(by 71 people)
Want to sell on eBay? Need to find something to sell?
Want to sell on eBay? "Yes," you say, "but what will I sell and where will I get it? Wholesale, drop ship, garage sale finds. How do I find them and where do I start?"
While we can't say what the perfect eBay selling niche is for you, we are here to point you to some great resources and information that you can use to help make the decisions that will be important as you develop and grow your eBay or other e-commerce business.
Learn about purchasing wholesale items for resale, dropshipping, consignment selling, product sourcing for eBay with storage unit auctions, and more. Besides our own comments, the materials that we present here for you include websites, e-books, print books, and more. Many of the resources are free, some are not. We believe every resource and provider to be legitimate and trustworthy and have used many ourselves. Some will answer "how" while others answer "where" and even "why."
If you're a seasoned eBay seller already, you may find a few fresh ideas for inventory, too, and we would be privileged to have you add a link to your listings or your eBay store in the section provided further down on the page.
Before you go, please leave us a comment in our guestbook then consider adding us to your Squidoo lensroll and leaving feedback by giving us some stars (at the top of the page). We'd appreciate it! Very best of luck with your eBay business, and thanks for visiting my lens!
P.S. What? You don't have an ebay account yet?
Just click here to get started!
Finding Stuff to Sell on eBay - A Quick List of Resources
These are great! I'd encourage you to check them out right away.
I'll tell you more about these below, but here's a quick list in case you're in a hurry to get started.
Worldwide Brands
Drop Ship and Wholesale Product Suppliers of Milli more...2 points
Sell Vintage Postcards on eBay
This eBay Power Seller tells you exactly what to s more...2 points
The Auction Seller's Resource for professional eBay sellers
Learn where ebay power sellers buy their merchandi more...1 point
How To Create & Sell Information Products on eBay
What's the perfect ebay product? Learn how to make more...1 point
Sell on eBay - 99 Tips for Buying and Selling on eBay
Just starting out? Get your FREE 99 Tips for eBay more...1 point
Storage Auction Momma
Find all the eBay inventory you need from abandone more...1 point
Alibaba Manufacturer Directory
Suppliers, manufacturers, importers, exporters.1 point
Doba - Drop ship wholesale product dropshipping source
Gain instant access to Doba's one million products more...1 point
Get dropship items for eBay or for your own e-store.
Sell dropship products from Shopster on eBay or fr more...1 point
The Product Hunter's Guide
If you're still looking for the perfect place to f more...1 point
How to Start and Run an eBay Consignment Business
How to Start and Run an eBay Consignment Business more...1 point
Build an eBay Business Without Selling a Thing!
Now, that's a different approach. (And it works!)1 point
Salehoo Wholesale Directory and Suppliers
Get full, instant access to drop ship, wholesale, more...1 point
What Do I Sell.com
This site shows you exactly how to find the produc more...1 point
FREE Download - Overlooked Treasure
91 Common Everyday Items that Bring Huge Profits o more...1 point
Turn Storage Auction Bargains into . . .
... Online Auction Gold! How to find hidden resale more...1 point
Learn How to Sell Books on eBay
Selling books is a great way to get started sellin more...1 point
How and Where to Locate the Merchandise to Sell on eBay: Insider Information You Need to Know from the Experts Who Do It Every Day
This book ranks #1 in the e-commerce category on a more...1 point
How to Make Money on eBay
A Mom's Talk Biz Guide, but you don't have to be a more...1 point
Make Money Tearing Up Old Magazines and Selling Them on eBay
So easy a beginner can do it.0 points
Want to Sell Books on eBay? Now's the Best Time to Get Started!
EBay Announces Fee Reduction in Books, Music, Movies, and Video Games Categories
Effective along with the previously announced changes, listing fees for books, music, movies, and video game software categories will be further reduced. Auctions listed at a starting price up to 99 cents will be reduced from 20 to 10 cents each; auction and fixed price listings in these categories with starting prices from $1 to $9.99 will be reduced from 40 to 25 cents, and similar listings with starting prices from $10 to $24.99 will be reduced from 60 to 35 cents.
