The eBay Reseller Marketplace: A Business Opportunity

Finding reliable, new sources of supply is an ongoing challenge for PowerSellers who want to grow their existing business or expand to new categories. The eBay Reseller Marketplace, launched by eBay in April 2005, offers PowerSellers an online marketplace for buying liquidated inventory in lot sizes directly from manufacturers, liquidators, and wholesalers.

The inventory on the Reseller Marketplace is very dynamic as new sellers continue to be added, but some of the categories that have been available include apparel, computers and networking, consumer electronics, home and garden, jewelry and watches, sporting goods, and toys. Sellers on the Reseller Marketplace are motivated to move their excess inventory quickly and efficiently, so products are listed in lot sizes intended for resale.

Hunter Goodson is an 18 year old Power seller who has used the Reseller Marketplace successfully to source profitable merchandise:

The eBay Reseller Marketplace: A Business Opportunity

By: eBay Powerseller, Hunter Goodson

In June of 2005, our eBay Store “GOLF TODAY” produced enough revenue to attain PowerSeller status for the first time. Shortly after attaining Bronze status, I came across the Reseller Marketplace –eBay’s venue where PowerSellers can bid on wholesale closeout merchandise. My first impression was simple: "This place is unbelievable."

At the time, there were many PLANAR branded flat panel LCD screens going for less than $60.00 per unit which to me was incredible! eBay markets the Reseller Marketplace as a product-sourcing solution for extra inventory for eBay PowerSellers.

My store, GOLF TODAY, had no use for the marketplace because at the time, it was so new, no golf or sporting good items were ever listed. I still figured there had to be a way to make opportunities from this fantastic concept: wholesalers put their extra and overstocked inventory up for auction (many with a $1 starting bid & N/R), sellers place bids on them and then resell them on eBay.

My plan was to start a new store with products solely from the eBay

Reseller Marketplace. My store name had to be generic enough to allow for all types of products. I named the new store “THE HOME TEAM” which is broad enough to apply to almost any line of product I could find in the Reseller Marketplace. The concept worked. I buy goods from the reseller marketplace and sell them in THE HOME TEAM store. This technique has seen continued success since I started in July 2005.

How Do I Know What To Buy?

Before I decide to bid or buy something, I first search Completed Listings. There is nothing worse than getting stuck with products that do not sell. Looking at ongoing auctions can be very deceptive. Unless you look at completed listings you have no way of knowing the actual value and sale potential. When entering a new market you always want to study how many sell each day and how much they go for.

Hunter Goodson is an eBay PowerSeller and operates the eBay store The Home Team. You can visit his store at: http://stores.ebay.com/golftoday

Any PowerSeller may register and access live listings on the Reseller Marketplace at no cost. To learn more, go to www.ebay.com/reseller