eBay Mistakes and Other Things Not to Do

This is part 3 in an ongoing series entitled Powerseller Mistakes: Used DVDs is a Red Herring.

• Part 1
• Part 2

Here’s the cold hard truth. Unless you have some sort of a connection in a particular industry and is able to acquire merchandise that is (A) in demand and (B) has a profit margin higher than the change found in your couch, there’s not much out there that you can source and make a nice profit on. Don’t count on cell phone accessories or different kinds of media (DVDs, CDs, whatever). The market is flooded with that stuff and you’ll be busting your hump for little or no profit at all.

“Where can I find DVDs to sell on eBay?”

Some people have been able to sell new DVDs on eBay and make a living. When I say “make a living”, it’s probably in conjunction with multiple revenue streams, so don’t think that some of the DVD sellers have found some magic secret that has granted them the ability to solely support themselves off auctions or an eBay Store. They probably haven’t, so lower that bar a bit if you’re setting out to emulate them.

Here’s the catch about selling new DVDs: Unless you’re Best Buy, Amazon, or Wal-Mart, you’re not going to buy enough merchandise to get discounts on mainstream titles. Sure, some sellers do get discounts on new DVD titles but take a good hard look at the listings. They’re old and have fallen out of demand. Unless they stumble upon the rare of case of finding a DVD that’s out of print, they’re not making a lot of money directly form the merchandise. Remember, they’re probably getting most of their money from shipping. Also, Ingram (the largest distributor of DVDs and books) probably doesn’t want to do a lot of business with eBay sellers. It’s nothing personal, they just won’t be making a lot of money from you.

In my case, I went with used DVDs. They were much cheaper to purchase and they seemed like they were in demand. Where’s the best place to buy used DVDs? Ailing video stores? No, it’s eBay! A lot of what you see in the used DVD business is a circular process. Most of the used DVDs purchased are from lots on eBay. Plug in the following into eBay:

• DVD lot personal collection
• DVD personal collection

You get the point. You want to look for ordinary individuals selling their movies. But beware, there are some auctions to watch out for:

1. Don’t fall for vulture traps that are trying to capitalize on your inexperience. You’ll see TONS of DVD lots selling for cheap because they’re filled with…well…”filler”. DVDs that you see for $0.50 USD at Wal-Mart. If you don’t see titles in the auction, DO NOT BID.
2. You’re not going to be the only DVD/CD seller on eBay. Far from it. A lot sellers sell their excess stock (under a different ID) as a “personal collection lot” to try and recapture some of their loses. These auctions can be tricky to navigate because it may appear that there are some great – modern – movies inside. Legitimate DVD listings will contain a list of the movies they’re selling so the first thing you’ll need to do is check the listing against Terapeak. Terapeak is a third-party tool that will tell how much certain items have sold for in the last 3-6 months for free. Enter in a movie title and see how much it sold for and make your bid accordingly.
3. A lot of times, sellers will pick up rental copies (from Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, Mom & pop, etc.) and try to flip them on eBay. If you are keen on a lot for some “personally owned” DVDs, ask the seller how many former rentals are in the lot. I wouldn’t call rentals a deal breaker but, as you can imagine, former rentals are generally more beat up and the cases are different from the regular film. Buyers care about this.

Any tips you’d like to share? What have been some of your experiences with selling DVDs or…anything! Name some things to avoid and help make sure new sellers are taken for fools.

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