What Is the Most Sold Item on eBay? (And Why That Matters More Than You Think)

Introduction: A Surprising Sales Pattern I Didn’t Expect

Back in early 2022, I listed a pair of vintage Levi’s jeans and a $9 pack of Lightning charging cables on the same day. I expected the jeans to fly off first (they were gorgeous — light wash, straight leg, 90s fit). But by the end of the week, I’d sold 12 charging cables… and the jeans were still sitting in my inventory.

That moment changed how I thought about eBay entirely. I stopped assuming “big ticket” meant “fast selling.” I started watching sell-through rates, most-sold listings, and eBay’s trending categories daily. It wasn’t just luck — it was pattern recognition.

And if you’re serious about making money on eBay (or even just offsetting some personal costs), understanding what is the most sold item on eBay is your unfair advantage.

Most Sold Item on eBay: Why It’s Not What You Think

Here’s where it gets interesting.

The top-selling item category on eBay for the past several years has consistently been mobile phone accessories — especially charging cables, adapters, cases, and screen protectors.

eBay data (and my own dashboard from June–August 2025) showed:

Category	Average Monthly Sales	Typical Price Range	Sell-Through Speed
Phone accessories	120,000+ units	$7–$15	2–7 days
Clothing basics (T-shirts, hoodies)	80,000+ units	$10–$40	5–14 days
Collectible trading cards	70,000+ units	$3–$60	3–10 days
Sneakers (Nike, Adidas)	50,000+ units	$60–$180	7–21 days
Small home gadgets	40,000+ units	$12–$40	5–15 days

(These aren’t eBay’s official numbers — they’re a combination of marketplace reports and my actual sales data using Closo’s dashboard between June 1 and September 30, 2025.)

Why Phone Accessories Dominate

I resisted listing cables at first. It felt… boring. But boring moves.

Low cost, high velocity — A $3 acquisition price, $11.99 average sale, and almost guaranteed quick turnover.
Global demand — Everyone needs charging cables, replacement cases, and adapters. (I had a single listing ship to buyers in five different countries within two weeks.)
Replenishable inventory — Unlike one-off thrift flips, I can restock without sourcing marathons.

But here’s the tricky part: competition is brutal. If your photos or shipping speed aren’t dialed in, your listing gets buried. I learned this the hard way in January 2023 when a competitor undercut me by $0.50 and wiped out my daily sales for two weeks. Lesson learned.

My Real Numbers: Scaling Up a “Boring” Product

When I leaned into accessories:

January 2023 → 23 units sold (mostly thrifted clothing)
April 2023 → 141 units sold (mixed inventory)
August 2023 → 348 units sold (80% accessories, average profit margin 37%)

Tools I used:

Closo (to automate relisting and pricing)
eBay Terapeak (to track most sold categories)
Google Trends (to time seasonal demand spikes)
ShipStation (to streamline fulfillment)
Boxery & USPS Free Supplies (for packaging consistency)

And yes, I still thrift — but now it’s for higher-margin one-offs, not my bread and butter.

People Always Ask Me: “What Percentage Does eBay Take From a Sale?”

Let’s clear this up because it’s one of the most common questions I see from new sellers.

eBay takes a final value fee, which averages between 13% and 15% for most categories. This includes payment processing.

For example, when I sell a $12 cable:

Gross: $12
eBay fees: ~$1.80
Shipping: $3.49 (if I don’t offer free shipping)
Net: around $6–7 after COGS

That’s why volume matters. Accessories give me steady, compounding daily sales.

But — and this is important — fees can vary by category, shipping method, and seller status. My sneaker flips, for instance, sometimes hit 16% in total costs because of extra shipping insurance.

The Auction Trap: eBay Auction Charges and Costs

In my early days (summer 2021), I thought eBay auctions were the magic bullet. More bids = more profit, right? Not quite.

eBay charges:

Insertion fee after the free listing limit
Final value fee (same as fixed-price listings)
Optional reserve price fee

I ran an experiment in October 2021:

Auctioned 10 vintage T-shirts
Average final price: $14.37
After fees + shipping, net profit: $3.22 each

Then I listed similar shirts as Buy It Now at $24.99. Average net profit: $9.88 each.

So now I rarely use auctions unless it’s a true collectible (think Pokémon, not Hanes).

eBay Authenticate Location: How It Fits In

This comes up surprisingly often in my DMs. eBay’s authentication program covers categories like luxury bags, sneakers, trading cards, and watches.

When you sell in one of those categories:

Your item ships first to an eBay Authenticate location.
It gets inspected and approved.
Then it goes to the buyer.

I’ve used it twice for sneakers (Nike Dunk Low Panda, August 2024 — authenticated in New Jersey) and once for a Gucci Soho bag. All three transactions felt smoother for the buyer, but… it added 3–5 business days to my payout time.

For accessories and clothing basics? Not needed. But knowing how it works matters when you scale into higher-value flips.

Honest Failures Along the Way

In March 2022, I overstocked on off-brand AirPods cases. They sold slower than molasses — 400 units sat in a plastic bin for 8 months.
In June 2023, I tried bundling three cables per listing to “increase average order value.” Conversion rate tanked by 41%.
In November 2023, I ignored shipping time metrics. eBay pushed my listings lower in search for two weeks straight.

Failure isn’t just part of reselling. It’s data in disguise.

So… Is It Always Best to Sell What Everyone Else Sells?

Nope. That’s the nuance.

Yes, phone accessories are the most sold item on eBay. But oversaturation means only optimized listings win.

I personally keep:

60–70% of my inventory in high-volume categories (fast turnover)
30–40% in higher-margin thrift/collectibles (brand differentiation)

And this balance has kept my cash flow stable even in slow seasons (hello, February slump).

Common Question: “Should I Compete in High-Volume Categories?”

Here’s my honest answer: it depends on your edge.

If you:

Ship fast
Use automated relisting tools like Closo
Price dynamically
Then yes — high-volume can work wonders.

But if you’re just throwing up listings and hoping for the best, you’ll get buried. And frustrated. I’ve been there.

Final Thoughts: Why This Matters

Understanding what is the most sold item on eBay isn’t about copying other sellers. It’s about learning where attention flows and deciding whether to ride that wave or carve your own.

I built a sustainable resale income by leaning into boring-but-effective categories, optimizing my pricing, and letting automation handle the grunt work.

There’s no magic formula — just consistent, data-informed action. And a lot of recycled poly mailers.

I use Closo to automate repricing, delisting, and relisting — it saves me around 3 hours every week and keeps my top-selling listings active even when I’m offline.

If You’re Exploring Next Steps…

When I first started, I spent way too much time guessing what to list next. What helped me level up was learning how top sellers structure their strategies.