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Is Anybody Selling Stuff On Ebay From Thailand - Pros And Cons?


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Posted

I want to start selling stuff on ebay, thai stuff, vases, paintings, cups, statues

is ebay the way to go?

what if costumer claims back the payment and not send me back the item?

do people actually purchase stuff if they dont live in Thailand?

and what about the law, is that classified as working in Thailand? can i get panalized?

Posted

Chances are eBay sales from Thailand are not common, if at all, because of logistical cost, delivery times etc. I've seen Thai made products similar to what you have an interest in selling in the US and Canada. Chances are these items were imported by the container load making it profitable by sheer volume alone. Then again there's no great risk in trying to make a go of it on eBay. Good luck

Posted

Listing fee's, Commission on sale, paypal fee's, hammered on exchange rate, postage risk of breakage (vases etc), claims it never arrived, or charge-back because it takes awhile for International Post. The list goes on and on.

The main aspect I think is the fee's everywhere eating into your sale price, add all the fee's and expenses on top of a reasonable profit and it isnt really as easy as it would seem.

You would need a really healthy profit margin to make it pay.

Remember they charge-back, you lose the item and the postage and all associated fee's, they lose nothing.

  • Like 2
Posted

"and what about the law, is that classified as working in Thailand? can i get panalized?"

You are purchasing product in Thailand and selling on-line from Thailand...you need a WP as in effect you are running an export business

So yes its classified as working...not a grey area at all

  • Thanks 1
Posted

the postage would kill it, and to unreliable, if it was that easy everyone would be doing it,

give it a go though dont take our word you might make it

  • Like 1
Posted

Selling on ebay has always had its cons. It doesn't matter where you're selling from. The consumer could say the item did not arrive, item was not as described and all that jazz etc. However I think it has a lot of pros too.

If I was going to sell on Ebay, I would just leave my location set to the UK (as that's where I'm from originally)

Airmail in Thailand normally takes about a week to another country so just make sure you tell them that.

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Posted

I would guess that this is no longer as popular as it was I'm the past

When I first got to Thailand about 8 years ago, I knew lots of people doing the eBay thing... But now none of them are doing it any more

Reasons....

Fx rate... Lost 25% of margins just due to this factor, which in may cases eliminated all of their profit... Then adding in increased cost via PayPal and increased cost in local prices...

Bottom line , it no longer works for them, as they can no longer

Ale money at it

Posted

If I was going to sell on Ebay, I would just leave my location set to the UK (as that's where I'm from originally)

Ebay & Paypal don't seem to have embraced the 21st century to that extent yet. Try explaining "I'm from UK but live in Thailand" to them & you'll see what I mean. They also insist on VAT when your geographic location renders you exempt & they'll ask for info that in my opinion leaves users wide open to fraud. I rendered my passport & other documents prior to submitting to one such request. They didn't like it. I found them decidedly mickey mouse & closed both accounts.

There are some useful 'anti ebay/paypa'l blogs online for those that need them.

  • Like 1
Posted

You need to make a large order in Thailand and then export it into your home country and then mail it locally from there. Otherwise you will be swamped in shipping fees. The fees charged on Amazon and Ebay have gotten crazy since when I first started selling as a teenager 11 years ago.

Otherwise to sell from Thailand you are going to need a very high margin to make up for shipping.

Amazon dot com has a system where they will store your product in their warehouse and ship it for you.

in closing, you probably should look into teaching english smile.png

Posted

Postage EX Thailand is expensive, without tracking and insurance you leave yourself open to being screwed so your cost base is steep to start off with unless your selling something physically small or big ticket. Then you have to either be unique which will last for 1 day or compete with others and race to the bottom. I love buying from e-bay but only sell on e-bay to get rid of things.

Maybe look at operating your own w/s retailing, develop a customer base and aim for return sales.

Posted

the quality of products here and shipping cost will prevent much profit being made.

definitely need a permit if your shipping products out, easy to trace.

Posted

Why is it that nobody believes my wife when she tries to sell he r genuine mullberry handbags on e bay ,from here in Thailand?whistling.gif

what is mullberry bag? omg do you have a picture of that thing?

Posted

Selling whimsical buys to countries hit with a struggling economy amongst many, many other competitors may not be the best money maker even if you ignore all the costs and legalities involved.

Will you also get stuck with 30% import tax on returns ?

