Expert: Marvinator - 7/11/2004

Question
Good day!
Im interested in making money on selling things on ebay... do you have any tips on what I can sell and where I can get it?

Thanks,
Tim

Answer
The one thing I can tell new sellers is that you have to sell what you know.  If you don't know anything about Widgets, you won't be able to sell them. If however you have a hobby of collecting and identifying Widgets, then you can do much better.  Everyone knows a little about something either as a past job or hobby.  Delve into your past history of knowledge and you'll find the right item to sell.   You will also find that you may also have knowledge of outlets to sell these items too.  

The problem is that you can't just pick an item and sell it. Ebay is a buyer's market, and you need to have that product information in order to back up what you're doing.  The people buying from you expect you to know the ins and outs of the product and if you can't tell them the difference between that fake Dooney&Bourke Handbag and the real thing (the real ones have serial numbers) then you're going to lose sales and that means losing money.

Every item out there can be purchased at closeout sales, lot end distributors and the like. The object is to find them and then get yourself registered as a buyer with them.  

Lastly, it may seem a bit rude, but no one is going to hand you this information.  Oh, they may say they will and hand you a 2-3 year old list of goodwill stores and thrift shops, but in the end you have to ask yourself "If I had this list and it WAS the list to use to find cheap product that I can sell on ebay, would I just up and give it to someone just because they asked? Would I even SELL the list or could I make more money selling the ITEMS?"  The answer is obvious.  No, you wouldn't give it out, and you wouldn't sell it, you'd use it to buy product and make even more money. So why would anyone sell you or give you a list?  Because it's no good, that's why.  

Nothing beats getting out there and finding your own links, your own connections.  Here are a few stories to get your thinking cap warmed up:

::I know one lady that is a collector of Plates.  She found that many times there were people on ebay that would sell a collector plate and the whole description was "Dog Plate".  She found she could shop EBAY and find these auctions, pick up a plate for $5 and resell it for $20 just by giving it a better picture and a better description.  She KNEW plates, and she KNEW the market and she KNEW what would sell at what price.

::Another lady I know has a list of internet sites where she used to shop regularly.  These were items she knew well and she also knew the product line extensively.  One day she found a closeout page for one of her favorie sites.  She also found a closeout page on another and another.  Now she buys closeouts of products she knows and resells them at just below retail and makes a great profit. Again, she KNEW the product, KNEW the product line and also KNEW the pricing and value.  

::A lot of people will tell you that flea markets and thrift stores are good.  Again, if you KNOW YOUR PRODUCT, you can go just about anywhere that prices are cheap and pick up items to resell.  I know one seller on Ebay that picks up craft items at flea markets by shopping on the last day of the flea market.  She offers them next to nothing just so they don't have to pack things up!  She will buy 6-12 items at a time for less than half and then sell them on ebay at LESS THAN RETAIL and STILL make a profit.  

I cannot stress enough that the seller MUST know the product before they buy it.  I'll close with a horror story of my own.  I heard from a friend that Oreo Cookie jars would sell well.  I found a place to pick up a full dozen of them at a mere 9.95!  I listed them starting at only 12.95 and sold NONE.  I ended up selling each of them for as little as $5!  Why? Because I knew nothing about the product, or I'd have known that the items were not official licensed products.  I bought fakes without knowing! AND lost money in the deal!

I hope this helps you find that niche! and good luck!
Feel free to return and ask more questions as your
Ebay experience grows!