what is the method to sell on Ebay?

Question

What is the best method to finding prodcts to sell on ebay and make a profit

Answer 1

The key success factor is: Sell products that people actually want.

Buying from garage sales and selling on eBay is fun, and good getting a few dollars here and there from ebay. Sometimes, you luck out on an item and hit big, but many times it will just be so-so (assuming you can even get the price you paid for it). In terms of fun factor, it is great. But from a business stand-point, it is not sustainable.

If you want to earn serious money from eBay, you need to have a well-thought out business model. Selling on eBay is not as easy as some portray. In fact, go to eBay and check out the number of auctions that end without a single bid. Competition is getting tough, as more sellers go to eBay; even the big boys are joining in the eBay marketplace. Add to that the increasing listing and final value fees.

One success model of ebay is the couple Jay and Marie Senese (username jayandmarie) of the 1-cent CD fame. They have the highest positive feedback number of all sellers on eBay. Their business model is to buy very low cost CDs in bulk (those that CD stores sell in their discount bins) and offer them on ebay at a starting price of 1 cent http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_23/b3886080.htm Their success is based on the fact that they stumbled on a sustainable business model with products that people really want. They sold their business -- where else but on ebay -- for $5 million! Now that is success.

eBay has several ways for you to determine exactly what the hot items to sell on their marketplace:

Items In Demand = the most popular items currently within that particular category. To see the In Demand page, go to http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/sellbycategory.html

Hot Items by Category Report = a monthly report that lists the fastest growing categories on eBay for the previous month. Go to http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/whatshot.html and select "Hot Items by Category" from the menu on the left.

eBay Pulse = "a daily snapshot of current trends, hot picks, and cool stuff on eBay". Go to http://pulse.ebay.com/ to see eBay Pulse in action.

Merchandising Calendar = eBay promotes specific categories on its home page each month. Savvy eBayers know that this home page exposure results in more interest in such categories. Go to http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/calendar.html to view the current Merchandising Calendar.

As for items to sell, you can:

1. Buy bulk liquidation items such as those at Liquidation.com. The capitalization may be big, but the idea is to sell the items individually and profit from it.

2. Find manufacturers of items you want to sell and buy discounted items from them

3. Make deals with retailers in your area, and offer to buy their unwanted items for deep discounts. jayandmarie - the most successful ebay sellers - made deals with music stores where they will buy the entire inventory in the discounted bins, and then sold the items on ebay for 1-cent starting bid.

4. Look for possible partners on the Web, preferably outside of the US. Import items from them and sell them on ebay. There's huge profits to gain from this approach.

Answer 2

This depends on if your after a hobby or looking for a serious and sustainable income.

If your just after a bit of fun then hunt the boot sales / flea markets / charity shops for anything that catches your eye. If you spot something your not sure of, search eBay for similar items to get an idea of how much they sell for (remember most buyers only bid in the last hour or so of an auction so check ending prices rather than current prices with a few days to go)

If you want a serious income then you need to decide on a product. It should be something you know about already so you know the market, average price, good / bad brands etc. When you have decided on a product you can search the net for good suppliers. Don't waste money on wholesalers listings / subscriptions as these usually only give you links you would find yourself with a bit of reasearch.

If you import from outside the E.U. then remember you will not only have to add shipping charges but also VAT / Import duty / brokerage charges on top of the sale price as these charges will be added by customs when your items arrive in the country and you'll have to pay them before they will release your goods.

The real key is reasearch! Know your product, know your market and know your charges. Don't go blowing your whole credit card on one lot of items as you may fall flat on your face! Buy a few bits, test the water and go from there. This way you not only get a good ideal of what is involved in the selling process but you will start to make a little money which you can use to buy more items rather than spend your own cash - the more you make the more you buy until your coining it in!!!

Theres nothing to stop you, over 66000 people in the U.K. use eBay for at least 25% of their total income. I've been full time for 7 months and love every minute!!! Be your own boss, see more of the family, choose your own hours etc.

Go for it and good luck.

Answer 3

I would recommend you Ebay auction software which is a unique Software that provides an instant insight into ebay’s keywords, hot items and auctions. This professional software will give you access to inside information you need to know in order to be successful in Ebay.
Check the link below for full details.
Hope this helps.

Answer 4

If you go to the ebay index and scroll to the bottom and click on wholsale lots, you will find lots of good stuff that you can buy in bulk and sell on ebay.

Answer 5

Search charity shops. Lots of people are doing this now though. Research your intended buys first and see if they're actually selling first, otherwise you'll end up with a load of items you can't sell.
Good luck - and don't forget to tell the tax-man. Seriously.

Answer 6

1

Answer 7

yard sales and flea markets