How to really make money by buying and selling things

If you want to start your own business, all you need is to be creative. Your idea doesn’t necessarily have to be a brand new one, it doesn’t have to be something never considered before. You just have to think and act reas


Think about what you want to do, about whether it is going to be profitable and demanded in your area, and what range of people are going to be your potential clients. It may seem too complicated in theory, and it is definitely very responsible and time consuming in practice. But if you are sure the effort is worth that risk taken, don’t be afraid to go for it.

In case you aren’t sure where to start from, consider the sphere of trade. It doesn’t mean you will have to rent a counter and spend days standing among rows of sellers. Now you have the Internet and its limitless (well, almost limitless) opportunities. For instance, you can try to sell something people lack. Where could you get it? That’s easy: on Amazon or AliExpress, places where you can find everything and after that sell it on Jiji.ng. How is it going to work? Very successfully.

What are the benefits?

If it seems too easy for you, or you cannot believe it can bring real profit, take some time and devote it to simple calculations.

Let’s suppose you are going to sell Huawei Nexus 6P 32GB. Its price (including delivery) equals to $464.97 or ₦131,230.62 here from Amazon.


After that you will make markup 10% and now the price is = $511.47 And sell it via Jiji.ng near you location. In total your profit is = $46.50

And now, Imagine that you bought 9-phones for $4184.73, waited two weeks (because of delivery) and sell via Jiji.ng all 9-phones, so your total profit is $4603,23 – $4184.73 = $418.50 or ₦118,009.39

Nice, yes?



And what about prices for the new one on Jumia? ₦272,495 for the new one…

Let’s look at iPhone 5S 16GB!
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Aliexpress! Price for this iPhone is $214,19 or ₦60,401.58 including delivery to Nigeria.

And this is the price on Konga:

So what can we do? We can buy 9-iPhones on Alliexpress and sell in Nigeria using Jiji.ng

Let’s calculate: We bought 9 iPhones = $1,927.71 Sold via Jiji with markup 10% = $2,120.49 Our profit is = $192.78

Or even simpler: watches.

Ordinary accessories aren’t highly priced and can be a good start for non-believers. Ordinary women Geneva watch can be sold for $4.31-$6.85, and after selling 12 of those you get from $39 to $61.

“Here are some calculates for you to consider”

How to start?

Step 1. Find out what are the people’s needs

If you have someone to help you with this, it would be perfect. But you can also hire an expert for professional consulting. Or you can always spend some time researching the field (if you have enough time and patience, of course).

In the end, you will get to know about three types of market trends – short, intermediate- and long-term ones, each with its own peculiarities.

Learning to identify the trend is the major task. You need to know the psychology of the market in order to understand how it moves and changes. For instance, primary markets are active for 1 to 3 years, while secular trends do for 1 to 3 decades; intermediate trends last for several weeks, and long-term trends can be unpredictable in terms of duration.

Besides, you have to understand a potential buyer. Maybe you belong to this category, too, so it will be easier to see a picture. But in any case, you’ll have to cope with a lot of analytical data. Explore native market and find out whether similar products exist there or not, whether people need or like them, whether they are ready to pay money for these products, or will tend to find an alternative.

The easiest way to find out what will be sold successfully in Nigeria is to analyze the statistics – which items are searched most often in Google and other searching systems. You can also choose another way. The more popular an item is, the more people will be trying to sell it. If you can offer something completely new, try it. Both variants can be a risky business, and both can grow into a real business. Everything depends only on you.

Step 2. Buy stuff

After you have decided what to sell, you should find the place where to buy it. Well, we’ve already mentioned Amazon and AliExpress, and these two sources will be the best options. Searching what you need there is quite easy: type in a special line at the top of home page or choose a proper category and look through the suggested results. You will be offered several (or rather numerous) filters in order to specify the search.

Speaking about delivery, you should find out everything about terms and conditions, for your business affairs, which are dependent on it completely. Remember that shipping to places outside the US does not mean getting desired items only, but being a subject to taxes and customs duties.

