Author Archives: JOHNNY LI

Promoting products through Youtube

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Youtube is the most used online video sharing platform all around the world. It’s used for watching anything from movie trailers, music videos, tutorials, “do it yourself,” documentary, cooking videos, video logs, and the list goes on if you can think of something I’m sure there’s a video about it on youtube. Youtube has such a broad audience, i.e., I’ve been keeping up with the new upcoming iPhone 12, and I follow this YouTuber, EverythingApplePro, in his most recent video he had over 1.2 millions views, over 1.2 million people all around the world watched this video. The video has only been out for three days to show how broad the audience can be. A lot of popular YouTubers are sponsored by companies, paid to make a video, promote, advertise, or use their services or product. The amount varies depending on the popularity of the YouTuber and how the service or product is being advertised, etc. But it would be best if you had a big enough following to get sponsorships, so that’s something you can consider later down the road.

You can easily create and upload your first video within minutes. Even without any popularity or followers, you can make money from creating your first video. If you ever come across a product you like, you can reach out to the company directly and ask to promote their product with a product review video. Usually, you’ll have two options, whether they pay you to create a video or offer you a commission for every sale made through your video. You’ll be creating a recorded video of yourself, testing, reviewing, and using the product. Describing all the details and giving your honest opinion, what’s it used for, and how it made your life better, etc. To get paid by commission, you’ll provide a unique website link directing to the product itself or offer a promotional code to your viewers through the video or description. Every time the viewer clicks on that link or uses that promotion code, the business will know you referred that customer. You’ll then possibly get a percentage for every unit sold or a portion of the amount the customer spent. If you do a good job, the company may continue using your services for one of their other products. You may also use this same technique with other companies or products you like. Whether its a good or bad product review video, you are promoting the product, driving sales, popularity, and traffic to its brand.

 

Making some extra $$$ on eBay

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eBay eBay eBay, This may be the first e-commerce company that started it all, well at least the first to be globally known and used for its consumer to consumer and business to consumer sales. I have to admit; it was the first e-commerce service I used to make money online. eBay is an auction style like service where you can bid on goods. You can find almost anything (that’s legal) on this site. A range of products from new to used, vehicles, fashion, electronics, collectibles & art, home & garden, sporting goods, toys, business & industrial, music, and the list goes on; if you can think of it, they have it. How eBay work is a seller from anywhere in the world can list their goods on eBay for sale, and a consumer from anywhere in the world can bid & purchase it. Once the auction ends, the products it sold to the highest bidder. The consumer then pays for it through Paypal (3rd party company), who offers a safe online payment system that ensures the security of the consumer’s money, then the seller ships the goods directly to the buyer. Completely free to create an account to buy and sell, only the seller is charged a fee when and if the products sell. eBay is the best e-commerce service to use if you want to get rid of some old junk that you have lying around. For example, you might have an old pair of used sneakers that you’ve spent $100 on, barely worn, and can’t seem to throw away. You can then sell it on eBay to make up for the loss. You might not be able to get the whole $100 back, but you may get $20, $40, or $60 back, depending on what the bidders are willing to bid. Getting something in return is better than losing that whole $100. eBay isn’t used to get rid of some old junk you forgot about in the attic at a loss; it also sells collectibles, antiques, and goods where you can profit. It connects a buyer from one end of the world to a seller on the opposite end. The products can be scarce in the region where the consumer is from, whereas its widely available in the seller’s area—the simple law of supply and demand. I recently sold a textbook on eBay for $65, which cost me $65 at Baruch’s bookstore. After all of its fees, I walked away with about $55. A $10 loss, but that’s a much better margin compared to what Baruch would have repurchased it for. You can easily create an account within minutes. Give it a try, buy, or sell something and let me know your experience.

