Auction Power Guide

I have been looking at so many different products and have become a little overwhelmed about what i should start selling on ebay. I have several good sources for purchasing cheap stock, but would just like other peoples experiences on what sells well and what doesn’t. Any experiences/suggestions appreciated.

It doesn’t matter what you sell. As it is often said, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Most everyone collects or wants something or other.

The thing you want to be aware of with the most popular items is that you will have the MOST COMEPTION from other sellers who sell the same items. To wit, you can’t be competitive and make a decent profit unless you get the best wholesale price to maintain an adequate profit margin. If your opening bid price is higher than other sellers selling the same items, you won’t have many sales. DO YOUR RESEARCH on closing prices for the items you want to buy!

Other suggestions for items to sell:

Look no further than ebay itself. You will not be looking for single item listings but rather your target will be listings that have similar, grouped items. There are ebay ‘vultures’ who just love to swoop down on similarly grouped items in one listing. When they win these auctions, they turn around and sell the items individually and, in most cases, get one and a half to 2 times and sometimes three times what they paid for them on an average item basis. I know this works. When I had more time (read unemployed), I was one of these ‘vultures.’ This is one of those situations where the parts are worth more than the whole. However, do be cautious if you venture into this arena. You have to know your merchandise. Stay in those areas you are familiar with. You can’t jump in blindly to any and every auction that has grouped items.

If you can buy a large lot of similar merchandise for $100 to $200 and turn it around for $300 to $600, it works out very nicely, indeed! Most buyers of these large lots will be vultures as well so you could be ‘butting bids.’ Keep in mind that the higher the closing price at ebay, the less your profit on the turnaround. It’s not an exact science and it does take a little experience to really know what you’re doing but you can’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is. When I see an auction of grouped items it tells me loud and clear that the seller is far more interested in getting rid of their stuff the quickest, easiest way possible and ‘be done with it’ rather than in making a decent profit or profit at all.

Short of items to sell and where to find items to sell? Garage and yard sales, church bazaars, flea markets are obvious. These can be the cheapest sources of merchandise. ‘Junktique’ shops are not that good because these folks know their merchandise. This being the case, it is usually OVERPRICED, not under priced.

If you want to let your fingers do the walking, you too can be crafty ‘vulture’ like a select group of other ebay sellers. Become a member of several smaller auction sites and search for bargains there. But as before, ‘stick with what you know.’

These smaller auction sites are great for buyers for the same reason they are bad for sellers:

Fewer potential bidders = Less competition = Lower closing prices.

Turn them around on ebay:

The ebay formula:

LARGEST auction site by far = MAXIMUM competition = HIGHER closing prices

There are also volume sellers who concentrate on only a handful of popular items by buying in volume / wholesale at a discount and selling at a discount. The average schmo at eBay can’t compete with volume sellers of a particular item.

GOODWILL sometimes also has good bargains, but not always. Mondays / Tuesdays are the best days to visit Goodwill as most people will drop off their donations on Saturdays and Sundays and it has to be cleaned, sorted and marked before it can be placed on display.

Lastly, to maximize profits, sell WORLDWIDE, not just one country. A basic business tenet is, ‘The greater the potential market, the greater the potential to maximize profits.’ It’s TRUE! You will now have access to 200 million members.

GOOD LUCK!

As an eBay Consultant, one question I get from a lot of people is, “How do I even start on eBay?”

First of all, start small. Set up an eBay account and buy a few things to learn the process and get a feel for how eBay works. eBay and working at home is not for everyone. And it is ok if it isn’t right for you. Sell some of your own things before you invest any money in other products to sell. Understand that eBay is more than taking pictures and working on the computer – you need to be familiar with how to edit photos, shipping, customer service, and Paypal. Take your time and learn about these things before you jump in and go for it full-time.

Once you are comfortable with the whole process, don’t be afraid to take a risk every now and then. I am often asked, “But what if you buy an item and it doesn’t sell?” Well, that’s ok. You can always relist it. You can mark it down and sell it for what you paid for it and move on. You don’t want to buy a truckload of 1,000 items without having tested them out first, but you do want to experiment with different products – you may find something profitable to sell on a regular basis.

Make small investments and try new products to test them out and see what kind of results you’ll get. Don’t be afraid to experiment with new products and try new things. eBay is constantly evolving and no trend will last forever. Experience is the best teacher.

Join some eBay groups thru Yahoo Groups, Google Groups, or on the eBay forums. You can learn valuable information by talking to other sellers and comparing notes.

Read blogs, article sites (like this one), and eBooks on eBay selling. Be careful not to get duped into buying “Get Rich on eBay” kits. As a power seller with over 4 years experience, and 13,000 sales, I am here to tell you that you aren’t going to get rich selling on eBay, very few actually do. I will tell you that eBay selling is fun, profitable, and a convenient way to make money from home. eBay is just like any other entrepreneurial adventure – it takes time, patience, dedication, and hard work.

Suzanne Arant Wells
http://www.articlesbase.com/ecommerce-articles/how-to-make-money-on-ebay-where-do-i-start-196623.html