eBay product research: how to find items worth testing

Before you start

In shortCheck that this guide fits your business, then get the few things you need.

Worked example: one product, step by step

In shortOne made-up item goes through every step and ends on “wait”.

How to do eBay product research for your own item

1. Step 1 of 8: Write down exactly what you want to sell

   In shortWrite down the exact item, where you will sell it and how much you can spend, before you look at any prices.

   For your idea, write down:

   • The itemBrand, model, size and condition.
   • What comes with itHow many come in one pack, and extras like a cable or stand.
   • Where it goesWhere you will sell (for example eBay.com), where you will ship, and who will store and send the stock.

   Set a spending limit now, before you look at possible profits. Make sure you have space and time for a few test items.

   Result: Your item, where you will sell and ship, and your spending limit, all written down.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Search eBay’s Product Research tool

2. Step 2 of 8: Search eBay’s Product Research tool

   In shortSearch the exact item in eBay’s free Product Research tool and look at what sold in the last 30 days.

   eBay Product Research (formerly Terapeak) is free for sellers. You find it in the Research tab in Seller Hub. Seller Hub opens after your first sale: select Start using Seller Hub. The tool is also in the Selling tab of the eBay app. The app needs one active listing, or a sale in the last 90 days. It shows up to three years of eBay sales. It even shows the real price when a seller accepted a Best Offer.

   Run your first search

   1. Type the exact brand and model. You can also filter by barcode number (UPC) or part number (MPN).
   2. Try every way sellers write the model. Product Research counts only titles that have all your words. Join the spellings with OR, like frother AND (MF-01 OR MF01).
   3. Choose where you will sell, like eBay.com. Set the dates to the last 30 days.
   4. Pick the item’s category. Then use the filters that appear, such as condition.
   5. Set the seller location to the country you ship from, and the buyer location to where you sell. Sellers abroad can have other prices and delivery times. Check their sales in a separate search.
   6. Remove items you do not want with a minus sign. For example, -replacement removes every title with the word “replacement”. Add -lot, -bundle and -parts to drop multi-packs and broken items.
   7. Open the results. Check the photos and what is included. Titles with the same words can still be different products.

   For the example, the search is Practice MF-01 milk frother -replacement. This item is made up, so eBay will not find it. Search for your own item.

   Search: Practice MF-01 milk frother -replacement

   • eBay.com
   • Last 30 days
   • New
   • Sold

   Average sold price

   $46.60

   Average shipping

   $3.00

   Total sold

   15

   Sellers

   2

   A drawing, not eBay’s screen. Here the sold price does not include shipping. $46.60 + $3.00 = $49.60 on average. That matches the $49–$50 totals in the example.

   The tool also shows active listings. These are items that are still for sale. They show your competition, not what buyers paid.

   Compare	Product Research	Sold items filter
   Where	Seller Hub › Research, or the Selling tab in the eBay app	eBay search, signed in, with Sold items ticked
   Sales history	Up to 3 years	About the last 90 days
   Best Offer sales	The price the buyer paid	Not the accepted price
   Averages and trends	Worked out for you	You count the sales yourself

   Result: Your search words, filters and dates, saved for your own item.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Compare the same item

3. Step 3 of 8: Compare the same item

   In shortKeep only sales of the same item, and keep sold prices apart from asking prices.

   Only keep listings for the same model, condition and pack size. A used item or a two-pack does not show the price of one new item. Compare the total each buyer paid, with shipping. Also check delivery times, returns and accessories.

   Keep auctions apart from fixed-price sales too. An auction price depends on who bid that day. Product Research has a filter for the listing format.

   Keep sold prices and asking prices in two separate lists. An asking price is only what a seller hopes to get. A listing that ended may not have sold. If a seller accepted a Best Offer, use the price Product Research shows. Do not use the old asking price.

   Look at the price trend before the average. Did prices fall during your dates, for example after a newer model came out? Then use the latest 30 days. The average still counts the older, higher prices.

   Save each useful link with the date you checked it. Product Research opens only sales from the last 90 days. For older sales, write down the title, price, date and condition, or take a screenshot. If you leave a result out, write down why. “Different model” is a good reason. “The price is lower than I hoped” is not.

   Result: A list of matching sold listings, kept apart from active listings. Each result you left out has a reason.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Check how often it sells

4. Step 4 of 8: Check how often it sells

   In shortCheck that the item sells in most weeks, and from more than one seller.

   Look for the same item selling again and again in the last 30 days.

   Good signs

   • Sales in most weeks
   • Sales from more than one seller

   Weak signs

   • Sales from only one seller
   • All the sales in one busy week
   • A listing’s all-time sold count

   Product Research shows each seller’s share of the sales. If one seller has most of them, you compete with that seller’s price and feedback.

   For dates of 90 days or less, Product Research also shows a sell-through rate. It compares items sold with the listings in your search. Read it next to the total sold. A high rate from only a few listings still means low demand. eBay gives no good or bad rate, so compare it with similar items. The free eBay sell-through rate calculator works it out from your own counts.

   Too few sales in 30 days? Check 90 days. Still too few? Write “not enough evidence”. Then wait or try another item. For a seasonal item, compare the same months last year.

   How long would yours wait?

   eBay product research tells you what sold. This check tells you how long your listing may wait. Divide the matching active listings by the items sold in 30 days. In the example, 30 listings are for sale and 15 sold, so there are about 2 months of stock.

   A new listing may wait about that long, unless your price or offer stands out. Your money stays in that stock until it sells. This is our rule of thumb, not an eBay number.

