What not to sell on eBay ?

Some claim that eBay is the best place on earth to sell anything and everything. In the broad sense this is true, but in fact there are a number of things that you generally shouldn’t sell or try to sell on eBay, since doing so could undervalue your item, endanger your own status as an eBay seller, or even endanger the buyer(s) that you transact with. Here is a rundown of such things, in no particular order:

• Very common and inexpensive books, software, CDs, and DVDs. Very simply, unless you are a professional eBay seller with a ready source and broad stock of such items at discount prices, you’re probably not going to get very much money out of these kinds of items on eBay. They’re just too common, and even when new their values are often less than the price of an average lunch—not to mention that most buyers in the world would rather simply pop over to their favorite local shop to buy or rent a very common book or movie, rather than wait days or weeks for it to arrive after paying shipping costs that may be larger than the value of the item itself. If you’re really determined to sell such items on eBay, try Half.com instead, where your listings don’t expire after just a few days and there is a ready audience of buyers for these kinds of items.
  
  
• Perishable items. To put it most simply, perishable items don’t like being shipped via normal shipping methods in small quantities. Leave the grocery selling to grocery stores and trade in durable goods on eBay unless you’re already an expert in such matters.
  
  
• Items without value. Though the nature of eBay can tend to make us think otherwise, there are some types of items that just don’t have much intrinsic value. Any used consumable falls into this category—things like empty printer inks or toner cartridges, or used up batteries of various kinds. These things simply aren’t very much use to most people and won’t generate much revenue. Many durable goods fall into a kind of grey area at the edges of this category—worn-out clothing, for example, or very heavily used consumer electronics that are beginning to lose some of their functionality or reliability. Though such items may attract bidders or buyers—in the case of vintage clothing, for example—you should exercise your better judgment in deciding whether there is really any value in the item(s) you want to sell.
  
  
• Big-hassle items. Though it can make good business sense to sell very difficult to ship or deliver items on eBay, it can also represent more trouble than many eBay sellers are willing to cope with. Unless you have a ready process, work flow, and set of policies in place to deal with such complications, the selling of major appliances, furniture items, oddly shaped items, or very high-value goods is probably best left to those who trade in such items on a regular basis as a component of their eBay business model, and who are prepared for difficult processes like shipping freight.
  
  
• Intellectual property. This is another category that is best left to those who are willing to commit to it as a business model. Included in the intellectual property category are such things as software, media, artwork, text, or information, whether you’re the author of these things or not. Because eBay is careful to protect intellectual property owners’ rights, it can be a bookkeeping and regulatory headache to trade in such goods, and it is certainly against eBay rules (not to mention in violation of international copyright law) to sell intellectual property to which you do not explicitly have the rights—even if you found it “for free” somewhere via a Google search.
  
  
• Things that should no longer be used. This is a broad and eclectic category of items but includes anything that might present a danger to those that purchase it. Included here are toys or childcare products for which recalls have been issued, antique items that have been made obsolete by later safety regulations or realizations that they are unsafe to use (for example, household items containing lead or lead paint), or items that are used beyond their ability to be used safely (for example, dying or damaged power tools). At the very least, when selling such items you should take care to include strong warning language and to make it possible for customers to return items with which they are dissatisfied.
  
  
• Anything dangerous to ship or that runs afoul of eBay’s rules. All explosive or flammable fuel substances fit into this category, as do things like most alcoholic beverages. For a complete list of items that violate eBay’s rules (and that will likely be removed from eBay if you attempt to list them), please see eBay’s prohibited and restricted items list.
  
  
• Items under $10 It sounds like a great idea - after all, everyone likes a bargain don't they? But items that sell for under $10 have one big problem: Shipping. It's quite likely that the shipping for the item will cost more than the item itself and this can be very off-putting to buyers. For example, if the item costs $4.50 and shipping costs $6, the total cost for the item is $10.50. If the buyer can purchase the item at their local store for $8, then this suddenly becomes a much better deal. For small items and accessories, the way to get around this problem is by grouping the items together, such as sets of 6 golf-balls or 5 tea towels.
  
  
• Products everyone else are selling Many sellers think that the best way to get started on eBay is to sell items that everyone else is selling. Surely those super hot items such as ipods, cell phones, psps and so on will be a quick route to riches? Well, no. The sellers who are already selling these items are not only more established on eBay - and thus familiar to and trusted by buyers - but they will be able to buy wholesale stock in larger bulks lots than you will, so their prices will always be better. Thus it will almost certainly be very difficult for you to make a profit in a market that is already well supplied.
  
  
• Things you love...but no-one else does Hobbies can be a great way of making money, but only if plenty of other people are interested in them too.Another scenario is when you find a product that you think is absolutely wonderful and could be the next best thing...but no-one seems interested in buying it. Oh well you think, it's only short term, eventually they'll learn about my item and start flocking to buy it. Ah, no they won't. It's lonely work trying to educate people on the benefits of a product all on your own. As fabulous as the product might be, it's nigh-on impossible to start a trend on your own. To make money from a trend, you need magazines and newspapers, word of mouth and television to do some of the work for you.
  
  
• Difficult items to ship - e.g. fragile china and plantsNow I'm not saying that these are bad items to sell altogether. Many sellers do very well from these items. But I don't suggest you sell such difficult items when you are first starting out. Both these items have an above-average shipping risk, particularly if not packed properly. As a new seller, any negative feedback you receive at this early stage could be especially damaging to your career.
  
  

Clearly this list isn’t meant to be absolute—it’s full of grey areas. It is, however, the sort of list to keep in mind when you are trying to save yourself the kinds of headaches that most sellers want to avoid as a general rule—customer service or shipping difficulties or, in more serious cases, eBay violations or law enforcement entanglements.