Could this idea work?

Let's say that there's an auction site like ebay and there is an item which has a lot of watchers and a few bidders. The fact that the item has watchers and bidders tells you that people are interested in this particular product, and you can see what people will pay for it, so what if you bid on that auction and if you win, have it sent to you, and immediately list it for sale again but with the shipping cost slightly higher than what you paid?

Something I've noticed in the past is that people don't seem to pay too much attention to the shipping cost of things, plus what difference is a few dollars more for shipping than it usually would be going to make to most people?

So, basically, my idea is that you only buy items which are proven to be things people want and then reselling with a slightly higher shipping cost, the extra on the shipping cost is your profit.

Any ideas?

good idea.... you are smart... try it out and share your experiance

With the ridiculous eBay and PayPal fees I'd say your chances are very slim of making any kind of profit.

You need to buy low and sell high. Not buy high and try to sell higher.

People often use classifieds sites to buy low then sell higher on eBay. I think that would be your best option.

mickyfu said:

With the ridiculous eBay and PayPal fees I'd say your chances are very slim of making any kind of profit.

You need to buy low and sell high. Not buy high and try to sell higher.

People often use classifieds sites to buy low then sell higher on eBay. I think that would be your best option.

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What if the auction site you're using doesn't have high fees?

I disagree the cost of shipping is the most important for me

I’ve done this with electronics.. but not by bidding..

Remember eBay is mentioned in many economic textbooks..

The market typically will set the prices, unless you bid on items with poor descriptions/pictures.. or another listing error. Then you get the item at a decent discount, then you have to hope someone who can barely make a listing can successfully ship an item.

Always calculate shipping cost + PayGay and eBay fees. Also, calculate the risk such as returns + chargebacks.

I’ve made thousands with a method similar to yours, however, take all of this into account.