Direct Sales Marketing — eBay

SaleHoo

Report on SaleHoo by Simon Slade
Rating: 4.0/5 stars     Price: $67



If you are considering getting into direct selling on the internet using auction sites like eBay, you will need to find and utilize a list of product wholesalers and drop-shippers in order to get your project off the ground. In this case, you will need to locate a list of reputable suppliers to provide you with the necessary products to sell. Once source for such lists is SaleHoo.

SaleHoo is an international wholesale product sourcing directory of suppliers and drop-shippers that caters to online auction sellers and others in internet marketing. It is a membership site where members pay a one-time fee for lifetime access to a regularly updated list of suppliers. Members are able to contact SaleHoo staff and chat with them online about any issues they might have, and if SaleHoo doesn't have a supplier for a certain product it will find one when a member makes a request.

In addition, SaleHoo includes a private members forum where its clients are able to communicate with other experienced members to obtain clarification on their internet marketing business. It also has suppliers jumping on the forum from time to time to offer special discounts to SaleHoo members. Many suppliers set aside lots of products for SaleHoo members so that members are able to purchase in smaller quantities than would typically be allowed. As part of their on-going quality control, SaleHoo regularly purchases items from the suppliers to check the quality of both the product and the supplier's service.

For those new to the auction business, SaleHoo includes an alerts system by email for new wholesale products that come online so that you can get a heads up on the latest items. Unfortunately, where SaleHoo falls down is in the education department. While it used to offer an ebook to help beginners get a grip on the business, it no longer does so, preferring to rely on the forum community of users to help answer questions.

In some ways having the forum is better as it gives people a chance to ask specific questions about conducting their business. Yet, having available a resource book where people could get exposure to all the information they will need to keep abreast of to realistically run this kind of business would have been a nice touch to have continued. As anyone who is new to this business soon becomes aware, there is a steep learning curve to get over if you want to have a realistic chance at success.
 
Competing on eBay has become more and more difficult in recent years, with the changes taking place in eBay policies and pricing structure, and it’s harder than ever to make money there selling new merchandise. Where SaleHoo products may have a better chance of competing might be in local markets using offline advertising or places like Craig's List where specific products can be advertised in a variety of markets. Thinking creatively out of the box, for example, promoting the sale of product accessories along with the main product may be a better business model than trying to crack into eBay. Of course, having a website will greatly increase one's chances of making a go of this type of business.

Click on the SaleHoo link to learn more about this opportunity.