By Mikal E. Belicove, Director - Community & Education, Doba

If you're an eBay seller, you're well aware that eBay earns a commission on everything you sell through eBay. Because of this, eBay is highly motivated to help you sell more stuff. One way eBay helps sellers is through eBay Seller Central's What's Hot area.

This often overlooked eBay feature serves up a host of juicy details on fads, trends, seasonal merchandise, popular search phrases, and a whole lot more. To pull up the What's Hot page, go to eBay's Seller Central and click the "What's Hot" link.

The following sections describe the eBay research resources that you can tap for leads on your next hot-selling products, but be careful not to chase the hot sellers, as cautioned at the end of this article.

Merchandising Calendar

One strategy for picking hot-selling products is to time your product selections with seasonal and big-event merchandising opportunities, such as Christmas, Valentine's Day, the Super Bowl, and maybe even Groundhog Day. eBay schedules special promotions around these times and stages some of its own promotional events, as well.

Using the Marketing Calendar, you can find out about promotions ahead of time and start looking for products that buyers are likely to be shopping for during the promotional events.

Hot Items by Category

Every month, eBay releases its Hot Categories Report, which highlights level-4 categories that had the most buyer activity and growth during the previous month. To qualify as a hot category, items must meet the following criteria:

* Bid growth of at least 1 percent over the previous month.

* Bid growth at least 1.5 times greater than listings growth over the previous month.

* Number of bids per item greater than the average for other items in the same level-3 category.

* Conversion rate of at least 50 percent.

* Bid rate of at least 100 per week.

* Not an "Other" category.

The report is broken down by level-1 categories, including Antiques, Books, Health & Beauty, Home & Garden, and so on. Under each category, the report lists the hottest selling categories, grouping them as Super Hot, Very Hot, and Hot.

eBay Pulse

eBay Pulse offers a snapshot of what's currently hot on eBay by presenting three dynamically updated lists:

* Popular Searches shows the top keywords and phrases that eBay users are actually searching for across eBay or within the category you specify.

* Largest Stores displays a list of stores with the largest inventories to choose from.

* Most Watched Items displays a list of popular items based on the number of eBay users who have selected the "Watch This Item" option on an eBay listing page.

Use the category menu above the lists to select the desired product category, and then follow the trail of links to the desired subcategory you want to check out.

eBay Pop

Wondering what's popular on eBay? Then check out eBay Pop. The main feature on eBay Pop is eBay's Movers & Shakers section at the top of the page. You simply select a category, such as Books, DVDs & CDs, Home, or Tech, and eBay Pop displays a list of the most popular items in the category along with an up or down arrow next to each item that shows whether the item's popularity rating is rising or falling.

Scroll down the page for articles and additional features that point you in the direction of products whose popularity may be heating up or cooling down.

eBay Marketplace Research

eBay Marketplace Research is a premier market analysis tool that helps you estimate current or future market demand. It provides charts that track data, including average bids per items, number of completed items, top searches by category, average start prices, average sold prices, and more.

Cooling your jets about hot-selling items

Chasing the current sizzling hot item is a sure way to fizzle out in the retail business. When a product is hot, demand is high, but so too is supply in most cases. That means you're going to have to compete on price, and your profit margin is likely to be dismal.

Use the research tools described in this article and tools you find elsewhere only to stimulate your own creativity when selecting products to sell. With sufficient research and a little forward thinking, you can stay one step ahead of the market, which is exactly where you want to be.

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