What does this mean to you? If you're a bookseller (or music or movie or video game seller) this can mean a very nice increase to your bottom line!
The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site
Do you want to sell books on eBay? With eBay's listing fee reductions, now is the perfect time to get started. Books are a great product for a new seller to start with on eBay; most of us have too many and, if not, books are very easy to find at yard sales, church sales, and library sales. They're easy to handle, pack, and ship, and they're great sellers.
This book will teach you all you need to know about selling books on eBay or elsewhere online. The used book business is booming, so why not find out how to get started selling books on eBay today!
How and Where to Locate the Merchandise to Sell on eBay
Insider Information You Need to Know from the Experts Who Do It Every Day
How and Where to Locate the Merchandise to Sell on eBay: Insider Information You Need to Know from the Experts Who Do It Every Day
The title says it all. This book ranks #1 in the e-commerce category on amazon.com and has a solid 5-star customer review rating.
The authors tell you what to do before you start selling, what you can't sell, and give specific information on where to look and what to look for when searchiing for merchandise to sell or re-sell on eBay. They even discuss the elusive topic of finding your niche.
With 17+ chapters and 288 meaty pages, this book would be a great investment for anyone wanting to get started selling on eBay, as well as for established eBayers who want to broaden their selling horizons.
Consignment Selling on eBay
How to Make Money Selling Other People's Stuff
Another idea when looking for stuff to sell on eBay is to sell other people's stuff for them. In fact, consignment selling on eBay can be very financially lucrative. Experienced sellers who sell items for other people on eBay are called Trading Assistants. EBay supports the idea and provides resources and a directory where you can list yourself as a Trading Assistant (TA) as well as provides training documents and a toolkit with research which you can study and use in order to build your TA business.The first question most sellers ask when considering selling for other people is, "How much do I charge?" There is no set answer to that question as TA commission and fee structures vary widely. One suggestion is to research other TA's in your area, find out what they charge their clients and set your fees competitively. Another good piece of advice is to be careful and not under-charge your clients. Consider all the steps involved in selling an item, including taking possession of the item, researching the item (especially if it's in a category you are not familiar with), taking photographs, writing an excellent listing with a great title, packing and shipping the item, handling feedback or any problems, then paying the client his share of the profit. That's a lot of work and you deserve to be paid accordingly! A fee of 40 to 50 percent of the selling price with you paying the fees is not uncommon, with perhaps a sliding scale based on the value of the item.
Another question is, "Where will I find clients?" First, list yourself in the eBay TA directory. Then, begin to spread the word locally. Tell your friends and family members and ask them to spread the word, purchase business cards and distribute those to people that you meet, or place a notice on your local grocery store bulletin board with tear-off tags with your phone number. That should get you started. Provide excellent service for your clients and word will spread to the point that you may have more business than you can handle.
I recommend starting with this book, How to Start and Run an eBay Consignment Business
, to answer all of your questions about how to get started selling on consignment, how to decide what kinds of items will be the most profitable, and how to set up your own eBay consignment business. You can find out from eBay about their Trading Assistant program here. Product Sourcing 101
Tapping eBay's "What's Hot" Page for Product Ideas
If you're an eBay seller, you're well aware that eBay earns a commission on everything you sell through eBay. Because of this, eBay is highly motivated to help you sell more stuff. One way eBay helps sellers is through eBay Seller Central's What's Hot area.
This often overlooked eBay feature serves up a host of juicy details on fads, trends, seasonal merchandise, popular search phrases, and a whole lot more. To pull up the What's Hot page, go to eBay's Seller Central and click the "What's Hot" link.
The following sections describe the eBay research resources that you can tap for leads on your next hot-selling products, but be careful not to chase the hot sellers, as cautioned at the end of this article.
Merchandising Calendar
One strategy for picking hot-selling products is to time your product selections with...Read More
Especially for Stay-At-Home Moms
Stay-At-Home Mom's Guide to Successful eBay Selling
If Suzanne can make a good living on eBay, and she does, then so can you by following the steps listed in this book. Highly recommended.