Posted

so I will not do it.

the best way is to just buy a container and because I live in Eu I can ship it around that way

dhl for 25 kilos is 6000 bht, that is cheap, am I correct?

I don't think you should overlook this option. Selling on ebay gives you exposure to millions of people and this way you can lower your profits per item but still make money. You just have to calculate all expenses and profits beforehand. I would give it a try if I were you.

Posted

so I will not do it.

the best way is to just buy a container and because I live in Eu I can ship it around that way

dhl for 25 kilos is 6000 bht, that is cheap, am I correct?

I don't think you should overlook this option. Selling on ebay gives you exposure to millions of people and this way you can lower your profits per item but still make money. You just have to calculate all expenses and profits beforehand. I would give it a try if I were you.

Just remember when send your 25kg to the UK (as an example), you'll have value of shipment (invoice), plus postage cost x 20% import duty x VAT, then Parcel force will charge you an additional 18 quid for "processing" it.

Also depends what the items are, are they legal, made from acceptable materials etc and wont be destroyed for inadequate supporting documents. (especially true for anything made of wood) Import etc is a real headache unless you do it BIG and use an agent, which means another hand wants his share.

Posted

Totally incorrect.

Plenty of stuff on eBay UK from Thailand.

Research is your friend!

Chances are eBay sales from Thailand are not common, if at all, because of logistical cost, delivery times etc. I've seen Thai made products similar to what you have an interest in selling in the US and Canada. Chances are these items were imported by the container load making it profitable by sheer volume alone. Then again there's no great risk in trying to make a go of it on eBay. Good luck

Posted

you cannot leave your loacation as UK if in Thai.

There are rules and feedback would give you game away anyway.

Be an honest person, what has Thailand done to you.

Selling on ebay has always had its cons. It doesn't matter where you're selling from. The consumer could say the item did not arrive, item was not as described and all that jazz etc. However I think it has a lot of pros too.

If I was going to sell on Ebay, I would just leave my location set to the UK (as that's where I'm from originally)

Airmail in Thailand normally takes about a week to another country so just make sure you tell them that.

  • Like 1
Posted

nt sure about fedex, dhl but someone in thai post reported to other authorities when you start to send many parcel within a month. don't ask me how i know, pm me if you want to know more. only take one person to report you and you are officially screwed

Posted
Make sure you establish a Henry Ford conveyor belt approach to your online business.

I love that line Phronesis.......too many people try to be all things to all people on ebay and other online shopping portals. Pick the items you believe will sell and run with them.....if they don't sell out quickly enough then reduce them and clear them.

Every single retailer I know, and I'm included in this, makes misjudgements and buying mistakes. The mistake is not in the buying.......the mistake is in not realizing you have made a mistake quickly enough and clearing the stock, even at a loss.

I don't know Phronesis, but I bet he can tell you about some nightmare items that he bought........one of the worst I bought were ornamental elephants. I still had them 3 years later......I couldn't even give them away they looked so stupid. crying.gif

Anyone that hasn't made a mistake in business hasn't been in business........over to you Phronesis, what was your bad buy that still scars your dreams?

  • Like 1
Posted

Lucidlucifer, Phronesis and theBlether all make good points and give good advice.

I have done a fair bit of ebaying myself over the years and I recommend to anyone getting into it to keep things simple, sell products that are easy to post or similar to each other, and direct people to your own website (for repeat customers etc) so you save fees and make a bigger margin. i would also look at wholesaling where you can. My biggest buyers tended to be those who bought one item (books) and then i would offer them another 20 or so at a similar price.

Things have swung dramatically into the buyers favour over the past couple of years. Going back 10-12 years ago it was a goldmine as a seller. Now Paypal and ebay tend to side with the buyer during disputes and while you can fight most, it is a time wasting exercise and on low profit items hardly worth it.

I noticed an ebay email the other day where they are going to rank buyers who give 0-1 day shipping or have free postage and/or offer a 30 day money back guarantee, higher ranking in search results, making it harder for the seller again.

One other thing I have noticed re: ebay. I have met scores and scores of people who have taken to it full time over the years but I haven't met anyone who makes over 50k (aud) a year profit. I'm sure they are out there but I haven't met them.

If i was doing it from Thailand I would definitely be picking non breakable items to sell and id be looking down the avenue of high margin items also, with accompanying trackable postage, that the buyer pays as an additional cost.

