amount of work done on it to succeed. For the moment, I think there is a good reason why people tend to stick to eBay and Amazon.

I saw eBay users drop shipping items from Smyths Toys and Wilkinson’s. There was almost no competition for their items, they had better profit margins and they sold a lot of items.

Is the Profit Scraper Software Any Good?

This is a good tool that makes eBay arbitrage easier than it would otherwise be. In fact, without this sort of software, this money-making strategy would be pretty much impossible.

For a start, this is the way that you identify stock in the first place. So, you can get started a lot more easily. In a matter of minutes you can get your listing up and running.

After that, it helps you to carry on as smoothly as possible. For example, it automatically orders the items from Amazon when you get an order.

It also monitors the price difference and stock availability. Having said that, things can move quickly on these sites. It is still possible to get caught out by price changes or unavailable stock.

Of course, there are other software options of this type out there. I didn’t check out the others at all. But Profit Scraper was decent enough for Amazon drop shipping in my opinion. At the time of writing, there is a 7-day free trial offer available.

Overall I was happy with the service they provide.

It Is Worth It? eBay Arbitrage Conclusion

Overall, this was a very interesting experience. eBay arbitrage is something I had heard a lot about and was keen to try.

I found out that some profits can be made like this. However, I have to admit that they were fairly modest. There was nothing to suggest that this could turn out be a huge money-spinner.

This could change if I got more products listed. If I left more items for sale for longer then I should sell more. On the other hand, this would undoubtedly lead to more issues with complaints, deliveries etc. There probably comes a point at which it is more hassle than it is worth.

I also have to admit that Amazon and eBay drop shopping is a bit of a pain at times. It can be frustrating and it can also take more time than I had hoped that it would.

I am glad that I took the time to give this approach a try. However, it isn’t something that I plan to carry on with. At the time, the profits don’t really justify the time and effort that is needed.

The post I tried eBay Arbitrage – here’s what happened appeared first on Mike Cruickshank.

The idea of making money online is hugely tempting for anyone. Yet, far more people fail to do this than succeed. Why is this? And what are the common pitfalls to avoid?

The fact is that it is easier than ever to build profits on the internet using Matched Betting. So why do so many people get it so badly wrong? Why do they make nothing instead of building up their own fortune from scratch? Some people even end up losing money in this way.

There are many different reasons why this happens. While they vary from one person to the next, there are some common issues to be aware of.

1. The Wrong Mind-Set
   

Perhaps the biggest problem for most people is with their mind-set. If you want to make money online then what is your overall approach to money? The truth is that you make have the wrong way of looking at it.

The majority of us grew up without riches all around us. If you come from a modest family and have normal friends then you won’t have seen lots of money. The same applies to school, where you won’t have learned the mind-set to make money.

Being able to make a lot of money simply doesn’t come naturally to most people. We are taught from an early age to look for a steady job. Buy a house to live in. Start a family and earn enough to support them. These are the goals that are typically put in front of us.

Yet, when we do this we limit our potential to make money. To put it simply, we don’t add enough value when we do this. To make a substantial income you need to look for value. This is part of a successful mind-set that you need to learn.

Change your mind-set and you will change your life. You need to truly believe that you can make money. Other people have done it, so why can’t you?

2. Not Being Committed Enough
   

How committed are you to the idea of making money? You are probably keen to do this. But are you really willing to go the extra mile? Being committed means knowing what you want to do and then sticking to it.

Some people make the mistake of hopping about from one idea to the next. This usually leads to not doing any of the things well. You can see countless opportunities slip through your hands if you don’t settle on one of them.

Try not to dabble briefly in too many different things. There are so many ideas and distractions out there that this is a real danger. Instead, look to settle on one money-making idea that you truly believe in.

Another possibility is that you just give up too soon. No money-making idea gives you a fortune instantly. In most cases, you need to work at it over time. If you aren’t totally convinced and committed you may just throw in the towel. How many people give up when they are close to making their big breakthrough?

