Making money on eBay is best achieved when NOT going about it the way most people think! Here are 5 tips for what NOT to sell on eBay!
1. Products everyone else are selling
Many sellers think the best way to get started with making money on eBay is to sell items that everyone else is selling.
Surely those super-hot items such as ipods, cell phones, psps and other electronics will be a quick route to riches? Well, not really.
The sellers who are already selling these things are not only more established on eBay, they are familiar to and trusted by buyers; therefore, are able to buy wholesale stock in larger bulk lots than you will, so their prices will always be better.
Thus it will be pretty difficult to make a profit in a market that is already well-supplied.
2. Items under $10
It sounds like a great idea… after all, everyone likes a bargain, right? However, items that sell for under $10 have one big problem – Shipping.
It’s likely that the shipping for the item will cost more than the item itself, and this can be really unattractive to prospective buyers.
For example, if an item costs $4.50 and shipping costs $6, the total cost for the item is $10.50. If the buyer can purchase the item at their local shopping mart for $8, then this suddenly becomes a much better deal.
For small items and accessories, the way to get around this problem is by grouping the items together, such as sets of 6 golf balls or 5 tea towels.
3. Things you love but no one else does
Hobbies can be a great way of making money on eBay, but only if plenty of other people are interested in them too.
Another scenario is when you find an item you think is fantastic and could be the next best thing… but no one seems interested in buying it.
You think, oh well, it’s only short term, eventually they will learn about my item and start flocking to buy it. Well, they won’t.
It’s lonely work trying to educate people on the benefits of any product on your own. As fabulous as the item might be, it’s nearly impossible to start a trend on your own.
To start making money on eBay from a trend, you need magazines and newspapers, word of mouth and TV to do some of the work for you.
4. Very large items
Thinking of starting with furniture or pianos? Unless you already have experience selling and shipping these huge things, then it might be wise to start with smaller items.
Shipping such large items is a major operation. But not only that, these things sell less often than mid priced items as they won’t attract many impulse buyers.
5. Difficult items to ship like fragile china or plants
I’m not saying these are bad items to sell. Many sellers do very well from these type of things. I just suggest you don’t sell such difficult items when you’re first starting out.
Both these of these type of items have an above average shipping risk, especially if not packaged properly. As a new seller, any negative feedback you may get at this early stage could be particularly damaging to your ability of making money on eBay.
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