How do you obtain items to sell on eBay? There are really only three ways: buying inventory, finding “freebies” to sell, or creating your own items to offer online.

Most people opt for the first way: buying their own inventory. Wholesalers and manufacturers often provide eBay’s big businesses with products to sell.

These bigger businesses can then offer a lower price to eBay customers. However, if you are an eBay seller who is just starting out, you will most likely find items elsewhere: at flea markets and garage sales, thrift stores and during sales at local retail stores in your area.

Other beginning eBay sellers search for free items to offer online.

Ways in which to find free items for resale include locating items around your house that you no longer want, and acquiring items from friends and family that they were considering donating to a thrift store. Simply ask if you can look through their items before they take it to Goodwill or other thrift store.

The free section of Craigslist can be a great place to find items at no cost to you. Many people try to get rid of their unwanted property via this route, and as they say, one mans trash is another mans treasure. Remember, the profit margin on a free item that you later sell is 100 percent.

The last but most benefiting way is to make them and sell. You convert your creativity into inventions with cheap components obtained in bulk from wholesalers. As it involves no labour cost, you get best margins than selling any finished product, through eBay.

Obtaining items to sell is, obviously, the most important part of profitable success on eBay. Find a way to buy, collect or make products with as little cost as possible. If you need to, experiment with different ways of obtaining your inventory to find a market for your product and, most importantly, which one maximizes your profit to the fullest extent.