What should I buy to sell on ebay? This is a very common question for individuals who are looking to make some money selling online.  The answer to this question is different for most people, but there is a very helpful eBay sourcing tool that I use just about every time I am looking at a potential item to sell on ebay. This tool is the ebay app, more specifically the ebay completed listings. This eBay sourcing tool lets me see if the item I am looking at has sold for other sellers, and if so, at what price.  This is very valuable information to have on hand when making a purchasing decision.

How the eBay Completed Listings Work

Let’s take a look at an example of eBay completed listings in action.  One of my favorite items that I have ever sold on ebay was a vintage GE Flip Clock.  So, let’s say that I am at a thrift store, garage sale, or estate sale, and I find a vintage flip clock that I think may be a potential item to resell on ebay.  Here’s what I do:

First, I open this ebay sourcing tool and enter a search for “Vintage GE Flip Clock” and this is what the screen will look like:

This shows me the items that are currently for sale on ebay.  This helps to get an idea of what the current competition is like, but it is not overly helpful in letting me know if my item will sell or not, and at what price.  So, the next step is to search the completed listings.  To get to this, I first tap the “Refine” button as can be seen in the above screenshot, I then come to a screen as seen below: I check the box that says “completed listings” as you can see is circled in red above.  After I check this, I will click the “Done” button in the bottom right of your phone’s screen.  You can’t quite see it in this screenshot, but I promise it is there.  After tapping the done button you will get to the following results: 
As you can see from this, the display changes quite a bit. You are now viewing the completed listings.  What this means is that you are viewing ebay listings that recently ended for other sellers.  If the item is green it indicates that the item sold, and the price is what the seller sold the item for. If the item has a red price, it indicates that the item did not sell.

This is very valuable information when you find an item that you think may be worth selling on ebay.  If you see that the majority of the items are showing up green, this indicates that the item is selling well on ebay, and is an item that you can have high confidence will sell for you as well.  As long as you price similarly, and create a good listing.  On the contrary, if the majority of the items are red, it may be an item you want to pass on.

For me to buy an item, I generally like to see at least 30-35% of the completed listings selling at a price point that leaves me a profit I am comfortable with.  I will adjust depending on the cost of the item and the potential margin that I can make on the item, the higher the potential profit margin, the lower the percentage of listings selling I need to see to make the purchase.  This may seem a bit low, but I can use the recently completed listings as a guide when selling my item to give my item a better chance of selling. You will have to decide the percentage solds that work best for you.

The ebay completed listings are your best friend when scouting for potential ebay inventory. Make sure to utilize them! By the way, keep your eye out for vintage flip clocks, they are a good seller.

Any questions or comments please leave them below! Also, comment below on why you think there is a picture of a stoplight as the featured image.