Looking back on the end of summer, we can see that even with back-to-school sales in full swing, many parents and students found themselves turning to eBay to find great deals and steals for their back-to-school needs.

Since schools are relying more and more on technology in classes, laptops and notebook accessories have become a necessity for students and were popular items for eBay sellers. Between May 14 and August 14, 2007, our dates of interest in this article, laptops and notebooks accounted for more than $52 million in sales on eBay. The most popular categories under Laptops and Notebooks were Dell, HP Compaq and IBM, Lenovo.

During that time, Dell Latitude and Inspiron laptops and notebooks had a sell-through rate of 70.70 percent and an average selling price of $398.40. According to collected eBay sales data, Dell laptops and notebook sales slowed down from mid May to late July when most students were on summer vacation. However, as the school season neared, Dell laptop sales rose again on eBay. Coming in second, IBM ThinkPads and Toughbooks had a sell-through rate of 60.46 percent and an average sales price of $325.06 between May 14 and August 14 of this year. Lastly, HP Compaq laptops saw a 59.87 percent success rate and an average selling price of $527.52 between the same dates as well.

In addition to laptops, portable storage devices such as flash and jump drives were hot selling computer accessories for students going back to school. USB flash drives that store between 2 to 4 gigabytes of data have had an average selling price of $36.04 and a sell-through rate of 46.70% between May and August . More than $1 million worth sold within that time frame.

Calculators were also a popular back-to-school item this school year. The most popular selling calculator brand on eBay is Texas Instruments. Between May and August, the TI-83 graphing calculator had an 80.97% sell-through rate and an average selling price of $36.40, making it a choice item for eBay sellers between May and August. The TI-83 graphing calculator is typically used by both high school and college students. eBay sales for this item trailed off around mid June when classes were dismissed for the summer and picked up again in early August as students began returning to classes.

Backpacks were another hot selling back-to-school item. Jansport backpacks were one of the most popular on eBay with a sell-through rate of 53.03 percent and an average selling price of $20.05 between our dates of interest. Three-piece backpack sets that can convert into luggage sets also saw a rise in traction.

Textbooks were the third-most popular category on eBay during May through August. As any college student would agree, textbooks were an expensive part of back-to-school shopping, and most students did what they could to save a few dollars on textbooks. With new college textbooks averaging between $75-150, several students turned to eBay instead of campus bookstores for textbooks this year. Collectively, textbooks had an average sell-through rate of 38.16 percent (65.53 percent between August 8-15) and sold at an average price of $57.97.

The upcoming Winter Break will likely be another popular time for textbooks, laptops and other such school necessities on eBay, as students gear up for their second semesters.

Please send questions, feedback or article suggestions to databytes@auctionbytes.com.
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