Adding on to my post on what stuff you can sell online, here are the top 4 kinds of goods you shouldn’t attempt to sell, as these are the kinds of items that are proven to be non-profitable especially when you are starting out with little capital. There are exceptions so do not take these 4 pointers as set in stone. For example, some people think selling products that cost less than $10 yields low margins and is a waste of time, but I have shown you that small items can be profitable too.

1. Products Everyone Else Are Selling

A lot of people assume that the best way to start selling on eBay is to sell items that everyone else is selling. These super hot items may be iPods, cellphones and so on. They think:

“Hey this is a hot product, everyone will be scrambling to buy right? Maybe I should jump onto the bandwagon!”

Big mistake. If you try to get a slice of the pie you will find yourself burnt. Sellers that are already selling these products are more established and are familiar to buyers. They also likely to have more capital and can afford to buy insane quantities to keep as inventory, hence their per unit cost will be significantly lower than yours. It will be extremely hard for you to make any profit in markets that are already very saturated by the big players. Unless you have been selling for a long time and know where to get products for cut-throat wholesale prices, you are best starting small first.

2. Things You Love, But No One Else Does

This sounds pretty much super-obvious, but you may fall into this strap if you are too concentrated on what you like. Focusing on a niche that is too specialised can be dangerous. Do not think ‘Oh, this isn’t doing so well now but eventual it will, when more people find out about my products’. A highly tight niche has a small pool of people interested in it, and an even yet smaller pool of these people who are interested in buying. Put yourselves in the shoes of the mass consumer.

3. Items That Are Fragile & Difficult To Ship

This genre of items are minefields. Items made of clay, china, ceramic or plants etc are prone to getting damaged. When you end up refunding 30% of orders  because angry customers complain of receiving damaged goods, you are going to suffer a loss. Unless you are very sure you can pack these items properly, there is a high chance of them getting damaged. Especially when shipping overseas, your product is going to change hands several times. I have seen postal services like China EMS simply throwing parcels around when loading/unloading. Check this video out and you will be shocked.

4. Items That Are Fragile & Difficult To Ship

Pondering starting with large products like furniture, pianos, traffic lights, space stations? Don’t! Unless you already have experience selling and shipping these items, it’s wiser to start with something smaller. Shipping such large items is a major undertaking. Also, these items will also sell less often (although profit margin may be higher), as they won’t attract the same number of buyers who purchase on impulse as with smaller, cheaper items.

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