Want it today? Click here for the e-book.
Order the paperback copy from amazon.com below.
Stay-At-Home Mom's Guide to Successful eBay® Selling
Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 09/06/2008)
Product Sourcing with Storage Unit Auctions
Someone asked the question recently, in a comment on my blog, about buying used items for resale. He wanted some success stories and wondered why anyone would buy old stuff to re-sell. My friend, Karen Davis, provided this excellent response.
Hey Susan, if you don't mind, I thought I would drop in and answer the question "Could you give some examples of your own experience?"But first, let me respond as to the benefits of buying "old things" and selling them again. Benefit number one: To make some money!! One of the secrets to making money is to Buy Low and Sell High. It doesn't matter whether a product is old or new, used or not, As long as there is someone out there wanting to buy it and you can get it for less than they will pay and resell it, you can turn a profit. This goes not matter where or how you are sourcing (finding) your products.
Benefit number two: It is good for the environment!! If no one buys those storage units that must be auctioned off, all that stuff goes into the landfill. Some of it may end up there anyway, but I put most of it back into use. Someone gets a bargain on something they need and I make GREEN money while being GREEN at the same time.
Benefit number three is really more of a comment: The stuff in storage unit auctions isn't necessarily old. Some of it may be new or unused. At my first storage auction, what caught my eye was a whole box of special Barbies - and they were in mint condition still in the box. There were enough to set aside for birthday presents for my daughter's friends and still some left over to sell.
Another storage unit yielded a boatload of high end Christmas decorations including Christmas Village pieces still in the boxes and Radko Christmas ornaments. Check those on ebay and you will see why I was excited.
I have found a Craftman tool box complete with tools, new artwork that still had tags on each piece upwards of $200, complete beds, nice sofas, designer clothes, videos/dvds, china cabinets and an antique desk that was worth $700.
In another unit, I found a solid gold heavy link necklace in a box of junk that otherwise went to the dump. You just never know.
Hope that helps!!
~Karen Davis
Storage Auction Momma
Sell Vintage Postcards on eBay
This power seller does, and now she's telling everyone how to do it.
Avril Harper is an eBay power seller who has decided to share her secrets. Listen to this:"When people ask what I think is the best thing to sell on eBay, I can only speak from experience, almost forty years of experience, and I can categorically say THE best thing in my book is vintage postcards. But not just any old postcard, there is just ONE postcard type that virtually anyone can sell, without experience, without prior knowledge, without risk. This one postcard type regularly breaks auction prices, rarely goes unsold, can be picked up for pennies and uploaded to eBay in three minutes flat."
Read more and learn how to sell vintage topographical postcards on eBay.
Look at these Examples of Vintage Postcards Selling on eBay Now
Vintage postcards really do sell well. Look at the prices these are going for.
This is live feed from eBay showing bids on vintage postcard listings. Since it's live it changes regularly, but as I type this I see some awesome bids on vintage postcards from Hawaii. Got any of those lying around? Do some research and get them listed!
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byAnyone Can Do This!
Got Old Books and Magazines? Tear them up and make money on eBay.
Here's an extra hint. Consider advertising in the "Wanted" section of the classifieds for the type of old books, magazines, or newspapers that you'll need. Some people would love to get rid of boxloads and would be more than happy for you to take them off their hands. Make Money Tearing Up Old Books and Magazines and Selling Them on eBay explains exactly which books and magazines you should be looking for.
Additionally, look in the next section below to see auctions for vintage magazine ads that are currently running on eBay (this is current feed from the eBay site). I think you'll find that many of them are going for more than the cost of the book, so you're likely to make up your investment in no time! This is certainly a hot category that shows no signs of cooling down.
Vintage Advertisements Selling Now on eBay
Do you have old magazines available? Sell those ads!
This is just one of the business ideas explained in great detail in the book discussed above. How many ads do you think are in the old, back issues of magazines you - or maybe your neighbor - have lying around the house?
