Saturday, July 02, 2005
What Product Should I Start Selling ?
What should I sell?
Your starting point should be your own knowledge, contacts and belongings. An ideal way to start is by selling off your own unwanted property to get some first-hand experience and build up your feedback.
Beyond what you already own, consider whether there are any auction categories you have experience of outside eBay, for example you may have hobbies or past occupations that have given you expertise in a particular area. It is easier to apply your existing knowledge to the eBay market than to start from scratch .
Once you have identified one or more categories to focus on, increase the depth of your eBay research to track your chosen categories and keywords (including any relevant wholesale categories) until you have a strong "feel" for the marketplace.
Search completed items to find final sale prices. You should be able to predict the final price of common items to within 10% or so, and understand which variables affect the price and to what degree - for example condition, brand, rarity, and ad quality all have different impacts in different auctions.
Finally, be aware that some items will never sell well on eBay. The items that sell best have a high in value light in weight ratio (because most eBay items are sent by mail), or are collectible or rare. This means most electronics and antiques are "eBayable", while refrigerators, microwaves etc. and computer monitors are best avoided.
