The problem
Pricing second-hand stock means scrolling through sold listings one item at a time. If a reseller lists 120 new items a month and spends 4 minutes on each price check, that's 480 minutes, 8 hours a month, and a guess that is $7£5€6A$10C$9 too low on 10 items costs another $67£50€60A$96C$94.
What the AI does
Product Research (formerly Terapeak) sits in Seller Hub and eBay says it is free. Search for an item and it shows sold listings from other sellers, the average and actual sold prices, the sold price range, the sell-through rate and a price trend graph, drawn from three years of eBay sales data. On desktop it is under the Research tab once you have opted in to Seller Hub, which needs at least one sale. Filter to the same condition as your item, look at the range rather than the single highest sale, and set a price you are happy to hold.
A worked example
A reseller in Sheffield, registered as a business seller, lists second-hand branded clothing and homeware and has about 300 live listings. The owner prices about 120 new items a month and moves from scrolling sold listings to Product Research.
Before
About 4 minutes an item checking sold listings by hand: 120 x 4 = 480 minutes, 8 hours a month
After
About 1.5 minutes an item in Product Research: 120 x 1.5 = 180 minutes, 3 hours a month
What it's worth
About 5 hours a month saved (300 minutes), worth around $133£100€119A$192C$188 if your time is worth $27£20€24A$38C$38 an hour. Product Research is free in Seller Hub; your normal eBay selling fees still apply. Better prices on items you used to underprice, $67£50€60A$96C$94 in the example, aren't counted.
How to set it up
- Opt in to Seller Hub on desktop if you haven't already; eBay needs at least one sale first.
- Open the Research tab and choose Product research.
- Search for the item by brand and type, then filter to the same condition as yours.
- Look at the average sold price, the range and the sell-through rate, and set your price within the range.
- Note the price you chose on your stock sheet so you can see later whether it sold.
What goes wrong
- Sold prices are history, not a promise. A brand that sold well last spring may not this autumn; check the trend graph as well as the average.
- Condition matters more than the tool can show. A 'used' item with a mark is not the same as one in perfect condition, so price down for flaws you can see.
- On mobile the tool needs an active listing or a sale in the last 90 days, so plan to do research on desktop.
- A high sell-through rate can mean plenty of competition at a low price; look at how many sellers have the same item before you buy more stock.