How to Buy and Resell on eBay

Using some of the tools found on this site, you can source items for resale and then list them on eBay or other sites. BINSniper and VieBuy are two tools that perform a similar function: they alert you to new items that meet the criteria you establish.

eBay is not only a good place to buy and sell, it’s a great place to buy and resell. You can buy product on eBay for resale and then sell it on eBay, or a number of other sites, or even in your brick and mortar store if you have one.

Where these tools add value is in the instant alerting features. Instead of searching through thousands of listings or bidding on auctions for days, you get alerts of brand new listings that you can buy immediately.

By setting criteria such as price range, keywords, and category, you can set the tools to show you deals seconds after they are listed on eBay. Check out the free eBay buying tools listed on auctionbucks.com

Finding product
To find products that can be bought on eBay and then resold on eBay you’ll need to browse listings looking for items that have a wide range of selling prices. Some examples are cellphones, PDAs, musical instruments, GPS, industrial equipment, cameras, high end fashion items, some collectibles, laptops, electronics, network routers, and more.

Generally speaking, the higher the item price, the more room you have for markup. Using BINSniper, set the keywords to search for, optionally set a category number, and then set the price range to monitor.

Many new or casual sellers undervalue their items. They will typically put the item up for auction and set a BIN price below the normal going rate. If you use BINSniper to find this item before other buyers and before anyone can place a low-ball bid, you can purchase it at the BIN price.

In other cases, fixed priced items that a seller is unfamiliar with will be placed up for sale and the first buyer to find the deal gets it. BINSniper can alert you in seconds of an item being listed and typically a minute before it is displayed on the eBay websites. (depends on the site, category and day)

An example: A Cisco 2811 router currently sells for anywhere from $500 to $3000 depending on the options installed. A router valued at $500 may be resellable at $800 without any modifications.

A less costly example: An iPod Touch listed at $59 can be resold for $89. BINSniper lets you monitor for iPods priced from $49-$69. Setting the low end of the range excludes unwanted listings like cases, chargers and other accessories that would fill the search results on the eBay website.

A bad idea: A zhu zhu pet hamster that sells for $5-$9 on eBay is probably not a great target for resale. The inbound shipping costs will undo any profit you might have made. But if you can buy them in lots, it might be worthwhile. For buying and reselling to be profitable, you need to factor in all your costs including eBay fees. Generally speaking, you’ll need to look at items where the BuyPrice+ShippingCost is less than ResalePrice+eBayFees.

There are items out there, and hundreds of eBayers use BINSniper everyday.

You should also consider using two eBay accounts. One to buy and one to sell. This helps prevent your purchase price from being researched thru your feedback listings.