Anyone run an audio ebay store

Thinking about starting an ebay car audio store. just curious if anyone is doing this. If it's worth it. I'm not planning on quiting my day job, just looking for some extra cash. Mostly selling acc. I would do it all the was as far as getting a tax id and setting up a business checking account. Any opinions, suggestions, recremendations. Thanks

there a good idea if you can get the products cheep enough, i've got a shop (not online) but i did post stuff on ebay to see about boosting sale and in order for me to compare in price's i had to sell my products baically at cost. but if you can get the products cheep enough and dertimined enough, it can work.

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Tri County KustomZ
certified installer

Thats what I figured as far as price. Pretty much no mark up. I'm still looking for a place to buy through. Thats why I figured I would start with just accesories. Even if I mark it up a couple of dollars, it would be more about volume.

I've thought about doing this as well as just selling them on the side to people but i can't find much on the subject.

There are 200 other people selling the same thing for the same cheap price it's hard to make anything.

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Big Dave

A lot of distributors and mfg'rs prohibit online sales.. It kills the small shops... E bay is great for people selling cheap [low end] stuff.. but for the higher end, if you get caught your distributor will drop ya like a bad habit.. I can't tell you how bad online sales have dug into our profits.. But it is here to stay, and I guess you just have to work with it.. I just charge a much higher rate to install stuff people bring in.. zero warrenty and a much higher price..

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Tire Proz Stillwater Mn
High End Restyling and Comlete Repair

I'm not looking to sell product right now. I just want to start off by selling kits, harnesses, amp accesories, sound dampening. Minor stuff.

fast leaner i already get things cheaper than a shop can sell it to me and i dont have a tax id number? it takes time and work to weed out the losers from the pros. read their feed back, if they dont offer at least a 1yr warranty move on its a refurb or some other peice of crap. most of the shops in my area are smoking crack when it comes to prices. i have about 10-12 diff people i deal with one for rcas one for amps etc. here is one example of some stuff i got this week.  monster cable 201 xln 16ft rcas these are your entry lvl rcas nothing to brag about sugg retail 29-39 bucks a pair i got 4 of these brand nib for a little over 32 bucks and that included shipping. bottom line the audio market has marked up thier products to much for too long and now that we the consumers have other options its putting a hurt on them. i made about 5-600 bucks in side deals this month everything from amps to power cables. and i dont own my own bizz or have a tax id number. word of mouth is how i get my customers i even made some shirts i wear when im out and about.  everything from alpine yes i said it alpine, to jbl, jl audio the whole nine yards. dont know why i keep hearing you cant buy alpine online? and yet its all over the place.heres another example of crack head audio store prices a nice pair of infinity 1252w 12 inch subs sugg retail 120-130 each got a pair for 87 bucks and change that included shipping and a 1yr warranty and they are brand new. why would i buy from a shop?

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dam i thought you said the cap was discharged

Actually you can buy Alpine online from several places. However, Crutchfield is the only authorized online dealer to my knowledge. That means if you buy it elsewhere, you lose the warranty.

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My ex once told me I have a perfect face for radio.

wrong again ebay has a 100% replacement warranty that most of my guys offer for 29 bucks i get a 100% replace ment i also get depending on who i deal with 1yr sometimes 2 on alpine products?

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dam i thought you said the cap was discharged

I was referring to the factory warranty, which costs no extra when purchased through an authorized dealer. Some places that sell online may offer their own replacement guarantee or warranty, but it is not factory. I've had more than one deal go sour trying to get an online seller to honor their claimed "warranty". I'm not here to stop you, just realize the risk is yours.

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My ex once told me I have a perfect face for radio.

So I've been looking around and started to look into dropshippers. Anyone have any experience with these. Once again I know that there is very little margin but ebay is more about volume.

i was checking out this site, www.doba.com

sparky593 wrote:

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bottom line the audio market has marked up thier products to much for too long and now that we the consumers have other options its putting a hurt on them. i made about 5-600 bucks in side deals this month everything from amps to power cables. and i dont own my own bizz or have a tax id number.

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They are not marking up products too much, they are selling them at prices so they can make enough to stay in business. Unfortunately a real business with a "tax id number" has more expenses then just some t-shirts that you've made up. Maybe you should take a minute to think about these things before you bash the stores prices.

And yeah good luck getting warranty out of some ebay sellers just because they say it doesn't mean you won't drive yourself crazy trying to get it. Shipping a sub to them and back you will most likely have to pay shipping boths ways and right there your out about $40. Add that the $29, and the $87, and the headache you have and maybe that shop down the street doesn't have such bad prices afterall.

Mike

well sorry again to report you are wrong again. the 2 guys i deal with for subs dont charge me a dime for returned items and ive only had to return 1 item in 2yrs? and that was the usps fault not my guys. and i do plan to start a supposed real bizz in jan which would be a home based bizz. then i will cut all my local shops prices buy 40% and im sill making 100-150% profit because i have no over head. and i have gone to shops not to buy but check out their prices well...... they must all smoke the same crack. out of 4 shops who i hope to put under they charged either 10% under sometimes as much as 10-15% over sugg retail? its called suggested for a reason. bottom line nowyaknow you may run a decent shop but in my area its not that way. and in fact most of you that run a shop look for deals online too. so the bottom line if you could get it cheaper would you lower prices nope not at that would mean you could make more profit. as far as the t-shirt thing its made me plenty of money for doing nothing but wearing a shirt? no overhead ,free advertising. since i have got real vendors or dist why is it a a $29 sub has a suggested retail price of $ 119?

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dam i thought you said the cap was discharged

Them not charging you because USPS damaged something on delivery, is different then them not charging you to replace something a year later. Like I said some sellers it wouldn't be a problem, some it will be hell. Like other posters just trying to make it clear that buying from eBay does have different risks involved.

By the way what state are you from? In most cases technically you should be paying a Use Tax on these items you buy off ebay for yourself. If you are installing them for friends or customers or whatever, you should be charging them tax, and paying self employment tax on the income. In PA it's on anything over $400 so @ $600 you would owe them. Welcome to business.

Mike

Fastlearner wrote:

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So I've been looking around and started to look into dropshippers. Anyone have any experience with these. Once again I know that there is very little margin but ebay is more about volume.

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Dropshipping can work just be sure you read all the ebay guidelines I THOUGHT they had certain rules for dropshipping. The dropshippers I've seen haven't been able to compare to ebay prices anyway, but I'm sure if you put the time in and look around for a while you may find one worthwhile. You have to be careful because you can't physically see the stock so you may sell something only to have them tell you they don't have it. It's tough because a lot of those ebay sellers ARE the distributors and dropshippers that you are looking for the best prices from.

Mike

im in  fla nowyaknow, as far as ive been told if it was out of fla i didnt have to pay tax. within fla i did? i also heard the irs is trying to impose a tax no matter where you buy from. as far as the use tax im ignorant to that aspect but i have already called my lawyer so in jan i dont do anything to get my self in trouble he is going to send me a info packet on the ins and outs and laws of internet taxes and any type of other info i didnt know about. if i have to pay taxes i will  at this time im not doing installs. imstill working 2 full time jobs. but i do have a shop that gives me great rates on testing everything i buy. every single thing i get gets tested period no ifs and ors about it. fast leaner i checked out your site and its ok. but i hate to say it you can do better else were but i dont know what you want to sell? and again as nowyaknow has said most of the dist are on ebay and i can tell you hes right.bottom line it took me about 1 year of going through the losers. fast learner this takes time and alot of patience.

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dam i thought you said the cap was discharged