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If you’ve a savvy businessperson, the chances are you’ve already taken a look at your competitors’ auctions. What you might not have realised is just how much you can learn if you know what you’re looking for.

To begin with, don’t bother looking at listings that haven’t ended yet – you don’t know what’s going to happen with them. Instead, use the advanced search page to search for listings that sold. Just go to the advanced search page, type in the keywords that you know will find your competitors’ items, tick ‘Completed listings only’ and set the minimum number of bids to 1. Set it to sort by ‘Price: highest first’.

This will show you auctions competing with yours that have recently finished, starting with the ones that sold for the most (ignore any with prices in red – they didn’t sell). Go through and take a look, paying special attention to the following points:

Titles. What information do the top sellers of your item put in their titles, and what do they leave out? If your titles are very different to theirs, it might be time for a rethink.

Descriptions. You’ll probably notice that the highest sellers haven’t just copied text from the company’s website or an Amazon.com review – they’ve gone to the trouble of writing a little about the item, and about themselves. Learn from their example.

Pictures. I can almost guarantee you that the listing will have very nice pictures – not catalogue quality, but good enough to see what you’re getting. With items of any significant cost, you’ll probably find more than one photo from different angles.

Style. Is it written conversationally, or in terse businesslike language? The way you should write entirely depends on what the market seems to like – and the market seems to like what the top sellers wrote.

Time. It’s pretty easy to ignore this as a factor without meaning to, but pay attention to when the top selling items’ auctions began and ended. This might give you a few clues about the best to catch buyers who will bid highly on your item, and then you can schedule your items accordingly.

Price. If your competitors are selling using Buy it Now, you can see what the maximum is that they’ve managed to sell for recently, and set your own Buy it Now price slightly below that.

Shipping. Look around to see the sweet spot for shipping. If you can figure out a way to get your shipping costs lower than the highest sellers, then this is a great opportunity to differentiate yourself in the market.

Once you see what works, you can start to emulate your competitors – of course you can’t just copy them completely, but you can structure your auction similarly and make sure it includes the same information.

Paul is Head of Training for a major UK Charitable Organisation with a wealth of experience in personal development, management development, e-learning and operational management. In addition he owns PK eBooks (http://www.pk-ebooks.co.uk) two sites specifically aimed at those who want to successfully sell on eBay http://www.ebay-profits.co.uk and http://www.info-entrepreneurs.co.uk

Wholesale candles offers resellers high profit margins along with high volume sales, when done right.

Resellers, whether flea market vendors, eBay sellers, or dollar stores, will be faced with competition from online and offline retailers who can buy wholesale candles at a lower price.

To outmaneuver this competition in the wholesale candles business, resellers need to have a strategic plan in place.

Part one of their plan deals with finding the best sources for wholesale candles at the lowest possible prices.

For this reason I would recommend resellers to stay away from drop shippers when looking for wholesale candles.

Since the drop shipper is set up to offer his products to thousands of other resellers, you will not be able to compete based on price. All the resellers are paying the same price to the wholesale candles drop shipper, so how can your prices be lower?

When looking to buy wholesale candles you want to get as close to the source as possible.

Since you will not be able to buy brand name wholesale candles for a lower price than major retailers can, you will want to look for lesser known wholesale candles sellers.

For instance, ABC Candles might not have the name recognition that Candle Wax enjoys, but you can show customers that the quality is the same, and as long as your prices are lower some customers should buy the wholesale candles manufactured by ABC Candles.

When you contact these companies looking for wholesale candles ask them for their overstock, overrun, and closeout deals. You would be surprised at the wholesale candles deals you can find from small manufacturers that are looking to move merchandise out.

You can find great wholesale candles deals but it will take some solid leg work.

Donny Lowy is the CEO of http://www.closeoutexplosion.com, an online wholesale and closeout business, and http://www.wholesalecloseoutforum.com, an educational site for the wholesale and closeout business.

Wholesale bumper stickers offers resellers high profit margins along with high volume sales, when done right.

Resellers, whether flea market vendors, eBay sellers, or dollar stores, will be faced with competition from online and offline retailers who can buy wholesale bumper stickers at a lower price.

