Once you have been looking at eBay for a long time like I have (since 2000), you start to notice trends in auctions. This is certainly helpful when you are trying to assess value of goods that you are interested in bidding on for resale. However, spending hours looking at eBay auctions isn’t the only way to get a bargain. There are tools designed to help you take advantage of the auction format. One tool that some bidders use are auction snipers that allow you as the bidder to swoop in within the last seconds of an auction to place a winning bid.

Another bargain finding tool on eBay tracks typos in auctions. These tools basically check for misspelled words in auction titles.

What makes this helpful?

This type of tool is particularly handy because auction prices are driven by the number of bidders. If you find listings that not many others see you have a better chance at scoring a deal (because you are competing with fewer bidders).

Another thing this does is give you a prime opportunity to capitalize in the resale market. You see, when you buy things at a discount you have an easier time getting to your break-even-price leaving room for creativity to maximize profit.

Here’s a simple Example:

Item A usually sells for $x. If you are able to buy this item at a 15% discount chances are you can start the auction at a 15% discount. It is a well-known fact that the lower the starting price the more attention and more bids your item typically garners. All of these things combined usually lead to a better conversion rate and a better than average sales price.

There are a number of these tools out there that you can explore with. The best ones I’ve seen out there are TypoTracker and Auction Speller with TypoTracker being my favorite because of its ability to stream typos by category.

As many of you know, a while back I was working at a company that was for a long time exclusively using eBay as their revenue source. This put me in close contact with many people that undoubtedly wondered how we managed to turn any profit in such a competitive marketplace with so many bargain shoppers looking to snag the best deal. Add to this the fact that eBay’s pricing structure can make it tricky to estimate margins and it is clear why so many eBay sellers come and go without anything but unrealized expectations.

There is a Secret

There is in fact a secret to success in the eBay market place. I was lucky enough to spend some time learning the tricks that help some profit while others flounder amidst the competition.

Let me start by saying that it has nothing to do with online marketing budgets or offline marketing budgets. Although these are important in any business, the eBay selling business is different. The reason they aren’t the key to success on eBay is that you are operating under the umbrella of a well known international brand with high internet traffic and significant marketing. This takes the pressure off of you in those marketing areas.

And the secret is…

Where you get your goods from will undoubtedly make a huge difference in the type of profit you make because you ultimately must pay for your inventory. Whether you pay for it before you’ve found your buyer or after you’ve found your buyer (Dropshipping), you will be paying for what you sell. The less expensive you can find those products the better off you’ll be in any retail transaction.

Over the coming months i’ll be discussing more details about wholesalers, dropshippers, negotiating price and terms, auction tools plus a lot more to help you make money on eBay. Make sure you don’t miss a thing by subscribing.