eBay Terapeak Product Research: How to Use It for Free (2026)

Terapeak is eBay’s own research tool. It shows what similar items have actually sold for on eBay, how many sold, how many sellers sold them and how fast they move. eBay now calls it Product research, and it is free for sellers inside Seller Hub. This guide shows how to open it, what each number means, and how to use it to check an item before you buy stock or set a price.

The short version

• Terapeak was bought by eBay in 2017. Its Product research tool now sits under the Research tab in Seller Hub, at no cost.
• It covers up to three years of eBay sales data. You can pick any date range from one day to three years.
• Sold prices are real transaction prices, including accepted Best Offers, not asking prices.
• Sell-through rate only appears when the date range is 90 days or less.
• Sourcing insights, the second part of Terapeak, is free with a Basic Store subscription or higher.

What Terapeak is now

Terapeak started as a separate, paid research service. After eBay bought it, the tools were moved into Seller Hub, and eBay’s own pages now describe the main one as “Product research (formerly Terapeak)”. Sellers still search for “Terapeak”, so both names are used in this guide. There are two parts:

Part	What it shows	Who can use it
Product research	Sold prices, sales trends, sell-through rate, number of sellers, shipping, listing formats, across eBay’s marketplaces	Free for sellers using Seller Hub (desktop) and in the eBay app
Sourcing insights	Categories where demand is high and supply is low, based on sold single-quantity listings	Free with a Basic Store subscription or higher

How to open Product research

On a computer

1. Sign in to eBay with your selling account.
2. Open Seller Hub. If you haven’t used it before, eBay asks you to opt in (it becomes available once you have made a sale) with “Start using Seller Hub”.
3. Select the Research tab, then Product research.
4. Type a keyword or product, choose the marketplace you sell on, and search.

In the eBay app

Open the Selling tab, scroll to “Jump to” and tap Research. eBay makes the mobile version available if you have at least one active listing, or have listed and sold within the last 90 days. The phone view is fine for a quick price check while sourcing; longer research is easier on a computer.

What the numbers mean

Every search returns the same set of figures for the items that match. Read them together; none of them is useful on its own.

Figure	What it is	What to watch for
Average sold price	The average of what buyers actually paid, including accepted Best Offers	A few very high or very low sales can pull the average; check the range too
Sold price range	Lowest to highest sold price in the period	A wide range usually means mixed conditions, bundles or variants in the results
Total sold	How many matching items sold in the period	Compare it with how many are listed now to judge competition
Sell-through rate	The share of similar listings that sold during the period	Only shown for periods of 90 days or less; compare similar items rather than chasing one “good” number
Total sellers	How many different sellers sold matching items	Many sales from one or two sellers can mean a brand owner or a big wholesaler dominates
Average shipping and free shipping share	What buyers paid for postage, and how many sold listings offered free postage	Tells you whether buyers in that niche expect free postage
Selling format	Auction versus fixed price for the items that sold	Shows how buyers in that category prefer to buy

Below the summary, Product research lists the individual sold listings. Opening a few of them is worth the time: the photos, titles and item specifics of the listings that sold at the top of the range show what buyers paid more for. eBay’s “Sell one like this” option starts a new listing from a sold one, which saves time when you sell the same product.

Search and filters

Product research matches strictly: a sale usually appears only if it matches your keywords and filters exactly. That makes the way you search more important than in eBay’s buyer search.

• Search by product identifier when you have one. MPN, UPC, EAN, ISBN and eBay product IDs (EPID) give cleaner results than words.
• Use the operators. eBay supports AND, OR, and excluding words with “AND NOT” or a minus sign, for example dyson v8 -parts.
• Filter by condition before you read prices. New and used sell at different prices, and mixing them gives an average that fits neither.
• Filter by category, brand, colour, format and price range to remove items that only share a keyword.
• Choose the marketplace you sell on, and use the buyer and seller location filters if you sell internationally. The same item can sell very differently on eBay.com and eBay.co.uk.