To outmaneuver this competition in the wholesale bumper stickers business, resellers need to have a strategic plan in place.

Part one of their plan deals with finding the best sources for wholesale bumper stickers at the lowest possible prices.

For this reason I would recommend resellers to stay away from drop shippers when looking for wholesale bumper stickers.

Since the drop shipper is set up to offer his products to thousands of other resellers, you will not be able to compete based on price. All the resellers are paying the same price to the wholesale bumper stickers drop shipper, so how can your prices be lower?

When looking to buy wholesale bumper stickers you want to get as close to the source as possible.

Since you will not be able to buy brand name wholesale bumper stickers for a lower price than major retailers can, you will want to look for lesser known wholesale bumper stickers sellers.

For instance, ABC Bumper Stickers might not have the name recognition that Stickers International enjoys, but you can show customers that the quality is the same, and as long as your prices are lower some customers should buy the wholesale bumper stickers manufactured by ABC Bumper Stickers.

When you contact these companies looking for wholesale bumper stickers ask them for their overstock, overrun, and closeout deals. You would be surprised at the wholesale bumper stickers deals you can find from small manufacturers that are looking to move merchandise out.

You can find great wholesale bumper stickers deals but it will take some solid leg work.

Donny Lowy is the CEO of http://www.closeoutexplosion.com, an online wholesale and closeout business, and http://www.wholesalecloseoutforum.com, an educational site for the wholesale and closeout business.

Wholesale beads offers resellers high profit margins along with high volume sales, when done right.

Resellers, whether flea market vendors, eBay sellers, or dollar stores, will be faced with competition from online and offline retailers who can buy wholesale beads at a lower price.

To outmaneuver this competition in the wholesale beads business, resellers need to have a strategic plan in place.

Part one of their plan deals with finding the best sources for wholesale beads at the lowest possible prices.

For this reason I would recommend resellers to stay away from drop shippers when looking for wholesale beads.

Since the drop shipper is set up to offer his products to thousands of other resellers, you will not be able to compete based on price. All the resellers are paying the same price to the wholesale beads drop shipper, so how can your prices be lower?

When looking to buy wholesale beads you want to get as close to the source as possible.

Since you will not be able to buy brand name wholesale beads for a lower price than major retailers can, you will want to look for lesser known wholesale bead sellers.

For instance, ABC Beads might not have the name recognition that Party Shop enjoys, but you can show customers that the quality is the same, and as long as your prices are lower some customers should buy the wholesale beads manufactured by ABC Beads.

When you contact these companies looking for wholesale beads ask them for their overstock, overrun, and closeout deals. You would be surprised at the wholesale bead deals you can find from small manufacturers that are looking to move merchandise out.

You can find great wholesale bead deals but it will take some solid leg work.

Donny Lowy is the CEO of http://www.closeoutexplosion.com, an online wholesale and closeout business, and http://www.wholesalecloseoutforum.com, an educational site for the wholesale and closeout business.

Wholesale clothing offers resellers high profit margins along with high volume sales, when done right.

Resellers, whether flea market vendors, eBay sellers, or dollar stores, will be faced with competition from online and offline retailers who can buy wholesale clothing at a lower price.

To outmaneuver this competition in the wholesale clothing business, resellers need to have a strategic plan in place.

Part one of their plan deals with finding the best sources for wholesale clothing at the lowest possible prices.

For this reason I would recommend resellers to stay away from drop shippers when looking for wholesale clothing.

Since the drop shipper is set up to offer his products to thousands of other resellers, you will not be able to compete based on price. All the resellers are paying the same price to the wholesale clothing drop shipper, so how can your prices be lower?

When looking to buy wholesale clothing you want to get as close to the source as possible.

Since you will not be able to buy brand name wholesale clothing for a lower price than major retailers can, you will want to look for lesser known wholesale clothing sellers.

For instance, ABC Clothing might not have the name recognition that FUBU enjoys, but you can show customers that the quality is the same, and as long as your prices are lower some customers should buy the wholesale clothing manufactured by ABC Clothing.

When you contact these companies looking for wholesale clothing ask them for their overstock, overrun, and closeout deals. You would be surprised at the wholesale clothing deals you can find from small manufacturers that are looking to move merchandise out.

