EBay Research – Library

In the first of a series of articles on eBay Research I thought it might be a good idea to visit our local library (and sometimes it maybe useful to visit one of the main libraries in your local city or even London). But what has a library got to offer that I cannot find online ? This is a good question and I hope through the article to explain why using your local library can be a great resource of information and also it can lead to some unexpected benefits.

Your local library is full of tools that can aid your eBay Research when you are looking for new product lines, and also if you need to research a certain item. You will often here me and other eBay Consultants tell you to look at magazines and newspapers for ideas for products and for product trends, yes you can do this by going to a local newsagents, but you will need to by some to get the information. But your local library has these for you to read at no extra cost and also they have all the local, national and international newspapers and business publications. You can sit in a warm place and browse all these publications and make notes – all at no cost to yourself. And while you are in there just ask what they do with their magazines and papers, you maybe able to pick them up when they come out of date, but still useful to you for research.

Another area where the library is useful for eBay research is with all the reference books they have, most of the libraries carry all the antique and collectable reference books that you can either use in the library or they will allow you to borrow them and take them home. Again this saves you from having to buy expensive books when you may only use them a few times before them come out of date.

Most local libraries now have free wi-fi and also have computers that you can use free of charge. In the larger libraries you may need to book a time slot as the computer area can be quite popular. The libraries also have all the subscriptions to the main reference hubs on the internet and again this can save you a small fortune. If you have never used the computers there give them a go.

Now at the start of this article I spoke about a surprise benefit of using your local library. Libraries are full of books, manuals, DVD’s, CD’s and other items. As you enter most libraries you will either see a notice telling you about a library sale, or you will see a table full of books etc for sale. This is where you as an eBay seller can make some money. Most of the items will be priced very cheap just to get rid of them and make room for new items. Take a look at what is on offer, do some research, and if the research shows the item is priced higher on eBay for an item in the same condition. (And this is very important you must mark the item you are selling as ex-library and tell the people this in title and description and also tell people if the items have library markings on them)

Hope this first article of eBay research has given you some ideas and helps you grow your eBay business.