Buyer Spotlight: Ralph HowardTyranna Sports Corp.
Shamong, NJ
Ralph Howard has been sourcing inventory on Liquidation.com for over four years. Now, he's sharing some tips on how to successfully build a brand new business.
What is the name of your business?
Tyranna Sports Corp.
How long have you been operating your business?4.5 years.
How long have you been buying from Liquidation.com?4 years, 2 months.
What types of product do you sell?Furniture, electronics and toys.
Did you always sell these three products or did you start with one and expand?We started by selling just furniture and after 3-4 months we began testing other categories.
How did you decide which product(s) to sell?Marketplace research and customer requests.
Why did you decide to get started buying and reselling surplus inventory?Product cost is comparatively low and supply is high.
Where are your favorite places to sell inventory?eBay and our retail locations.
What advice would you give to somebody who is trying to get started in this space?Do extensive research. If you think it's a great deal it may not be to your customer base. Try selling in several marketplaces; the more selling channels you have, the greater exposure you have for your product offering.
What was the biggest challenge you faced when getting started? Do you have any tips for others going through a similar situation?Scalability. Starting small is always good to enable cost center control. However, the profit is in higher volume efficiencies. Basically, you make money selling multiple units of the same product through product familiarity, reusing ads and volume shipping discounts.
How has the industry changed since you got started?It has grown exponentially! I started selling on the internet in 1997 when it was just a novelty. Now, most U.S. households have made an internet purchase and internet sales are still growing by double digits each year.
