7 Best Selling eBay Categories You Can Make Money Selling

6 minutes
eBay, eBay Tips
Danica Dimayuga, Kyle Anderson
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Are you thinking of going big with your eBay business this year but you don’t know what you’re lacking?

You might want to start looking at the category you’re selling items in first.

Find out which categories have products flying off of shelves this year.

1. Electronic Accessories for Everyone

It’s no surprise that electronic products are taking the lead as the bestselling eBay items. Everyone you know has a cell phone and everyone you know has a cell phone cover and needs cell phone power adapters. Others electronic items such as tablets, gaming consoles, and cameras also see TONS of accessories and workout as great gifts for any given occasion. Accessories that protect and personalize these devices are a good additions to you eBay business.

People are always looking to upgrade whatever technology they have at the moment. This is a good reason why selling electronics is a safe category to include in your eBay business. Electronics that are either new, used, re-furbished and/or even damaged can still get good prices once listed on eBay.

Damaged electronics still have a place in the market as people often scavenge for spare parts to use for repairs. You’ll never know who might be looking for that old basic Nokia phone you’ve been keeping at home.

2. Health and Beauty Products for Aspiring Makeup Artists

Like food, the demand for health and beauty products are a constant and recurring expense for many. It’s a good place to be if you want to gain a returning customer base. Health products such as medical and mobility supplies, vitamins and supplements, oral care, vision care, skin care, hair products, nail supplies, fitness products, and massage/salon products, and cosmetics are among the many product types popular within this eBay category.

Among these product types, cosmetics and skin care items are very high selling items on eBay. The cosmetics industry has been booming in recent years because of self-taught aspiring makeup artists. Youtube has blown this industry up and people of all ages are always searching on eBay for cheaper yet authentic cosmetics.

If you would like to add this category to your eBay business, it would be best to find a supplier that offers them in prices that will let you be profitable at comparable or cheaper than suggested retail price at nearby drugstores or shopping malls. This way, you can establish a following which will treat your eBay store as their one-stop shop for affordable health and cosmetic products. You might be able to create your own brand if you can find products from Alibaba.

3. Clothing (Used and New) To Fashion Savvy Buyers

Fashion trends vary by year but there is never a shortage of people who love to mix and match styles and find those unique “vintage” items. Vintage is just a fancy word for used junk. Similar to health and beauty products, customers come to eBay to looking for good deals and unique items. The best thing about this category is whether you’ve bought clothes and shoes as new or you just want to clean out of your closet, people will still want to buy them.

Apparel, especially those with name brands and are still wearable, make serious money on eBay no matter what the condition. Some people buy the clothes for their brands and others for the unique style.

Shoes are also serious money makers too and can be sold faster than clothes if they’re specifically branded and are a limited edition. eBay customers are known to bid or pay higher if it’s for the right pair. Be sure to price your items based on previous sales if you’re thinking of selling in this category.

4. Jewelry, Watches, Bags, and Wallets

Jewelry, watches, bags, and wallets are some of the bestselling eBay items. These items are known to make serious money on eBay especially if they’re name brand. People will pay higher if they’re branded and in good condition. All conditions are welcome when selling in this category.

Jewelry will always have an appeal no matter what its condition is. Whether your jewelry is made with gold, diamonds or have been handmade, listing it on eBay can be quite profitable as there are endless tastes out there.

Watches are surprisingly among the high selling items on eBay. No matter what the watch’s brand, as long as it’s popular, they are sold every few minute on eBay on a daily basis. Even old branded watches can sell from hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on rarity.

Like watches, branded bags and wallets are hot items on eBay too. These items are usually bought by women as gifts for friends or treats for themselves.

5. Household, Kitchen, and Garden Items to Collectors

An average American family has $7,000 worth of unused household items that can be sold through eBay according to NPD’s study in 2011. Your job is to find them. These items may consist of unused cooking appliances, utensils, collectibles, lunch boxes, plates, clothes, shoes, bags, jewelry, storage items, gardening equipment, and others.

Collectors will buy up all kinds of weird items like branded Coca-Cola or Mickey Mouse lunch boxes. Any popular character from the last 100 years will sell on eBay to the right collector. Many of the items in these categories are also quite durable so you have less worry of them breaking during shipping.

Considered by many as the best category to start an eBay business in, household and garden products are quite popular and easy to sell. These items are usually high selling items on eBay no matter what the condition. People are constantly cooking and need to buy heavy duty cooking utensils, appliances, and tools at cheap discounted prices. Let them buy these items from you.

6. Rare and Limited Books and Craft Items

Given the all the new ways of reading eBooks with items like the Kindle and Nook, books can be thought of as unmarketable. However, there is still a market out there for people who enjoy reading physical books rather than their electronic counterparts. Many people hate technology and love the feeling of having a real book in their hands especially if its unique or rare. Look for 1st editions and/or books with signatures. Popular books should be avoided at all costs. You can not compete with Amazon so don’t try.

The profit margins selling both used and unused books vary depending on the book. This is definitely not a category for beginners. But, it is not uncommon to find a book for a couple dollars and then resell it for $100 on eBay. They have UPC scanning apps you can get on your phone that will tell you if the book is worth anything or not. Competition selling books is tough so only look for the gems and focus the core of your business on other more reliable categories.

7. Limited and Old Music Collections, Instruments, and Games

Musical instruments sell very well on eBay. Guitars , pianos, keyboards, MIDI controllers, DJ equipment, and all sorts of music related gear can go for close to new prices if in good condition. Sheet music and other music teaching aids can sell if the competition is low.

Music CDs, DVDs, and vinyl records are in the same boat as books. Don’t bother unless you come across rare or limited items in pristine condition or you know what you are looking for. Collectors will pay premiums for certain items and will pay next to nothing for others.

Video games are usually a good consistent money maker if you can source them in bulk at next to nothing prices. Many video game fans collect old cartridge games like Atari, NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, and other systems from the late 80s and early 90s. You can easily find games for a couple bucks and flip them for 3-4X if they are rare. Avoid the popular games. Also avoid new games as the depreciate in price extremely fast and you don’t want to be holding bags of worthless items.

Bonus Category: Digital Products

A bonus category is information and digital products. All downloadable items on eBay are considered “digital goods”, so you must be careful on categorizing your item as eBay has a set of rules for this category. Digital goods are to be listed under “Information Products” in the “Everything Else” category. I have seen plugins, presets, and add-ons for software go for hundreds of dollars. If you have a good product, it can be worth a lot of money and be easily duplicated for unlimited sales. Examples are Adobe plugins and presets and Forex and Stock trading indicators.

Summary

The category you choose for selling on eBay is crucial to determining your success as an online merchant. So it’s important that you pick a category well and trade by eBay’s rules as you go along.

Research well before investing your time and money in to it. Read through forums and observe other sellers trading under the category you’re interested in. See what sells and see what sits around for months collecting dust. Don’t buy the dust!

Did our list of bestselling eBay items inspire you to start a business under a new niche? If it did, please tell us all about it! Feel free to write us a comment below.