Check out these prices! Then check out the book that tells you exactly
how to find and sell vintage magazine ads like these.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand bySource Wholesale with SaleHoo!
This wholesale directory service is definitely worth checking out.
Compete head to head with eBay powersellers today! As part of SaleHoo's service, if they do not have a source for a product that you are looking for, they will find it for you, such is their knowledge and understanding of the industry. No one else offers a service as good as that!
Check out SaleHoo, then join TODAY for instant LIFETIME membership.
Looking For a Source for Wholesale Products?
FREE information about how to find a reliable wholesaler.
Click on the link below to be taken to the home of the internet's most trusted source for real wholesalers. While you're checking out all the great information, be sure to sign up for their FREE weekly newsletter and receive the name of a guaranteed wholesale supplier every week!
This resource gets straight A's for education and trust, not to mention its great list of reliable wholesalers.
Here's a dropshipping source you will love!
Thinking of opening an off-eBay store to supplement your business?
Shopster is a full online business solution that enables you to create an online store with a full inventory within minutes. When you make a sale, Shopster ships the order directly to your customers anywhere in North America. You never have to deal with the inventory. You set your prices. Your profit is the difference between the price you sold the product for and the wholesale price in the Shopster warehouse.
And now, Shopster has created an easy-to-use dashboard so that you can view and manage all of your eBay listings from within your Shopster account. How easy is that?!
I'd tell you more, but you'll get a better picture by visiting the Shopster site to see all of the details. There's no cost and no obligation to look. I think you'll love what you see.
Buying Wholesale Lots on eBay
Buy it wholesale on eBay, re-sell it on eBay. What a great place to get started!
If you're already a buyer on eBay, you may have noticed the category called "wholesale lots" when you are searching for an item. While there is a "wholesale lots" sub-category included within most of the main categories, you can access all of them on this page.A word of caution about lots advertised as "wholesale" on eBay. More often than not these items are not listed by true wholesalers but are repackaged lots from ebay sellers who are cleaning out their own inventories. Sometimes they will be items that the particular seller could not sell individually. Often, though, they are smaller lots that the seller has acquired in bulk and broken down into smaller, more affordable lots for other sellers on a budget or without a place to store a large inventory.
You'll also find that some people don't take seriously the definition of a "lot" and use this category to offer single items at what they consider to be wholesale prices.
So, as should always be the case, buyer beware. Make sure you understand exactly what it is you are bidding on. I have found real treasures from the "wholesale lots" page and you will, too, if you spend some time being a wise shopper.
Wholesale Lots for Sale on eBay
Buy Wholesale from eBay, Sell Retail on eBay or Elsewhere
Here's a selection of eBay items advertised as wholesale lots from the Clothing, Shoes and Accessories category. Interested in a different category? Use eBay's advanced search page.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byHate keeping records?
Need an EASY bookkeeping system for your eBay or other online business?
Watch this demo.
Still Haven't Decided on a Product Source? Look in your Own Backyard!
How to find unique items to sell without leaving the comfort of your own community.
If you're still looking for the perfect place to find the perfect product to sell on eBay, why not start looking in your own backyard?I'd recommend you seek some advice first from a man who calls himself "The Indiana Jones of local product resourcing." Dennis Hester can tell you exactly where to look, what to do, what to look for, and what to expect. His new e-book contains 27 chapters, plus bonus chapters, of brilliant ideas you would never have thought of on your own.
Dennis' advice is gold for both new and experienced eBay sellers. So, if you're serious about looking for unique items to sell on eBay, take a look first at his e-book, The Product Hunter's Guide for eBay Treasure Hunters, an inexpensive resource that could be the wisest investment you'll make in your eBay or other e-commerce business.
Build Your eBay Business Without Selling a Thing!
Learn eBay from the Experts
These authors know what they're talking about!
Click through on these titles and read the reviews from all the satisfied readers.
Do You eBay from the UK?
EBay International Sellers - These resources are for you!
Starting a Business on eBay.co.uk for Dummies (For Dummies S.)
