help me get them cheap.

December 28, 2007 7:13 AM

Are things (in particular, wellingtons) really that cheap on eBay? How can I get them wholesale?

I realized there's a market for wellingtons where I'm at while browsing through eBay.

Suggested retail prices (100$) and starting bids (19.99$) have a huge difference in between. Maybe ordering from the online retailer'll give me a discount, but nothing to get it that low! How do they do it? (And I've read in a past AskMeFi question that sellers normally set it that low because the action gets better in the last bidding hour, but I'd like to hear other theories.) If it helps, I'm looking at Hunter wellies and Tamara Henriques wellies... Chookas too, but they're in the price range of my target market, except for shipping.

And since this seems like an obvious solution to get into business: is it possible to order wholesale from eBay? I don't like the idea of approaching various stores though, and the sellers I checked out have random stocks, so it'll be hard to keep my own stock, should I push through.

I'd like to get these wellies as cheap as possible, because there is the added expense of shipping. Thanks a lot.

posted by drea to clothing, beauty, & fashion (5 comments total)

Why don't you search completed auctions for the items you are interested in to see what the average winning bid is? The starting price has no correlation to the ending price, except it's usually lower. Wholesale price and opening bid have even less relationship. Sorry I don't have any suggestions for how to get things cheaper, though.
posted by mzurer at 7:24 AM on December 28, 2007

Instead of looking at starting bids, you ought to be looking at the winning bids. You would find that the majority of wellingtons sell above $50, shipping not included. Hunter wellies seem to sell for $70+, again without shipping included. Chooka about $50-$60. Not anywhere near those starting bids.

eBay is an auction site, not a wholesaler. People go to the site to sell their things. eBay does not control that and will not break a deal with you to buy wholesale. Watch for sellers who sell a lot of what you're looking for and talk to them directly. But it is likely if they are selling a lot for cheap that they have their own sources and have no interest in sharing them. After all, if you were to start selling boots in quantity after finding a wholesaler that sells to you at a very cheap price, what would you do if someone asked you to put them in contact with your wholesaler? I bet you would tell them no, if they want to buy they buy direct from you.

Good luck.
posted by splice at 7:28 AM on December 28, 2007

Check completed listings. You'll have to be an eBay member to access that information.
posted by fire&wings at 7:45 AM on December 28, 2007

Another consideration when you're looking at eBay is that it's full of bad / desperate "business people". People who don't value their time properly, or who ended up with stock that they need to get rid of, or similar things that mean they may not be making any profit at all. You don't really want to compete with that when you are someone who does want a profit.
posted by smackfu at 7:56 AM on December 28, 2007

HDMI Cables, they seem to be 10x cheaper on eBay than in the "real" world.
posted by blue_beetle at 8:41 AM on December 28, 2007