"One man's garbage is another man's treasure!" An item you may consider a waste, may be valuable to someone else.
That is why eBay - the world'd largest online trading community and shopping marketplace - sells millions of new and used products each day. On one spring day the number of items listed for sale on eBay was an astonishing 29,903,872.
eBay lists items in 35 major categories including Art, Books, Clothing Shoes & Accessories, Computers & Networking, DVDs & Movies, Health & Beauty, Home & Garden, Jewelry & Watches, Pet Supplies, Sporting Goods and Video Games. These major categories are further sub-divided into hundreds of specific sub-categories. This gives you an endless opportunity to sell to millions of shoppers worldwide.
There may be valuable things in your house or apartment that you are not using. If you don't mind parting with these items, they can be sold on eBay for "extra cash.".
I looked around my house and I found a Canon analog SLR camera, a Minolta analog SLR camera, a working Compaq laptop with a broken screen, a Win98 flatbed scanner, two computer memory sticks, an old 20 GB harddrive, and a road bike.
You may be pleasantly surprised at what things you find around the house that you no longer want. Take an inventory of items you are no longer using, put them in categories such as "lightly used/almost new," "moderately used" and "heavily used but still valuable." Then search eBay for similar items and see what they are selling for.
Your neighbor's garage or yard sale is another source of items you can sell on eBay. Relocation or unemployment may force your neighbor to sell valuable items that you can convert to eBay profits.
There are many wholesalers that promise low prices and dropshipping service. BE FOREWARNED! Some of these companies are a waste of time and money. Do your research, ask questions, and check the complaint sites before deciding on a wholesaler.
One certain way to get items at very low prices is to buy in bulk. This may require buying hundreds of items on pallets from a wholesaler. If you are not able to use this option right now, consider buying in small lots.
Here in south Florida I see hundreds of wholesalers that sell jeans, swimwear, shoes, handbags, eyeglasses, baby clothing, costume jewelry and children's toys. One company that was recommended to me is Market Footwear (www.marketfootwear.com). I looked at a few men's work boots from Market Footwear and compared then with similar boots selling for around $25 at Wal-Mart. If I buy a small lot of 12 I only pay about $15 per pair. A tiny profit but a profit nontheless.
Have you ever considered buying items on eBay and other auctions and reselling them? There are effective selling strategies that clever merchants use to sell their products. These merchants sometimes get more for the same products sold by novices and not-so-savvy merchants. If you are able to recognize some of these low priced items at eBay or other auctions, these is potential for you to profit from them. E.g. if your research tells you that a certain game fetches a final bid price in the range of $35-$43 and your winning bid is for $25, you can easily realize a profit IF YOUR AD IS APPEALING AND CONVINCING. (Hint: Images go a long way is selling your product.)
WHAT SELLS BETTER ON EBAY?
Observing certain eBay trends can help you decide what items to sell. eBay trends can also show you the price range of the final bid for a given item.
Items of clothing are relatively easily to sell on eBay due to the demand. However there are thousands of people/merchants selling clothes and shoes and the profit margin is usually small. Ideally you want to sell a very valuable item that no one else is selling. Discontinued items, out of stock items, certain rare items and collectibles with limited production can easily fetch high bidding prices and you'll have little competition.
The Nikon CoolScan V ED 35mm Film Scanner is a fine example of a discontinued item that is in demand. When this item was in production the cost was around $500. Now a lightly used Nikon CoolScan V ED Scanner sells for over $700. Back in February this used Nikon CoolScan V ED Film Scanner went to the highest bidder for a cool $927!
On April 10 2010, a game cartridge sold for an unbelievable $31,600.00 (US). Here is the auction. There is a fascinating story behind this auction. The owner buoght the item back in 1984 or 1985 at a Tuesday Morning store in Arlington Texas. He recently found out its worth and rarity after reading an article by CNN published on March 20, 2010.
Rare and discontinued items like video games, comic books, comic art, vinyl records, coins, paper currency, dolls, 35mm cameras e.g. Nikon F5 and paintings still attract bids for hundreds of dollars. Right now there may be a rare and valuable item sitting the basement, attic or garage of your house, your relative's house or the house of a friend/neighbor. Will you be the first to find it?
