Researching the Market to Find What and When to Sell on eBay

To get a leg up on your eBay competition, you need to know how the current marketplace is doing. Here are some questions you should ask yourself as you contemplate making buckets of money by selling items on eBay:

• What items are currently hot? If you see everyone around you rushing to the store to buy a particular item, chances are good that the item will become more valuable as stocks of it diminish. The simple rule of supply and demand says that whoever has something everyone else wants stands to gain major profits.

  
  



• Do I see a growing interest in a specific item that might make it a big seller? If you’re starting to hear talk about a particular item, or even an era (’70s nostalgia? ’60s aluminum Christmas trees? Who knew?), listen carefully and think of what you own — or can get your hands on — that can help you catch a piece of the trend’s action.

  
  



• Should I hold on to this item and wait for its value to increase, or should I sell now? Knowing when to sell an item that you think people may want is a tricky business. Sometimes you catch the trend too early — and find out that you could have commanded a better price if you’d waited. Other times you may catch a fad that’s already passé. It’s best to test the market with a small quantity of your hoard, dribbling items individually into the market until you’ve made back the money you spent to acquire them. When you have your cash back, the rest will be gravy.

  
  



• Is a company discontinuing an item I should stockpile now and sell later? Pay attention to discontinued items, especially toys and novelty items. If you find an item that a manufacturer has a limited supply of, you could make a tidy profit. If the manufacturer ends up reissuing the item, don’t forget that the original run is still the most coveted and valuable.

  
  



• Was there a recall (due to non-safety issues), an error, or a legal proceeding associated with my item? If so, how will it affect the value of the item? For example, a toy recalled for reasons other than safety may no longer be appropriate, but it could be rare and collectible if sealed and intact.

  
  

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