If we speak about Amazon, you will have to deal with “Import Fee Deposit”, which may vary depending on an order. For technology, some warrants may not be valid, and instructions sometimes aren’t translated into your native language. The price of international shipping isn’t fixed, it varies by item, shipment and shipping option. Nevertheless, with free AmazonGlobal shipping you can receive or send everything free of charge. In general, the list of delivery options and estimated delivery date always differ. Everything depends on a variety of factors, such as product’s weight, size, delivery address etc. You can receive a package directly to your home, business address, or Pickup Point. Meanwhile, you can track your parcel. Your order can be delivered in parts, carried by several couriers, delivered faster in case you indicate it etc.

You can receive your precious things in Nigeria during 2-8 days paying $3.99 / $4.99 per item and $21.99 per delivery.

AliExpress, in its turn, offers a wide range of shipping solutions, which are in most cases set up by the suppliers. Some orders incur additional custom charges and import duties, which can be checked before ordering. Shipping costs are set up by suppliers and, consequently, depend on a particular country.

The fastest delivery lasts for 3 to 7 days and is more expensive, while the longest estimated delivery time equals to 15-26 days or even longer on holidays and sometimes is even free. Luckily for users, they can choose different options in order to get items more quickly or find lower prices. Moreover, you can always contact a supplier for more information. Actually, it is the best way to find out exact terms, for every country and every supplier works a bit differently.

Step 3. Sell stuff

When you take a minute to think about everything above mentioned, it doesn’t seem that obscure anymore. And the process of selling things is even easier than buying. First of all, you can be 99% sure that the number of potential buyers will be quite big. The reason is simple: you are the only (or one of a few) in the entire country who sells stuff they were looking for.

Some may be worried with a question: why wouldn’t those people buy everything on Amazon or AliExpress just like you? There are several reasons. First of all, buying from familiar websites functioning in your own country always seems more secure. Secondly, it is much easier. Thirdly, it is much quicker.

All they need is to open good old Jiji.ng – the biggest Nigerian classifieds website, their favorite place for shopping.

And all you need is to post an ad. Open the website, register or sign in with Facebook page and start acting. By the way, all ads are posted for free. Click on a proper button and fill the form. You’ll have to indicate several suggested parameters, write a description and attach a photo. The secret of creating an attractive ad has been unveiled, too: write shortly and with no lies. And don’t forget to indicate valid contacts, so buyers can call or email you. The rest is handled by personal communication with other users – Jiji stands for direct communication between users with no any mediators or assistants.

What difficulties am I to face?

Logically, a lot of people will be attracted to your goods. But sometimes everything works differently. That’s why you should think of premium plan and boost packages. Everything is easy. You get average chances for selling all items. And though these are great things of high quality, they won’t appear at the top of the page. Why does it happen so? Because there are people, who don’t hesitate to ask for help. As a result, they order premium services.

With premium services your ad appears first. Boost plans work a bit differently, but are a good help, too. If you buy a top position for your ad (or several ads), they appear first and have more chances to be noticed. Actually, they are literally noticed more often. When you order a boost plan, an ad may not appear as fast, but special algorithm helps automatized system work much more effectively.

What should I be afraid of?

Actually, nothing. There is no reason to get nervous. You should just be aware of several difficulties, which usually don’t take place.

One of the reasons people don’t like to order things overseas is a fear that a package can get lost somewhere. Frankly speaking, it can happen. But don’t forget that shipping services take responsibility for every loss. In most cases things are found, and if not, you get a full compensation. In addition, you can always choose an “Insurance” option when processing your order.

Scammers are another reason for worrying. Unfortunately, the Internet provides a lot of possibilities for all people, and those who want to make a profit on others are not an exception. So a clear mind is your best friend here. Never pay in advance. Always specify the details. Pay attention to seller’s / company’s reputation (it is possible thanks to reviews and feedbacks).

Both Amazon and AliExpress work hard on improving their services. Both have well-functioning safety systems and do everything possible to protect you from spam, frauds, or any other difficulties.

So when everything is clear, you should just crawl up the page and finally decide, what exactly you are going to sell. Good luck, and see you on Jiji.ng!