Spying on eBay and other Dirty Tricks!

E 'is a common myth that trade on the Internet is somehow different from dealing in' bricks and mortar 'world. Treat on eBay is a lot cheaper than having a corner shop, but the basics, as regards the purchase and sale is concerned, have not changed in thousands of years.

Research has always been and always will be essential. No spice trader never loaded his camel and walked hundreds of miles of off-chance that when he got there that someone might be interested in the odd kilo of saffron!

He knew exactly what his client wanted, what they wanted, and probably what they were willing to pay before leaving.

Beyond any doubt, the question most frequently ask me is: 'What should I sell?'

The sale is to give people what they want - not what they need. Many people 'need' a book telling them how to improve their mental arithmetic, what you 'want' is a way to download music more cheaply. If you go on to advise people what they needed 'then says that you have the perfect product or service to meet this' need', you will fail.

Never start with the product, start by finding out what people want to find a product that fits the bill. A lot of people want whiter teeth - on eBay you will not have trouble finding products that will give you a smile 'Hollywood'.

Besides just keeping your eyes and ears open these are great ways to find out what's in question:

TV, radio, newspapers, magazines (including ads), school children, students and, of course, the major research tool of all time, the internet and especially eBay. EBay sites in other countries can be a gold mine when it comes to finding products that can sell your home site. I discovered that the best situation is to find something that is 'similar' to an item on your home site, but different enough to trigger a lot of interest. The prices that the "existing" items are sold to give you an indication of what might be expected to obtain for its products 'new'.

There are at least ten sites that use the Englishman - some may surprise you - here are:

Everyone starts with [http://www.ebay] then

With U.S.

Australia Au

CA Canada

India in

Ireland IE

Malaysia My

New Zealand NZ

Ph Philippines

Singapore sg

Co.uk United Kingdom

So what are you looking for?

Items that are listed over and over again, especially in the 'out' (above the gray line) and 'Buy It Now' items. You can find a seller offering the kind of thing that interests you, maybe a powerseller with a positive feedback rating (over 95%) and find out exactly what they are doing.

HOW? - This is the best bit,

Go into one of your ads and copy their ID, click 'Advanced Search' at the top of the page, click on 'items by seller' on the left, paste the ID in the space provided, please tick the box to include the 'completed listings 'and click' search '. On this page click on 'View Items Sellers on the right of the screen.

Now you know what they have sold over a given period of time, as many of them have sold and what I have for them! If you click on the item number to the left takes you to the original list.

Has this level of free information on any global market has always been available before?

Surprising, no?

Armed with this knowledge you can now go and buy a small number of the item you decided to sell both from a wholesaler or even approach the seller (if your site is not country) to see if it will work.

I can never usually buy anything for more than half of what I know I can sell, with the possible exception of when I am in the research stage. Better not to make money or even lose a little 'to try a new line to buy a large amount only to discover that simply is not a valid product.

Over 50% of the products listed on eBay DO NOT SELL - do not let you join the list, the search is not an option, it is a necessity if you want to make money online ....