When you have a low value item and have to refund because of some reason, if you are refunding postage (or offering free postage, having built in the cost of postage to the item) your profit for the item has gone.

Phronesis mentioned items from tesco and it is not a bad idea, if you can find some to make a good margin on. Certainly not having to outlay monies is a bonus.

  • Like 1
Posted

Lucidlucifer, Phronesis and theBlether all make good points and give good advice.

I have done a fair bit of ebaying myself over the years and I recommend to anyone getting into it to keep things simple, sell products that are easy to post or similar to each other, and direct people to your own website (for repeat customers etc) so you save fees and make a bigger margin. i would also look at wholesaling where you can. My biggest buyers tended to be those who bought one item (books) and then i would offer them another 20 or so at a similar price.

Things have swung dramatically into the buyers favour over the past couple of years. Going back 10-12 years ago it was a goldmine as a seller. Now Paypal and ebay tend to side with the buyer during disputes and while you can fight most, it is a time wasting exercise and on low profit items hardly worth it.

I noticed an ebay email the other day where they are going to rank buyers who give 0-1 day shipping or have free postage and/or offer a 30 day money back guarantee, higher ranking in search results, making it harder for the seller again.

One other thing I have noticed re: ebay. I have met scores and scores of people who have taken to it full time over the years but I haven't met anyone who makes over 50k (aud) a year profit. I'm sure they are out there but I haven't met them.

If i was doing it from Thailand I would definitely be picking non breakable items to sell and id be looking down the avenue of high margin items also, with accompanying trackable postage, that the buyer pays as an additional cost.

When you have a low value item and have to refund because of some reason, if you are refunding postage (or offering free postage, having built in the cost of postage to the item) your profit for the item has gone.

Phronesis mentioned items from tesco and it is not a bad idea, if you can find some to make a good margin on. Certainly not having to outlay monies is a bonus.

Do used cushions sell well ?

  • Like 1
Posted

Lucidlucifer, Phronesis and theBlether all make good points and give good advice.

I have done a fair bit of ebaying myself over the years and I recommend to anyone getting into it to keep things simple, sell products that are easy to post or similar to each other, and direct people to your own website (for repeat customers etc) so you save fees and make a bigger margin. i would also look at wholesaling where you can. My biggest buyers tended to be those who bought one item (books) and then i would offer them another 20 or so at a similar price.

Things have swung dramatically into the buyers favour over the past couple of years. Going back 10-12 years ago it was a goldmine as a seller. Now Paypal and ebay tend to side with the buyer during disputes and while you can fight most, it is a time wasting exercise and on low profit items hardly worth it.

I noticed an ebay email the other day where they are going to rank buyers who give 0-1 day shipping or have free postage and/or offer a 30 day money back guarantee, higher ranking in search results, making it harder for the seller again.

One other thing I have noticed re: ebay. I have met scores and scores of people who have taken to it full time over the years but I haven't met anyone who makes over 50k (aud) a year profit. I'm sure they are out there but I haven't met them.

If i was doing it from Thailand I would definitely be picking non breakable items to sell and id be looking down the avenue of high margin items also, with accompanying trackable postage, that the buyer pays as an additional cost.

When you have a low value item and have to refund because of some reason, if you are refunding postage (or offering free postage, having built in the cost of postage to the item) your profit for the item has gone.

Phronesis mentioned items from tesco and it is not a bad idea, if you can find some to make a good margin on. Certainly not having to outlay monies is a bonus.

Do used cushions sell well ?

Those ones sell a treat!

The Japanese did it with used women's undergarments, so I thought I'd give my used cushions a go, spice things up a little. It really has turned into a cushy earner for me.

  • Like 1
Posted

I sell things on ebay and although my business is based in France we ship most items from Thailand as the postage cost is considerably less. My wife does the shipping when I am not in Thailand.

Strangely enough on some occasions we have had to ship part orders from both France and Thailand and usually find that that the Thai part gets there first. We are shipping small light items and use ordinary post without any tracking. Do "lose" about 5% of what we sell but the margins are adjusted to take care of that and the Ebay and Paypal fees .

We also sell directly through specialist forums and are in the process of setting up our own online shop.

All profits are declared in France as the business is registred there, but my wife works elsewhere as well and pay taxes from that.

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