Product Sourcing for eBay

Where do you get things to sell on eBay?

After 10 years selling on eBay I still don't have a good answer. I've tried just about everything, and I'd like to share with you what I've learned. I'm only going by my experiences; I can't comment on what other people say works for them.

Yard sales are a lousy place to get merchandise for resale. Most yard sale stuff I've seen is junk. Maybe - maybe - if you're an expert in a category you could find a bargain that you could resell for a profit. However, you'd have to do a lot of driving before you sorted through all the junk to find it. Which brings us to another drawback to yard sales: they are costly and time-consuming. Even if you find things to sell, when you factor in the cost of travel and the cost of your time you're not making any money. On the eBay discussion boards I see people brag about something they bought at a yard sale for $5 and resold for $300. That's great, but how many of those deals are out there? Certainly not enough to obtain a regular supply for inventory.

Thrift Stores. The local Salvation Army and Goodwill thrift stores in my area are full of things that are too junky to be in yard sales.

A creative idea that I've used is to buy things that are "Free After Rebate", get the rebate and then sell the item. I've been successful doing this, but again, such items aren't consistently available and the profit is small. Plus, I hate dealing with the rebate paperwork.

Wholesale lists. One word: Scams.

Wholesale publications such as The Closeout News. A good source for products to sell at flea markets, but not on eBay. Items sell for more at flea markets than they do on eBay, which is also why buying at a flea market for resale on eBay is tough.

Items you make yourself (including information products) are a possibility: just know what your cost (including time) is for each item. For more information on this, see the post Can You Make Money on eBay?

Finally, don't go on the discussion boards on eBay and ask where people get their inventory. If someone has a good source they're not going to tell you.