One of my early product sources was estate auctions. This is a fun and exciting way to find stuff to sell on eBay. You just never know what you will find and sometimes you will uncover a hidden gem with an unbelievable profit margin.

I assume everyone knows how an auction works, so I will skip the mechanics of auctions and get right to the important information… How to source products at an estate auction to resell on eBay.

• Locate The Estate Sale You Want To Attend - There are usually large auction ads in your local paper for upcoming estate sales. Be sure to check up to a week in advance as many of the auctions are advertised in the previous weekend’s paper. Also, many items will be listed in the newspaper ad so you can start your pricing research right away.
• Pick The Right Auction - This is a little subjective and there is no one right way to select the auction you want to attend. I try to find one with a lot of collectibles and not too heavy in furniture and other large items. It is always great to find an auction with specific items you are interested in selling on eBay. I used to really enjoy selling collectible paper (e.g. postcards). If I saw one that had a lot of old paper items I would choose that one. If some of the auction items are advertised in the newspaper I will do a little research to see if those items are selling well on eBay. Mostly I just go with my gut to which one I think will be the best.
• Ask If There Is A Preview Time - Most estate auctions will offer a preview time either before the auction begins or even the day before. If there is a preview the day before, I sometimes will spend up to 2 hours writing down all the notes I can on the items for sale so I can take that information home and do research on eBay. Even if the only preview available is a couple hours before it starts, make sure you use that time to do as much research as possible. If you know what an item will sell for on eBay, you are well ahead of the competition when it comes time to bid on an item.
• Have Someone Available To Call - I always have someone I can call if I see an interesting item getting ready to be put into the auction ring. Make sure that person knows how to look the item up on eBay to see what value the item will bring at online auction. Better yet, have an internet capable cell phone with you so you can look up the value of items on the fly. When I use that internet capable phone, I can really dig for some great deals. It is one of the best investments I have made for buying at estate auctions.
• Don’t Get Caught Up In A Bidding War - Know what you will pay for an item and stick to that price. Don’t get emotional… This one is easier said than done. With my competitive spirit I have a hard time getting beat out on an item I really want. However, the more research you do prior to bidding the easier it will be to stop bidding when the bidding exceeds what you want to pay.
• Buy Items In Box Lots - Some of my best finds have been in box lots. Pick out one or two items in a lot and access the value. Only bid up to the value of those two items and you will basically be getting the rest of the box lot for free. Those “free” items is where you can find some real treasures. I have found countless $100+ items at the bottom of a box lot.
• Stay Until The End Of The Auction - Many people will have left by the end of the auction so your competition will have decreased substantially. Also, if the auction is set to end at a fixed time the auctioneers may be in a hurry to get the stuff sold and get out of there. The lots will get bigger and they are likely to miss something valuable that they should have given more details about.
• Bring a Notebook And Take Notes - This is a very important step for me personally. I always took notes on what items brought at the live auction and would come home and research the value of those items on eBay. This was a key to gaining valueable knowledge that I used again and again when I would see a similar item up for bid. The more knowledgable about what sells on eBay the better you will be at spotting great deals in the future. Another thing I like to take notes on are unique items that I suspect another eBay seller is buying to resell on eBay. I will wait a few days and see if that item appears on eBay (do an advanced search on eBay for that item and narrow the results to locations within 50 miles). With it being a somewhat unique item I can be sure that I have the right item and person. Many of the same people go to the local estate sales time and time again. By researching that persons buying habits at estate auctions and selling habits on eBay you will get great information that will help you later when you are bidding against that person at the live estate auctions.
• Keep A Log Of Your Purchases - Always know what kind of profit you are making from the estate auctions by logging your purchases and what each purchase sold for on eBay. This will let you tweak your buying processes at estate auctions to get the best deals possible. It will also be a valuable research tool if similar items appear at a future estate sale.
• Get To Know The Auctioneers - If you like the way a certain auction company runs their auctions, try to attend as many of their auctions as possible. All the auctioneers of the auction company I would frequently use knew me by name. They knew what type of items I liked and would alert me if something was coming up I was interested in. Also, I could tell that during the bidding process I would get a slight advantage over other bidders by these auctioneers. It seemed like they would try to help me get a great deal on items. It is hard to quantify this, but it just seemed sometimes they would end bidding a little early if I was the high bidder or point to me if I bid at the exact same time as another bidder. It just seemed to help in many small ways.
• Don’t Reveal Your Intentions - This one is very hard to do when someone asks you what you plan to do with the stuff you buy. I usually tell them, but many times it has hurt me in future auctions. I used to buy every vintage video game lot (e.g. Atari, Nintendo) that would come up for auction. Well, someone found out how much I was making off these purchases and I had new competition. The price I had to pay for a box lot of vintage video games went from $5 to $40 just because I told this one person that I sold on eBay.

I think sourcing products at estate auctions are a very important step for new eBayers to learn the skills to become successful online seller. Also, out of all the ways I have ever sourced products, this is probably my favorite. Auctions are a very exciting place and the profits that can be made are even more exciting.