Amazon Price: (as of 09/06/2008)
Make Serious Money on EBay UK
Amazon Price: $23.25 (as of 09/06/2008)
Ebay.co.uk for Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
Amazon Price: $24.99 (as of 09/06/2008)
The eBay Book: Essential Tips for Buying and Selling on eBay.co.uk
Amazon Price: $16.20 (as of 09/06/2008)
eBay Global the Smart Way: Buying and Selling Internationally on the World's #1 Auction Site
Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 09/06/2008)
From my Auction Tips Blog
Tips & Tricks for Buying and Selling on ebay for Fun and Profit
Visit my blog and sign up for the feed. Sometimes I have some pretty cool posts!
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byResearch, research, research!
More coming on this important topic soon, but Hammertap is a great place to start!
News About eBay, From eBay
Keep up with eBay news from the eBay general announcements board.
EBay.com itself is a great resource for learning how to sell and how to grow your business, as well as just finding out what's new in the eBay world. Check their announcements regularly. The workshops are archived and are highly recommended resources for learning about specific current and important topics.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byStay on Top of Ebay News with the AuctionBytes Blog
Ina Steiner is on the case! If it's happening at eBay, you'll probably read it here first.
News, rumors and speculation about the online auction industry by Ina Steiner, Editor of AuctionBytes.com
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byTake a Break and Have Some Fun
Oh, those eBay videos!
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EBay Video Showcase
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From Weird Al to Judge Judy to more Weird Al to elevator commercials and - is that the real Weird Al? - everyone has their video take on the world's most famous auction site. While you're waiting 'til it's time to snipe your late...
Love eBay? Show the World!
Wear it on your chest, wear it on your head, carry it, or let your kids wear it for you, but let everyone know you sell on eBay!
Add Your eBay Link Here!
Please feel free to add a link to your eBay listings or eBay store.
This is for eBay store or listing links only, please. Just add your link code, click "done adding," then you'll be able to add a brief description. Then, if you like this lens, I'd appreciate if you would leave me feedback by awarding me stars (at the top of the page). Thanks!
Annie-Star-Pet-Supplies
Quality PET SUPPLIES at low prices with GREAT cust more...2 points
Awesome Steals And Deals
From ebooks to dvds, come see what we have!2 points
eBay Store - MomTo6 Books and More: Nonfiction Books, Textbooks, Education, CDs
Buy Nonfiction Books and Textbooks from MomTo6 Boo more...1 point
Paladin-Games-and-Hobbies
Paladin Games &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp more...1 point
Info Products Store
Start selling digital information products with ou more...1 point
Moomette's Magnificents
~Moomette's*Magnificents~<br /><br />& more...1 point
Strayspay-Collectibles-Art-n-Books
Welcome to my eBay store. I sell books, rare and o more...0 points
C & J Distributors
Thanks for visiting my ebay store!0 points
NoveltyBag.com Sale Items on Ebay
joyusjan's about me page. Check here for great sal more...0 points
This-N-That-Freeland-Enterprises
I sell a collection of different items. My Own Bea more...0 points
Bisybee Collectibles eBay ~ Barbie dolls & fashions
Earn cash back on ebay and other online purchases more...0 points
eBay Store - Dar's Glass and More: Craft books, Pottery and porcelain, EAPG
Buy Craft books and Pottery and porcelain items fr more...0 points
The Tattered Hydrangea
Books...Christian, Spiritual, Childrens, History, more...0 points
eBay Store - Books: Used Books, Reference, Nonfiction
Buy Used Books and Reference items from Books eBay more...0 points
Michaela Cernescu's eBay Resources - home
I am an Education Specialist Trained by eBay. This more...0 points
MY-MOMS-BOOKS
When you enter My Moms Books you'll find - Always more...0 points
A Midnite Rose: Decorative Collectables, Bath Body, Vintage Jewelry
Buy Decorative Collectables and Bath Body items fr more...0 points
Depression Glass Warehouse
Depression Glass Warehouse - lots of colored glass more...0 points