by Roberrific

Created on: February 23, 2007   Last Updated: May 03, 2007

As a scavenger who sells all manner of merchandise on the internet, I know where to get great things to sell online. As far as Ebay goes, I've always had the best luck with used items, antiques and collectibles. I like this category as it's hard to put a value on an item that's one-of-a-kind. Unique items, or hard to find items generally sell faster and for more money than new items. That's because new items can be acquired in many different places. The buyer can find a thousand places on the web to buy stuff new. In most cases, the fresh goods' are cheapest at the factories or farms where they were created.

If you are looking to sell a 'new item' try to find a source within fifty miles of where you live. Think about how many local shop owners are buying new replacement stock for their stores each week. Hit the yellow pages. Check the listings for wholesale distributors. Another good source is direct from the factory. Many factories are looking for new dealers. Don't be put off because they have a big name, they need distribution too. It's amazing how many of them are willing to drop ship', you just need to ask.

I recently tied up a distributorship for a new automotive product because.... I asked. They did not have a distributor in my country and I was the only person to inquire When I first called, I asked about wholesale pricing and when they supplied me with a discount I started thinking, Why did they not inform me that I lived within the territory of an exclusive dealer?' One more phone call and I was the exclusive dealer, now sales are exploding and I'm well protected simply because I asked!

In our town we have about a dozen thrift stores that are run by the Salvation Army, Goodwill, Second Heaven, and all church denominations etc. I hit them all once a week. Normally my two hour "shopping spree" ends with an average of fifty dollars spent. Fifty dollars in expenses usually nets me somewhere between three to five hundred dollars in profit. Local auctions and garage sales are also good sources for used merchandise. SECRET - get your name on the mailing list for all the local auctioneers. When they're called to hold estate sales, I'm usually the first person to find out about it. Yes I've attended extremely well stocked events where there are only twenty or thirty other bidders present that's because of bad advertising on their part.

A friend of mine drives for two hours across state once a week for a Freight Claims auction on the outskirts of a big city. You have to buy large quantities of goods, but the prices he pays are unbelievable. Check with all the local freight companies and insurance companies and get the lowdown on how to buy damaged merchandise.
One word of caution, don't fall for those so called "Super Disks" that you see advertised all over the web that are supposed to be filled with "Millions of Wholesale leads" Few of them have any up to date information, and half the companies listed don't have websites so you must call long distance to get the necessary information.

Lastly I should tell you that the best Ebay scavengers think outside the box. I know a lady that only buys and sells fossils. Another chap plucks micro chips from the circuit boards he finds in trashed computers. Dumpster divers do best in industrial parts of town and often work out a route they travel once a week just before pick ups. One guy popped out the lenses from a pair of broken binoculars and sold these bits of glass for forty dollars each. My daughter once brought me a handful of rare Billy Idol pins that she picked off an empty knapsack she found abandon on the transit system I sold them for fifteen dollar each! Opportunities abound for scavengers of all ages - think and grow rich.

Learn more about this author, Roberrific.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.