Nir Zigdon: From Small-time Seller to eCommerce Guru

We recently spoke with Nir Zigdon, a 31-year-old e-commerce expert based in Israel. He began selling products on eBay and Amazon as a hobby, and later authored the popular blog Rak Israeli, with tips and tricks for Israeli e-sellers. Nir quickly grew to be the go-to expert for cross-border online sales, for both individual sellers and larger companies.

A hobby that turned into a career

About 4 years ago I started out selling online as a hobby. I later realized that there was a market shortage of drop-shipping services from Israel, so I started www.rakisraeli.co.il for that purpose. Rak Israeli eventually turned into a blog for e-sellers, and has been replicated in many languages as www.eseller.academy. I post articles and tips there for e-sellers.

My main focus today is setting up eBay and Amazon stores for businesses in this field and developing marketplace software programs.

Market and product research is key

Just like every good seller, I was looking for marketplaces where I could make good earnings and face challenges successfully. I loved eBay due to the word research feature, and I liked how the right category analysis offered relevant results. Then I found out about Amazon, and took my business there as well.

I started off selling mainly Israeli products, such as Judaica and novelty T-shirts. After conducting some market research, I began importing products from China, and I eventually moved to shipping to warehouses abroad. Today I only work with suppliers who have automated systems; I am on the constant lookout for marketplaces and platforms that have a strong demand but weak supply for specific products.

Sharing the wealth of knowledge

I realized that the information and insights I had gathered from my own experience could hold a lot of value for small merchants, and why not share it? This is the reason I keep adding content to my blogs. I just enjoy sharing my knowledge with others, and I believe sharing with others benefits the world. I currently have ~2000 regular readers in Israel and around 6000 internationally. I enjoy receiving both positive and negative feedback from my readers. Their suggestions and criticism make me a better consultant.

I have also developed e-commerce software programs to help sellers promote sales. My main off-the-shelf program today is Perfect-List, which analyzes search keywords and categories and suggests better selling titles. This software should soon be able to optimize eBay/Amazon accounts.

Payoneer started as a solution and became a passion

As an Israeli trying to sell on Amazon, Payoneer was my best payment solution. I very quickly fell in love with Payoneer’s interface, the convenience, the customer support, and the reasonable fees. I provide consultation and develop programs for international business, so Payoneer has been my ultimate, convenient method to receive payments. It’s also a convenient method for paying international suppliers.

I posted an article on my website explaining how and why e-sellers should set up a Payoneer account; it quickly became the most popular article on the website, and that opened another door for me into the affiliation business.

Commitment and constant self-examination are the keys to success

I’d like to share some final important tips for e-sellers:

1. Commit. You must be certain about this being your occupation, preferably your primary occupation. Take it seriously, set goals and objectives, create a business plan and task lists. Act like there’s a boss breathing down your neck, but now you’re that boss. I employ several people, and I can tell you nothing is harder than being your own boss.
2. Do your research. Constantly study trends, look out for the next big thing, e.g. an upcoming FIFA World Cup. Reach your own conclusions.
3. Efficiency over quantity. I don’t believe in uploading 1,000 useless items to sell. I’d rather upload 10 best-selling items that can clearly highlight my strengths over the competition.
4. Reevaluate your business periodically.  Are you paying the lowest fees possible? Do you have the best suppliers? Once a year, do a rundown and check for alternatives, stop and think. I like going to my favorite coffee shop with a pile of printed reports. I check which products are most often being returned by customers, which suppliers are causing problems, which employees contribute more and which less. Based on that I generate a to-do list and move forward with my decisions.
5. Be unique. What distinguishes you from the competition? Is it your expertise in your niche? Your uniqueness in terms of the product or service you provide? Perhaps the most important question is: are you just like everyone else? If you are, you should step back and explore other options.