All Forum Posts by: Jose Tamez

Just looking to find other investors who are using ecommerce to build a real estate portfolio? 

-What are your challenges with selling online and investing in RE?

-What type of business model are you using for ecom?

-Would you recommend ecommerce to other investors?

with Felipe and other investors dipping into ecommerce I see that this business is being put out there as easy side money...well ive been in the ecom game for 7 years and its been a grind just now im finally seeing some traction. 

I pay myself a wage while with profits i save some for real estate investing and also keeping my cashflow going buying more products.

I KNOW IM NOT THE ONLY ONE ON HERE DOING THIS LOL :)

I do Ecommerce and invest in real estate, as with any of these businesses there is the good and the bad. 

Fba is difficult but its all about analyzing products by sales history and also finding a good supplier or where to source from. 

I do many strategies for my ecommerce business and sell across different platforms. The margins are slim this kind of business is about compounding. I can sell hundreds of products a month with a net profit of 1 to 5 dollars per sku. Some I ship myself and some I send to FBA. 

This is not my long term business but this kind of business helps me have a "lifestyle business" and also pay my bills. With the profit that I make, I save and buy real estate. So far I have two rental properties and looking to buy more. 

The main point to take away is YES, ecommerce is hard but so is real estate in their own ways. 

Just as real estate, im looking for deals and once i have a "product" I see what strategy I will use to sell this product.

Ecommerce is becoming glorified as a very luxurious side hustle, BUT its not it takes lots of analyzing and work to find those honey hole products but they tend to dry fairly quickly if you don't do your homework right. 

WOW lots of amazon horror stories, I've been selling on amazon FBA for 5 years now and yea it sucks but i make enough money to pay my mortgage and bills and still save some money to buy real estate! 

all while I'm at home learning more about real estate! YouTube, forums, deal searching, calling sellers...etc

Yea profits are slim on amazon but just like real estate you must be able to pivot. A product or house deal is a deal, it all depends what strategy you make with it. 

You find a product, you source over seas or buy at stores. You can do retail arbitrage, online arbitrage, Private label, white label, reselling, local flips...etc 

I sell on Ebay, Etsy, Amazon, Mercari, Posh, FB marketplace, Goat, Stock X, Shopify, Craiglist, Flea market

its a grind... just like any business 

Margins are slim yes, but for example: if i sell a product that net me $1 dollars after fees and i sell 100 a month...$100 "MAAAN WHY DO ALL THAT WORK????!!!"

i have products on multiple platforms doing more or less than that... im netting about 5k to 7k a month JUST ONLINE

i have two rental properties looking to pick up a new one soon, that is just gravy to my income. Although COVID hit me pretty hard...My ecommerce business boomed! I made 14k in one month on my own product this December 2020.

This is a business you gotta love, it sucks at times but when I'm home learning, when I'm able to pick up my kids and take them to play, get to work on my body and mind from the comfort of my home...it makes it worth it for me. 

Selling online is not forever, but for right now it serves as my lifestyle business.

I'm a amazon seller, I use my Amazon business to invest back into my ecommerce business and into real estate. 

My only suggestion to you is that dropshipping sounds and may seem luxurious business and most tend to venture in it , I would not recommend that line of business.  Amazon is always changing rules and with the inconsistency of most suppliers and return rate of customers you can get your account suspended. There are legitimate ways to build a great side hustle business with amazon, Esty, eBay and shopify. It took me almost 5 years to be able to live off of my earnings from real estate and ecommerce. I create my own products and wholesale product on amazon, this is a much safer and scalable way to make some great income. 

Do some homework and make sure you keep up with amazons terms of service. 

@Timothy D. Roberts

hey Tim, im fairly new to the REI but like you, im soon to walk the streets and door knock. After networking a whole bunch these are some great tips ive gotten from real estate mentors that Ive been using when prospecting maybe of some use to you.

One tip I received from a car salesman/ REI: "smile and make a friend, LISTEN people will 'let you know if they need help

Another mentor/REI: DRESS THE PART make them trust that your the real deal and will buy the home.

A tip I use when im prospecting is "A,B,C,D'S" (ALWAYS BE COLLECTING DOTS)  Danny Meyers restaurateur/ "setting the table": in his book he talks about building rapport with customers, connecting dots on keywords that make that person the person they are these points you can help build conversation and hopefully a relationship 

The main key is Trust and Time, if they dont trust you they wont sell and dont waste your time on people that dont want to sell, move on.

hope it helps 

Ive looked around for some good software for real estate but to me the best leads hands down are found by networking and farming a specific area. Although this software is fairly new it sounds interesting. I may just dabble a bit around and see how it works and what it brings. 

I would love to partner and work alongside a investor, to market through my small business with someone with experience in flipping and wholesaling homes. We have owned a business in Tobin hill and have been in this location for 16 years. If your familiar with this area we have been here before the gentrification of the Pearl Brewery. The Pearl Brewery was Pearl, located north of downtown San Antonio, provides a unique experience as a top culinary and cultural destination. The mixed-use space features retail, dining, picturesque green spaces, paseos riverside amphitheater, and the third campus of The Culinary Institute of America. As a former brewery operating from 1883 to 2001, Pearl reflects a vivid past while embracing the future with LEED-certified complexes mixed with historic architecture. 

How has the market changed after the "new" Pearl is astonishing. It went from average income individuals to high earning individuals moving from California, Washington, and Florida.

That being said my long time customers have now seen the effect on there property taxes. Not only that but the nuisance of these tall townhouses and apartments being built in once was this abandon or rundown warehouses and empty lots. I would love to help market and partner with someone with experience to acquire deals from long time customers or tired landlords who want to sell  in  that are either forced or want out of this side of town by the construction and development in this area.  Just wondering if there would be a interest or a need for this, im currently starting in REI. The best way i learn and have built a base of knowledge is by learning, reading books, and these forums. would like to partner and more so learn along the way.  I can provide the foot work, lead generation and  networking with the guidance of a experience out or in state RE investor. 

Great info Thank You! 

@Rick Pozos

I will definitely fill out my profile, ive been just a forum lurker for sometime now. Thank You for your feedback and i will make sure i fill that out ASAP.

I will not move foward with this purchase, with all this feedback my gut feeling is at ease that this is "NOT' the house for me. Me and my wife are currently and have been driving for dollars, and also me managing my restaurant I get leads potential and off market deals...the problem is the location is a hot expensive market of Tobin Hill. 

Ill continue to search and network, build more capital and build a more solid marketing strategy. 

@Costin I.

Thank You, As of now with all the feedback Ive received i will not move forward with this house.