Home
>
Online Auction
>
Why Its a BAD Idea To Promote Hot Selling Products on eBay

Why Its a BAD Idea To Promote Hot Selling Products on eBay

Do a quick search on Google, Yahoo, or your favorite auction resource site, and you'll quickly discover there are several software programs targeted to vendors who want to promote hot selling products on eBay.

The infatuation with hot selling products exists because sellers believe if you target items that have a robust sales pattern, you'll have a better chance at profiting on eBay. This is both true and false.

Yes... hot selling products can improve your bottom line. But unfortunately by the time the average eBay seller (a) realizes what the hot selling products are, (b) purchases stock to sell on eBay, and (c) actually puts the items up for sale, the demand is already being met by other eBay sellers who probably started the hot selling product trend some time ago.

Not only that, with thousands of people also having access to the same hot selling product lists, you'll have to contend with other eBay vendors who have the exact same ideas that you do. So you'll be up against the original sellers who are currently feeding the demand, AND doing the tango with newer sellers who have jumped on the same hot selling product bandwagon that you did.

Okay maybe this won't happen to you.

But suppose it does.

What if competition becomes so great that prices start dipping below the wholesale cost that you paid for the item? (It happens all the time on eBay.) And what if you lose $100, $200, or even $1,000 on inventory that you thought would be flying off the shelf? Suddenly that hot selling item is looking rather cold sitting in your garage collecting dust.

So if not hot selling products on eBay, then what?

Do what the majority of PowerSellers do. Sell what you want, instead of what's hot. Repeat after me, "Every day ordinary items sell extremely well on eBay... Every day ordinary items sell extremely well on eBay... Every day ordinary items sell extremely well on eBay." Allow this to become your mantra, because it is very much true.

I know this from first-hand experience as I analyze top sellers instead of hot products. And my research has continuously shown me that mediocre products don't necessarily translate into mediocre sales.

For instance, there's a seller right now who clears about $1,000-$2,000 a week selling magnets. And that's AFTER eBay and PayPal fee's. Another seller promotes homemade CD's to a specific audience and clears $900-$2,000 a week. A few sellers make $500-$700+ a week - after expenses - promoting public domain information. And the cool thing about public domain information is that anybody can sell it because it's free. So that's pure profit by selling something they never paid for. Talk about the ultimate arbitrage opportunity!

The ultimate key in succeeding no matter what product you end up selling, is to build a successful strategy. To figure out 'how' to profitably market what you have, instead of chasing after the next great thing. Because once you have the strategy part down, you can sell anything on eBay and make it a hot seller to your bank account.

Alexis Dawes is a student of eBay sales strategies, instead of hot selling products. She's the developer behind Auction Seller Analyzer, a Windows-based application that inspects eBay sellers auctions to determine the winning strategies they're using. You can get more information about Auction Seller Analyzer at ().

In The News:

Minneapolis Star Tribune
President Ronald Reagan's blood for sale on auction site
Washington Post
An online auction site is hoping to find out by selling a vial that it claims was used to draw President Ronald Reagan's blood as he recovered from the gunshot wound that nearly killed him in 1981. To top it off, the auction site says, â€œdried blood ...
Reagan blood sample vial for sale, controversy includedLos Angeles Times
Auction claims it's selling vial with Reagan's bloodMinneapolis Star Tribune
Reagan's son says auction of vial purportedly containing late president's ...Fox News
The Atlantic
all 763 news articles »

CBS News
Disputed dinosaur fossil auctioned for $1M in NYC
BusinessWeek
By JENNIFER PELTZ A dinosaur dispute is brewing between the Mongolian government and an American auction house, which sold a fossil of a fearsome T. Rex relative despite a court order not to. The 8-foot-tall, 24-foot-long skeleton of a Tyannosaurus ...
Dinosaur Auction: Tyrannosaur Skeleton Fetches $1 Million Despite ObjectionsHuffington Post
Dino fossil sold in controversial auctionWTAM.com
Dinosaur Dustup: Auctioneer, Mongolia Battle Over $1M BonesABC News

all 303 news articles »

Hamden police auction rids department of old items while adding to town's ...
New Haven Register
By Ann DeMatteo, Register Staff HAMDEN â€” Some chairs and desks, three coat racks, six doors, three telephones, a chalk board and an electric pencil sharpener are no longer town property as a result of an auction held at the old detective bureau ...
NHR: Old Hamden PD Stuff to be Auctioned TuesdayPatch.com

all 3 news articles »

Bloomberg
Treasurys fall as stocks gain; auction on tap
MarketWatch
Last month's auction came at a yield of 0.27%. Yields on shorter-dated securities haven't fallen as much as longer-dated ones in recent weeks because they are more closely connected to interest-rate expectations â€” and the Federal Reserve has given no ...
Treasuries Fall Third Day Before European Summit, Note AuctionsSan Francisco Chronicle
Treasury Auctions Set for This WeekNew York Times
TREASURIES-Prices fall on profit-taking in new debt salesReuters
Bloomberg -BusinessWeek -Investor's Business Daily
all 94 news articles »

Spanish, Dutch Funding Costs Move Opposite At Auctions
Wall Street Journal
By Emese Bartha Spain's borrowing costs rose further at Tuesday's Treasury bill auction, underlying the market's unease with the country's funding sustainability as bank recapitalization needs, frail finances in some of its regions and an upwardly ...

and more »

New York Daily News
Babe Ruth jersey fetches a 'Ruthian' $4.4 million at auction
Chicago Sun-Times
By MIKE FITZPATRICK AP Sports Writer May 21, 2012 9:58AM This undated photo provided by SCP Auctions shows a circa 1920 New York Yankees baseball jersey worn by Babe Ruth that sold for more than $4.4 million at auction, Sunday, May 20, 2012.
Babe Ruth's jersey sold at auction: Piece of Yankees' history has mighty price tagnewjerseynewsroom.com
Babe Ruth's Yankees jersey sells for record-setting $4.4M at auction; Lawrence ...New York Daily News
Babe Ruth jersey sells for a record $4.4 million at auctionFox News
USA TODAY (blog)
all 424 news articles »

African Markets - Factors to watch on May 23
Reuters
EVENTS: KENYA - 5-year treasury bond auction worth 3 billion shillings, 182-day T-bill auction UGANDA - Auctions of 2-year, 5-year bonds worth 100 billion shillings SOUTH AFRICA - April CPI data MOZAMBIQUE - C.bank on growth/inflation outlook GLOBAL ...

and more »

Pocklington to auction off Edmonton Oilers' Stanley Cup rings
Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON â€” Peter Pocklington, former owner of the Edmonton Oilers, is once again putting his Stanley Cup rings up for online auction, meaning some deep-pocketed fans get another shot at buying the last remnants of the Oilers' glory days.

and more »

Brazil Central Bank Calls Foreign Exchange Swap Auction
Wall Street Journal
SAO PAULO (Dow Jones)--The Central Bank of Brazil on Tuesday called a foreign exchange swap auction, offering contracts valued at the equivalent of $2.47 billion. The auction offers investors the opportunity to exchange paper linked to interest rates ...
Brazil Rate Futures Yields Rise on Stimulus; Real Extends DropBloomberg

all 9 news articles »

Music Center sells time with Gehry and Domingo in online auction
Los Angeles Times
Its first-ever online auction is going on right now, with 36 items up for bid. They range from what you might expect â€” living it up at the Los Angeles Opera's opening night gala on Sept. 15, then capping the evening by getting to hobnob briefly with ...

Google News

Why Its a BAD Idea To Promote Hot Selling Products on eBay

Online Auction