The BEST Item to Market on eBay
To maximize your earnings on eBay, you should sell an item that meets all of the following criteria: there is a high demand for it; it is unique to you, so you have no direct competition; it is easy to produce, ship, and store; it has a high-profit margin; it can be delivered automatically on auto-pilot; it can be easily adapted to changes in demand. Information, thankfully, is just such a product.
Any good or service that educates or informs the buyer is considered an information product. Products that contain information include:
1. PHYSICAL, as a book, CD, or newsletter printed on paper
2. ELECTRONIC, including an e-book, online audio or video, website, blog, membership site, RSS feed, or podcast
Third, intangible things like coaching, mentoring, and consulting.
So how do information products meet our requirements for the ideal eBay listing?
One, there is a great need for data.
Information is the most sought-after commodity on the web. People do research before making a significant purchase. The likelihood of their purchasing the thing itself is lower than the likelihood of buying information about it. Finding out what people want is as simple as researching the internet, especially eBay. Finding out what people need will allow you to make an information product that sells itself by giving them what they want.
Second, you have no direct rivals when selling an information product because it is original to you.
Making your information products from scratch is incredibly simple but beyond the scope of this essay to cover in detail. You can either make your information product, commission someone else to make one for you, use an existing one, or even sell the development of another.
Third, there is ZERO production cost for information products.
Making your information product has zero production expenses (other than your time). However, original production is NOT required. Existing data is available for you to use at no cost. You can make the product yourself or pay someone a little to make it for you.
A digital information product, like an eBook, has zero reproduction costs once developed. A digital file can be emailed or downloaded directly from a website.
The delivery of digital products on eBay is currently restricted to physical media like CDs and DVDs. A blank CD or DVD on which to store your information product isn’t free, but it won’t break the bank either. You can offer free electronic delivery of any other information products you sell to the consumer afterward, so long as you don’t sell them via eBay.
Shipping prices for informational products are $0.
As was previously noted, sending an eBook to a customer through email or as a digital download incurs ZERO transaction charges. CDs and DVDs are perfect for shipping digital products because of their small size and lightweight, which eBay now mandates. You can offer free electronic delivery of any other information products you sell to the consumer afterward, so long as you don’t sell them via eBay.
5. There is no need for physical space to store information items.
Your data product is a file you’ve made and saved on your computer. It only requires “real estate” on your computer’s RAM. There’s no need to keep a copy if you’re sending it directly to the customer’s inbox. You can print it on paper or burn it to a CD or DVD right before handing it off to the customer if that’s how you deliver it. Having merchandise piled up in box after box around the house is unnecessary.
The profit margin for information items is very substantial.
Can you put a price on a piece of scrap paper? Nothing. But imagine if the winning lotto numbers for the double rollover drawing on Saturday were written on that scrap of paper. Now, it’s worth millions of dollars. Although this is an extreme case, it demonstrates that the information itself is more important than the medium through which it is conveyed. If the data quality is high and the customer wants it badly enough, the paper or disc can be sold for $10, $100, or $1,000.
Because the delivery of information products can be automated, your income won’t depend on how many hours you put in at the office.
When it comes to selling information products online, automation is critical. Customers can immediately begin using the product after completing the online purchasing form and clicking the Pay Now option. While you sleep, watch TV, go on vacation, or work on your NEXT best-selling information product, ALL OF THIS IS DONE AUTOMATICALLY!
Since eBay no longer supports the electronic delivery of information products, you’ll need to physically mail your first sale to a buyer who purchases from you on eBay. However, tools and services are available that can do the heavy lifting for you. When a bidder buys an item from your auction, the disc is manufactured and delivered to the winner automatically. This can occur even when you’re out of town or sound sleeping.
The demand for an information product can be modified quickly and easily.
If you’ve developed a successful information product, you can see a drop in sales after a period. It’s possible that your product has become obsolete or that a rival company is offering a superior alternative. You may quickly adapt your product to meet the needs of a shifting market or customer base. The only thing left to do is tweak the product’s text. Expanding your business into new areas and selling more products to your current clientele is simple after developing a successful information product.
An information product that is RELEVANT to your market would still be helpful to you if you already have a product line that you are selling on eBay, either as a FRONT-END product to give away or sell cheaply to get more people on your list or as a free BONUS to give away with your product to increase the perceived VALUE of your offer and SET YOU APART FROM THE COMPETITION.
Information is the Holy Grail of eBay commodities.
The Online Auction Resource Centre, founded by “The Lazy Way to Wealth on eBay” author Martyn Boaden, is a one-stop shop for all you need to know about starting and maintaining a successful eBay business. You can get his renowned eBay Business Box for FREE (a $164 value, plus $17 monthly).
Read also: How you can Sell High Price Products Via Internet Marketing For a Profitable Internet Business.