We've just completed our segment on where to sell, so now we're about to dive right into the juicy topic of what to sell.

Deciding what to sell is arguably the toughest part of selling online. For new sellers, it's just so easy to skip doing the research and get it so, so wrong. However, you don't need to worry about that; stick with us and we will show you how to easily find profitable products to sell!

There are a number of factors that should influence what you decide to sell:

• Your interests
• Where you plan to sell the items
• Whether there is a market for the item
• Whether you can find a supplier you trust
• How much profit you can make on the items
• Your budget

Selling something you are interested in is highly recommended. Once your business really gets underway, you will be dealing with the items on a daily basis, and therefore, having an interest in the product is crucial. It also means you get a bit of a head start on marketing, simply because you are your market, and consequently have an understanding of what buyers want.

For example, I love baking and can't resist a good cookware shop. So if I were to sell gourmet baking equipment for hobby cake decorators, I would already understand that they want robust, dishwasher-safe equipment that allows the baker to try out all the new techniques and keep up with cake decorating trends.

Where you will sell your items is also an important consideration because demand and supply varies from marketplace to marketplace, and you need to determine whether there is room for you and your items in the market you have chosen.

Where you sell is also important because some platforms have tight restrictions on what can and cannot be sold.

Another consideration that many sellers overlook is the volume of items that they will be able to sell. For example, some new sellers holding down a full-time job only have time to list, sell and ship a few items per week - which can severely limit their income if profit margins are low on the item they've chosen to sell. Other new sellers may have much more time to dedicate to their business, and so selling items at low margin but in high volumes could be perfectly viable for them.

Therefore, it's important to consider your lifestyle and how much time you have for your business. If you don't have much time to spare, then selling delicate china vases that require half an hour each to prepare for shipping might not be the best option for you! On the other hand, battery packs that are ready to slip into a padded bag and go could be a much better fit!

In retail, we refer to these items as low or high involvement items.

Consumer Behavior Theory: High and Low Involvement Items

Most consumer products fall under one of two categories: either high or low involvement. Which category they fall under depends on the level of involvement buyers require from the seller before making the purchase.

Understanding which category your item falls under can help you to predict how many sales you are likely to make, and even how much time you will need to spend getting each sale.

Low Involvement Items

A plain ballpoint pen is a low involvement item because it functions simply and does not require much consideration or effort from the buyer. Also, ball point pens are not vitally important as they do not have any great impact on the buyer's lifestyle.

Low involvement items are often considered essentials, and quite often, buying them goes 'under the radar'; meaning that if a buyer bought a ball point pen, and was then asked to list their expenses for the week, they are highly unlikely to remember purchasing the pen. This is because it was an insignificant purchase.

Another way to define whether an item is a high or low involvement one is by the number of specifications it has. A ballpoint pen has few, if any, features apart from its main function, while a high involvement item such as a washing machine has a number of specifications - such as front loader or top loader, eco-friendly or economical, and so on.

High Involvement Items

High involvement items are ones in which the buyer must go through a longer decision-making process. When buying high involvement items, the buyer will be willing to spend a considerable amount of time and effort researching and deciding which item is right for them. A buyer of a high involvement item will often visit a retail store more than once before they finally purchase.

Some examples of high involvement items are specialist running shoes, furniture, cars, and high-end electronics.  

Although most items can be categorized as either high or low involvement, there is some overlap, as every buyer will behave differently when making purchases. For example, most people buying soap will simply buy whichever one smells best or has the best price, and so soap is therefore a low involvement item. However, if a buyer with a skin condition needed to buy soap, they might need to do research into whether the item meets their needs. Here, the item becomes a high involvement one.

High or Low Involvement: Which is Right For You?

In general, selling low involvement items means a higher frequency in sales, but a lower profit margin. With high involvement items, it's pretty much the opposite; generally, you have fewer sales but greater margins on the sale.

Another difference between the two is that low involvement items aren't likely to get a lot of questions from potential buyers, whereas high involvements items will.

Therefore, if you want to simply earn some extra cash and sell your items casually, it might be that high involvement items that you have an interest in are best for you.

You will be selling less of them - and each sale may take a bit longer and involve greater interaction between you and the buyer - but the profit margins will be high enough to absorb these costs and leave you with a tidy sum to put in the bank!

If you want to sell full-time, then low involvement items will let you create an automated business that can be scaled up quickly and efficiently. While your profit margins are likely to be lower, you'll make up for it in a larger volume of sales.

Finding a Niche

We've already touched a little on selling niche items but it really cannot be stressed enough that selling niche items is the way to go.

With over 430,000 active sellers on eBay who consider their online business to be their primary source of income, you are up for some stiff competition.

The truth is, while you may think that selling iPod Touch's and Apple Air Books are great ideas, the truth is, thousands of others have also had these ideas -but only a small minority will have the buying power and the resources to actually succeed at selling these items.

Best selling brand name products are often very difficult to source and the retail price online is very competitive. It takes a great deal of buying power to be able to sell alongside the more long standing Power Sellers who have been in the business for years.

In order to avoid such an impossible situation, you should back away from eBay's-most-popular-search-type items and find your own niche.

