Have you ever felt that you've had the perfect item to sell on eBay? Have you done your research and you know that others are selling the same thing with great success? Yet when you list the same item, you're shocked when you don't even get one bid. Why is that? You know it's a hot item, and you've heard all the buzz, but now you're stuck with an item no one will bid on. Often, even the hottest items won't sell on eBay due to a saturated market. Digital cameras are very popular but how many cameras does the average person need? So what are you going to do? Don't give up! This just might be the place where you need to do a little creative marketing.
First, remember that it's always important to test market your product first. Buy a small number of the item you're interested in selling on eBay. If those sell as you had hoped then you can buy more. Never buy in bulk until you know how well your product will do. You don't want to end up with a garage full of electronic widgets that no one wants.
When selling on eBay run your test market on two or three different items at the same time as opposed to just a single item. This will save you time as you can simply continue with what works and discontinue what doesn't.
Getting Creative
Try adding extra value to your items. Everybody loves the product that comes with a free gift. For example, if you're selling blenders, try adding a set of free spatulas or 101 favorite blender recipes. If it's an electronics product you might offer a free carrying case or set of headphones for an auto device. No matter how small the added value gift might be, never over look the power of the word "Free".
Remember that selling on eBay is like any other business, whether on the web or a brick and mortar store. You must do your planning and market research, offer something unique, and pin point your target market. Actually writing out a business plan will give you a clear image of .you want to do as well as help you identify problems before they arise.
One of the most important things to remember when selling on eBay is to not get discouraged if your first test markets don't work out. Even the top eBay sellers had to start someplace and you'd probably be surprised to learn that many of them weren't successful in the beginning either. It's a trial and error game and in the end persistence is what pays off.
Finally remember that everything old is new again and that timing can truly be everything. It's amazing how something that isn't selling well today can suddenly become tomorrow's hot item. Take for instance sewing. While a number of years ago the interest in home sewing dwindled and home made clothing was not considered fashionable, today it is on the rise again. Due to a struggling economy and the desire to save money as well as sewing machines and patterns that can make anyone look like a couture seamstress, sewing is gaining in popularity again. The key to selling on eBay is to become aware of rising market trends. What's the latest hot item with the stars in Hollywood? What's new with the teen crowd? Read and research all the time and catch those trends and fads as they form and you might just find your next big item to sell on eBay.
Let's get started...
You can easily search through eBay using their advanced search tool and look for items that generate over 25-30 bids.
eBay recently integrated an advanced search option where you can select the minimum and maximum number of bids per auction listing.
Set the minimum to 25 and the maximum to 1000.
Then, browse through these auctions and look at the number of sales the corresponding member has made over the past month.
You can do this by checking their feedback comments.
Also, if the item is a buy-it-now item and they listed more than 1 item, then you can see how many purchases were made by going to the 'history' link.
Plus, it is important to check out the number of unique bidders.
In most cases, you will see that only a few bidders are battling for the auction, therefore not really identifying a true hot item.
Another identifying feature to look out for is the number of hits the auction has received. You can safely assume that the item is hot if the number of hits are over 300-500.
However, there has been incidents of ebay users refreshing their browser 100's of times to increase their auction hit counter, therefore tricking buyers into thinking that the item is in demand.
Therefore, by using the following 3 guidelines you can easily determine if a particular item is hot:
1. The item has over 25 unique bidders. (check the 'bidders' link and 'history' link) 2. The item has sold several times over the past month. (check the items in the feedback comments) 3. The hit count is 300 or higher.
Additionally, you can easily uncover hot items by browsing through eBay's completed auctions. This feature is also available in the advanced search section.
Using the same guidelines above, you can uncover hot items searching through eBay's completed auctions and therefore, possibly find your hidden niche on eBay!
Both Kirk Smith & Dave Guindon are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Kirk Smith has sinced written about articles on various topics from Legal Matters, Family and Home Management. If you've ever thought about selling a product online to make some extra cash then Ebay is a great way to start. To get ahead of the game and learn some uncovered and essential information, I urge you to. Kirk Smith's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.
Dave Guindon has sinced written about articles on various topics from How to Sell on Ebay. Dave Guindon is a software developer and online marketer that designs software tools for ebay enthusiasts. Find all the in seconds a. Dave Guindon's top article generates over 1900 views. to your Favourites.