The Wii has been one of the most popular selling toys since it was first introduced a few years ago… Every holiday season, stores have put limitations on the number a customer can purchase. I don’t expect it to be quite as hot this year… but, there are still lessons we can learn from the rage it brought to eBay.
In previous years, the Wii ended up on eBay selling for TWICE the retail price because of the limited availability in stores (usually the case for why new toys sell so well on eBay during the holidays)… But, one thing I’ve noticed is that the auctions that tend to sky rocket – are the ones that differentiate themselves from the competition. This is usually accomplished by bundling the wii with other popular wii products to create a unique lot for sale on eBay.
There is a lesson to be learned here…
If you want to stand out from the competition, you have to do something different! This is common sense – but, you’ll be surprised how many sellers overlook this simple strategy.
Look at the most popular toys this year and get creative when you consider how you are going to list. Here are some ideas to get you thinking – lessons learned from the wii:
- Any accessories available for this item?
Example: If the toys is a doll – look for clothing, bottles, diapers, and gear for the doll
- How about pretend play?
Example: If the toy is a pirate ship – look for pirate costumes or dress-up accessories to include with the ship.
- Adding Extras
Example: If the toy has disposable parts (paper, crayons, baking goods, beads, etc) – include extras in your lot
Get creative – think this way… “If I wanted this product… I would also want ________” and bundle it with the toy you are selling.
Article: Selling Toys In Today’s Economy
If you are an eBay seller, you probably can’t help but think about how the economy might effect the biggest selling season of the year… holiday toy sales.
It would be unwise if we ignored the status of the economy and didn’t take a closer look as to how this selling season COULD be affected. It is equally important to examine strategies we, as sellers, can put into place that will help ensure a profitable selling season regardless of how glum things may look today.
What We Can Rely On
- The children always come first
Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles… no matter what… will find a way to make their child’s holiday one to remember. Even if it means cutting the budget elsewhere, they will find a way to buy toys and gifts for the children in their lives.
- Even in a slow economy, the holidays still bring out good cheer
The holidays are known for being a time for hope and generosity. Although you wouldn’t always recognize this when customers fight over the last (latest and greatest) Elmo on the shelves… the motive is still to bring cheer to the loved ones in their lives during the holidays.
- Most people don’t know how to budget
Consumer debt in our country is through the roof… we don’t really understand how to control spending… and, although I can’t encourage getting into more debt, I think it is safe to assume that people will spend what they feel like they have to spend to make the people in their lives happy this year. This means people are going to be buying the hottest toys for the children in their lives… even if it means going into debt.
Even if parents can’t afford to, they will find a way to buy toys for their children. And, if they can’t afford to get the newest toys for this year… they will buy used. Did you know that used toys sell well all year long – and they do quite well during the holiday season too?
I’m convinced that one of the best strategies toy sellers can implement this holiday season is to offer both used and new toys to their customers.
Even though new toys traditionally skyrocket during the holidays… and that means sellers can buy them at full retail prices only to see them double or triple on eBay… there can be a much higher profit margin when selling used toys. You can pick up gently used toys at yard sales, consignment shops, estate sales and thrift stores for pennies on the dollar and turn them around for 100-200% profit on eBay!
But, it all comes down to knowing what sells…
The Holiday Toy Guide is created to help you make the most from your toy selling efforts on Ebay… to help you know what is selling (and what isn’t!)… and in an unpredictable economy – this is MUST HAVE information.
Article: The Truth About Researching Hot Toys
There’s something you should know about the Holiday Toy Guide..
You might think that I’ve been keeping this a secret – but, honest… I haven’t! In fact, I’ve told many people over and over… but, sometimes they don’t seem to listen. Or maybe they just don’t get it… it doesn’t really matter I suppose.
This is Jenni Hunt from the Holiday Toy Guide, and I want to set the record straight…
Anyone can do the research we do for the Holiday Toy Guide.
That’s right! In fact, I’ll even tell you how we do it…
Number 1: The first thing we do is research for toys that are expected or predicted to be the best sellers for the season. A couple of hours on google and you have some great resources to pull this information from.
There are actually quite a few resources (industry experts and stores) that provide a ‘hot’ list of sorts… pointing out the toys they expect kids to want the most.
This list is important because you will notice that the media and stores will push to advertise these same toys. Toys R Us, Walmart, Target… they will all be pushing the same toys (or their own unique version) in their holiday ads.
By the time the Holiday Toy Guide is launched, we usually have a list of about 50 toys that are predicted to be the most popular.
Number 2: Once we have compiled this list, we start looking for what the toys are selling for. The initial list is about finding a base price – where are these toys starting.
We research the manufacturers suggested retail price and compare that with what Walmart and Amazon are actually selling it for. Then, we look at eBay to determine how the toy is performing there.
Number 3: We do this every week for 8 weeks starting the first week of November… and report the info to our Gold Holiday Toy Guide members.
Usually, as we get closer to the Holidays – more toys pop up as being popular… and we add them to the list. In previous years, we have ended up with 75-100 toys included in the weekly report that is sent out.
What we learn while doing this research is very valuable…
We learn that just because a toy is popular – doesn’t mean that it is going to be a good seller on eBay. (That is the beauty of the weekly reports – it provides this information.)
We also learn that eBay changes very quickly during the holiday season. What is a hot seller on eBay one week… could be a complete dud the next. So, providing regular weekly reports is important to be able to track when an item is selling well and when it isn’t.
You can imagine that conducting research on 50-100 toys takes a lot of time… and not just doing it once – but on a weekly basis… we are talking a good chunk of time.
Who has time to do this kind of research? Especially during the short holiday selling season?
That’s where the Holiday Toy Guide comes in…
We understand that anyone can do this research… that isn’t the issue.
The true value behind the Holiday Toy Guide is the time it saves YOU so that you can spend your time shopping for inventory and listing items — Let US do the research for you… so you can focus on your business.
The doors for the Holiday Toy Guide Gold membership open TODAY… are you going to be on the list?
Thanks to Jenni Hunt for giving us the free articles and for the 2010 Toy Guide ... Loved the halloween one and the summer toy guide too!
