eBay® for Dummies®, 6th Edition

Appendix A. Finding Stuff to Sell

After you pick clean everything not nailed down in your house, you may want to broaden your horizons. The key to successfully selling items on eBay is to find things people actually want to buy at the right price. (Wow, what an incredible observation.) I know it seems obvious, but having stuff to sell isn't always the same as having things people want to buy. Using this concept, you can teach yourself all kinds of effective marketing strategies. Finding the item that may be "the next big thing" takes lots of work, timing, and sometimes a dose of good luck.

As an eBay seller, no doubt you'll receive tons of spam (unsolicited e-mails) guaranteeing that the sender has the hottest-selling items for you to sell on eBay. Think about this for a second. If you had the hot ticket to riches, wouldn't you be selling the product on eBay and making the fortune yourself? These people aren't big-hearted millionaires; they make money by preying on those who think there's a magic way to make money on eBay. There isn't. It takes old-fashioned elbow grease and research.

Knowing the Market

Just as successful stockbrokers know about individual companies, they also need to know about the marketplace as a whole. Sure, I know about the top designer purses out there, and so does nearly everyone else. To get a leg up on your competition, you need to know the big picture as well. Here are some questions you should ask yourself as you contemplate making serious buckets of money ...