Although beginning eBayers can find items to sell by haunting flea markets and estate auctions, power sellers most likely won’t find what they need in those venues. A better strategy is to approach local retailers or wholesalers and offer to buy 10 or 20 (or more) of a particular item. Buy whatever quantity earns you the best price break as long as you think you can move them.

You can also buy bulk lots of merchandise from online wholesalers and liquidators. We discussed some of these sites in Chapter 11, “Determining What to Sell And for How Much.” Check out Liquidation.com (www.liquidation.com) and Wholesale411 (www.wholesale411.com) to see what’s available, or use Ándale Suppliers (www.andale.com) to hook up with suppliers of specific types of merchandise.

If you’re a serious collector, you might have your eBay business right there. When your comics collection numbers in the tens of thousands, or you have thousands of rare coins filed away in your basement, you’re ready for power selling and power buying. Just remember to buy low and sell high, and you’ll be in business.

Finally, consider the selling price of the items you want to sell and the profit you generate on each item. You have to sell a lot more of a $5 item than you do of a $50 item to make the same amount of profit. (Assuming both generate a similar profit percentage.) And, of course, the more items you sell, the more work you have to do. The most successful power sellers do it by selling higher-priced, higher-profit items, for which the revenues and the profits add up a lot quicker.

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