   Result: A short note on how often the item sells and how long a new listing may wait, or “not enough evidence”.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Add up the costs

5. Step 5 of 8: Add up the costs

   In shortAdd up every cost per item, then see what is left at the normal price and at a worse price.

   Start with a selling price from the middle of your matching sold prices, not the highest. Then list every cost per item: buying price, shipping to you, packaging, shipping to the buyer, eBay fees, ads, and money kept for returns.

   Product Research shows the average shipping and how many listings ship for free. Use them to plan your own shipping offer.

   On eBay.com, the main fee for most categories is 13.6% of what the buyer pays. That total includes shipping and sales tax. eBay also adds $0.40 per order ($0.30 if the order is $10 or less). Some categories have other rates, so check the current eBay fees. Promoted listings cost extra if you use them. eBay suggests an ad rate for each listing, as a percent of the sale. If you plan to promote, add it to your worse case, as the example does. The eBay fee calculator guide works out the fees for you.

   What is left is your money left per item. This is not your final profit. You still need to pay for your time, other business costs and income tax.

   Put your own numbers into the worked cost calculation. Then check a worse case: a lower price and higher shipping. Decide the lowest amount you need left before you see the result.

   Result: Your own cost total and money left per item, at the normal price and in a worse case.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Check the supplier and delivery

6. Step 6 of 8: Check the supplier and delivery

   In shortMake sure you can get the same item at that price, and that eBay allows the item and your plan.

   Can you get the exact item at the price you used? Ask the supplier about the model, stock, delivery time and returns. Also check what it costs to get the item to you, with shipping. Order a sample if you can. Used items need time for testing. Handmade items need time to make.

   Check that the product is real. Then check eBay’s prohibited and restricted items list. Some items are banned, and others have extra rules. A banned item can get your listing removed or your account limited.

   New to the category? eBay may limit how much you can sell there at first. Your monthly limits are on the Overview tab of Seller Hub. Plan your first order around them.

   Get a shipping quote for the packed item. Write down the date of the quote.

   Result: Current supplier and shipping quotes. Anything still open means “wait”.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Choose: try a few, wait or pass

7. Step 7 of 8: Choose: try a few, wait or pass

   In shortChoose one of three answers (try a few, wait or pass) and write down why.

   • Try a fewIt is the same item, the supplier is checked, and the money left stays at or above your minimum, even in the worse case
   • WaitYou still need to check a price, a cost or the supplier
   • PassIt is the wrong item, or no realistic price leaves your minimum

   For the MF-01 example, choose wait. $45 leaves too little, and the supplier is not checked.

   Write your choice and the reason in your research notes. Waiting? Write what you still need to check, and by when. Passing? Save the reason. Then you will not research the same item again next week.

   Result: Your choice (try a few, wait or pass), the date, the reason and your next check.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Start with a few items and a spending limit

8. Step 8 of 8: Start with a few items and a spending limit

   In shortBuy only a few items, with a spending limit, a review date and a point where you stop.

   Before you order, decide four things:

   • How many items to try
   • The most you will spend
   • When you will check the result
   • When you will stop

   Track the real selling price, fees, shipping, time spent, cancellations and returns. Compare them with your plan. On the review date, stop, change the offer or try another small batch.

   Nothing sold? Write down the stock and cash you still have in it. Then check the page views next to the listing in Seller Hub. Few views can mean buyers did not find it. Many views but no sales? Check if the total price and shipping were competitive. Make one change within your budget, or stop. Buying more stock will not fix a test that failed.

   Result: A small test plan: number of items, spending limit, review date and when to stop.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Make your own research notes

Make your own research notes

In shortFill in the notes for your own item, then copy them somewhere safe.

What the research can and cannot tell you

In shortPast sales help you choose what to test. They do not promise a sale or a profit.

Common questions about eBay product research

How Productivo helps with eBay product research

In shortProductivo can do parts of steps 2 to 8 for many items at once. You still check each result.

Everything above works with eBay’s own tools. This part is about Productivo, the app behind this guide.

Guide step	What Productivo does
Steps 2 to 4	Product Scanner reads eBay US results for a keyword or up to five categories. It shows how many each listing has sold. That is the listing’s all-time count, so check the dates in Product Research.
Step 5	It estimates the profit per item from your store’s cost settings. If the supplier’s shipping is unknown, it says so and leaves it out.
Step 6	It shows a matching supplier offer, such as an Amazon listing, and when its price was checked. eBay’s dropshipping rule still applies.
Step 8	If you sell with Productivo, Reports show profit per order after fees and the store costs you enter.

Product Scanner is part of the Pro and Scale plans. A scan does not replace eBay’s three years of sales history, so check each match yourself. Read more about Productivo’s eBay product research tools.

Set the search before you start

In Productivo, type a clear search and choose how many pages of eBay results to read. Start small and check the matches. Then make the search wider.

Open the full desktop screenshot (new tab)

Productivo by business model

Pick how you sell. Each part names the steps where Productivo helps that kind of seller, and what you still do yourself.

Wholesale sellers testing a small batch before a bulk order

In shortProductivo lists a test batch of wholesale items and shows what sold, but you do the research yourself.

Resellers researching used items and collectibles before they buy

In shortMatch used sales yourself, then Productivo checks brands, lists your test items and keeps each sale’s costs.

Makers testing if handmade items sell before making more

In shortList a few pieces, then see if buyers find, open and buy them before you make a batch.

Wholesale dropshippers testing items from dropshipping suppliers

In shortList a few of your supplier’s items as a test, and Productivo shows how buyers respond.