12 January 2008

Using the Advance Search!

Today we will discuss about the "Advance Search" function of eBay. It will be the MOST used tool you'll ever use, while selling on eBay.

In today's example, we would like to do research on a mobile phone, say the Sony Ericsson K800i. I have picked this older model phone, as to limit the number of items found , yet have it specific enough to get enough hits. In today's example, we would like to know about the Phone K800i, and NOT the accessories associated with it, like the hands free kit or batteries.

First you would need to click on the Advance Search link found on any of the main eBay pages.


Next, please key in the search criteria as "Sony Ericsson K800i", and don't forget to check the "Completed Listings Only" box. You'll realised that the first search will return heaps of items with similar keywords. Since we only want the mobile phone and not the accessories, we'll have to fine tune our search by using the "Narrow your Search" from the left pane. Please select the "Cell Phone" option.


Now we have found only 145 items, which seems about right. After looking through the items, we'll realize that not all the found items are mobile phones. Still some accessories or defective phones can be found in the completed listings. What we are interested are the Green sold prices. From the list, we could easily gauge the average selling price (ASP)!


By using the Advance Search you'll be able to do your market research on what item could be sold on eBay and its average price. No point selling something, if the average selling price is below your cost price!

Good Luck.

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