Best Book about Selling Online (so far)

noreply@blogger.com (Ben C.) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:27:00 +0000

To learn more about online selling, I browsed or tried titles in our bookstores and consulted online book reviews. None of the titles impressed me much. They were mostly cashing in on the popularity of eBay, the way mushrooms tend to grow when lots of dung is thrown around. :)

One of the main problems I struggled with in trying to sell online was the so-called sourcing problem. After I sold most of my used books, gadgets and toys, what next? Did I wait till I had more used books to sell?

Yesterday, as I was browsing for an entirely different subject matter, I came across a very interesting book on online selling in our school library. Its title is What to Sell on eBay and Where to Get It. What attracted me to browse further was the "Where to Get It" phrase. It's subtitle further enticed me to take the book and check it out: "The Definitive Guide to Product Sourcing for eBay and Beyond." Wow! To infinity and beyond!

I started reading parts of the book while in the library. In the process, I forgot what I was originally intending to do in the library and ended up borrowing this book instead.

I've since read most of it and I highly recommend it to anyone who plans to sell online, eBay or otherwise. It's unfortunate that the book's title includes "eBay". In fact, the book is useful not just for online selling but for setting up a real store as well!

What made me like the book?

It describes the supply chain in a way that is relevant for those unfamiliar with the terrain.
For instance, it explains the whole process chain that ends in a product getting delivered to the buyer: from manufacturing to wholesale to retail to delivery.
The authors then explain the finer points of finding real wholesalers and then dealing with them.
Did you know that many websites that claim to be wholesalers are really just middlemen looking for a quick buck? I had an inkling, but I didn't know that the problem was really rampant!
It gives some tips on how to sniff out fake wholesalers.
It also explains forms of shipping (like drop shipping, which is when the wholesaler directly ships orders to your customers, saving you the time and trouble of fulfilling orders yourself).
After reading the book, you get to understand the whole industry of selling.

The book was written by Chris Malta and Lisa Suttora -- both successful online sellers who have specialized in sourcing for their eBay stores. But, like I said, the knowledge you'll get here is not for eBay alone.

Check out the Book:

What to Sell on eBay and Where to Get It by Chris Malta and Lisa Suttora

How to Sell Online

noreply@blogger.com (Ben C.) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:58:00 +0000

I thought I knew how to earn money online through online selling. Turns out I knew very little!

For a couple of years now I've been trying to understand the world of online selling. It sounded quite easy at the start. After all, I've worked with web technology for a good part of my life and I've grown with the technology. It felt like all I needed to do was put stuff for sale on eBay, but did I have problems!

First big problem: payment method. The Philippines is very deprived when it comes to online payments. PayPal (especially a couple of years back) did not let you withdraw from earnings. So I had to resort to C.O.D. (cash on delivery). More on the problems with payment, in another post.

Second big problem: where do I get more stuff to sell online? This problem is called sourcing, and I will devote another entry on it next.

What made online selling look easy was the fact that I've lived and breathed the online selling world:

I bought and sold products on auction sites like eBay.ph, eBili, etc.
Sold some of my stuff (books, gadgets, toys) through email and community sites like PhilMUG and TipidPC.com
Done research on online payments and have registered with PayPal and Xoom. I also earn a minimal amount from Google Ads and Amazon Associates.
Explored alternative payment methods like G-Cash, since Filipinos are not very aware of Paypal and Xoom, or do not have the means to use them.
I've even written about online selling in Entrepreneur magazine.

Judging from experience however, the best teacher was still when I got my hands dirty with setting up a store on the web.

So I'm devoting this blog is to documenting what I have learned and am continuing to learn.