Search and sell-through

Research before you buy, and pricing before you list.

Search (open).

What it does

Search looks an item up on eBay and shows:

• Live listings — what is for sale on eBay right now that matches your search.
• How many are listed — a rough sense of how much competition you would be up against.
• What sellers are asking — the median asking price and the asking range.

These are asking prices, not sold prices. They tell you what sellers hope for, not what buyers paid.

Why there are no sold prices or sell-through rate

eBay does not share sold prices with apps like Reskale, and its rules for apps do not allow a sell-through rate to be worked out from its data. An earlier version of this screen showed one. It was not reliable, so we removed it rather than show you a number we cannot stand behind.

To see what items actually sold for, use eBay's own tools:

• eBay's Sold filter — search on eBay, then tick Sold items under Show only. It covers roughly the last 90 days, and you need to be signed in to eBay.
• Product Research in Seller Hub — free with an eBay seller account. Up to three years of sales, including accepted Best Offer prices, and a sell-through rate.

Sell-through rate

The most useful single number in sourcing — you will find it in eBay's Product Research.

High sell-through means items like this sell reliably. Low sell-through means plenty are listed and few move — which is how you end up with capital sitting in a bin for a year.

Sell-through beats price for sourcing decisions. A £100 item that sells 10% of the time is worse than a £30 item that sells 80% of the time, and the arithmetic is not close.

Reading comps honestly

The mistakes that cost real money:

• Sold, not asking. Active listings tell you what sellers hope for. Sold listings tell you what buyers paid.
• Match the condition. A mint boxed example is not a comp for your loose worn one.
• Match the variant. Colourway, year, size, edition. On some items these swing price by multiples.
• Check the count. Three sales is an anecdote.
• Look at the dates. Six-month-old comps are history, not a price.

Profitability

The profit calculator takes the price you would sell at — your number, from your own research — and subtracts what actually leaves: marketplace fees, shipping, and your cost.

The output that matters is the minimum list price — the number below which you are working for free. Knowing that before you buy is the difference between a sourcing decision and a hopeful one.

Camera and image search

Photograph an item to identify it rather than typing a description. Useful for things you cannot name — a brand you do not recognise, a model number on a label.

Identification is a starting point for the search, not an appraisal. Confirm the match before pricing anything on it.

Specialist lookups

Two categories have dedicated tools, because generic search does not answer what buyers of these actually ask:

• Music — search records, CDs and cassettes by words or barcode. A search opens on Discogs releases: the pressings, sorted and narrowed by country, so you can find the exact one in your hand — pressing identity is most of a record's value; see Discogs. For sale & sold prices has the same filters as Search — condition, price, buying format and sort — and Format keeps eBay to that kind of music. Listings on switches between eBay, Mercari, Vinted and, where it's turned on for your account, Facebook Marketplace near your ZIP. Sold on shows what it sold for on eBay, Mercari and Vinted.
• Automotive — identify a vehicle from a photo or its VIN, check recalls and safety ratings, and see whether it's worth flipping. Search eBay Motors for cars and trucks or for parts with eBay's own filters — price, year, make, model, mileage, title, distance from your ZIP and more — and, for parts, whether it fits your vehicle and what it has sold for. Switch Listings on to Facebook Marketplace for the same search there — set Max miles to see only cars at or under that mileage.

From research to listing

Found something worth listing? Save it to Inventory from the search result — the identification and pricing work carries over rather than being re-entered.