With even more changes effecting Sellers coming to eBay, I did find a section on the eBay website I didn’t know about before called “eBay Stories” and there are some good and motivating stories there from ‘regular sellers’ that are featured. I thought this was a pretty good article as there are still lots of folks that haven’t heard of Pinterest nor are “pinners’ so this article here for using Pinterest & eBay will explain a lot. I do also suppose it could apply to Etsy 🙂
Happy New Year everyone!! The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind. We drove to Portland to spend the holidays with our families and then had some relatives in the hospital and other relatives having lots of health issues so we spent our time primarily in the ICU and the cardiac unit. We did have a very nice visit with everyone and I am happy to report the relatives that were in the hospitals are all out and doing just fine now. We didn’t really have a chance to get out and do anything “fun” but a day before we left to head back to California we did manage to make one stop at Main Street Collectors Mall and Soda Fountain in Milwaukie, Oregon. On our way to the antique mall my husband starts to play the Weird Al Yankovic eBay parody song “eBay” that Weird Al performed live in 2003 at eBay Live!! Just listening to the lyrics had us in hysterics as we could so totally relate to it. Many of you who follow my blog know that we love eBay and are eBay Power Sellers. I should have known that this was going to be the start of “eBay themed goodies”. We got to the antique mall and there were a lot of shoppers there. I walked around and found nothing but my husband found this really cool eBay game from 2001 by Hasbro and I just had to have it. We left the mall and made a stop at the local Barnes & Noble. I picked up the latest Romantic Country magazine and on our way to the register I spot this “Crap I Bought on eBay” book and couldn’t believe someone actually got it published…I mean a book of strange and weird crap someone bought on eBay? Well, yes, I had to have it!! To finish off our unexpected eBay themed finds, I also find a book called “I Married an eBay Maniac”. I just can’t explain it but it seemed that our one-day of  a couple hours of fun led us to “eBay” memorabilia and lots of fun and laughter. So, to all of you that sell and buy on eBay, here is an ode to eBay with Weird Al’s song and we wish you all a great 2012!!!
This is the time of year when folks begin their search for gifts as the holidays are (as of this posting) 53 days away! This is also the time of year when it is more important than ever to try and snag some bargains. All my loyal readers know that I am a eBay Power Seller and also sell on Etsy and I wanted to share some tips and tricks with you all when you are shopping that can save you money and get you some really great items.
Lets start right off with the “Pick it Up or Put it Down” scenario we have all faced at some point. Today, shopping at thrift stores and flea markets is a very “in” and “hip” thing to do and we will focus our article on shopping for Vintage/Antique items and the best part is you can actually hold these item(s) in your hands and get a really good look at them as opposed to buying online where you are taking the sellers description and photos into consideration and not able to actually see and touch the item.
Pick Right Up:
Put Right Down:
TIP:
There are a lot of online sellers on eBay, Etsy, Rubylane, Tias, Bonanzle aka Bonanza, Shabby Lane Shops, Lollishops, Beautiful Shops and Shabby Cottage Shops and also Craigslist where you can actually contact the sellers and “make an offer” or have them create something unique and one-of-a-kind for you and actually buy at auction and totally score fabulous items at next to nothing!! Etsy and eBay allows buyers to view seller ratings so you can easily see what other buyers are saying about their experience with the seller and quality of merchandise etc… Other sites, you need to be a little cautious and Ask, Ask, Ask, when in doubt. Hope this article is helpful to you and Good Luck with all the many things that are starting to take place as we near the Holidays!!
Continued Part 3….
We have previously covered 3 Steps to Figuring Out What it is and What it’s worth. Continue reading below to Figure Out How to Sell It-
How to sell it?
Congratulations! Once you have made it to step 3, you should know what the item(s) is and what it is worth and have formulated some type of description for the item so you can sell it……you will also need to take some photos of your item(s) as a photo really is worth $$$ when selling the item online.
You need to decide how you plan to sell your item. Will you sell it at a garage sale, estate sale, consignment shop, eBay, Etsy, Online Mall, Amazon, Newspaper, Craigslist, etc. as each method yields different results. Hopefully when you spent all that time performing research on your item you were able to determine what the demand for your item is and if it is considered a “hot” collectible or something that is“not currently in demand”.
Selling at a Garage Sale:
Okay, first things first, you are ready for your garage sale! We will assume you have already researched the ordinances in your community and city and know the rules pertaining to having a garage sale and placing signage around town and your street advertising the garage sale. You have probably also placed ads online and in your local newspaper too. NOTE: After your garage sale has ended, remember to take your signs down and pick them up from all the places you put them. Since you have researched the ordinances in your area you already know if fines apply to leaving your signs up.
Loose all emotional connection you have with the item(s) as people shopping your garage sale will not treat your item(s) as lovingly as you have as they are not emotionally attached to it and will negotiate the pricing.
Alright, let’s get to the main point here and it is PRICING. How do you price your items for a Garage sale – is the question? A good method to determine pricing is the item should be priced “at a third of what it would cost if buying it brand new”. And if your item has damage then pricing it much lower will help sell it. Be prepared, as no matter how fair you have priced your items, someone will always want to negotiate for a lower price.
TIP: If you are selling electronics or appliances then have an electric cord and electric outlet nearby so potential buyers can test the item(s) out and they will ask if they can test it out to ensure they are operating.
If you are selling clothing, then be prepared for folks to negotiate as they will say they are not able to try the item(s) on so they should get a discount.
Be sure that you are selling items that are clean (no major grime, bugs, dirt, food stains). Items that are not too damaged (you can always have a “free” pile). Selling items that are not in the worst condition will encourage buyers to shop your garage sale and not run away!
If you have attended garage sales and yard sales you know that things priced in the .25, .50, $2.00 range are what sells. Garage sales are not the place for your high-end collectibles as buyers are looking for bargains. But, if you do decide to sell your more expensive item(s) that (appear in books, magazines, or catalogs, or online web pages) because it is a very collectible item, a tactic you may try is printing out the information and photo of the item from that book or online website or wherever you have the information and attach it to your item at the sale, you may have a better chance of getting the price you are asking as individuals will see it is an “in-demand” item. Good luck!
Selling Online:
In this portion we will discuss the three most popular online venues for sellers- eBay, Etsy, Online Malls.
Even though the Internet has been around for many years and actually the concept was being worked on back in the 1960s and the project was called ARPANET, many people today think only about eBay when it comes to the antiques and collectibles market on the Internet. eBay is certainly a great resource for buying and selling items as well as a place to conduct research but it is not the only place as there are numerous other resources like collector’s clubs, online malls that specialize in items you are interested in, and antique and collectibles shops as many items are already identified and valued and a description of age and purpose can usually be found right on the item’s tag or label. