Arbitrage is defined by Dictionary.com as, “….the purchase of a security, commodity, or foreign currency in one market for the purpose of immediately selling it at a higher price in another market….”
In the world of eBay arbitrage, or as it is sometimes called ‘flipping’, arbitrage is the art of purchasing items on eBay for a low price and re-selling them on eBay for a higher price thus making a profit.
Here’s a list on things to look out for in eBay auctions that would make them ideal for Arbitrage:-
1. Items listed in the wrong category.
Some times this can mean that they don’t a lot of traffic and you could get them cheaper.
2. Item listings that have spelling mistakes in the title.
This is a great way to find expensive ‘big name’ items as inexperienced or careless eBayer sellers can mis-spell the brand name, thus making their listing impossible to find. It’s a great idea to start keeping a list of big brand names and designer brand names and use a mis-spelling tool. Here are some links to a few that I have used. I haven’t got a favourite one yet.
- Fat Fingers – http://onlineauctionresources.com/go/Fat_Fingers/
- Auction Bloopers – http://onlineauctionresources.com/go/Auction_Bloopers/
- Typo Buddy – http://onlineauctionresources.com/go/Typo_Buddy/
- Missing Auctions – http://onlineauctionresources.com/go/Missing_Auctions/
- Typo Hound – http://onlineauctionresources.com/go/Typo_Hound/
You simply put in the correct spelling of the item and it will give you all the common mis-spelllings, some will even search eBay for you and bring up results for you to look through.
3. Item listings that do not have any photos.
This would put of many prospective buyers. I believe all physical items that you are selling on eBay require at least one photo. You really need to show the prospective buyer exactly what they are buying.
4. Item listings that have really bad photos.
Similar to the previous comment, this would put off many prospective buyers. Fuzzy images or bad lighting in photos does not help the prospective buyer see exactly what they are buying.
5. Item listing that have bad descriptions.
Bad descriptions can be different things to different buyers:-
- not describing the item enough.
- descriptions that are too long. (There can be a fine line between too many words and too few words.)
- making your descriptions hard to read. Using too many bright colours can really irritate some peoples eyes. Always try to use a light background and black text. You can use another colour to highlight an important point if necessary, but don’t make it look like a rainbow.
Want to learn more about eBay Arbitrage learn how to develop you own system on finding, buying, and re-selling products on eBay for a profit? Then I highly recommend the following ebook.
If the link above does not work you can click here:-
http://onlineauctionresources.com/go/eBay_Arbitrage_ebook/