You can find great wholesale clothing deals but it will take some solid leg work.

Donny Lowy is the CEO of http://www.closeoutexplosion.com, an online wholesale and closeout business, and http://www.wholesalecloseoutforum.com, an educational site for the wholesale and closeout business.

Wholesale fragrances offers resellers high profit margins along with high volume sales, when done right.

Resellers, whether flea market vendors, eBay sellers, or dollar stores, will be faced with competition from online and offline retailers who can buy wholesale fragrances at a lower price.

To outmaneuver this competition in the wholesale fragrances business, resellers need to have a strategic plan in place.

Part one of their plan deals with finding the best sources for wholesale fragrances at the lowest possible prices.

For this reason I would recommend resellers to stay away from drop shippers when looking for wholesale fragrances.

Since the drop shipper is set up to offer his products to thousands of other resellers, you will not be able to compete based on price. All the resellers are paying the same price to the wholesale fragrances drop shipper, so how can your prices be lower?

When looking to buy wholesale fragrances you want to get as close to the source as possible.

Since you will not be able to buy brand name wholesale fragrances for a lower price than major retailers can, you will want to look for lesser known wholesale fragrances sellers.

For instance, ABC Fragrances might not have the name recognition that Calvin Klein enjoys, but you can show customers that the quality is the same, and as long as your prices are lower some customers should buy the wholesale fragrances manufactured by ABC Fragrances.

When you contact these companies looking for wholesale fragrances ask them for their overstock, overrun, and closeout deals. You would be surprised at the wholesale fragrances deals you can find from small manufacturers that are looking to move merchandise out.

You can find great wholesale fragrances deals but it will take some solid leg work.

Donny Lowy is the CEO of http://www.closeoutexplosion.com, an online wholesale and closeout business, and http://www.wholesalecloseoutforum.com, an educational site for the wholesale and closeout business.

Wholesale dollar store items offers resellers high profit margins along with high volume sales, when done right.

Resellers, whether flea market vendors, eBay sellers, or dollar stores, will be faced with competition from online and offline retailers who can buy wholesale dollar store items at a lower price.

To outmaneuver this competition in the wholesale dollar store items business, resellers need to have a strategic plan in place.

Part one of their plan deals with finding the best sources for wholesale dollar store items at the lowest possible prices.

For this reason I would recommend resellers to stay away from drop shippers when looking for wholesale dollar store items.

Since the drop shipper is set up to offer his products to thousands of other resellers, you will not be able to compete based on price. All the resellers are paying the same price to the wholesale dollar store items drop shipper, so how can your prices be lower?

When looking to buy wholesale dollar store items you want to get as close to the source as possible.

Since you will not be able to buy brand name wholesale dollar store items for a lower price than major retailers can, you will want to look for lesser known wholesale dollar store items sellers.

For instance, ABC Dollar might not have the name recognition that Dollar Days enjoys, but you can show customers that the quality is the same, and as long as your prices are lower some customers should buy the wholesale dollar store items wholesaled by ABC Dollar.

When you contact these companies looking for wholesale dollar store items ask them for their overstock, overrun, and closeout deals. You would be surprised at the wholesale dollar store items deals you can find from small manufacturers that are looking to move merchandise out.

You can find great wholesale dollar store items deals but it will take some solid leg work.

Donny Lowy is the CEO of http://www.closeoutexplosion.com, an online wholesale and closeout business, and http://www.wholesalecloseoutforum.com, an educational site for the wholesale and closeout business.

Wholesale customer returns offers resellers high profit margins along with high volume sales, when done right.

Resellers, whether flea market vendors, eBay sellers, or dollar stores, will be faced with competition from online and offline retailers who can buy wholesale customer returns at a lower price.

To outmaneuver this competition in the wholesale customer returns business, resellers need to have a strategic plan in place.

Part one of their plan deals with finding the best sources for wholesale customer returns at the lowest possible prices.

For this reason I would recommend resellers to stay away from drop shippers when looking for wholesale customer returns.

