All kinds of antiques, from dolls to furniture, are certainly great sellers. But most of us are not antique dealers and may not know or care enough about them. So here are twelve things that are selling like crazy that you can profit from using online auctions. (The list is not in order of priority.)

1. Corners

Many people are coin collectors. You can buy all kinds of foreign currencies on the Internet; Mexican pesos and Brazilian currencies. Now that we have the euro, the coins in old money can only increase in value as they become a rarity.

These are very cheap coins. Some people have packaged them up, like a hundred world coins, and sold them at auction for £60 and £70. Many of those coins, like the Mexican peso and the Brazilian peso coin, cost less than one cent.

Also, Indian Head pennies and antique silver, and even some current silver that’s not that old, what’s called junk silver but still silver, is very popular. Some people offer these things much more than what can be purchased as base metal. It’s crazy, but that’s how it is.

2. Pocket and hunting knives

Both old and new hunting and pocket knives are very popular items. This category also includes swords.

It’s not for everyone, but if you’re interested in or have some knowledge of survival skills using knives, or find the history of swords fascinating, these articles work well online.

3. Watches and Rings

People like some unusual watches and rings. Some of New Mexico’s turquoise watches and jewelry were originally popular twenty years ago. But then it went out of style and no one would wear it. Now, once again, it is popular.

If you can buy such jewelry at a good price, you can double and even triple your money.

4. Music boxes

Music boxes are very collectible and very popular. They are relatively easy to ship to customers. A visit to any junk shop, auto trunk sale, mall, or antique market will usually yield at least one music box.

5. Christmas Season Items

All kinds of unusual items related to Easter, Christmas and Halloween are extremely popular. People have bid on items in this category very high.

6. Arts and Crafts of Native American Indians

Anything to do with Indian arts and crafts is big business, especially in the US, UK, Germany and Belgium. Old arrowheads are popular, blankets, saddles, trinkets, all sorts of things related to Native American nations.

7. Religious articles

It doesn’t matter if the religious items are Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu or any other religion. They are all very popular.

In the Middle East they have “pearls of concern.” I had an Arab friend many years ago who gave me some. They don’t cost a lot of money. I’ve seen them bid up to £25.

8. Rocks and Fossils

Rocks and fossils are very popular, perhaps because they are very collectible: they take up little space, but a collection can be interesting and start.

9. Bedspreads and Duvets

North American Indian star quilts are very popular as are the various quilts made by the Victorians. Still a popular craft today, even modern handmade quilts and quilts can fetch a good price.

10. Perfumes and Colognes

This includes perfumes and colognes for both men and women. Especially name brands at a discount where people can bid on them, but get them for less than the £50 it would normally sell for in a big department store.

11.Regional articles

Regional items have increased in popularity. People who live in Arizona and New Mexico, California, Texas can cross the border and buy extremely low priced Mexican crafts and yet double or triple their money on eBay.

If you don’t live in the United States, but take a vacation in Mexico or South America, you may still find this lucrative. This category also covers tourist items purchased anywhere in the world; such as African beads, dolls in the country’s attire, porcelain from the coastal towns of the British Isles, handbags from Egypt, it’s endless. On the other hand, there is a vast and thriving market in pre-1970s British seaside trivia.

12. Autographs

If you know or have something that has been signed by a famous person; a rock star, movie stars, presidents, you name it, are bidding big on eBay and other auction sites. Some collectors are also willing to bid on a famous person’s item of clothing or lock of hair.

So that’s just a roundup of twelve categories that sell well through internet auctions.

Of course you can sell thousands of other items. All kinds of books are sold, for example, there is no doubt about that. I’ve sold books, and I’ve had three or four different companies buy books from me and resell them on eBay, Yahoo, and other auction sites. However, you need to buy or print books cheap enough that you can ask for big enough discounts.

For example, a £25 book might be auctioned for £6 or £7. Now if you bought it for £2 or printed it for £2, making a constant profit shouldn’t be a problem. The profit margin is large enough that you walk away with cash in your pocket.