What Sells on Ebay?

In the Monetizer's recommended reading list there is a book written by Cameron Johnson who began businesses as a kid and eventually became very successful and rich. One of his first businesses involved latching onto the whole "Beanie Babies" craze that was sweeping the nation. He basically set up shop in his parents' home and had boxes of the stuffed animals he ordered in bulk and sold to hungry customers. His parents' lovely home basically became a warehouse for the supply and demand of Beanie Babies and the kid was making serious money from it!

Of course that craze has pretty much died down, with only a few of the stuffed toys really being worth any decent money these days. However, eBay used to be a vehicle many people used to buy and sell them and make good money from. The online auction site is still used very very heavily as well all know for buying and selling all sorts of items, even food items that look like Jesus or Elvis. Now this post won't tell you how to use or sell on eBay, because that could be a 10-20 part blog series on its own. There's a lot involved beyond just uploading a pic and making a catchy description to sell your item. This post is more to talk of one type of item that always seems to sell.

One thing the Monetizer has learned is that "one man's trash is another man's treasure". While working at a previous job as an IT project manager, the bosses wanted to move to a newer and nicer office down the hall. Due to this, a lot of "junk" needed to be liquidated or thrown out in the process. Junk = electronics and computer equipment. Some of that junk was still of value though. So in the process, nearly $5,000 in sales were made on eBay! Now this money didn't go to Monetizer, it went to the bosses, but the lesson here is there is a great market on eBay for used, new and even broken down electronics or computer items and gadgets. Some of the items that sold were really old MAC computer equipment, old video and audio editing equipment and even old cables. It's amazing what other people want to buy these days!

Take a look around your room, your garage, your basement, and your attic. Is there some old piece of electronics you just held onto for the sake of it? Maybe you bought a Palm Pilot because it was the "thing to have" but now its more of a doorstep or dust collector. Maybe you have a shortwave radio, an old mp3 discman or even old stereo equipment. It's stuff you're not using, and it could bring you some money. There seems to be someone out there that wants it and usually it will get snatched up on eBay. Another idea or plan is to hit up the garage and yard sales or even if your neighbor tossed an item out. Don't become a garbage picker, but keep your eyes peeled for electronics. Even a broken iPod or other electronics item can fetch interest from those who like to take things apart or use the parts to build things.

Monetizer won't make any big guarantees here. You need to do your homework. Research the item before you put it up for sale. See if other items of that type or brand or make/model have sold on eBay so you can gauge what yours might sell for. To do that, do an Advanced Search for "Ended listings" of your item only. See what the sales prices have been if the item has sold on eBay. Or try searching for your item new or used online at other sites. Also, don't expect to make thousands off some old PDA or MP3 player, but overall there's money to be made with electronics on eBay. This isn't to say that other items you have won't sell, but if Monetizer had to select one consistent eBay seller, it's been electronics gadgets, devices and accessories in all conditions.

(Friendly Monetizer tip #514376: If you don't have an eBay account, consider signing up for CashCrate first. CashCrate has an offer that pays you $8 just to join eBay and place a bid on any item. In effect, you can sign up, make a bid on an item that you won't win (such as a $1.99 iPod) and earn yourself an easy $8!)