The most common beginner mistake is selling whatever is closest to hand instead of what somebody is searching for. This lesson is about the two decisions that determine whether a listing sells: what to list and for how much.
What sells out of Lithuania
A foreign buyer is not looking for something they can buy in their own city. They are looking for what is not there. That is why these travel best:
- Car parts — especially for older and rarer models. A part that is out of production is the most in-demand category online.
- Vintage and Soviet-era items — cameras, watches, optics, radio equipment, badges.
- Technical equipment with a model number — measuring instruments, tools, electronic components.
- Collectables — coins, stamps, records, toys.
What not to list first
- Heavy and cheap items. If shipping costs more than the goods, the maths does not work.
- Fragile items with no packaging. A broken item means a return and a bad review.
- Counterfeits and goods with no clear origin. Marketplaces remove them and your account suffers.
- Items with no identifier. If you cannot say which model it is, the buyer cannot find it either.
How to find the real price
Do not guess. The market will tell you, and checking takes five minutes:
- Open eBay and search for your item's name or the manufacturer's part number.
- In the filters, select "Sold items".
- Look not at asking prices, but at what people actually paid.
- Take the 5–10 most recent sales and find the average.
An asking price shows what a seller hopes for. A sold price shows what a buyer paid. The gap is often 40%.
If you find no sold items at all, there is a good chance nobody buys these. That is an answer too, and it is better to have it now.
The pricing formula
The price has to cover four things, not one:
Price = (profit you want + shipping + marketplace fee + packaging)
An example with illustrative numbers — put your own in:
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Profit I want | €30 |
| Shipping to Germany | €12 |
| Packaging | €2 |
| Marketplace fee (~12%) | ~€7 |
| Listing price | ~€51 |
If the market price for similar items is €45, you have three options: take less profit, ship cheaper, or do not list this item. The third option is a valid answer.
Shipping cost: built in or shown separately
Both work, differently:
- Free shipping (cost built into the price) — the listing looks more attractive and often ranks higher in search.
- Separate shipping cost — the item price looks lower, better for heavy goods.
For beginners the second option is simpler: less room for a costly miscalculation.
Condition is part of the price
A foreign buyer pays for accuracy, not optimism. A scratch you mention costs you a few euros. A scratch the buyer discovers costs you a return, a review and shipping in both directions.
Always describe:
- whether it works (tested or not),
- what needs replacing or repairing,
- what is missing (cable, cap, box),
- how much it has been used.
What to do now
Take your first item and find three of its sales under eBay's "Sold items". Write those three prices down. If the average is above €20, the item is worth listing.
You can also sanity-check the price in the simulator — it shows how the listing looks with your price, before you register.
The next lesson covers photos and the description — the part that turns a view into a purchase.
