When you're trying to come up with products to sell on eBay it seems you have the same sources available to you that everyone else does (yawn). Those include yard sales, flea markets, closeouts, wholesale lots, and dropshippers. Estate sales may be another. As you can imagine, as the number of eBay sellers grows, the competition for products to resell grows. What if there was some other product source that most people were ignoring? Maybe there is.
The way to track down these hidden products is through research. Wait! Before you click away, hear me out. When was the last time you used the Internet for research? Thought so, probably just a little while ago. Now when was the last time you consulted a FREE professional researcher, available in person, or through email, who knows important tips for Internet searching , and who has access to databases that you don't? I'm talking about your local reference librarian, of course, as well as your local business librarian. People who you pay with your tax dollars, and who are more than happy to help in any way they can. (Deb, my wife and coauthor is a librarian, but I liked librarians before I even met Deb).
As the Internet has grown believe it or not the need for information professionals has increased. With so much information available, of varying quality, people need help getting to the good stuff fast. Also, even though you may think all the world's knowledge is on the Internet, that's far from the case. Many periodicals and other businesss sources are aavailable only through expensive databases, or in hard copy form. Your librarian has access to these sources--you probably don't.
Now that you know about this secret helper, how can she help you source products? As we discuss in our books eBay PowerSeller Secrets and eBay PowerSeller Million Dollar Ideas, local manufacturers can be a great source of products for resale. You can approach them directly, or through trade shows. Your reference librarian can be a tremendous help in locating these (both the manufacturers and trade shows). Another way to source products is to create your own. No, just ebooks, but actual products. One of our favorite PowerSellers, Kevin Boyd of preferreddiscounts, did just that with his clever pipe guardian and cigar caddies for pipe and cigar smokers on the go. Your librarian can help you assess the market for your own product brainstorms, and point you to specialized publications for idea generating.
Kevin's complete story, as well as other extraordinary sourcing ideas, are in our latest book eBay PowerSeller Million Dollar Ideas, which McGraw-Hill will publish this Fall.
Happy, and successful sourcing to you all!
Brad Schepp is the coauthor of eBay PowerSeller Secrets. Published by McGraw-Hill, eBay PowerSeller Secrets is one of the bestselling eBay books. His latest book is eBay PowerSeller Million Dollar Ideas, which will be published in September 2006. For more information see his website at http://www.bradanddeb.com.
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