Selling through Amazon

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Amazon, to this day, is the most used e-commerce service, the world’s largest online marketplace. If you were to look into the back of a USPS or UPS delivery truck, I’m almost positive over 80% of the boxes are from Amazon. As of September 2019, there were over 150.6 million mobile users and over 103 million active Amazon Prime subscribers. According to Oberlo’s blog “89% of buyers agree that they’re more likely to buy products from Amazon than other e-commerce sites, 98 % of those who purchase on Amazon daily or almost every day and 99% who purchase on Amazon a few times a week agree that they are drawn to Amazon over its competitors”. Consumers are more demanding and impatient now; they want their goods right then and there, not a week or two later. Amazon fulfills that demand by offering free two-day shipping (sometimes even one) to all of its Amazon Prime subscribers, which draws customers to buy more and frequently, appeal to a broader audience, and making Amazon the consumer’s go-to choice. Amazon has two types of sellers, Amazon FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon) and FBM (Fulfillment By Merchant). FBA is a service that provides storage, packaging, and shipping assistance for the sellers; this requires the sellers to ship their merchandise to a fulfillment center, then stored in its warehouses until its sold. When an order is placed, an employee will prepare, package, and ship the goods. FBM, the seller houses its inventory, pick, pack, and ship the products themselves. Yes, selling through FBA sounds fantastic and easy, but it comes at a cost. Amazon charge fees for using their services, here is a list for using FBA,

  1. Standard Seller Fee – Amazon charges between 15-18% of the product price.
  2. Fulfillment Fee – Charges a fee by each unit and it’s size, which covers the picking, packing, and shipping of the merchandise, handling, customer service, and product returns.
  3. Inventory Storage Fee – A monthly storage fee for housing your goods in their fulfillment center.

Before starting the adventure, consider what’s best and most profitable for your business. Although FBA seems like a good choice, you must factor in the many fees and see if it’s still beneficial to go this route. I would recommend doing FBM to start, and the profits are much higher because of all the fees saved. Yes, you’ll have to handle everything yourselves, which will require labor and time, but all businesses start this way. Once you get the hang of everything, make enough profits, and want to start scaling the business, consider FBA, Until then do the work yourself. The downside to selling through Amazon is that it requires you to have a decent amount of capital to purchase the inventory, and you may not have a quick turnover. You have to dedicate time and money into this.

Overall, using their selling platform is impressive, with there algorithm, they help you market your products, doubling your exposure and sales opportunity. If your product already exists on their website, your inventory will sell under the same listing, no effort is required for the descriptions, pictures, etc., everything is pre-filled. Due to the recent pandemic, Amazon was one of the few businesses that remained open throughout. According to NBC News, Amazon reached $75.5 billion in sales in the first quarter of 2020 compared to $59.7 billion during the same time last year. Their website traffic surged to 2.54 billion visitors in March alone, a 65% jump from the previous year. To wrap it up, Amazon is here to stay, It’s not going anywhere, and it’s just going to get bigger, so “If you can’t beat them, join them,” they say, so why not sell on Amazon.

 

-https://www.oberlo.com/blog/amazon-statistics

-https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/amazon-has-been-indispensable-during-pandemic-it-s-clear-who-n1197341

-https://feedvisor.com/university/fulfillment-by-amazon/

-https://feedvisor.com/university/fbm-or-fba/

 

Saving $$$ with a computer – Method 2

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This post is method 2, a continuation of my last post on Saving $$$ with a computer – Method 1. Take a quick look if you haven’t already to get an idea of what I’ll be doing here.

This technique is a little more advanced but simple to use if you follow along. In the video below, I’ll show you a method using the Google extension Honey to help you save money AUTOMATICALLY. No need to search on shady sites for discount or promotion codes. It’ll automatically apply all working codes instantly and get you the most significant discount. I’ll be using Adidas as an example. With this technique, I managed to save myself $27.

 

 

Saving $$$ with a computer – Method 1

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This post is a continuation of my last post on Saving $$$ with a smart phone. Take a quick look if you haven’t already to get an idea of what I’ll be doing here.

For my last post, you might have to be a little tech-savvy, to understand and follow through. But in this post, anyone and everyone, even beginners, can use this technique to save some $$$ using a computer. Google is the BEST and most AMAZING search engine/tool (in my opinion). I’m sure everyone has heard of it or used it before, if you haven’t, google it. In the video below, I’ll show you a technique I use on Google to find the best competitive pricing on an item I want to buy. I’ll be using the Apple Airpods Pro as an example. With this technique, I managed to save myself $37.27.

