My New Year’s Predictions: Top 25 eBay Selling Items for 2010
As you run around during the holiday season buying gifts and selling to last minute shoppers on eBay don’t forget about the coming year. For those of you who have just started selling on eBay its time for rejoicing, because a new year gives you a new opportunity to make some extra cash! And for those of you who are seasoned pros a new year allows the opportunity for new ways of doing business and increased profits. Though I don’t claim to be an oracle of any sort these are my predictions based on past performance and future demand on what top 25 eBay items you will want to be stocking your online store shelves with for the new year. eBay selling can be a tricky business but if done right and with the proper cutting edge you can become part of the power seller elite that really rack in the dough in 2010!
- Imports. Take advantage of the exchange rates from countries like India, China and Thailand. There is often a wealth of unique fabrics, clothing and jewelry hand crafted around the world that can be sold for 10-20x mark up on what you bought them for. Search for importers and exporters, doing a little leg work in this one can pay off in big ways once you find a dependable source.
- Refurbished Electronics. We aren’t in economic hey days anymore, so folks take notice. Instead of buying a brand new PC they buy one that’s just as good but refurbished from the factory. You the seller can buy these in bulk and make some serious dough when you sell them individually.
- Discount Store Merch Re-sold. Go into your local discount retailer, you know the place that has inexpensive pans and pots as well as the left of Perfume Dillards didn’t sell for Christmas. You can pick up deeply discounted designer and off-brand items and accessories for killer deals, then turn around and resell it on eBay. I love doing this with high end perfumes that I find one or two at a time in these types of places.
- Small Parts. Another thing people have turned to as a way of saving money is fixing broken electronics versus just buying new ones. Sell small parts for computers, phones and cameras that you can buy in bulk from China for pennies each then resell for a few dollars on eBay. Its a deal for you and a deal for your customers. Plus shipping is cheap!
- Schoolbooks. Put up flyers near your local University, or take out a quarter ad in a few school newspapers. Students can sell you back the books they don’t have anything to do with and you can turn around and market it to others that come in the next year for classes.
- Anything Green. Green and Eco-friendly items are a big deal as we reach a new era. Set yourself apart as a resource for everything green on eBay. Make sure to build some good relationships with Eco manufacturers and then present a small assortment of their wares on your store, whatever sells be sure to promote and keep only a few of the rest in stock. Green and Eco products can have much higher mark ups because they are usually better quality.
- Cars. Yep, I said it… cars and trucks can be sold on http://www.motors.ebay.com/ and always are competitively bid on especially if you start the bidding low. If your handy at all or can spot a good deal start picking up cars for less then their Kelly blue book or fix them up nice yourself then turn around and sell them on eBay for a nice mark up.
- Jewelry. This is a huge market that people often overlook when deciding what sells the best on eBay. Jewelry is loved by most all women (and many men) and can be very inexpensive to acquire if you find good wholesalers (try AYpearl.com). The mark up can also be significant and if you find a hot seller be sure to ride the wave and stock many.
- Art. Whether your an artist or not you can sell an assortment of artistic wares on eBay. People will always be drawn to beauty and as we know beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So you can have a wide array of art that many will love and more easily get into bidding wars with each other than they would over an item that there are more than one of. Go to local artists and ask if they’d be willing to cosign their stuff to you… if you sell it you both win. This is a great way to sell things on eBay without having to pay out of pocket expenses up front.
- Area Specific Items. This can be anything that is unique to your particular physical location. Lets say you live in Amish country and can get your hands on the best hand carved furniture for a good price. This furniture would be adored by the jet set in New York or London but they don’t know how to get their hands on it… thus you set up a means of where they can have unique, area specific wares sent to them with no trouble, all for a nice price of course.
- eBay Ebooks. For a while eBooks were sold like hot cakes on eBay and then they changed the rules, but if you have a legitimate eBook to sell or regular book for that matter you can do so safely if you follow the guidelines ebay sets here. Ebooks are incredibly powerful because they only cost your knowledge and time and they can be resold forever without extra work. Take a day to think about the things you could write an eBook on, anything you have a slight edge on or extra knowledge with works. “How to Hack an Iphone” could be an eBook (Given law allows) or “How to Build a Wordpress Website”. eBooks are a great way to make money on eBay without getting your hands dirty at the post office too!
