Products to Sell

Products to Sell on eBay - Choosing Profitable Niches

Before listing auctions or opening a store on eBay, you first want to know what products to sell on eBay. Though there are hundreds of resources like books and website that give you tips and pointers about finding great selling items, your first choice would be by researching eBay itself. Once you log into your account there are several avenues on this site you can look at.

eBay Pulse is one of the best places to start. When signing in you'll see a row of gray buttons in the top right corner, just move your mouse pointer over the "Sell" button and then from the drop down menu select the link "What's Hot." This will bring you directly to eBay Pulse. On the left side of the screen you will see a section called "Popular Searches."

When looking at the 10 most searched items on eBay it appeared that iPod items, iPhones, Nintendo and Xbox 360 consoles dominated the list. Clicking one of the links will pull up all auction and store listings with that keyword in its title. To the right of the "Popular Searches" section you'll find a section called the "Largest Stores." This section lists eBay's 5 biggest stores selling the items listed in the left section. And if you're still looking for clues as to what products to sell on eBay simply scroll down to the bottom of the screen to the "Most Watched Items" section. This will show the 10 most watched listings on eBay's site as of the day you enter eBay Pulse. You are even free to look at them in further detail by clicking on any of their links, and perhaps you'll want to watch some of them yourself.

Instead of doing an overall "popular items searched" inquiry of the entire eBay site you may do a search on any of the categories of products sold on eBay. Simply go to the bottom left corner of the eBay Pulse screen and click the link "See More eBay Pulse Categories." Say you want to know the best selling battery chargers on eBay. Simply select "Electronics" from the "Browse Categories" box on the left and "Batteries & Chargers" group of listings on the right and select the sub-link "Battery Chargers. " This will bring up a screen in the same format as what you've seen when first entering Pulse. Again you'll see the top 10 keyword searches on items relating to batteries and chargers, the top 5 stores selling them, and below, the top 10 watched items in that category.

Besides eBay Pulse, there are several other avenues you can pursue to determine great products to sell on eBay. Click on the "Community" button on the top left corner of the screen and you'll find numerous categories as "Feedback", "Connect", "News", "Education", "Marketplace Safety", and "More Community Programs." In addition, scroll down to the bottom and you'll see more links that lead to various discussion forums and chat rooms. Here people openly share their experiences and give advice and tips about products to sell on eBay.

To anyone wanting to post auctions or open a store on eBay but doesn't know where to begin, I would strongly recommend that they spend time and visit as many of these sections as they can. The more item they spend reading about other people's experiences, the fewer mistakes they'll make when selling online. They should seriously look into this before choosing a drop shippers or alternate sources of finding products to sell on eBay. The more input they receive by observing what others are doing on eBay, the more prepared they will be before listing their first items they hope to sell.

Ebay Overview

First Step That You Need To Know

Setting up on eBay

Becoming an eBay member is relatively hassle-free – and is one of the reasons it has more than 180 million members across the globe. Simply choose a name and a password and you’re in. To start selling you follow the clear instructions giving details of the item you are selling and selecting the relevent subsection.

You can also pload a picture from a digital camera, or one off the web, to illustrate your product.

The next steps are creating a business account, and setting up an online shop. To start trading under your business name, set up a business account when you register with eBay. All you need in order to do this is a UK address, to receive a confirmation letter through the post, and bank account details to set up a direct debit.

If you enter your VAT registered number when you create this account, then you won’t pay any VAT on seller fees. (If you don’t have a VAT registered number, register with HM Revenue & Customs.)

However, be aware that as from March 1 2007, changes to eBay’s EU stucture meant that there has been a change in the prices offered to VAT-exempt sellers. The gross fee now offers VAT at the Luxembourg rate (where eBay’s new EU entity is based) of 15%. This means your fees will rise slightly.

To be able to open a shop, you need to have a PayPal, an international online transactions company, account plus a minimum score of five positive feedback reviews. Alternatively, if you don’t have a PayPal account, you need a minimum score of 10. You also need an automatic payment method on file to pay seller fees (credit card, debit card, bank account.)

Then go to http://stores.ebay.co.uk/ and click on ‘Open a Shop’ on the right-hand side of the page.

Your customers will then be able to add your shops to their ‘Favourite Shops’ list in ‘My eBay’, and you can choose to set up and receive reports that analyse your sales.

There are various options to make you stand out from the crowd, such as premium listings and titles in bold. Although these options do not cost much by themselves, it will add up if you are listing many items. Work out which items need pushing by trial and error – you can always take action in the future if an item needs to stand out more.

How to start an ebay business

Little bit about ebay

What is ebay?

Internet auction website eBay is one of the fastest growing retail phenomenons of our time. The opportunities offered by an eBay business stretch way beyond the chance to sell unwanted bric-a-brac or discarded christmas presents. eBay has allowed millions of people to go into business who previously wouldn’t have considered it, while growing numbers are making healthy second incomes by buying items and selling them online for profit. The simplicity of setting up an eBay business is a big attraction for many people.

eBay was started by Pierre Omidyar in September 1995 as a result of his wife’s desire to add to her collection of sweet dispensers. The site now has over 181 million customers worldwide, 10 million in the UK, with up to three million items from Britain on sale every day. With so many customers online, it is not surprising that many people choose to start an eBay business.

As any user will know, eBay features just about everything for sale, from the weird and wonderful to the plain and practical. With thousands of UK customers looking for an eBay bargain every day, it’s unsurprising that some entrepreneurs have decided to take advantage and use the website to generate a full-time eBay business.

In fact, more than 724,000 professional sellers in the US alone use eBay as a primary or secondary source of income.

Julie King, from Newcastle, gave up her job as an IT consultant after she found she could buy and sell designer shoes and handbags on eBay for a profit. Her eBay business, Killer Heels, now makes over £6,000 a month buying shoes and bags from wholesalers and selling them on eBay.

Amid all the wacky eBay stories that regularly invade the press, such as the housewife who put herself up for sale for £25,000, there are plenty of thriving businesses taking advantage of the eBay phenomenon.

Wilmamae Ward sold vintage clothing through her eBay business, The Gathering Goddess.

“I had been buying beautiful vintage clothes on eBay for several years and had amassed a huge collection for which I no longer had room,” she says. “I decided to sell some of my collection back on eBay. I was amazed at the prices achieved so I began to sell more and more and it just snowballed. eBay allowed me reach many customers

“I soon decided this was a business I would love doing as I was able to indulge my fashion obsession and make a great living at the same time. It also enabled me to work from home and make my own hours.

“In addition, unlike a bricks and mortar shop which has to rely on passing trade and extensive marketing, eBay provide all of this on a global basis without the overheads.

“I'd be mad to open up my own shop. It makes complete sense to me to have my business on eBay.”

"Starting an eBay business was quite easy, I think the most important thing is to find a niche that few other people are competing in, if you can do this then this is probably the best way to start an ebay business."

eBay provides a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs. Starting an eBay business can be lucrative if done properly, this eBay guide will help you start and run a great eBay business. Whether you are looking to sell personal items on eBay or run a full ebay based business, this guide provides the information you need to get started on eBay and become an eBay success story.