Flea Marketing 101

Get there early and be ready to bargain. Scour through the entire sale, picking up your "maybes" as you go along. Use your phone's ebay application for items you aren't sure about. Keep the following list in your mind (or in your pocket) when looking for inventory to sell on ebay:

Anything with tags: If you can list an item on ebay as "new with tags," the value increases. Name brands and trendy items will do best here.

Books: Focus on non fiction and "coffee table" books. Avoid fiction books unless you can get them super cheap (10-25 cents each.) Books are easy to sell on ebay, half.com or on amazon. Learn more about selling books with a great and reasonably priced ebook loaded with tried and true ideas for book sellers. I bought this ebook a few months ago and it has paid for iteself several times over.

Winter Coats: Children and Adult. Name brand and pristine condition coats sell well on ebay. Brands to watch for: Gap, Hollister, Abercrombie, Anne Klein, Roth's Child, Gymboree.

Shoes: Name brand and in top notch condition. Depending on the brand, plan on getting $10-20 pair on ebay.

Dishes: Bought in a set (aim to spend $25-$35) and split into lots of 2 or 4, these can have an excellent profit margin.

Toys--current or vintage: Condition matters here, but there is a huge market for toys on ebay. Vintage toys can do quite well. I bought two "See and Say" plastic toys at a garage sale recently for $1 each and they each brought around $15. I also sold a lot of old Lincoln Logs for around $70.

Coffee Cups: Look for Starbucks or Trader Joe cups. Think trendy and nationally known. Coffee Cups do very well on ebay.

Lynne Dralle (the queen of auctions) has buying and selling second hand items down to a science. I've listened to several seminars with her and she is helpful, fun and willing to share her ebay secrets. She has been selling on ebay for over 10 years and makes a good full time living selling unique and antique items on ebay. She explains the particulars and gives great advice on exactly what to watch for when shopping to resell items on ebay. Check out her book:



Another resource that is highly recommended comes from an accomplished ebay seller. If you are looking to become an expert at flea bay markeing check out Garage Sale Goldmines to learn all of the tricks.