These days it is all the rage to make a living (or at least make extra income) online from the comfort of your home. And often best ways to make money online, is to sell on an auction web site. There are new auction sites popping up all the time, but it pays to go with the one that is most widely known. Ebay is second to none in name recognition in the auction space. Ebay is kind of like an online garage sale, although there are sections that have more upscale items as well as jewelry, vintage items and antiques. In order to find out what is the best type of item to sell on Ebay you can conduct a bit of research.

What should you sell on Ebay?

Many sellers on Ebay make money by buying low and selling high. They find wholesalers who are in business to sell for instance, large lots of imported purses, perhaps.  Often Ebay sellers source items from department stores of clothing manufacturers who are going out of business and want to get rid of their remaining inventory cheaply. Or a lucky Ebay seller may make a deal with a well-known brand to re-sell their ‘seconds’ or clothing with slight flaws. Next, all these folks list the items for sale at a much higher price that was paid to the wholesaler. Therein lies the profit. Which items should be bought from wholesalers? It’s a good idea to check what is ‘trending’ on Ebay. Use Ebay’s online seller tools to see what has been the most searched-for item. If you can purchase those items for cheap, you now know there is a market out there looking for them.

If you are not planning to go full-time on Ebay and make you entire income there, you may want to clean out your closet and garage. Many people pick up some extra spending money by selling the new clothes they never got around to wearing or slightly used clothing and other household items. This is a good way to get your feet wet in online selling since it requires little up-front investment from the seller. All you have to do is describe the item, take some photos and decide upon a price, or set an auction starting price. It is a great feeling when you start to get email from Ebay telling you to ship out an item that has been sold.

Reading Material

Books and magazines are ideal to sell on Ebay. Recent textbooks or computer or software books do especially well. Best sellers, unless they are brand new and just published are not a good idea. These are available in such large numbers that the price goes down very quickly to 99 cents or even 1 cent. Comic books are terrific because there are so many collectors out there, so you will get more than face value for older comics in good condition. Be sure to list the proper shipping amount on your listing. Some books weight quite a lot and you don’t want to lose money when it’s time to pay for the postage.

Shoes and Clothes

Baby clothes in good condition, or new, do well on Ebay. There is a great turnover in baby clothes since they are often only needed for a few months until baby grows to the next size. And no one needs to save money over the department store prices more than parents of small children or babies. Plus size clothes do well and petites too. If you can sew, you can create your own line of items to sell. Brand name clothing does very well on Ebay, since once again, the department store premium price can be just too high. And brand names indicate quality most of the time. Branded clothing is easily searchable too. You will find a lot of Ebayers looking to purchase these items.

Handcrafted Items and Jewelry

Jewelry is great for Ebay. One-of-a-kind homemade jewelry is excellent and lots of people search online for these items. Vintage or antique jewelry is ideal as well. If you are a crafter of any sort, you will probably find a market for your goods on Ebay. A challenge is pricing the handmade item so that you get value for the time, effort and materials you put into making the item, but it still looks affordable to the Ebay public. Experiment to see what pricing formula works best for you. If your products start to do well, it might make sense to create your own web site and sell your items directly.

Electronics and Small Appliances

This is an area where, among all the other categories sold on Ebay, you want to make sure to state the condition of the item correctly. Electronic items can be delicate and people can be reluctant to buy unless the feel sure the item is new or, if used, that you are being honest about any defects. Again do not set your shipping price too low, since these items have to be packed carefully, sometimes in heavier boxes, the postage can add up. People sell everything from large items like washing machines to tiny electronics such as Ipods – and do well on Ebay.

More Product Ideas For Ebay Sales

We’ve covered quite a bit of ground here on the subject of Ebay products, but of course there is much more. You can sell practically anything on Ebay, but check their disallowed items list if you are unsure. Seasonal items like Christmas do well but sometimes sellers don’t think of the potential in that category. You can even sell items for local pickup only, if the thought of shipping your couch to Illinois does not appeal to you. So don’t discount the heavy, unwieldy items that you would like to get rid of.

Hopefully this list has helped you think of things to sell on Ebay. Don’t forget the importance of including a detailed description of your item and being very honest about the condition. People often skip listings that have only a few words describing the item for sale. Don’t expect potential customers to take the time to ask you questions to find out what they would like to know. They will just move onto the next item, and you have lost a sale. Photos are super important as well, for the same reasons. You will give people confidence to buy from you if they can see all angles of the product before purchasing. And they will be less likely to be disappointed when they receive the item. That could cause them to give you a bad seller rating on Ebay – and reputation is everything on an auction site. So go ahead and search the recently closed listings on Ebay to see what items are selling and at what average price. A little research will go a long way toward helping you become an Ebay success story!