I remember the first time I sold something for someone on eBay. It was a great feeling. Not great, like, I’m getting married tomorrow or, I just won the lottery, but another type of great. I felt as thought I had helped someone out and made some extra money. Those two things combined can create such a fulfilling feeling. This act, however, that of taking ownership of someone’s belongings, then selling those belongings and receiving a commission is commonly called consignment.
Consignment is a great way to start an online auction business. After selling all the unwanted items lying around your house, you are probably not going to have that much experience in any one type of niche products. If you are able to have a variety of other people’s things to sell, you can get the hands-on experience of handling many different types of items and eventually focusing in on one particular item. That is the biggest obstacle to overcome when you start out on eBay.
I even hate to say it here to you because I have read so very much: What should I sell? Sometimes familiarity breeds contempt and sometimes, as in this case, it is necessary. It goes without say that it is necessary to decide what you want to sell on eBay before beginning an eBay business. You guys know this. When thinking about ideas of choosing what to sell, it’s easy to let a small amount of bias get in the way.
Ok, come on now . . . you know that everyone wants to sell what they like. I, for instance, love books and though I’m having a little success currently, I will have to eventually decide if the market is too competitive. As will you in deciding what you want to sell. Of course, don’t count what you like out. It’s really of matter of deciding what is practical and not letting too much bias get in the way. Maybe you don’t want to start a consignment business. It’s just not for you.
There are many other ways to decide what to sell. Terms like market research are intimidating to me and may be to you also. So, let’s just call this part . . . Looking for the Expensive Stuff Honestly, that’s what we want to do. And where do you find them? The very place you started out on. Right there on eBay.
The most effective “market research” you can do is looking at closed auctions in any given category. Let me tell you the easiest way to do this. Make sure you’re signed into the eBay website. Avert your eyes ever so slightly to the upper right hand corner. What do you see? White space? Ok, a little to the left (depending on your monitor resolution) and you see a search box. That tiny box that gives you access to all the consumer products you can imagine. Don’t type anything in it. Click on the link directly below it that says Advanced Search. Now you have the portal to look for the expensive stuff.
Choose your category on the left, type in your keyword, then click on the Completed lists only checkbox. You can also search within certain price ranges and highest or lowest price first. This is the best, freest way to find what is selling well on eBay. The key is, to stay consistent. Look for trends and even though you think what you like may not be practical, check it out anyway. You find yourself selling what you love and making money at the same time. And when that happens, you’ll be helping yourself out and making some extra money.
