Sell stuff on Ebay and make money. Sounds good, doesn't it? But for many people, it's not so easy. After they clear out their closets, attic, basement and garage, they don't know where else they are going to find things to sell. And if they are currently working for someone else, making their own products (e.g. skateboards or hand-knit sweaters) is not feasible. The solution is product sourcing for Ebay. This article explains how to succeed at Ebay sales using this strategy in 3 steps.



Step 1. Market Research - What's Hot on Ebay?

The common advice is to sell your passion. But many people don't have a passion, or at least not something which can make money. Or maybe they are just not good enough at it to make money. Not a problem.

You just need to sell what's hot on Ebay. Fortunately, Ebay makes this easy - they regularly publish a report called Ebay Pulse, which lists the hottest items sold. This report is regularly updated, and you can use it to decide what are the best items to sell on Ebay.

So take this list, and cross-reference it against the closed auctions. Note the lowest price, highest price and median price for each product.

Step 2. Vendor Research - Finding Wholesalers For Ebay Sellers

Now look for directories of wholesale dropship supply vendors. These are companies who sell goods at wholesale prices and ship them directly to your (Ebay) customers. Some vendors work on different business models, e.g. paying commissions instead of selling goods at wholesale prices. The following discussion assumes the vendor will sell goods to you at wholesale prices (while dealing with the shipping and handling). If the vendor uses other business models, you'll have to make appropriate adjustments.

There are different directories offering different levels of information. Free listings are usually not very up-to-date and don't contain very much data, but paid listings are no guarantee of quality. Your best choice is to look for directories which offer either a test-drive or a money-back guarantee.

For each hot product in your list (from step #1), look for at least one dropshipper who can provide you with products at a good margin. Objectively, what's good for one product may not be good for another. Since you still lack experience, what matters most is that you are comfortable with the margin.

Step 3. Sales And Marketing - Set Up Your Auctions

Pick one product and dropshipper (from step #2) and look up the Ebay's closed auctions for this product. Look for the auctions which sold at higher prices and try to figure out what made them profitable. Usually, the 3 most important factors are: Offer, Headline and Timing.

Analyze these factors, and test them out in your own auctions. Some of your experiments will produce miserable results - they don't matter. Take your most successful experiments and work on them until they consistently make you money.

Once one product-dropshipper pair is successful, rinse and repeat for a second product-dropshipper pair. You want to diversify both your income and your suppliers to smooth out your earnings. Making $9,000 in your first month then $0 in the next 2 months can be discouraging. It is better (and easier to claim success) when you make $3000 every month.

This means your second product must be completely unrelated to the first product, and your second vendor must be a different company as well. If you can pick up 3 to 5 different products in your portfolio, you'll be well on the road to success.

Product sourcing for Ebay is one of the strategies power sellers on Ebay use to make a living. It's not the only strategy, but it's something even beginners on Ebay can copy and start making money quickly.