What to sell on eBay to make money

eBay niche list -  What profitable products sell on eBay?

In this article, I am going to be discussing some very specific ebay niches that you can sell on eBay for good money.  These profitable products are more obscure than most, and chances are you have passed by them many times at garage sales, and thrift stores.   Don't forget to checkout my eBay bolo list to see what other profitable products you can sell on eBay.

To start off, we are going to cover the broad portion of the niche then dial down to various niches inside of the kitchen 

 The broad niche - Vintage kitchen products

Kitchen products sell very well on eBay and are a great spot to look for profitable items that will can make you money.   

Why I like to the vintage kitchen niche

• Easy to find cheap
• Generally easy to ship
• In constant demand
• Discontinued products can be very profitable
• Generally easy to test
• Replacement parts can be valuable

What kind of kitchen products are profitable?

When it comes to the vintage kitchen niche, there are various routes you can take if you want to get down to the micro niche.   

• Flatware
• Pots & Pans
• Small appliances
• Replacement parts
• Specialty appliances

Flatware ebay micro niche

Flatware is one of my favorite items to sell on eBay because you can find large lots of them at garage sales and they can be very profitable.   Here are some more reasons why I like to sell flatware on eBay.

• Easy to find
• Easy to ship
• Easy to date
• Moderately hard to identify ( which is good )
•  Customers look for specific patterns
• Many discontinued patterns
• Easy to tell if they are damaged or broken

Examples of profitable flatware you can make money on.

Click the links below to view current sold prices on Amazon

• Danish Modern flatware
• Wahsington Forge Town & Country
• Oneida made in USA
• Made in USA flatware

How to sell flatware

I am going to assume that you already know how to sell on eBay so I am just going to cover the main sticking points when it comes to making money on flatware.

Identification -   The hardest part about making money on flatware is the identification portion.   Many flatware sets have identification markings on the back that will help you identify what pattern they are.   When you have that information, head on over to replacements.com and search for your pattern.

It may take a LONG time to sort through the thousands of patterns, or you may find it right away.   Once you find your pattern, I would recommend using as much of the information on replacements.com without just copying the page.    Helpful information such as pattern codes, mfg codes and other idenification can be helpful when customers are looking for your flatware.

If you can't find the pattern on replacements.com, you may have a rare pattern.  Try using ebay's completed listings to see if you can find a match there.  Worst case scenario, you have to create your own keywords for your flatware which isn't the end of the world.  Just use descriptive keywords of your flatware's pattern

Slow sellers - The higher prices flatware can take awhile to sell, but for the most part if you price your flatware competitively, you should have no problems selling.

Pots & Pans ebay niche

Pots & pans are another greatly profitable item you can sell on eBay.   Here is why I like them

• Easy to find
• Fairly easy to ship
• Easy to identify
• Possibility of replacement parts
• Many discontinued products
• Easy to tell if they are damaged or broken

Examples of profitable pots & pans you can make money on.

Click the links below to view current sold prices on eBay

        Saladmaster

• Wagner ware
• Guardian service cookware

How to find profitable pots & pans without knowing the names

When it comes to finding money making pots & pans, it is all about the quality of the cookware.   The easiest thing you can do is pick them up.  If they are heavy, they are worth looking into.   

Identification - Identifying good pots and pans is fairly easy.  The markings will either be on the bottom of the pan, or on the side.  Here are some terms to look out for.

• X- PLY   X being a number usually between 2-5.  The higher the better.
• Surgical stainless steel
• Made in USA

Small & specialy appliances ebay niche

Small appliances are another profitable section of our eBay vintage kitchen niche.  Here are some of the reasons I like small appliances.

• Easy to find
• Fairly easy to ship
• Nostalgia factor
• Vintage appliances are just made better
• Discontinued products are always profitable
• Possibility of replacement parts
• Vintage and modern

Examples of profitable small appliances you can make money on.

Click the links below to view current sold prices on eBay

• Tater twister
• Farberware open hearth grill

Things to be aware of when purchasing used products to sell on ebay

• Research the product you want to sell on ebay to ensure all the parts are there.
• ALWAYS test the product.
• Check the small appliance for damage
• Obscure, and strange sell so if you come across any odd specialy appliances make sure to check them out.

Vintage kitchen replacement parts ebay micro niche

Another great micro niche to work on is replacement parts.   Vintage kitchen items often have parts that are easily lost or broken.    Many people bypass replacement parts without knowing that many of these parts can be very profitable.   Here are some of the reasons I like selling replacement parts

• Easy to find
• Fulfills a customers need to fix something
• Many parts are no longer being made
• New parts are lower quality
• They are restoring a appliance, and want it to be authentic

Examples of profitable small appliances you can make money on.

Click the links below to view current sold prices on eBay

• Tater twister
• Farberware open hearth grill

Things to be aware of when purchasing used products to sell on ebay

• Research the product you want to sell on ebay to ensure all the parts are there.
• ALWAYS test the product.
• Check the small appliance for damage
• Obscure, and strange sell so if you come across any odd specialy appliances make sure to check them out.

Examples of profitable replacement parts you can make money on.

Click the links below to view current sold prices on eBay

• Regency kitchen center parts
• Saladmaster parts
• Miracle maid parts

Another seller is featured from the picker community. She knows the ways to make money selling online.

Ways to make money selling online.

