Thank you for attending our workshop on Discovering New Product Ideas with eBay Market Research. We are Dave P. and Dave F., Marketing Coordinators at Terapeak and eBay Market Research gurus. If you have a question about anything we talk about today, don’t hesitate to jump into the discussion and ask us!

Working with eBay data every day, we understand the many applications of this information. eBay Market Data has a variety of uses, from helping you price your goods to managing your inventory. If you are selling regularly on eBay, making proper use of this information can greatly contribute to the success of your business.

Today we are talking about using eBay Market Research to find new product ideas – either where demand is increasing, or if you just want to expand your existing product line. We have a variety of free tips to share, along with some services we provide through our online research tool at www.terapeak.com. Here is what we will cover today:

• Locating Growth Categories
  
• The eBay Pulse
  
• eBay Hot Categories Reports
  
• Terapeak Hot List
  
• Wrap-up

Locating Growth Categories

One of the keys to finding new product ideas is being able to identify categories that are just beginning to grow. Locating growth categories is effective because it leads directly to products that presently have unmet demand and are also showing high potential for future growth.

The Success Rate is one of the most important parts of the profitability equation. After all, if things don’t sell, there is no money to be made! A good success rate will also save you time and money associated with constantly re-listing. Once you have found a category with a good success ratio (high) do some research to find out more about its Volume and Profit Margin.

The following graph from Terapeak shows you the importance of looking at Success Rate. Demand for Men’s Sweaters dramatically increases in winter, so you may think you have found a promising growth category. But if you look at Success Rate you will see that your chances of selling a sweater in winter hardly changes at all!

The trick is to apply trends you notice in everyday life to your eBay sales, and use this knowledge to find growth categories. When your kids went back to school in September, you probably noticed you were spending a lot on school goods. You can see the jump in sales on eBay Closed Listings, but this graph from Terapeak shows just how much sales of calculators jump in September, and to a lesser extent, January.

You will also notice that the Success Rate is phenomenally high all year round, so this niche may bear further exploration.