 

Saving $$$ with a smart phone

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Who likes money (I DO!), who likes saving money (I DO!), I’m sure we all do.

Don’t you hate it when you buy something in one store, then go to another store and find the same item but for a lower price? It happens to me ALL the time, and I say to myself, “DAMMMMM.” It can be minuscule to something vast, a penny saved is a penned earned. Since we all pretty much have smartphones and are on it every other minute, ill be showing you some techniques you can try the next time you go shopping to save some MONEY!

When I go to a retailer, I like to use the app ShopSavvy. It helps me compare prices amongst other retailers by merely scanning the barcode of the item. It pulls up a list of stores that carries the same item and how much they sell it for. If there’s a significant price difference or I know I’ll be going to that store sometime soon, ill hold off buying it until then to save some $$$. I also use the app Honey, where it gives news about sales, daily deals, trending products, best sellers, and bargains from your favorite stores. It also has the feature of proving you the latest working coupon codes to save even more money. These apps have additional amazing features that I have yet to discover, give it a try, and let me what you think. For example, I’ll be using a Neosporin ointment as a demonstration; a local drug store is selling it for $8.99, check out the video below. 

No Money, No Problem – Retail Arbitrage

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With the convenience and simplicity of our smartphones and apps, you can easily and quickly retrieve information within seconds, even without searching or typing any words. With the access of your camera, you can find the same item on online e-commerce websites like target, amazon, eBay, BestBuy, Walmart, and the list goes on, by simply scanning the barcode on the item. It’ll pull up the item on your desired website and show you all the information, including the selling price.

Retail arbitrage is one of the many ways to make money through e-commerce. It might be the easiest and requires little to nothing to get started. You can walk into any discount shops like TJ Max, Marshalls, or Century 21, scan any item with a barcode and compare the price to your favorite websites like Target or Amazon. If there’s a significant margin, buy up all of its inventory (The more money you invest, the more money you’ll earn) and sell it on sites like eBay or Amazon. You will need to create a seller account on both platforms and will require some patience.

If you have a decent credit card like, for example, the Chase Freedom Unlimited card, you can charge all your purchases to the credit card and earn 1.5% cashback (you get paid to spend money). Yes, you still need to pay for the credit card bill, but you have a month to do so. That gives you 3-4 weeks to sell the goods and recoup the original investments. Worst comes to worst if the products don’t sell in time, and you think its a lousy investment, you can still return it (Most retailers offer 30 days or more return policy), the funds will be refunded back to your credit card.

For example: If I found this Braun thermometer for $19.99 in a local Marshalls, and Target is selling it for $42.99. I can list it on eBay at a slightly lower cost, $39.99 and that’s a $20 profit. If I were able to purchase five thermometers, that would be $100 profit. There are some fees to factor in but I will not get into that. Please watch the video I’ve included to show you how easy it is!

EVERYONE will depend on E-commerce

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If you haven’t already noticed, but a lot, if not most big-box retailers with brick and mortar locations are either going out of business, minimizing its locations, or making transitions to meet online demand. Physically going to a store will be a thing in the past. Everything has gone virtual, and you can order almost anything online and have it delivered to your doorsteps within days. Some businesses even offer the convenience of free shipping and returns, so that they can have your business. E-commerce doesn’t only provide convenience, but it also offers competitive pricing and discounts. You shop and compare prices amongst other online retailers to find the best price, and some businesses even offer price matching. Most online stores offer an additional percentage off with just a simple email sign up, and some have additional discount codes you can apply during checkout to save even more. The online stores give you all the information about the product, and on top, they have more variety of choices and options. If you’ve gone to the business’s brick and mortar location, they wouldn’t even offer these services or options.

For those who live in the metropolitan area, traveling might not be as stressful, and there might be multiple store locations within the same area. What about for those who don’t live in metro areas and has to drive everywhere, they would have to commit 30mins driving there and another 30mins driving back, pay for gas, toll, and parking, and what if the store don’t have what you need, it would’ve been a waste of time and money. Some people are busy, can’t find the time to go to the store, and some might be lazy, don’t want to make the trip. Personally, the only time I shop in a physical store is when I need that item right then and there and can not wait a few days. I’m sure I can speak for most of us, we all enjoy the convenience, also alongside saving some money, so that’s why I say everyone will depend on E-commerce.

