Search eBay Sold Listings 3 Ways (Computer & Phone)
Hi there! Are you an antique seller looking for ways to price your inventory? One of the quickest and easiest ways to get comparable prices (“comps”) for specific items is to make use of eBay “Sold” listings. Today I’m teaching you how to search eBay sold listings in three different ways.
NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking a link, I’ll receive compensation that helps to support me and this blog. Thanks in advance!
Watch this video to learn how to search eBay sold listings on your computer and/or read the directions below.
(1) Search eBay Sold Listings on Your Smart Phone
After opening the eBay app on your phone:
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- (A) Enter the name of the item you are searching for in the search bar at the top.
- (A) Click the blue “search” button on the lower right (not shown).
- (B) Click “Filter” to the right of the search bar at the top.
(C) A new screen, titled “Filter” will open. Click “Show more.”
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- (D) Click “Sold items” and a list of items fitting your description that have recently sold will open.
(2) Search eBay Sold Listings: Personal Computer Sidebar
After opening the eBay website:
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- Enter the name of the item you are searching for in the search bar at the top
- Click the blue “Search” button
- On the left sidebar you will find a list of ways to refine your search
- Scroll down
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- Continue scrolling until you get to “Show Only”
- Tick “Sold Items” and a list of items fitting your description that have recently sold will open.
(3) Search eBay Sold Listings: Personal Computer Advanced
After opening the eBay website:
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- Enter the name of the item you are searching for in the search bar at the top
- Click the blue “Search” button
- Click “Advanced” (next to the “Search” button)
- The “Advanced Search” page will open
- Tick the “Sold listings” box
- Click the blue “Search” button and a list of items fitting your description that have recently sold will open.
How to Use the Info You Gather on eBay Sold Listings
The information you gather from eBay’s sold listings is most helpful if you plan to sell the item(s) in question on eBay. The data you’re gathering relates most specifically to the eBay market.
If selling elsewhere, eBay’s sold listings are a general guideline and should be just one factor you consider when pricing your merchandise.
Other factors to consider include your personal experience with similar items, input from other knowledgeable people, guide books, price guides, your gut feeling, etc.
Here are a few things you should keep in mind when searching eBay sold listings:
A. Timing is important.
If during a particular week five identical widgets are listed for sale, this may result in lower selling prices. Compare this to a month later when only one of those items is for sale. Scarcity that one month later may yield a higher price.
For this reason I will often hold back an item that I feel in my “gut” is worth more than the current selling prices. I’ll wait until later to list it when no others are listed, in the hopes of securing a higher price.
B. Don’t expect to find a hard and fast value.
When researching, you will typically find a price range, rather than a specific value for the item you’re searching. In other words, an item may have sold in January for $31.99, then sold in February for $19.00, and then again in March for $57.63. The price range for this item then is $19-$57.
If when the time comes for you to list your item, there are none like it currently offered for sale, you might want to list yours for $57, or even $65.00 or more.
However, if a number of items like it are listed, you may want to price it a couple dollars less than the lowest priced one. Or as I discussed in (A) above, you may want to wait until the market empties and list it later, hoping to make a better profit.
C. Where you’re selling matters.
Many items sold on eBay will garner higher or lower prices if sold elsewhere. The only way to determine the implications of this is to:
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- Study the markets
- Test the markets
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For example, I’ve learned through experimentation that Trifari jewelry sells quite well on eBay and for decent prices. If I were not an eBay seller, I’d have to lower my prices in order to sell the jewelry on Etsy or from my antique booth, where I’ve found Trifari doesn’t sell that well.
Similarly, ironstone sells extremely well for me on Etsy, but not on eBay. Therefore, any sold prices I discover on eBay should be raised when listing similar pieces on Etsy.
Make sense?
Why eBay Sold Listings Are Limited
Unfortunately, eBay doesn’t provide an exhaustive list of items sold on the platform. In fact, it will typically only provide sales going back a few months.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for these results, which are generous compared with Etsy, which doesn’t provide any sales results.
Because I’m often interested in getting more results and because sometimes eBay shows NO results, I’m a huge fan of WorthPoint, a web service that catalogs sales that take place on eBay (and other online auctions) going back years and years.
And sales results aren’t the only perk of a WorthPoint membership. You also get access to their library of vintage and antique guides AND their extensive resources on vintage and antique marks.
The site is filled with all kinds of useful resources that can help you grow your antique business. I use it regularly and highly recommend it. I’m grateful to them for providing me with free access to their product as one of their brand Ambassadors.
Keep in mind that when you subscribe to my newsletter, you get access to my free Member Library that contains four price guides. In addition, I’ve linked to some other resources down below that will help you answer the question antique sellers ask themselves every day, “What’s it worth?!!”
Great tutorial! Now, I need to learn more about widgets to describe them to find them–this morning it was what I thought was a EAPG footed sugarer and creamer with sawtooth edges and squares in the design. Varieties of these buzzwords still revealed nothing; need a few more books, I guess!
Glad you found it helpful Kathy!
I have found it very helpful to use google lens. It brings up pictures of items that look similar and then I use info from others to further research my own item. I don’t always get accurate result but probably do 60-75% of the time and it’s easier than doing a reverse image search. I use my iphone and open the google app (not chrome) to the right of the search bar you’ll see a camera icon. Click on that and center the item you want to research in the frame and click. It brings up similar images- often from ebay- and you can go from their.
Thanks for sharing your insights Melissa! I agree, Google Lens is a great help for identifying our vintage and antique finds 🙂
thank you
You’re welcome Peter!