Since the drop shipper is set up to offer his products to thousands of other resellers, you will not be able to compete based on price. All the resellers are paying the same price to the wholesale customer returns drop shipper, so how can your prices be lower?

When looking to buy wholesale customer returns you want to get as close to the source as possible.

Since you will not be able to buy brand name wholesale customer returns for a lower price than major retailers can, you will want to look for lesser known wholesale customer returns sellers.

For instance, ABC Returns might not have the name recognition that Genco enjoys, but you can show customers that the quality is the same, and as long as your prices are lower some customers should buy the wholesale customer returns distributed by ABC Returns.

When you contact these companies looking for wholesale customer returns ask them for their overstock, overrun, and closeout deals. You would be surprised at the wholesale customer returns deals you can find from small manufacturers that are looking to move merchandise out.

You can find great wholesale customer returns deals but it will take some solid leg work.

Donny Lowy is the CEO of http://www.closeoutexplosion.com, an online wholesale and closeout business, and http://www.wholesalecloseoutforum.com, an educational site for the wholesale and closeout business.

Wholesale collectibles offers resellers high profit margins along with high volume sales, when done right.

Resellers, whether flea market vendors, eBay sellers, or dollar stores, will be faced with competition from online and offline retailers who can buy wholesale collectibles at a lower price.

To outmaneuver this competition in the wholesale collectibles business, resellers need to have a strategic plan in place.

Part one of their plan deals with finding the best sources for wholesale collectibles at the lowest possible prices.

For this reason I would recommend resellers to stay away from drop shippers when looking for collectibles.

Since the drop shipper is set up to offer his products to thousands of other resellers, you will not be able to compete based on price. All the resellers are paying the same price to the wholesale collectibles drop shipper, so how can your prices be lower?

When looking to buy wholesale collectibles you want to get as close to the source as possible.

Since you will not be able to buy brand name wholesale collectibles for a lower price than major retailers can, you will want to look for lesser known wholesale collectibles sellers.

For instance, ABC Collectibles might not have the name recognition that Marvel Comics enjoys, but you can show customers that the quality is the same, and as long as your prices are lower some customers should buy the wholesale collectibles manufactured by ABC Collectibles.

When you contact these companies looking for wholesale collectibles ask them for their overstock, overrun, and closeout deals. You would be surprised at the wholesale collectibles deals you can find from small manufacturers that are looking to move merchandise out.

You can find great wholesale collectibles deals but it will take some solid leg work.

Donny Lowy is the CEO of http://www.closeoutexplosion.com, an online wholesale and closeout business, and http://www.wholesalecloseoutforum.com, an educational site for the wholesale and closeout business.

Closeouts offer resellers high profit margins along with high volume sales, when done right.

Resellers, whether flea market vendors, eBay sellers, or dollar stores, will be faced with competition from online and offline retailers who can buy wholesale closeouts at a lower price.

To outmaneuver this competition in the wholesale closeouts business, resellers need to have a strategic plan in place.

Part one of their plan deals with finding the best sources for wholesale closeouts at the lowest possible prices.

For this reason I would recommend resellers to stay away from drop shippers when looking for wholesale closeouts.

Since the drop shipper is set up to offer his products to thousands of other resellers, you will not be able to compete based on price. All the resellers are paying the same price to the wholesale closeouts drop shipper, so how can your prices be lower?

When looking to buy wholesale closeouts you want to get as close to the source as possible.

Since you will not be able to buy brand name wholesale closeouts for a lower price than major retailers can, you will want to look for lesser known wholesale closeouts sellers.

For instance, ABC Closeouts might not have the name recognition that Overstock enjoys, but you can show customers that the quality is the same, and as long as your prices are lower some customers should buy the wholesale closeouts manufactured by ABC Closeouts.

When you contact these companies looking for wholesale closeouts ask them for their overstock, overrun, and closeout deals. You would be surprised at the wholesale closeouts deals you can find from small manufacturers that are looking to move merchandise out.

You can find great wholesale closeouts deals but it will take some solid leg work.

Donny Lowy is the CEO of http://www.closeoutexplosion.com, an online wholesale and closeout business, and http://www.wholesalecloseoutforum.com, an educational site for the wholesale and closeout business.