Liquidators can be great one-off sources of marketable stock, sometimes even highly desirable name-brand stock. Just be sure not to build a business model around one type of good or on the presumption that you'll continue to be able to get one particular kind of stock from liquidators in your area.
There are a large number of informational "products" ebooks, images, etc. Project Gutenberg is one such example, but there are many others. Package these items up in various ways and resell them. Though library sales often include a lot of low- or no-value media and books, they also often include a number of items that are actually worth more than the few cents or dollars that they sell for when resold on Half. Though these are often simply marketing ploys, real, honest-to-god going-out-of-business sales can often be a great source of marketable stock allowing for decent margins.
Look through the classifieds in your local newspaper for estate sales and other kinds of one-off diverse types of sales of goods. If you specialize in a kind of good often found at these types of sales costume jewelry, for example, or vintage home decor , they can be a great source of sellable stock at very low prices, particularly if you negotiate multiple-item buys.
Most obvious here is the large numbers of goods offered on such sites in some metropolitan areas for free on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you have access to transportation and can pursue free or very low-cost goods in an area of your expertise, you can resell those goods on eBay. This category includes conferences, expos, and other shows of interest to industry insiders or special interest groups, but it also includes general interest events that are memorabilia-heavy like the Olympic Games or elections.
Think of these as sources for goods that are automatically limited in supply. Choose them well, and you can make decent margins on eBay.
Don't confuse with the variety of "outlet malls" that have become more popular across America that are simply regular strip malls by another name. Become a "recycler" of goods of a particular kind that you know well and offer members of your community a small fee for their trouble or at least a cost-free way to dispose of goods like cars, computers, consumer electronics or clothing.
Then, repair, part-out, or simply select the best and sell the result. Pawnshops can be an amazing source of deals, often because they lack expertise in various kinds of goods that they end up selling. If you know a particular kind of stock inside and out, frequenting pawn shops looking for deals can be one way to earn extra on the side. Foreclosing banks, relatives of deceased individuals, and even homeowners these days often make use of services paid simply to cart away "junk" of various or of general kinds.
In many cases, a good portion of this junk has value, whether as raw materials or as eBay fodder. Annual or semiannual fairs in many local areas are a great way to get in touch with local producers and manufacturers just dying to find a larger buying public. As an eBay seller, convince them to let it be your job to get them one. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Pro tip: Set a reserve price — or, the lowest price you are willing to accept for the item.
This style of selling is efficient and convenient, as there is no haggling or waiting for an auction to end. On eBay, shoppers search for products using keywords.
You can optimize your product description by making sure to include relevant keywords and product identifiers. Write detailed product descriptions that include these attributes:. It is imperative that you structure your product attributes similarly to the words and phrases users are typing into their eBay searches.
You should also be very transparent about any product defects the item may have, and disclose any issues or flaws related to the product. Using product identifiers in your listings can help increase your item visibility, which in turn will help optimize sales. When buyers look for items on search engines like Google or Bing, those search engines look for specific data called product identifiers.
You can find a comprehensive list of categories here. When you include product identifiers in your listings, your product will be eligible for higher search visibility — on eBay as well as outside search engines. It will also be eligible for special price alerts e. Adding product identifiers is highly recommended to maximize your potential on eBay through better product placement and better SEO data for search engines. Product attributes define the relevant and important facts about a product — such as brand, style, size, and color.
Product attributes are created by mapping the product specs to the item specifics of the eBay category. Providing a very detailed set of item specifics will create a complete set of structured data that allows the search engine to locate and filter products. This improves the relevance of search results to what users are typing in their search queries. If applicable, include the dimensions of the item in the attributes. The product dimensions should specify the size of the actual product, not the packaging size.
Here are some important details to remember when creating the attribute list for a multi-pack or manufacturer-created bundle:. Another tip is to include product variants on one page instead of multiple. You could use spreadsheets if you only have a half-dozen items listed, like eBay Ellen. However, if you have hundreds, thousands, or even millions of products, a spreadsheet will be too complicated, unwieldy, and inadequate.
A feed management platform , used in conjunction with an ecommerce platform like BigCommerce, can make your listings much more manageable. You never want to be in a position where you are listing out-of-stock items on your site. With feed management platforms, orders are updated and synced to your online store. A client needed help with managing orders for two marketplaces: eBay and Amazon. This client had multiple products that were low in stock, and they wanted to avoid running into an oversold situation — which can get sellers suspended from eBay.
Feedonomics was able to solve this problem by intelligently controlling inventory on multiple channels. The best practices listed here are much the same as best practices you should follow on any marketplace, as well as on your ecommerce site. Here are some general tips, with more information to follow:. Take high-resolution photos against a plain white background to make the products stand out. Make sure the lighting is sufficient to feature the item and its relevant details.
Try taking shots of the product from different angles, and get some close-up shots as well to highlight details. Read more: How I finally bought my dream car on eBay. There are also tons of charities that will gladly take your old car off your hands. In exchange, you get to write off the value of the vehicle as a tax deduction. But be forewarned: A CNBC investigation revealed that many of the supposed nonprofits that accept used car donations aren't on the up-and-up.
The way many eye care insurance plans are set up, a lot of people replace their prescription eyeglasses every two years often by purchasing them online.
But even though your old frames might be a bit worn out, unless they're so damaged they're unusable you can still probably get a decent return on selling them. There are also charities that will gladly redirect your used eyeglasses to a vision-impaired person in need.
The biggest payday is for certified scuba divers who plunge the depths of water hazards collecting stray balls. But if you happen to have a serious enough golf habit or live in a neighborhood or apartment complex that was built atop an old driving range or course where golf balls pop up like dandelions , valued at anywhere from a couple of cents to a dollar, even just a few buckets' worth might cover your next green fee. Obviously, the better condition they're in the more they're worth, and the more premium the brand -- so Titleist balls are worth more than Srixon, for example.
You can sell used golf balls to LostGolfBalls. Broken, used crayons still have a lot of life left in them. You can melt them into new crayons or use them to color homemade play putty think Play-Doh , not to mention use them to make any number of crafts like candles, ornaments and luminaries.
Or you can sell them to people who want to do those things. As with other items, name-brand crayons Crayola are worth more than generic, and you can charge more if you sort by color. There are also several crayon-collecting charities that recycle used crayons into new ones for at-risk children, children's hospitals and the like. Looking for more smart money hacks? Stop paying for streaming and try these alternatives to Netflix, Apple Music and more. And cure the fear of missing out on a bargain with this browser add-on that looks for better deals across multiple online retailers.
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