15 Places to Find Stuff to Sell on EBay

Without a doubt, the most frequently asked question any eBay seller hears is "where do you get stuff to sell?" Or, the also popular, "Where can I get stuff to sell?"

But, one of the quickest lessons any eBay seller learns is, "never reveal your sources." Doing so will only create more competition for him.

So, where do eBay sellers get the items they sell? Wholesalers? Drop Shippers? Where do I find a wholesaler? And what is drop shipping? Actually, it's not nearly as complicated as it seems. Just some good old-fashioned know-how and hard work.

1. Home Is Where The Heart Is

Or, more accurately, home is where the stuff is. This is the first place you'll want to look. First of all, who knows more about your stuff than you? Plus, it's a great way to clean out your closets and get some valuable learning experience. It costs you nothing because you already own the item. Selling your un-wanted items will teach you enough to move on to more involved, lucrative sales.

2. Re-Gifting

There's a long running joke in my family around Christmas and my birthday. How long till they see their gifts to me for sale on eBay? I'm not really as bad as that, however everyone has items they've received as gifts, but never used or opened. You took it, said thank you, and shoved it in the closet or the garage or the kitchen cupboard no one ever uses.

Just because you didn't want or need the gift, someone else will. eBay is the perfect place to unload them.

3. The Empty Nest Syndrome

Babies grow out of clothes at an alarming rate. Likewise their toys. As your little darling grows up, she leaves behind lots of sellable eBay items. Even the "old" cell phone you bought her for Christmas can be sold after you bought her the latest new phone for her birthday. And what about the cd's you bought her last month that she wouldn't be caught dead listening to now? Get back some of your investment.

4. Grandma, What A Big Closet You Have!

Back when I first started selling on eBay, I happened to be visiting my grandmother. I tried to explain about the business I was trying to start, not an easy task since she's never seen a web page in her life. However, she was more than happy to let me go through her closets and take whatever I wanted. Just that one visit earned me over $800! Including one faux leopard coat that got over 30 bids and sold for over $250!

Grandmother's who grew up poor learned to take care of their possessions. My grandma even still had her wedding dress from 1944, in mint condition. Everything was hung on padded hangers and covered in plastic and hadn't seen the light of day in years. So, next you visit grandma, offer to help her clean her closets.

5. A Little Help From Your Friends

Sooner than you think, friends are going to find out about your eBay business. And they're going to ask you to sell their extra stuff on eBay. By this time you'll be a pro. Go ahead and rummage through their things. Pick what you think will sell and offer to split the profits.

6. Help Yourself While Helping Others

Thrift stores are a goldmine of eBay sellable items. I've found that the Salvation Army stores are the cheapest and have the most sales. They're always having half off sales or buy one get one free sales. I even have one near me that offers all clothing items for one dollar on the first day of every month. You'll be amazed at the quality items that some people give away to charity.

7. They Can't Bury You With It

It's a fact of life, and an opportunity for you, that areas that house senior citizens are ripe with estate sales every weekend. The items are always nicer than what you'd get at a garage sale and are usually priced to move.

8. Going, Going, Gone!

Keep an eye on your local paper for public auctions in your area. Ignore the high-priced items they advertise in their ads. There are always lots of lower priced, smaller items that they don't bother listing. You can get some amazing deals.

9. Oops!

Often, for whatever reason, people will store their possessions in a self-storage facility, and then neglect to pay their monthly rent. When this happens, the manager promptly places a padlock on the unit, and then auction off the contents. It's the ultimate eBay grab bag because they won't show you the contents before the auction.

10. A Trip To The Flea Market

Some great deals can be had at flea markets and swap meets. Sure, lots of items are just as overpriced as the stores at the mall, but they usually have what I like to call a "garage sale area." This is an area full of spaces off the beaten path that is reserved for everyday people to rent cheap. They bring their unwanted items to sell. It's like going to 20 garage sales in an hour.

11. I Got It On eBay

eBay has lots of "wholesale lot" areas in different categories. Check them out on a regular basis. You can get some good deals from people who don't want to list the items they have one by one, or just people who don't know the value of what they've got.

12. She Did It In That Movie

Remember the movie, "40 Year Old Virgin?" The main character's girlfriend had a small storefront where she offered to sell other people's items on eBay. You'd be shocked at how many people do this. In fact, eBay makes it easy for you. They offer what's called the "Trading Assistant" program. If you qualify, eBay will put you in a directory of Trading Assistants, give you templates for business cards, flyers, and posters.

13. The Grass Is Always Greener

As some seller's don't achieve the success on eBay that they'd hoped for, or can't the prices they need to make a profit, they move on to other auction sites. Eventually, they'll start dropping their prices when their items don't sell on those sites. This is where you come in. Swoop in, grab their items at an incredible price, and sell them on eBay.

14. Wholesalers, Liquidators, And Middle Men, Oh My!

wholesale is a buzzword you hear around and about eBay all the time. In laymans terms, a wholesaler is one who has the budget and space to buy items in huge bulk quantites directly from the manufacturer. The huge amounts they buy allows them to get it at a very low price. If you have the money up front, and the space to store it all, and are thinking about doing this, promise me one thing. Make sure the products you're buying are selling well on eBay.

Liquidators and Middle Men are sort of the same thing. They buy from wholesalers, business that are closing down, or just stores that have a surplus of items they call overstock and shelf pulls. They get the items at a discount, raise the price, call themselves wholesalers, and sell to you. This is mostly what you'll find online and something you want to stay away from. You'll notice that the prices the liquidators are selling the items for is higher than what they're selling on eBay for.

15. What The Heck Is Drop Shipping?

Drop shipping is an odd term for what it really is. A drop shipper is simply someone who will sell you an item at a discounted price, and then send it to any address you ask them to. How does this work with eBay?

First, you find a legitimate wholesale drop shipper. Notice I said "legitimate." Remember the liquidators and middle men we talked about? Lots of them will call themselves drop shippers, too. But, I digress...

The drop shipper will allow you to use their pictures of the item for your eBay listing. Once the item sells, your buyer pays you. You then go to the drop shipper, order the item, and give the buyer's address as the shipping address.

If used correctly, drop shipping can be an incredibly lucrative strategy. Plus, you never have to touch the product. That means no shipping hassles to worry about.

But, again, be careful. If you find a wholesale drop shipper that you can work with, be sure to check their prices against what the average sale price is on eBay. If it's too high, or even close, you are most likely dealing with a middle man. Your wholesalers prices should be deeply discounted.