How to check a product before you buy stock

A practical check for one product, before you buy stock or set a price. Once you know the tool, it takes a few minutes per item.

1. Search the exact item. Use the product identifier or the brand and model, and set the condition you will sell.
2. Set the last 90 days. Note the total sold, the sell-through rate, the average sold price and the sold price range.
3. Look at the number of sellers. If one seller makes most of the sales, find out why (price, brand ownership, volume) before you compete with them.
4. Widen to one to three years. Look at the sales trend for seasonal peaks and for a steady decline. Our guide to the best time to list on eBay covers timing in more detail.
5. Open the top-priced sold listings. Note what they did differently: photos, title words, item specifics, postage.
6. Work out the profit at a realistic price. Use the lower half of the sold range, not the top sale. Our eBay profit calculator takes the price, your costs and eBay’s fees; the eBay fee calculator shows the fees on their own.
7. Decide, and write the reason down. Keeping the numbers you based a buying decision on makes it easy to see later which checks were right.

For where to look for products in the first place, see what to sell on eBay and how to source products cheaply.

Using sold titles to choose listing keywords

Product research doesn’t show how often buyers search for a word; it shows what sold. That is still useful for titles. The titles of listings that sold well show the words, brands, models and sizes buyers responded to. Compare them with eBay’s search suggestions, which show what buyers type. Our free eBay keyword research guide covers both, and the eBay listing titles guide shows how to fit them into 80 characters.

Sourcing insights (Basic Store and above)

Sourcing insights looks at categories rather than single products. It uses sold single-quantity listings to show where buyers are buying more than sellers are listing, so you can see which categories may be short of stock. It is free with a Basic Store subscription or higher. If you are deciding whether a Store is worth it, our post on eBay business and personal accounts sets out what a Store costs and includes.

Terapeak or a paid research tool?

Third-party tools such as ZIK Analytics add features like tracking competitor stores, saved product lists and data from other marketplaces, for a monthly fee. Terapeak’s advantage is that it is eBay’s own sold data, at no cost. For most sellers who sell only on eBay, Product research answers the questions that matter before buying stock: does it sell, for how much, how fast, and against how many sellers. A paid tool is worth comparing once you need what it adds; check its current features and prices on its own site, as they change often.

Mistakes to avoid

• Pricing from active listings. Asking prices show what sellers hope for. Price from sold data.
• Reading the average only. The sold price range and the individual sales tell you more than one average.
• Mixing conditions and variants. Filter so the results are the item you will actually sell.
• Using a broad keyword. “Headphones” returns too much to act on. Search the model.
• Ignoring fees and postage. A good sold price can still leave little profit once eBay’s fees, postage and packaging are taken off.
• Expecting the same result on every marketplace. Research the site you sell on.

Frequently asked questions

Is eBay Terapeak free?

Yes. Product research, the main Terapeak tool, is free for sellers in Seller Hub and in the eBay app. Sourcing insights is free with a Basic Store subscription or higher.

Do I need an eBay Store to use Terapeak?

No, not for Product research. You need to be using Seller Hub, which becomes available after your first sale. Only Sourcing insights needs a Store.

How far back does Terapeak data go?

Up to three years. You can set any range from one day to three years, but the sell-through rate is only shown for ranges of 90 days or less.

Are Terapeak prices what buyers really paid?

Yes. Sold prices are completed eBay sales, and they include the price agreed when a Best Offer was accepted.

Why does my search show no results?

Product research matches keywords and filters strictly, so a long or very specific search can miss sales. Remove a word or a filter, or search by the product identifier. Some sold listings also can’t be opened if eBay or the seller has removed them.

Can my team use it without my password?

Yes. Product research works with eBay’s team access, so people you add to the account can use it without signing in as you.

Source: eBay’s Product research and Sourcing insights help page and eBay’s Product research announcement, both read in October 2026. eBay changes its tools from time to time; if a step here doesn’t match what you see, eBay’s help page is the reference.