How to Research an eBay Category Before You Buy

Standing in an aisle, wondering whether a whole kind of item is worth buying into? Category research in Prelo shows how crowded a product is on eBay, and what it's listed for. The numbers in the video are live eBay data from the day it was recorded, so yours will differ.

Before you buy

In the sidebar, open Sourcing, then Category research. The page itself is headed Niche Scanner; it's the same tool.

There's one box. Type a product keyword the way a buyer would search (the video uses enamel coffee pot) and press Scan. A scan doesn't use a credit.

Reading the results

At the top is a verdict. It's based on one thing: how many active eBay listings match your phrase.

• Under 10,000 active listings: Worth a look.
• 10,000 to 100,000: Contested.
• Over 100,000: Crowded, where you'd mostly be competing on price.

The Competition tile is that count: active listings on eBay for the phrase, right now.

The Price band looks at up to 100 of the top listings. The big number is the median, and under it is the typical range, the middle half of those prices. These are asking prices from live listings, not sold prices, so read them as what sellers are asking rather than what buyers paid.

Below that, How to stand out in this niche is a short AI write-up with a few tips for this kind of item. Treat it as ideas to test.

Then Top listings right now shows up to ten listings you'd be up against, in eBay's Best Match order. Click one to open it on eBay.

The footer says where it all comes from: live eBay listing data, kept for up to seven days. There are no search volume estimates.

Compare and narrow down

It helps to compare phrases. A broader phrase like enamelware matches far more listings, and the verdict changes with it.

When there are only a few matches, or the listings are mixed (parts and accessories alongside the item itself), the price band warns you that it may be skewed. It also offers Scout, which prices one exact item from a photo or a description.

The free version

There's a free version on the website too, with no account needed: the verdict, the count and the price band. The tips and top listings are in your Prelo account.

Next in the series: eBay auction or Buy It Now, and how Prelo picks the format.