One of the first questions that virtually every new eBay seller asks is, "What should I sell on eBay?" That's a tough question to answer, because it's going to be different for everyone. And when someone does find something that sells well on eBay, the last thing the want to do is let anyone know about it.

But I do have a broad answer to the question, as well as a strategy for determining exactly which items you should sell. What's more, this strategy should work for everyone.

The answer is: sell whatever you are most interested in. Sounds obvious, but that's where you should start. If you sell what interests you, you'll have a leg up on your competition. You'll be knowledgeable about your products and your eBay business won't seem like such a grind.

Let's suppose that you're an avid snow skier. You know about the major equipment manufacturers, such as North Face, K2, Rossignol, and so on. You may also find many other lesser-known manufacturers by visiting a ski shop or browsing on the Web. Once you have the names of several companies, you're ready for the next step.

Do a Google search for a manufacturer and get the main phone number. Call them and ask for the sales department. Tell them you are an online retailer, and you'd like to know if they sell their products through distributors or if they sell directly to the trade. If they sell only through distributors, ask them for a list of regional or national sources. And if they sell directly, ask them for a price list along with minimum order quantities.

If you were given a list of distributors, start calling them and asking for catalogs and price lists. Many will request that you fill out an account application, and most will require a sales tax license before they'll give you confidential pricing information.

Once you have prices, you must determine whether or not there is enough profit margin for selling on eBay. Do searches on completed items on eBay or use services such as Hammertap to figure out the average selling price for a particular item. Then use Internet Revenue Center's eBay Gross Profit Tables to quickly determine how much you'll make selling the item after eBay and PayPal fees. If your wholesale price is at least 20-30% less than your gross profit, you've found a great product to sell on eBay! Don't forget to factor in the cost of shipping the item to you from the manufacturer or distributor when calculating your wholesale item cost.

So there you have it: the ultimate answer to the "What to sell on eBay?" question. It's going to take a little effort, but if you follow this simple strategy you should do well!