- Pop Culture Items. Things like ‘Twilight’ memorabilia and other popular ‘tween’ brands are flying off the shelf, not just for Christmas either. These brands, especially the ones with sequels coming out next year should sell strong throughout 2010.
- Real Designer Bags. Finding true designer handbags on eBay is becoming more and more of a burden for shoppers, with so many fakes out there eBay is really cracking down so only the truly authentic items are standing the heat. A great way to sell your new or slightly used designer bag is to get it authenticated online for a few bucks or sell it with receipt.
- Kids Stuff. Toys like the ever popular Zhu Zhu pet will always sell well throughout the year. Kids that were disappointed on Christmas when they didn’t receive what they want will whine to their folks who will pick it up for a slightly better price online. A great way to take advantage of this is to go to popular toy stores after the holidays and buy up well liked toys to then sell later online.
- Christmas Ornaments for 2010. When the Nordstroms, Saks and Macy’s of the world empty their Christmas coffers of all the trinkets and ornaments from Christmas 2009 you should be there first in line. Buy designer and high quality holiday decorations for 50-85% off and then wait 10 months. Next holiday season you’re waiting will be well worth it when you turn around and sell them for big bucks.
- Seasonal Wares. Pick up summer stuff from wholesalers and other merchants online and off for cheap during the cold months and then as it starts to thaw turn around and sell your stash of Ray Bans and Tommy Bahama shirts for cash!
- Video Games. Video games continue to rule in popularity, the business gets bigger every year. So its a sure thing that gamers will be playing in 2010 and need someone to buy their wares from. Take advantage of deep after Christmas sales and pick up games and game consoles for cheap that you can then resell a few month down the line for more.
- Name Brand Clothes for Less. If you can find a site that offers wholesale discounts for name brand clothes like ‘Lucky Jeans’ or can find a great resale shop you can make big bucks in selling designer clothes for a little off ticket price. Often a combing of the web will show you at least a few wholesalers that can give you a good deal on late season designer duds.
- Memorabilia. This trend seems to be picking up pace. Whether its old baseball cards or late entertainers clothing, if you can find a good source for memorabilia you can have a very profitable online biz where people will outbid each other in buying wars to win the once in a lifetime change to own a piece of history.
- Specialty Services. If you have a skill you can sell it here, under eBay’s specialty services you’ll find a range of skills from SEO experts to people who can repair your grandfather clock. This is a great way to cash in from your skill and expertise without having to break the bank to set up shop offline.
- Custom Creations. Are you really good at sowing, painting or calligraphy? Any unique skill you can put on something can be sold as a custom creation, this means you sell a fixed price good like a plate with someone’s name on it and when the buyer wins it they tell you what they want created. This creative niche is growing fast and can be marked up more since they are ‘unique’ items.
- Real Estate. Its a buyer’s market in trying times, so buyers are coming out of the woodwork looking for great deals. If you have any interest in real property now is your chance to cash in online and offer to a broader market by listing real estate on eBay.
- Musical Instruments. Whether they are new or used, musical instruments that are marketed well with good photos can fetch a pretty penny among music lovers. This can include anything from guitars to grand pianos. Most important thing is photos, photos, photos!
- Freebies. Anything you can get for free and is worth something to another is a worthwhile sell on eBay. Pretty cigar boxes can be turned into purses, jewelry boxes and more and you can gather a bunch from your local smoke shop usually for nothing! Another good idea is going to local businesses and asking if they have very old stock they want to get rid of, then clean it up and resell it!
- Books. Its not Amazon.com but eBay does sell a good deal of books and if you offer and unique combination of titles you can get some real traffic from bookworms, plus usually on eBay you can charge a little more than on Amazon.
Hope the top 25 eBay selling items for 2010 inspired and encouraged you to get out there and start planning for your prosperous year of eBay power selling ahead!
Read also:
