Table of Contents

Navigation
Terapeak's research is available in chart and numerical form. Charts in the 90-day Search Reports can be sorted by different criteria - Total Listings, Average End Price, and Sell-Through.

By selecting the button at the lower right of the section, you may switch the data to numerical reports:

Here we can judge which day of the week is most successful.

Two-year Trend Reports are also graphical - you can float your mouse over any of the points within the graph to see the detailed totals:

These graphs can be sorted by Total Sales, Total Listings, Total Sold Listings, Total Bids, Average End Price, Sell-Through, and Bids per Listing. The two graphs allow you to compare and evaluate one result with another.

When looking at Category information, the Category Item Browse reporting is color-coded. Each category and sub-category is weighted by criteria of your choice: Total Sales, Total Listings, Total Bids, Average End Price, Sell-Through, or Bids per Listing.

These color codes visually emphasize the top earners within your search.

Here we can use the color-coding to judge which sub-categories are most lucrative.

From numerous places we can produce a Top Sellers report. The results can be sorted by any of the criteria within the header: Total Sales, Total Listings, Successful Listings, Bids, or Items Sold.

Floating your mouse over a seller's name will produce the option to research similar items from this specific seller, research all of the seller's items, or research the seller's top titles.

The Title Builder is an interactive tool to assist you in building your eBay listing titles. The Builder will count down your remaining characters and provide you with word suggestions that match the keywords you enter. Evaluate these words based on the associated average price and build your title accordingly.

The Basics of Searching eBay Marketplace History
Millions of listings end every day on eBay. Marketplace Research by Terapeak allows you to review those listings based on keyword searches. Since there are so many listings on eBay, keyword searches alone may turn up irrelevant listings. It is therefore important to create a targeted search, using either a group of specific keywords and/or the search filters within the site.

Keywords
Terapeak searches all closed listing titles based on keywords entered. Certain Boolean expressions will narrow your search even further - for example, grouping words within quotation marks ("iPod Nano"), or placing hyphens before words to remove those words from your search (-case, - skin). You may also search by USBN and UPC numbers.

Instead of searching for something basic like "black shoes", you may wish to include the brand, style, or size of those shoes as well, to ensure you get the closest results. Or, if searching for something more general, you can filter your results by setting pricing parameters. For example, when searching for "Apple iPhone", limiting listings to include only those between $200 and $600 will remove any accessories or smaller items from your report. These filters can be found on the left hand side of your report:

Extra Tips:

Category & Attributes
Along with filters, you may also use the category pull-down menu to specialize your search. This menu is located at the top of your report, and you can select specific categories within which to perform your search.

To the left of your report, under Search Filters, are sub-categories where you can further narrow your search:

Clicking the "+" next to a category will expand your choices.

Saving a Search Query
Saving your most frequently searched reports can save you time and effort. Simply type in a report, along with any filters you wish to include, and select the Save button.

This will create an automated email that sends results to you every week on the day of your choice.

Using Search Filters
The Search Filters on the left hand side of your report can help refine your results.

Use Listing Duration to view only listings that ran for a certain amount of time (1 day, 7 days, etc.); Listing Type will help you sort through different types of auctions (Bid Auctions, Store Listings, etc.); Listing Promotions allows you to view results that listed with different promotions (Buy it Now, Homepage Featured, etc.).

The Time of Day option allows you to see hour-by-hour reports, while a Seller ID search narrows your results to include only a single seller's listings.

What Type of eBay User Are You?
The type of eBay user you are determines which features and data you will find most useful.

Seller of Unique Items
Unique items, such as antiques, collectibles and other used goods, can have many variations that potentially affect their value and selling price. These unique goods often can not be directly compared with other items on eBay, and therefore the calculated metrics such as Average Sold Price provide little insight. Sellers of unique items tend to use the charts and metrics capabilities loosely, and rely instead on individual listings that completed in the past 90 days. These completed listings typically show the specific nuances of each item, and help the seller gather approximate pricing information to directionally influence selling decisions. Also, because there are typically fewer items listed that can be loosely compared to unique items, sellers appreciate the extended completed listings history provided by Marketplace Research.

Two-year category trends can also help sellers of unique items view purchasing trends on a month-over-month basis, or year-over-year, to determine if there are seasonal considerations for their potential buying audience.

Seller of Commodity or Comparable Items
New, commodity-type products have many comparable items moving across the eBay site. For these types of items, Marketplace Research provides additional insight by calculating product performance statistics. Sellers of these types of items find the reports on average pricing, sell-through percentage, and bids per listing valuable in assessing the existing marketplace. Additionally, the remainder of the reports will assist in building more successful and higher-value auction listings, as these will provide sellers with information on how to best target their shoppers.

Buyer
Buyers are mostly interested in pricing information to ensure that they don't overpay for a product. Depending on the availability of the item within the eBay marketplace, a simple 7-day search may provide a good idea of average pricing. Alternatively, for rare items, shoppers may wish to review the past 90 days of completed listings. The 14-day free tool available on Terapeak or eBay's completed listings report may be sufficient for shoppers looking for high-demand items.

Assessing Selling Opportunities and the eBay Marketplace
Before you start selling on eBay or stocking up on new inventory, it is wise to get an idea of the existing demand and size of the marketplace. You will also want to evaluate the average price your item fetches on eBay, and determine if you can source and sell the product for a good return on your investment.