How To Choose The Perfect Product To Sell On eBay

Finding the perfect product to sell on eBay comes down to four things.

Your hobbies, the buyers’ demographics, solving problems, and hotcakes.

Let me explain why…

Sell Products Based Around Your Hobbies & Interests

Many successful business people begin by following their hearts. Businesses must take risks and go through ups and downs. Selling something you love and are passionate about makes it easier to get through the tougher times. Selling products that interest you is a surefire way to get yourself excited. And if you are excited, your customers will be excited.

Let’s say you’re interested in fishing as a hobby. It’s safe to say that your knowledge about fishing makes product sourcing fun. There are hundreds or even thousands of fishing accessory items available that you could sell. You get to read about fishing all day and talk about fishing all day.

Fishing knowledge makes you an informed seller. It will help you write more informative product descriptions that can help you beat other listings. It also helps you determine things like which items are rare and how much to charge.

Another advantage of selling things you like is that you might know where some of the big sources already are. Knowing where to start and where to go get going can save you valuable time that you can apply to other aspects of your business.

If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.

Find Out Who Your Buyer Is And Figure What They Want

Demographics. This is just a big word for describing your ideal customer. How old are they? Are they a man or a woman? Do they live in the south or the north? What are they interested in? Do they like sports or not? Do they like the outdoors or not? What kind of TV shows do they like? What kind of movies do the like? Who is your perfect customer?

As a seller, it is your job to “relate” to your potential buyer. The way people spend their money depends on their interests. Teenagers from ages 13 to 19 are often buying stylish clothes, cheap food, and personal care. Young adults until their late 30s spend most of their money on electronics and gadgets, nicer clothes and accessories, and grocery items. People from ages 40 until the time they reach retirement spend money on housing, food, health care, and travel/leisure. These are general demographics. You will want to know a lot more about your perfect buyer.

Another thing you need to consider is the economic status of your buyer. Do they have a lot of money or are they young with limited funds? It’s good to know how much your perfect buyer is willing to spend on something.

What Problems Do Your Buyers Have?

After choosing your target demographic and knowing how much they are willing to spend, move on to their problems.

What problems do you buyers have? What do they struggle with daily? What products are available that you can sell them to solve their problem? You will make the most amount of profit by selling the products that solve the biggest problems.

An easy example is a cell phone cover. I just bought a $600 cell phone and I don’t want it to get scratched so I bought a protective case AND protective screen cover for it. I solved the problem buy giving someone my money for their product. What problem can you solve?

What Items Are Selling Like Hotcakes?

Start searching on websites that you already goto and start collecting a list of top selling items. Also, keep in mind what you purchase personally. What items do you buy? What items do you your friends buy? What items does your wife (or husband) buy? What items do you buy repeatedly or have to refill on a recurring basis? The real money is made on the refills not the main product.

The first place that you need to go are the big box shops’ websites. Browsing through top merchant websites such as Amazon, Newegg, and Walmart is good start. Here is a lit of the top 500 shopping websites on the entire Internet. What do they sell a lot of? Think about why. How could you do the same? Their websites can already tell you what people want. By browsing through these website’s top products categories, you can come up with all kinds of ideas for products to sell.

Many top selling products sell because their brands are well known and trustworthy. Can you sell the same brands? Or are there other brands available that can compete? What products go with the main products? What can you sell in addition to the the main product? Are their any refills or accessories that need replaced periodically? Can you sell generics or are the items typically tied to brand names?

If you’re not too confident about selling your hobbies, just sell what people have a high demand for instead.

What Items ARE NOT Selling Like Hotcakes

Maybe there isn’t a demand for that item because the supply doesn’t exactly exist online yet. Consider yourself lucky if you happen to arrive upon one of these golden unicorns. If there is a product that people want but can’t find anywhere online or offline, consider this is an opportunity to make some money.

People on the Internet, voice their complaints by ranting on discussion websites such as Reddit and Quora and other forums like Facebook groups and blogs. Take this as a strategic advantage by reading through the threads that discuss the latest products in your niche and look for the complaints. What are people complaining about?

Can you find a product that solves these problems? Can you dress up the product in a way that shows it off solving the problem? Could you be the only one selling it? If you answer yes to all these, you can make huge margins!

Imagine a new set of Japanese kitchen knives. It has become a hot product in Japan and sells well. Major retailers in your own country haven’t thought of selling it because they already have too many knive sets for sale already. This knive set solves a lot of problems the other have. You could be first to market and be the only ones selling it. If there is demand you will make a lot of money. If there is no demand you will be holding a big warehouse full of worthless knives. Know the demand. And know the lack of demand. If you got some savvy social media skills, you can always build demand but that’s a whole other game.

Wants Versus Needs

In choosing products using any kind of method, always try to consider your customers desires. Their “wants” versus their “needs”. Do they want this product? Or do they need this product?

It’s easier to sell things that people need than it to sell things that people want. However, necessities often have smaller margins then more desirable items. People need a cell phone but people do NOT need a new Apple iPhone. A basic cheap cell phone will fulfill their needs. Where does you product fit in that market space? Is it a need? Or is it a desirable wanted item? This can determine how to set your pricing. Cheap generics are always cheaper because they fulfill the need but do not have all the bells and whistles.

People can’t live without certain items and other items are just luxury accessories. The tips listed above do not guarantee you will be 100% successful in all your adventures, but if you do your homework right, you might just be the next big seller on eBay.