We recently wrote about former Navy man Adam Coleman, who passed up an opportunity to re-enlist to make online selling his full-time career. Since he attributes much of his love for “treasure hunting” to his mother, we decided to find out how she started her online selling career.

His mother, Doreen Coleman, has been selling on eBay for more than eight years.

Her eBay Store, Imetalconsignments, has about 600 items at any one time, most of which are considered hard-to-find mid-century products.

A variety of products made in the U.S.

If your mother’s lawn chair is frayed and threatens to drop guests on the ground, Doreen Coleman has listings for replacement webbing. If you’d rather dry your hair salon-style, Imetalconsignments can sell you a portable soft bonnet hair dryer.

Not only do the mid-1900s remind her of her childhood, Coleman also appreciates the construction of the products sold back then

From green dishware to retro furniture, this eBay seller has her niche figured out right down to the cocktail swizzle stick.

Not only do the mid-1900s remind her of her childhood, Coleman also appreciates the construction of the products sold back then and the sense of pride the U.S. had in its workmanship.

“I love the mid-century modern era, a time when almost everything was made in the USA,” she adds. “And that seems to be the direction my store has taken.”

Yet Coleman does tell people she’ll pretty much sell anything she can make money on, as long as it’s made in America, she reports. And now that more people are looking for American-made items, she believes her eBay Store will stay its course for a long time.

From ‘real job’ to real joy

As with most people, Coleman says she started selling online to supplement her income.

“I had what some people call ‘a real job,’ an ongoing joke in my household,” she quips.

For more than 20 years, the single mom owned a brick-and-mortar antique business. The summer seasons were profitable, but winter times were hard, so Coleman joined a co-op instead. For a rental fee, she could display her items in various shops throughout the area.

“Unfortunately, when that business decides to close its doors, there’s not much one can do,” she notes.

When the co-op no longer worked for Coleman, she found herself packing her items and going to work for someone else.

For more than 20 years, the single mom owned a brick-and-mortar antique business. The summer seasons were profitable, but winter times were hard

But in her “real job,” she missed retail sales. After a few years, she decided to try selling on eBay.

In the beginning, Coleman sourced her first listings with merchandise from thrift stores and garage sales, but then a friend approached her with an opportunity to help him liquidate his farm equipment.

Consignment venture starts niche

Not knowing yet what her niche market was going to be, Coleman took advantage of the chance to be a consignor.

“It was a pretty brave step,” she notes. “Luckily, every transaction went smoothly.”

Selling farm equipment can be risky if you don’t know the consignee well and he or she doesn’t give you full disclosure on the equipment. For that reason, Coleman suggests sellers know and trust those they might do business with on such large-scale equipment.

“One would think selling full-sized farm equipment would be tough online, but it was one of the easiest items to sell,” she says.

It seemed Coleman found her niche, so she named her business Imetalconsignments. But when her friend’s farm equipment was all sold off, she had to find other farmers to sell for. That only lasted so long. When those wells dried up, Coleman went back to selling her own merchandise.

“Lesson learned: Don’t be afraid to change directions of your business,” she says.

Making the switch to full time

Eventually, Coleman found herself bringing in more income through online sales than through her “real job.” She was ready to take her business to full-time status, but still had a few reservations to overcome.

As a single mother, giving up the security of a regular paycheck can be frightening, so she called her oldest son, Adam, who was serving in the Navy.

“Lesson learned: Don’t be afraid to change directions of your business”

“He asked me a single question: ‘Do you love selling online?’” she recalls.

She responded positively, so he told her to do it. Plus, her son agreed to back her up financially if things went wrong, and that gave Coleman the security she needed to move forward.

Selling worldwide

Though Coleman had 20 years of experience selling antiques in her town, it was a new learning curve for her to do it online.

“Buying merchandise for my brick-and-mortar business was based on my local clientele,” Coleman adds. “Now I’m selling to the whole world.”

This meant the merchant selling on eBay had to change her buying habits to appeal to customers from as far away as Australia.

“The buzz in this small town is I’m keeping the post office open,” she says.

While she laughs about the joke, Coleman notes that the U.S. Postal Service’s new price increase will make her rethink how she ships. However, she loves eBay’s ShipSaver Insurance program, which is important for those who buy and sell rare, breakable products.

Recently, the eBay seller bought a building across from the post office. It’s just big enough to house her inventory and give her some studio space. Plus, getting her orders out in a timely manner is only a matter of a short walk.

Finding merchandise is like vacation to her. Working on her listings in her “overgrown playhouse” is a daily pleasure

If you love it, it’s not work

Coleman’s son recently asked her if she was ever going to retire.

“What would I do?” she responded. “I am already retired. If you love what you do, you’ll never have to work again.”

Finding merchandise is like vacation to her, the eBay seller notes. Working on her listings in her “overgrown playhouse” is a daily pleasure, and if she wants to take a day off, she’ll do it without guilt.

Visit Imetalconsignments on eBay.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sarah Brown is a freelance writer who writes about e-commerce and small businesses. She recently graduated from Chico State with a journalism degree and is also a budding online entrepreneur, having launched two Web businesses and her own line of handmade products. Opinions expressed here may not be shared by The Online Seller and/or its principals.

Make $4000.00 a month picking garage sales, selling used goods on eBay / Amazon.

Ways to make money selling online.

Make $4000.00 a month selling used goods on eBay / Amazon