Last week in Data Bytes we looked at some of the most popular categories in terms of bidding activity, which showed us some interesting trends in the marketplace. This week we'll drill down a bit further to look at which categories host the most top buyers and sellers, and what it is those folks are buying and selling.

Many eBay sellers have probably wondered whether there really are any top buyers, and if there are, what they are buying (except of course, those of you that are top buyers!). Are they buying to re-sell, or do they just love to shop? It's hard to say for sure, but based on our research, it appears most are just passionate collectors.

Based on Terapeak data pulled from the week of February 4th, the category on eBay.com with the most top buyers is Baby Formula Coupons - a very practical place for conscientious parents. During our study week, six different buyers made between 225 and 800 purchases each in this category - apparently a pretty lucrative category if you've got access to the products.

The second biggest category for single buyer purchases is Records, with two buyers purchasing an average of 80 items each during the study week, followed by Men's Shoes, with two buyers purchasing an average of 70 items each.

Other popular categories for top buyers include Solitaire Pendants & Lockets, Celebrity Movie Photos under Collectibles, Women's Shoes, Railroadiana and Train Slides and Photos under Collectibles, Japanese Stamps and Simpsons Trading Cards. Each of these categories had at least one buyer purchase anywhere between 85 and 160 items during a single week.

Of course, this is a small subset of the buyers on eBay. More important to sellers might be competitive intelligence, such as - for example, where the top sellers are.

During that same week in February, we pulled numbers on the highest sales per individual seller, and cross-referenced it with the number of top sellers in each category. Based on this, we've determined that the most competitive category is HD, DVD & Blu-Ray, with more than 50 top sellers in the category.

The second most competitive category is CDs, with 20 top sellers in the category. Following CDs are Phones without Service Contracts, Video Games (Games), Women's Shoes, Gemstone Rings, Solitaire Pendants and Lockets/Other Stones, Radio Control Truck Parts & Accessories, Wristwatches, Golf Clubs and Loose Beads/Other Stones. All of the above categories have at least 5 of eBay's top sellers in them.

Although they're selling in competitive categories, these sellers are selling a ton of merchandise. To learn more about how they're doing it and how you can keep up, we recommend learning more about your competition. What are they selling and how are they merchandising their products? What time of day are they selling the most items and what features are they using in their listings? The more you know about your competition the more successful you'll be!

Thanks for tuning in. We'd love to hear your thoughts on the column. Please send questions, feedback or article suggestions to databytes@auctionbytes.com.

*all data based on Terapeak's own research

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Terapeak is an eBay Certified Service Provider that specializes exclusively in eBay Marketplace Research. Terapeak helps you use the experience of other sellers to know when to list, which items are hot, and value your items on eBay. The Terapeak services offers research for eBay US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and eBay Motors Parts & Accessories. Terapeak accesses eBay Data directly from the eBay Market Data program. To learn more about the Terapeak please visit http://www.terapeak.com.