8 Powerful Ways to Find Products to Sell on Ebay!

Are you an aspiring auction seller looking for profitabl items to sell on Ebay?

The truth is potentially profitable Ebay merchandise can be found everywhere from garbage dumpsters to high end department stores. You just have to know how to recognize an undervalued piece of merchandise. This can be tricky for a beginner, especially if you lack specific knowledge of the product line you're trying to sell.

As a new auction seller, you'll ultimately do better selling on Ebay if you specialize in a particular niche area, particularly if it's a group of items you know very well. As a beginner, I would recommend you take a more general approach so you can get a better understanding of what sells on Ebay and at what price.

Spend the first few months listing secondhand or inexpensive merchandise that you can easily find in your general area. Once you're more confident with the auction listing and product sourcing process, you can choose a particular niche area in which to concenetrate. At some point, you may even consider sourcing through wholesalers or manufacturers.

Here are some places you can find inexpensive merchandise in your local area to test market on Ebay:

1. Yard and Garage Sales

This is an obvious source that you can find on almost every street corner in the summer. Yes, it's competitive but when you're paying only a couple of dollars max on most items, it's a great low risk way to start testing the market and get some cash flow going. You're likely to find a lot of junk at these sales so be selective with what you purchase. You don't want to end up with a house stuffed full of unuseable, unsellable merchandise.

2. Estate Sales

Merchandise tends to be of higher quality here than it is a your average yard sale and there's usually a pretty good selection of antiques and collectibles. The drawback is that prices tend to be higher than at yard or garage sales.

3. Going Out of Business Sales & End of Season Sales

Immediately after the holidays, businesses often mark their Christmas or seasonal merchandise off by 50% or more. I know of Ebayers who snatch up this merchandise to sell during the next season. Although this strategy can work, it can present a storage problem plus you have your money tied up in merchandise that you can't move immediately. Approach this idea with caution.

4. Storage Unit Sales

Storage unit sales are held when people use a company's facilities to store their excess goods and then fail to pay the rent. The storage unit facility will often auction off the merchandise as an entire unit to try to recoup some of their rent. The contents of these facilities can be a goldmine full of collectibles or a completely worthless storage pit of unusable , unsellable items. And, you're buying the unit sight unseen. Consider this approach only after you have a little experience under your belt.

5. Library Book Sales

These can be a fantastic and inexpensive source of donated books, audiotapes, DVD's, vintage magazines etc. Plus, the prices are usually excellent. If you're at all interested in selling these types of items, call your local libraries and see when the next sales are to be held.

6.Thrift Stores

These stores are a primary source of merchandise for many Ebay sellers. I would recommend looking up "thrift stores" in the yellow pages and visiting as many of these stores as you can. Try to find out when they put out new merchandise since it's a fiercely competitive environment. There are Ebayers who spend most of their day at large thrift stores waiting for new merchandise to be put out.

7. Classified Ads in Local Newspapers

These can be good sources for merchandise to be resold on Ebay.The listing party is likely selling through the classifieds because they don't have the knowledge needed to sell on Ebay so you have to worry less about them trying to sell you an item that they couldn't move on Ebay themselves. Many classified listing site are now found online, making it easy to access and read the listings.

8, Dumpster Diving

Don't laugh! There are people who do it and have success with it. This obviously isn't for the faint of heart. but h as been done successfully by other Ebay sellers.

There are many other sources for Ebay merchandise that I'll just mention in passing including antique stores and malls, crafter malls, local auctions, locally produced items by artisans, pawn shops, secondhand and consignment stores of all types. These are all worth a visit and may turn out to be good sources for you. It's important to keep your eyes open for new sources of merchandise in your area. Remember, there's a universe of great merchandise out there, you just need to train yourself to recognize it.