Featured Affiliate Network Of The Month 
So, this post will probably make some of you a few thousand and I hope you decide to let me know if you do. 
I'm going to share this post because it simply isn't scalable to the level that's worth it for me.
Let me start off by saying that this can be applied to many other niches and if you're smart enough you can make a pretty penny.
As most of you know, making money online can be quite simple if you know where to look. For me, knowing where to look last year was cj.com and all the Halloween costume offers. Some advertisers on cj.com were offering a full 15% on any costumes purchased through your affiliate link.
It all started when I was looking to get a nice costume for a local event. I couldn't find any coupon codes, so I decided to check affiliate links I could use myself. (Most affiliate networks only frown on using your own link for lead generation offers)
I found a nice costume and it hit me... Check ebay for the costume I wanted...
I checked ebay and realized that the prices were almost the same for the costume I wanted and many were not listed even...
So, then it hit me again... I could list Halloween costumes on ebay (just basically copy / paste descriptions from the website) and then once sold, use my affiliate link to make an easy 15% (and for certain costumes that had no competition... I charged extra... 
). When ordering, I would simply enter my info as the billing contact and then enter their shipping information. That way, I never even touched the packages and didn't have to pay extra for shipping.
Last year I ended up making around around $450 this way I think. It was very easy money because I found a few popular costumes and just kept re-listing them. Boom. Easy Money!
Since I wasn't sure if it would work or not, I was very cautious and only listed every so often. But sure enough it all worked out. Had I been more aggressive (more risk, more time), I'm positive I could have easily made $2500 or more.
Another thing I did to increase sales was as Halloween was getting closer, I would charge about 25% extra what the website was charging for shipping and said it was for rush delivery.
If you decide to do this here are a couple tips:
- Make sure you know exactly what you're selling... Don't say something has "Boots" when it doesn't come with boots... (this = nightmare for your profits)
- Make sure the costume is in stock... I sold two costumes that were not in stock and were not going to be in stock ANYWHERE. I had to just tell them I couldn't sell them to them... DOH
- Clear your cookies after each purchase. Sometimes affiliate cookies only count for 1 sale. Therefore, clear your cookies, revisit your affiliate link, purchase and repeat.
Enjoy.
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Are you saying that we auction the “affiliate link” and then the winner paid. After that, we use the prize money the winner paid to order the costume through that affiliate link to earn the commission?
I am confused how a monthly income post can state income of an outrageous amount and then the next post shows excitement and a willingness to work for a payout of $450. Following the logic of the large income claimed in the prior post, working for $450 should be a waist of time for you. I don’t understand?
That’s great stuff man. This is not a Halloween only thing, this could be used many different ways. You could focus only on this tip year round, or even tweak it a bit to work better/easier. I may have my better half do this on her down time.
@Joe: No. You sell a costume @ 50 bucks. Go to your aff link for a costume site, buy it and send it direct to their house. You make 15% commission…
@Steve: Which is why I am not doing it again this year. Last year at this time I was only hitting close to 20-50k (don’t remember which). If you read the post I say it’s not scaleable which is why I am sharing it. Derrrr….
This is an OK idea but it has downfalls.
1) When the package comes to the buyer its going to have the companies name on it that you used when you bought the item, not your name.
2) You have no control over the shipping so if something goes wrong or the buyer gets pissed, you get the charge back AND lose the money you paid for the item, which is a quick way to lose the profit you made on several prior sales.
3) You can’t make a business out of it because you will have no customer retention.
4) If your only working on 15%, ebay/paypal fees are going to DESTROY you. Let’s use your $50 costume example and assume your charging $5 to ship it. Thats a $55 item. Insertion fees will be $1, Closing fees will be $3.05 and Paypal Fees will be $1.90. Thats a total of $5.95 in fees. 15% commission on $50 is $7.50. $5 shipping covers most of the fees but there is still .95 cents left over which bites into your commission leaving you a grand total of $6.55 at the end of this and that’s only assuming the site your buying from does free shipping.
So it’s risky and low margin. I don’t see who would waste their time on this. I’m even annoyed at myself for wasting my time typing this comment.
This may have worked last year, but with the new fees that eBay charges a markup will need to be made. I guess you would also need to make sure that the affiliate you sign up with allows purchases through your own affiliate link.
@Ad Hustler:
1. They don’t know who you are… For all they know you could be onlinecostumes.com or whatever…
People generally don’t care enough to find out, they just want their item.
2. I made it clear in my posts that returns needed to be dealt with through the company.
3. Hence why it’s for people just looking to make some extra cash… which is why I said I thought it could make people thousands instead of making them a business.
4. Most of the real success comes from costumes which are uncommon / not listed on ebay. You can charge more and make $10-25 bucks profit that way.
I also generally added on to the shipping cost a touch.
~JV
Definitely a good idea, not sure if I have the time to dabble with it but it is a great idea for someone who’s struggling to try out.
@Volk
Hey, the plan has downfalls but at least you shared it. Maybe it will inspire someone to come up with an even better idea. Keep Hustlin’
Not the best of ideas, could cost you a lot in the long run as you are taking payment for a product you are not shipping and have no control over. You are the first in line to be hit with a charge back and the those % even a few chargebacks could suck up any profit made.
This is a good idea, not only for Halloween but any other holiday should you be able to find such a holiday targeted affiliate program. In the end, I guess the question is… would this be considered a “black hat” method in a sense?
[...] Easy Money From Halloween Offers + Ebay, by Jonathan [...]
Great way of capitalising on event traffic and buy frenzy.
Genius
I bought my Ringwraiths LOTR Halloween costume via my own link…does that count Ebay affiliate marketing? haha j/k
I’m confused