It's Ebay Time! What to sell ~ Part 2

This a continuing series of posts about how to sell on Ebay. You can see the entire list of posts here.

Today is Part 2 of "What to Sell" on Ebay. Let's say that you don't have anything in your house that you can sell. You can look for items at garage sales, thrift stores, or local stores. My main focus is going to be buying items at your local store to resell on Ebay.

First, though, I want to say a little about garage sales and thrift stores.
Garage Sales: I love garage sales! Unfortunately if you live in the northern half of the U.S. , the garage sale season is over. If you are lucky to have garage sales now then do some research on Ebay for items that you might find. Try to pick a niche such as girls toys or infant clothing. That way when you see something at a garage sale, you can have an idea of the selling price on Ebay.

Thrift Stores: Thrift stores can be a great place to find items. Some thrift stores are better than others. Also I see a lot of people buying for resell at thrift stores so you have increased competition. Try to find out when your thrift store puts out new items. My Goodwill puts out their items around 9:30 am and again around 2 pm. Make sure that you find out if you can return items. You don't want to be stuck with something that won't sell.

So now let's talk about buying items at your local store for resell on Ebay. I have had great success with this method and you can too! Buying from the store has 1 major advantage: You can return the item and get your money back. This is a huge advantage!

You need to be organized and keep your receipts. Also find out the return policy of the store. If you don't sell the item then you can return it and get your money back. Beware: some stores such as Target have a different return policy for seasonal items. Know the return policy!

So where can you find goodies to sell? Here are a few ideas:

1. Walmart : Yes, Walmart! They have a clearance aisle where you can find some awesome deals. Here is an example. I was in Walmart yesterday and they had Girl Gourmet Ice Cream Sandwich refills for a $1.00 a box. Here is a listing on Ebay where they just sold three packages for $13.99. Your three boxes would have cost $3.

2. Dollar General, Family Dollar, Big Lots, & Dollar Stores: these stores carry some discontinued items that can be resold on Ebay for a profit. Also they are a great place to buy if you are selling gift baskets. Look for discontinued cosmetics or make-up. People like certain brands and will pay more if they can no longer find them at their store. Look through the entire store and think of making gift baskets. Today I saw several possible gift basket ideas such a Spiderman gift basket or a girls basket with iCarly/Hannah Montana items. Check out some gift basket ideas here on Ebay.

3. Hallmark stores: My Hallmark has a great mark down section. Take a look and then check the prices on Ebay. Remember to think if you can get more by grouping items together in a set or gift basket.

4. Bath & Body Works: Use some of the free coupons to get items and then sell the items on Ebay. Again group items together or make a basket. When making a basket or group, try to put in one large item then add the smaller free items that you got. Check out baskets here. Click here to get the latest free Bath & Body Works coupon.

5. Look for the "Hot" toys of the season: pay attention to the "new" hot toys of the season. This year people are saying that the Zhu Zhu hamster pets will do well.

6. Think outside the box. I have a friend whose family was involved with making custom model horses. People like to display the horses in a diorama setting. She found some Palm Trees at the Dollar store. Set up a diorama showing how to use the trees. Took photos and sold the palm trees on Ebay for $9.99 a set.

Tommorrow I will be talking about setting your price on Ebay. Auction vs Fixed vs Store - which option is best for you. How should you pricing change as you get closer to the holiday?

Then on Wednesday, I will be go through a Ebay listing step by step for you.