I have been an ebay power seller and a website owner for many years. Here is some advice, though not everyone will agree.
Many people have made large somes of money on ebay, some from hard work and great products, others looking to cash in and sell fakes,junk, lies, etc.
1. Things to stay away from: Products with small value under say 40.00, unless the product is in high demand.
2. Things that have too small a profit margin, this will depend on the product selling amount. If you sell something for 40.00 and have a margin of 10.00, you will loose money, if you have to relist it.
3. things that are not in demand. I use market research to make decisions on product, I use Terapeak, but it cost money every month, sign up for one month and get your info and then get off.
4. products that have alot of other sellers selling the exact same item.
5. selling with no pictures.
Important:
Real wholesale prices are generally 33% to 66% in the real world.
If you have to list an item on ebay more than once, then you will loose money. keep in mind that relisting items, warranty returns, and paypal, ebay fees cost money. You will experience all of it.
Are there real wholesalers on the net? A: YES, will you have access to them? A: maybe, but not through drop shippers and other website that promise wholesale prices. Real wholesaler don't sell to individuals and require you to purchase large amounts of product and you must prove you are a business in long standing. Here is a list of real wholesalers, that won't sell to you if you don't meet the above criteria. Tally electronics, tescco electronics, DBK electronics, coast wholesale, epic.
I could list hundreds of these places but it won't help you.
Things you can do.
You must learn to take quality pictures of your product. I have a product I sell, and I sell it for more than anyone else on ebay. How do I sell the same product as everyone else on ebay and sell it for more? MY PICTURE is the best picture of the product, I spent two hours photographing it and choosing the best pic.
You can find a niche market to sell in, one that very little other people sell, but your profit margins must be high, becuase you are going to relist the item several times before it sells.
Createing your 'own product' sells well. DO NOT copy other peoples work, you will be waisting your time.
What markets do well? Womens clothing, electronics, radio communications, jewelry, watches, toys, cars, real estate. Keep in mind that some of these items requires knowledge to really sell well.
Good example of some people not knowing what they are doing, Playstation 3 game console. So many people went to walmart and bought these units to sell on ebay, once the product demand was gone on ebay, you could purchase one for 100.00 below retial within 30 days, I did. This means that some people were stuck with PS3 consoles that could not sell them, becuase there was too much competition. They're loss my gain. They are now agian selling.
Buying product on ebay and reselling in most cases is a waist of time, too small a margin by the time your done.
The people that have the most success, are buying product locally and selling nationally. Go to your local merchants and find products that are unique to your area and negotiate with the merchant and sell those products on ebay, this is how allot of power sellers are made. If it was easy everyone would be rich. I two individuals that do this and make they're whole income fromt this. Good example; Antiques are in abundance in the midwest, but not on the west coast. Buy local antiques and sell them on ebay. Two important issues here, small initial cost, the value is not set buy competitors, and selling the product to californians, makes alot more money.
How do I make money? well that took years of hard work and networking websites and advertising as well as ebay. But not one of these things would have worked by themselves.
You can use other auction sites to buy from and resell on ebay, but you must really watch what you are buying. Keep in mind this very important fact; just becuase you see something listed on ebay for 100.00 does not mean it will sell. That is why using Terapeak is important, you can see what sells and what they really sell for, not just what they are listed for.
Last little note; Products from China are not going to make you rich. THINK ABOUT IT, where do all the products come from that are in demand? USA, CANADA, JAPAN, NOT CHINA. CHina is not a creator, but rather a copier. The only products they originate, is generally in the clothing based industry and they do not take the lead there either. You can for example buy silk scarf for a good price, an resell it, but for how much, NOT much becuase it is not a branded product. So why bother. I saw a earlier article on this website that mentioned china and what you could purchase and make money with, I don't remember the link, but it was fairly accurate.
Become a real business develop business relationships with real business and wholesalers. Find a local shop and help them sell there product on ebay. Once you have established yourself as a real business, then real wholesalers will sell to you. One of my wholesalers that I deal with through my retail business told me that if your only business is ebay, they will never sell to you.
Wholesalers just like manufacturers are looking to develop long term customer relationships, this usually means avoidance of the internet. Although this is changing, I think you will find it necessary to develope a real business all the same.
One last thing; open an ebay store and put all your product in the store. After 30 days the store will be linked back to the search engines and you will make sales without having to run ads on ebay. I have done this for along time. You won't sell as much, but you will sell for lower costs. An ebay store costs about 15.00 per month.
Sorry about the long post, but I was sick and tired of not seeing any real ebay related help for sellers.
Steve