Beware of counterfeit items! You can’t sell counterfeits or replicas on Ebay! Ask suppliers for a sample before you put in a big order. This should be no problem if your wholesaler has dropshipping services or sells items one at a time. It is a problem however, if your supplier only sells in bulk. Ask them for a sample anyway. They should be trying to please if they’re serious about doing business.
Also be aware that suppliers from overseas do not need to follow your country’s laws and if they rip you off there’s not much of a penalty for them. Pay with credit card if possible, so that you can ask for a chargeback if anything goes wrong.
Please don’t ever pay for your items by wire transfer. I would be wary of any wholesaler or manufacturer who asked me to do this. Remember that wire transfers are untraceable and irreversible.
Always be cautious when purchasing from these websites. Many people have been scammed on Alibaba and a few of the other websites I mentioned above. You should be fine as long as you pay by credit card.
I also want to mention a company called World Wide Brands. This company is a lifesaver if you’re looking for legitimate dropshippers and wholesalers. Every wholesale company is screened by an Ebay certified company before being listed on their website. You can gain access to this information for a small fee, and believe me – it’s well worth it.
World Wide Brands also offers free ebooks to help Ebay sellers learn to sell and avoid scams (which are all over the internet). Click here if you want to check them out.