Success is not guaranteed, it never is, but when compared to other business models, eBay is a reasonable challenge for anyone who wants to earn money at home. With all businesses though, prior research can help increase your odds for success.



Many people jump right in by simply picking a product they like and trying to push it off. My suggestion however, is to start by subscribing to eBay's market research tool for ten dollars a month. You wont earn money on ebay by picking the expensive items first until you know the ins and outs of running a business on ebay.

This tool gives you the opportunity to enhance your selling potential. eBay's market research tool allows you to search up to 90 days of historical eBay's listing in order to measure the market or the optimal price the products you sell. This tool answers questions like, "what is the average price of the item I am selling?" and "at what rate do they sell?" eBay's market research tool can help you determine what to sell.

Using the market research tool you will want to analyze the Sell Thru Rate (STR), the average price per sale, and the total number of sales in the last 30 days. You can determine the STR by looking at the total number of successful auctions and dividing by the total number of auctions for that period. A market that has an STR above 50% and has more than 1,000 sales in 30 days is worth entering. With any business, the trick is to buy low and sell high.

In other words, you want to find markets with lots of demand and little competition and sell the item at a price that will make you a profit. This sounds like a simple concept however, many people struggle when it comes to executing it. Consider your strategy for buying products that will warrant a profit when you mark it up but still has appeal to your market. Luckily you can find wholesalers right on eBay. Most subcategories host listings for wholesalers who sell products in that same category.

This seems like great deal of prep work just so you can work from home but it's the only way you will earn money on ebay. Getting the research done is crucial to you long term success. It's what sets apart the fly-by-night businesses from those that are here-to-stay. Before you register for you eBay seller's account and set up your store do your research. Everything else runs much smoother when you know exactly what you are doing.