Niche Products – School Supplies

It’s June! That means graduation, end of the school year, and the start of summer vacation. It also means the start of the school supplies buying season. Many parents and teachers are beginning to prepare for the next school year…yes, already. This is the perfect time for sellers to start doing the same.

Is it too early? Not at all. There are many school systems throughout the country that will begin the new school year as early as July 9th. What will the students need? Take a look at the websites of your local schools. That will give you an idea of where to start. Many teachers will post the supply list of the class online. Some items that will be needed are:

• Notebooks (consider selling in bundles) 
• Lunch boxes or bags 
• Backpack or book bags (Looks for unusual prints and patterns) 
• Matching Backpack and Lunch box Set 
• Calculators (Used ones in great condition will do well) 
• Kleenex 
• Tupperware-like containers 
• Hand sanitizers 
• Tennis balls (Many schools use them on the legs of chairs to protect the floors) 
• Lysol wipes 
• Pet supplies and toys (We can’t forget about the class pet!) 
• Pencils and pens 
• Clothes 
• Shoes 
• Computers
• Box tops 

For smaller items like pencils and pencil cases, consider selling them in bundles. And let’s not forget that August is the beginning of college life for many students. Look for items that a student will need as he or she moves into a dorm for the first time. Items like bedding, extra long twin sheets, pouches that allow you to carry an ID card and other cards on a key chain or lanyard, laptop cases, items with college or mascot images, MP3 players, and textbooks will be needed.

August is also the beginning of tailgating season for college football fans everywhere. Look for items that can help the college football fan show which team they love. Car flags, grill covers, apparel, and tailgating supplies are items to consider. Watch stores like as Staples, Office Depot, and Best Buy for deals as they get ready for the back to school season.

Related posts:

Back to School Means Selling Box Tops for Education on eBay

Summer Clearance Items to Sell on eBay

Don’t Panic! It is Just the July Slump

Read More

Marketing During the Summer

Summertime can be a slow time of the year. Even if sales are fewer than usual, there are things you can do to help build your business. To take advantage of the slow time, review some of the postings below. The list is a compilation of a few postings that can help you focus on marketing your business for future growth:


How To Get More Traffic to your eBay Store and Listings

Are You Using Your eBay Packaging as Advertising?

How to Use Twitter for eBay Marketing – Part 1

Drive Traffic to Your eBay Store Using Amazon Reviews

eBay Marketing Strategy – Multiple Listings for the Same Item

Tips for Selling on eBay – Huge List of Resources

Free Publicity for Your eBay Business

Free Promotion for Your eBay Products

Free Marketing: 101 Low and No Cost Ways to Grow Your Business Online

How to Use Pinterest to Market Your Business

Marketing is something that does not have instant results, usually. Taking time now may make a big different in your business as time passes.

Read More

What to Sell for Summer on eBay?

Today, I am featuring a guest post by Jenn Cangelosi of Boutique Bargains:

Summer is coming soon and this is the best time to sell vacation and summer season items on eBay. If you have been selling on eBay for a while, you already know that selling seasonally or timing your auctions with the seasonal supply and demand is a good idea. Summer is a peak time for travel. So this is the best time to sell those old travel and vacation items. No point in letting them take up valuable space or fall into disrepair. By selling those items on eBay you can make back some of the money you invested in the item while helping someone else enjoy their summer and vacation time.  

Here is a list of some of the items that sell well for summer:  

Consumer electronics - truthfully these sell well most of the year. Even many consumers buy the high-end still and video cameras only to realize they won't use them as much day-to-day as they did on that big vacation. Don't forget about portable DVD players for the kids during those long airplane flights or car rides. Also GPS systems, mp3 players, and other similar electronics.  

Luggage and specialized bags/carriers - Unless you travel a lot, the bags you used for that last vacation or trip are likely gathering dust. Regular luggage items are not always a great seller, they are not particularly rare or valuable on eBay, but name-brand items do sell. However, your specialized luggage items can sell for near the same as their original purchase price. Specialized luggage can include; camera cases, computer cases, serious hiking or mountaineering packs, and purpose-made carriers of different kinds.

Baby and kids items - There are many different kinds of special travel gear that is needed when traveling with infants and children. There are travel carriers, restraint systems, many kinds of harnesses, high-end and all-terrain strollers, portable bottle warmers, flotation devices, and even portable sleep furniture and aids. All these things can be sold on eBay. Since children are always growing and their needs changing it is safe to pass on the items from last year that may not get used again.  

Recreation equipment - Skis, inflatable tubes, bicycles, snow and water boards of all kinds, even small watercrafts. These are all items that may have been purchased for a summer trip, and now sit in the garage or storage shed. Just be sure to carefully select your shipping terms as you list these larger items or mark as local pickup only if necessary.  

International versions of common electrical items and appliances - Moved recently from another country? The summer is a great time to sell your non-demestic appliances that rely on alternative standards of power or other features. Selling these items can also help fund the purchase of similar domestic items.  

Power conversion aids - Some travelers are able to get by with the small and inexpensive travel adapter kits when they travel the globe. However, the traveler with more typical needs often ends up with the large transformers or converter systems that can get quite expensive. If you have one of these and think it unlikely that you will you it again, then sell it on eBay for another traveler to use.

Now is the time to clean out those old vacation items and make some cash doing so. Many vacation items have been used only the one time and still have lots of use left for a new owner to enjoy.

Thanks, Jenn! These are great ideas for bringing in more summertime sales!


Related posts:

#1 Way to Increase Sales - Add International Shipping

Sweaters Sell in the Summer, Too!

Niche Products to Sell During Summer

Read More

Summer Clearance Items to Sell on eBay

Even though temperatures are still in the 90’s here in Atlanta, we are already seeing signs for Summer Clearance. You may be thinking summer clearance is only bathing suits and pool floats, but it can be much more. Don’t let the climate where you live limit your ability to think outside the box and consider selling summer clearance items all year. Remember that we live in a global economy and your target customer could live anywhere. Here are some ideas for items to look for, even though it may not make sense at first:



Swim diapers. Don’t assume that babies and toddlers won’t need swim diapers at other times of the year. You may live up north and might be thinking that no one will be using swim diapers during cold weather, but plenty of children take indoor swimming lessons year round. Or maybe Grandma lives in Florida and has a heated pool and she keeps swim diapers on hand for the grandchildren when they visit. Or perhaps a family is planning a Disney cruise in January and needs to pack swim diapers and can’t find them locally. They will be looking online for them.



Gardening supplies. Just yesterday in Big Lots I saw all sorts of gardening and lawn supplies marked down to 80% off the regular price. Examples include pesticides, weed killer, and yellow jacket traps. These items could be purchased by consumers living in warm climates year round.



Canning supplies. I am starting to see these items in grocery stores. Here in Georgia, we still have another month or so of “canning season” as the vegetables are still coming in strong. The stores are making room for back to school and Halloween displays. Canning enthusiasts can use these items for another 6 weeks, maybe longer. Don’t assume that because an item is on clearance locally that it won’t sell nationally or even internationally.



Look for opportunities, not obstacles!



Related articles:



Source for eBay Inventory – Hallmark Stores



Source for eBay Inventory – Famous Footwear



Local Sourcing for eBay Inventory – Salvage Stores

Read More