If you choose a good idea and are committed enough you should succeed. You shouldn’t be thinking of excuses or alternatives before you even start. Have faith in what you do and focus on making it a success. Once you become an expert you will start to see the results.

Part of this also comes down to setting the right expectations. If you are realistic from the start then you are much more likely to succeed. Enjoy each small achievement along the way and use it to stay motivated.

3. Not Having a Mentor

Who is it that guides you through this process? If the answer is no-one then it is time to re-consider. Basically, every skill and each piece of knowledge can be passed on. Ideally, you will have a mentor who does this.

Let’s look at it in another way. Are you doing something completely new and revolutionary? Unless you are, there is someone out there who is already an expert.

Learning from them is going to make life so much easier for you. Why take the hard approach of learning everything alone? You need to make good use of the knowledge that is already out there.

Reading books and watching videos are great ways of learning. However, it is even better to have someone you can speak to and ask questions of. Don’t forget that someone else has already solved the same problems you will meet.

4. Not Being Clear About Your Goals

Why are you looking to make money in the first place? This might sound like a really obvious question. But far too many people fail to ask it of themselves.

Do you want to give up work? Retire early? Get a better lifestyle? There are too many different reasons for making money to list them all here. The important point is that you need to know why you are doing it.

Is it a strong enough reason? If it isn’t then you will probably give up at some point. You need a reason that pushes you on even when you are tired or frustrated.

This means that one of your first steps is to consider your goals. If you just want money for the sake of it then that isn’t a good enough reason. There needs to be some powerful motivation in place for you to get started.

As I said earlier, it is now easier than ever before to make money. However, the people who do this are those who make a real effort. If you don’t know what you want then how can you achieve it?

Then there is the point of how you want to earn the cash. Do you want to just work a few hours a week? Or do you want to work full-time? Are you happy studying hard to learn the skills? Are you comfortable taking risks or not?

If you aim for more profits than are realistic, you will end up disappointed. This means that you may give up. Even if you get a decent amount like £500 a month, it might not seem like much. Not if you were expecting £2,000 or more.

On the other hand, what if you aim too low? In this case, you may settle for too little. Let’s say that the £500 mentioned earlier is achievable. But you aim for only £250. You may settle for that amount when a little extra effort would have doubled it.

5. Not Looking Long-Term

Are you planning to just make some money for a month or two? Or is it something for the rest of your life? If you only want to earn for a short period it is unlikely to change your life.

Let’s say that you want to get a new lifestyle. In this case, you need a long-term approach. It is no good making money just to make the next couple of months easier.

You need to look for something that is going to give you long-term benefits. Where will you be in 5 years’ time if you do this? What about in 10 years’ time?

That doesn’t mean that you will be doing exactly the same things in a decade’s time. However, it does mean that the overall approach can be used for a long time.

Let’s look at the example of matched betting. The bookie offers change over time. This means that your strategies need to evolve in step with them. Yet, the overall approach is going to keep on working if you stick with it.

6. Giving Up After Failure

What will you do when you have to face up to failure? The fact is that most of us need to accept failure at some point. What happens next will define how much success you get in the long-term.

There are many ways of failing. Most people who make a fortune fail numerous times along the way. There is often no way of avoiding this. So you can’t start off by thinking that you will never, ever lose money.

Will you choose a low-risk, proven strategy? There is no doubt that this lowers the chance of failure. However, it won’t make it go away altogether.

You may make a bad decision. You may make a typing mistake that costs you money. You might rush through something without understanding it well enough. It is very difficult to always avoid something going wrong.

Successful people react well to failure. It makes them more determined than ever before. They learn from their mistakes and improve based on them.

Unsuccessful people will usually give up too easily. Whether you lose £1, £10 or £100, you might see it as a sign that this isn’t for you. In fact, a lot of people start off already imagining and expecting to fail.

It is important to remember that you will probably fail at some point. However, this is only going to be a temporary setback. You will be prepared to adapt and react to any type of temporary failure.

7. Failing to Use Your Time Wisely

We all have a limited amount of time to make money. Can you dedicate 2 hours a day? 2 hours a week? The first step in this point is to work out how much time you have.