The INTERNET!

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We are ALL in uncharted waters right now. Never have anyone experienced this recent pandemic in modern times. The world is in lockdown; the things we took for granted are no longer accessible; the joy of freedom to walk down the street without worrying is considered a privilege. In certain countries, leaving your property without permission gets you fined or even arrested. Now that everyone is at home, people are either playing games, communicating with friends and family, surfing the web, watching videos and movies, working remotely, zoom meetings with colleagues and professors, shopping, or e-commerce. The one thing these all have in common is the internet. We have never depended more on the internet than we do now. According to NBC, “overall internet traffic was up 31% on Friday, March 27, compared to the same day last month. In addition, cell phone calls were up 32% on the same day, and Wi-Fi calls were up 82%.” (nbcdfw.com)

Being that everyone is on lockdown, all non-essential businesses with brick and mortar locations are closed. But guess what business remained open throughout this pandemic, and will always remain open regardless of any world events, E-commerce. The e-com world is BOOMING!!! Everyone is shopping with all this free time in their hands. I’m not going to say all e-com businesses are making money; not everyone is spending money like they were before because they’re out of work. E-commerce is the central aspect of a company where it remains open and working regardless of what’s occurring, 24/7, but of course, with the help of the internet.

Either people aren’t able to go to their local store for food and supplies, or they’re scared for their health and safety. There’s also a shortage in most things, either scarce or sold out, so it would be a waste of time making that scary trip to the store. The last and best option would be ordering off an e-com business, delivered to your doorsteps. An e-com business I’m sure we’re all familiar with that has almost all your needs, can be delivered to you within a day or two, is Amazon. In its first quarter of 2020, Amazon made $75.5 billion in sales, whereas it earned $59.7 billion during the same time last year. During this pandemic, “The company’s website traffic surged to 2.54 billion visitors in March alone, a 65 percent jump from the year before.” Most companies are laying off their employees, but Amazon is hiring more employees. In my opinion, e-commerce is the way of business now and in the future. (nbcnews.com)

 

  • Russell, Ben. “Internet Usage Up During Pandemic.” NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, 30 Mar. 2020, www.nbcdfw.com/news/coronavirus/internet-usage-up-during-pandemic/2341729/.
  • Miranda, Leticia. “Amazon Has Been Indispensable during the Pandemic – but It’s Clear Who Really Wins.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 1 May 2020, www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/amazon-has-been-indispensable-during-pandemic-it-s-clear-who-n1197341.

Hello E-com World!

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Times have changed; people are adapting, everything and everyone has transitioned and relies on the internet. The internet has taken over most of our daily lives, it becomes more innovative, and we depend more on it. We use it for everything to making our lives easier, communicating with people, keeping track of data, solving problems, gaming, work, school, learning, shopping, and the list goes on, but my main focus would be e-commerce. Most online businesses use e-commerce as a way to generate income. E-commerce is also known as “electronic commerce or internet commerce, refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions” (Shopify).

In this present time, as an adult, you need a job or income. Many newer companies/startups have ditched the old traditional ways of having a physical office or having employees come into the office to work. These companies encourage the employees to work remotely online, giving the employee absolute freedom to work wherever, however. The employee can work from home, in bed, in his underwear or halfway around the world on a beach in Bora Bora, sipping on a Pina colada, and all the work can be done from your laptop or smartphone as long as you have internet.

What if you combined both, you work remotely, however, and whenever, doing e-commerce? You work for no one but yourself, you set your own schedule, and there’s no limit on how much you can earn. If you’re feeling a little off this month and only earned $1,000, you can make it up next month, hustle harder and earn $30,000; it is entirely up to you. If you worked for a company, no matter how hard you worked, how much you sold, you would have a cap on how much you can earn. Instead of making your employer richer, but not yourself, how about we change that, and you can make yourself more money.