Selling niche items is a proven way to make regular and consistent sales online. In online retail, when we talk about niches, we are referring to an item which appeals to a smaller and more specific market. Niches are often items that do not get used in everyday life. For this reason, hobby-related and sporting items can make fantastic niches. Left-handed golf clubs, fencing attire, and scrapbooking kits are all good examples of potential niches.

You might think that some of these ideas seem rather abstract, and that there may not be enough interested buyers to sustain your business.

If we were talking about regular brick and mortar stores, then you could well be right. However, when you sell your niche item on eBay, for example, you reach an audience that is thousands of times larger than what a physical store would get. Online, your items are in front of millions of buyers.

This means that even when you sell the most specialized and seemingly abstract items you will still have a hungry audience of buyers who will be so grateful to find you and your listings! 

Where To Get Ideas For Niche Markets

Finding your very own niche is easy, but it can take a little time and patience. Mostly, you need to move your mindset beyond popular items like consumer electronics and Coach handbags.

Many sellers find that the ideas run thick and fast when they begin to look at everything around them as a potential niche.

For example, at a café, they will look around at the salt shakers, the quirky table cloth, the potted plants and the oversized mugs and think about which of those items could be a potential niche. Then they write those ideas down into a notebook, and when they go home, they immediately research demand and supply on eBay to see whether they are onto something good!

Niche Finding Resources

1. eBay.com

Scouring eBay listings is not just for procrastinators or shopaholics! eBay is the place to go to get some fantastic ideas for niches. All you need to do is just check out various categories and keep drilling down into sub categories for more ideas.

For example, from the eBay.com home page, I'll click on Crafts and be taken to "Categories within Crafts" which lists dozens of sub-categories like craft kits, yarn, candle and soap making, stamps, and plenty more! By digging down into these sub categories, I can see a ton of potential niches just waiting for sellers like you!

2. Auction Inspector

Auction inspector is an exciting software program which uses live eBay Want It Now data and tells you which products are most wanted by buyers. You will have heard of eBay's Want It Now; it's where buyers can go and post requests for items they are looking for.

The most exciting part of Auction Inspector is that it tells you exactly how much demand there is (how many times it was listed) and how much supply there is (how many responses there were from sellers). This means that right away, you have an accurate idea of how successful you will be in selling this product.

Auction Inspector is also really useful for drilling down to find deep niches. Interested in selling toy cats? Don't stop there and blindly order a selection of toy cats from your nearest supplier, instead, search Auction Inspector for 'cat' and you'll quickly find that Judith Loeber Loeber cats are in hot demand.

Auction Inspector memberships are currently US$39.95 down fromUS$79.95 so now is a great time to sign up.

Click here to find out more about how Auction Inspector can help you find profitable niches.

3. Your friends and family

We have all heard either friends or family talk about how they wish they could find X, or how they spent all day trying to track down Y. You may even have had a similar experience yourself when you hunted through eBay listings or through the shelves at a department store trying to find something that you desperately wanted, but for some reason just wasn't available!

Your friends and family's shopping experiences (as well as your own) can give some very handy clues and go a long way in helping you find a great niche. For example, at the school gates, you overhear a mom complains that she can't find the right fairy wand to complete her daughter's Halloween costume. That could be a niche right there!

4. Hobbies

Understanding hobbies and the needs of hobbyists is invaluable for niche-finders. When you understand a hobby, as well as everything required to partake in it, you can really hit a goldmine of fantastic niches!

Take kayaking for example. Not only do kayakers require kayaks; they also need spray skirts, water shoes, internal drinking systems, paddles, cockpit covers, and roof racks.  They also need specialist items like airbags to keep them afloat if the kayak fills with water, non-greasy sun block so that their hands aren't slippery when they grip their paddle... and probably a whole lot more!

Hobby items make fantastic niches for 3 important reasons:

1. The equipment is often specialized and therefore difficult for hobbyists to find.
2. The hobbyists network with others who share the same hobby and can refer you on as a seller.
3. Hobbies offer a fantastic opportunity to grow; you can start with one item, such as roof racks for kayaks, and then gradually expand your product range as your business grows. Eventually, you can turn your business into an online one-stop-shop for your hobby niche!

Quick Recap:

Phew, we covered a lot today! Here are the most important points to take away:

• In order to decide what to sell, you should consider various factors including your interests, your budget and how much time you have available.
• Some sellers are best suited to selling low involvement items: ones which require very little thought from the buyer. You are likely to sell these often and consistently, but may have a low profit margin due to market pressure.
• Meanwhile, other sellers are best suited to selling high involvement items. These require a greater level of involvement from the buyer, who may ask a lot of questions and undergo a longer decision making process before they buy. You will sell less of these types of items, but will generally make a larger profit per sale.
• Niches are the key to selling success. Popular items are difficult to sell as the market is usually oversaturated. Finding a niche is easy, but can take time and patience
• You can find niches in a number of places, you just have to look! Use eBay.com and surf different sub categories, invest in a fool-proof Auction Inspector membership, talk with friends or families or get to know various hobbies or interests and the equipment they require.

Next time: "Research and belief" are the two things that Sivan Grinberg and his wife say have helped them establish a profitable eBay business. You can look forward to reading how this couple achieved eBay success by focusing on a joint passion in our next newsletter.