Got An Idea To Make Money?

So, for whatever ridiculous reason, you’ve got some extra money you want to throw at some stock or that idea you had in high school during Mr. Taylor’s algebra class. Naturally, you want to know if some of that money is going to come back at you – and preferably with interest.

Enter eBay. Anybody can find money-making opportunities – you just have to look.

Free Competitive Product Analysis at eBay

Here’s 5 steps to follow to determine whether or not your product is worth it, using eBay, in 22 seconds or less (unless you’re a slow person, which I take no responsibility for – sorry).

• Raw Material Cost Analysis: Assess how much the product will cost you per unit. This part’s pretty straight-forward – you have a potential supplier, right? How much are they charging you? Great, you’ve just made an assessment, doesn’t that sound cool?
• Research Tools: Go to eBay.com. (Some might claim that you need to sign-in to your account for the next step, but this is actually unnecessary 😉 ).
• Product Research: Do an advanced search. To start, click on the “Advanced Search” link at the top of the page next to the regular Search button. On the next page, enter a keyword – preferably the name or your actual product. Next, click on the box next to “Completed listings,” and click Search.
• Competitive Intelligence: Take note of the green prices vs the red prices. The prices in red will tell you what people thought they could sell that item for and failed at. The prices in green will show you who was successful and how much they sold it for.
• Product Launch: Average out all the green prices. If you need instructions on how to get an average, go back to Mr. Taylor’s class and pay attention. I don’t feel like telling you.

Now, is the number from Step 5 higher or lower than the number from Step 1? This is not a trick question.

If it’s higher, then you can consider investing in this product. If it’s lower, try again. You may get different results the second time around. This is not the definition of insanity.

And, as your super-duper-neat-wonderful cost-saving bonus, here is a video on how to do a completed listings search on eBay.