You then need to look for a system or strategy that suits you. What method lets you use your time in the best way? What approach can you safely say that you have time for?

Once you have the right strategy you need to make it work. This means putting in the hours that are required. You will get faster as you become more of an expert. You are unlikely to find time-saving shortcuts, though.

Using your time wisely means focusing on what needs to be done. If you have 2 spare hours in the evenings and 3 bets to place then don’t get side-tracked. Don’t end up watching TV while you flick between betting sites.

You need to make sure that you are using your time to the best possible effect. This is especially true if you don’t have a lot of free time.

As part of this point, you also need to choose your projects wisely. Do you choose something that makes you a small amount each hour with no risk? Or do you aim for higher profits but with more risk?

You know how much time you have to do this. You also know what suits you best. Make a smart choice and you are well on your way.

8. Not Being Positive Enough

How sure are you that you will make money? There is no benefit to being blindly optimistic. However, you shouldn’t be negative or indifferent about what you are doing.

Find out enough about it to be positive and confident. You need to start off with a great frame of mind. If you have serious doubts then you are more likely to give up easily.

The best way to do this is to do enough research. Find out what exactly you will be doing to make money. Has it worked for other people? How much did they earn? Are there common mistakes to avoid?

Once you understand all of these points you are ready to go. The answers you find will reassure you that this is a good decision. Therefore, you can feel positive about your approach to making money.

Of course, there is also the risk of being too optimistic. This is usually when someone doesn’t do enough research. If you give up your job in the hope of earning a full-time income you need to be sure that you are going to get it.

Your positive attitude has to be grounded in reality. It isn’t about being positive for the sake of it. It is about knowing that you are starting a solid, profitable venture in the right way.

9. A Lack of Patience

How long will it take you to earn some money? For some people, any wait is far too long. They want results and they want them yesterday.

However, most money-making schemes require a degree of patience. Maybe you need to learn the ropes. Or perhaps you will have to wait for the serious money to roll in.

Are get rich quick schemes a scam? Well, if the promises seem to be too good to be true then they probably are. A good system will typically require you showing some patience.

It may take you some time to get your first income. Or it could be that you will earn only a modest amount each day. Either way, you can’t expect to build a fortune in little time.

What if you know that you are very impatient by nature? Maybe you know that you won’t be able to slowly build up money without getting restless.

In this case, you may decide to go for a higher risk scheme. Perhaps you will be happier to lose money occasionally in exchange for some bigger wins.

For most people, a better idea is to set out a realistic roadmap. Maybe you will look to earn £20 per day. Is this realistic? If it is then this will work out as £140 each week. That is over £7,000 a year. Here’s a simple system that makes £500 a month.

If you can see the overall benefits it should help you to stay patient. You can then get into the rhythm of slowly building up your fortune. Invest or spend it wisely and you will feel the benefits early on anyway.

10. Failing to Take Action

Finally, we have perhaps the biggest and most common mistake. How many times have you seen a money-making idea that sounded good? There are tons of them around, so the chances are that you have seen a fair few.

What did you do next? The chances are that you did nothing. We each let an incredible number of opportunities slip through our fingers each year. This simply comes down to not taking action.

What do you need to do to get started? You might need to watch a few videos. Or read some blogs. You then may have to pay some money for a subscription or for the right tools.

In every case, you need to make a move. You need to take some action. The money isn’t going to just start rolling in without you doing anything about it. You are the person who needs to do something.

Are you ready to take action? If you aren’t then you need to consider what you need to feel comfortable. Do you need more information? Is the timing not right for you yet?

At some point, you will need to take action. This is when you take the first steps to turn your dreams into reality. Without this action, your hopes will never turn into real profits.

Avoid all of these common errors and you are on your way to making money. This isn’t something that is impossible. Go about it in the smartest way and you won’t regret it. Indeed, you will soon be wondering why it took you so long to start.

The post 10 Reasons Why Most People Fail to Make Money Online appeared first on Mike Cruickshank.