Things You'll Need:
- Computer
- News Sources
- eBay
- Domain Name (optional)
- Holiday Toy Guide (optional)
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Step 1
Stay well-informed.I'm sure you have tried to think of all the ways of making money on eBay and maybe weren't aware that selling toys could be your niche. To be successful selling toys on eBay, you need to be able to know what is going to sell well during the holidays and make your purchases before everyone else does. Once people find out what's selling well on eBay, everything in the stores will sell out quickly - usually within days. By then the only place you'll find sold out toys are on eBay where you will pay WAY more than the retail price. (Which is why you want to be the seller, not the buyer!)
Always keep an eye on the news, both on television and internet to get the heads up about the hottest toys of the season. My local news always has segments about the hot toys for Christmas. Don't just limit yourself to local, think national and international as well. You'll earn more money if you have a wider audience. -
Step 2
Become Very Familiar with Toy Trends on eBayIf you want to make money selling the hottest toys on eBay, you also need to visit eBay's Toy's and Hobbies Discussion board located here: http://forums.ebay.com/db1/forum.jspa?forumID=88. Here you will be able to communicate with other eBay sellers about toy sales and what's predicted to sell well or what is currently selling well.
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Step 3
Go Shopping!Once you have figured out what will be the hot sellers, you need to snatch them up and quick! Try looking at your local department stores and also online toy stores. Buy as many as you can if you know they're going to be a hot seller. This reduces the amount of work you'll need to put into your eBay listings.
Around the holidays, many stores will offer free shipping if you spend a certain amount. -
Step 4
Sign up for pre-orders!Online toy stores often have newsletters that you can sign up for so that you'll be the first to know about sales and when they will start to accept pre-orders for items that are not out yet. If a store is accepting pre-orders, that's a good indication that the item is going to be one of the hottest sellers, which you will want to get listed on eBay! eBay is the place where everyone goes to find hot toys that have sold out in stores.
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Step 5
Holiday Toy GuideIf you still aren't really even sure where to start, Jenni Hunt has done all of the hard work for you. You can visit her website (link below) where she has free reports about how to sell toys on eBay. She also comes out with a toy guide every year that showcases the hottest toys, where to find them and how to get them. It's an amazing source of information. Again, everything inside you could find for yourself, but it takes hours and hours of research and trend-spotting to really KNOW what WILL sell well on eBay.
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Step 6
Search eBay's completed listings feature for popular kids' toys to see what they're currently going for. Click on "advanced search" and check the completed listings box. This will give you the prices of what a particular item is selling for right now.
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Step 7
Electronic toys and educational kids toys are always popular. Watch out for sales and new releases of electronic and educational toys. A lot of parents like to buy these kinds of toys for their children and will pay top dollars to make sure their kids receive the hottest toys for Christmas.
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Step 8
Movie and TV characters also tend to do well. Disney or Nickelodeon characters are always hot toy sellers. The collector's editions of Barbies are very popular too. These always sell out so snatch them up as soon as you can. I used to collect the Holiday Barbie every year when I was younger - a lot of people value Barbies.
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Step 9
The hottest selling toys will be popular around the globe so to maximize the money you make from selling toys on eBay, you need to offer international shipping. You might be surprised at how many international buyers check out eBay.com for items they can't find anywhere near them, especially during the holidays when they're trying to find the hottest toys just like everyone else!
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Step 10
Get a domain for your eBay toy store! You can get them super cheap. This will help to make it easier for shoppers to remember where you are so they are more likely to come back and shop with you again, earning you even more money.
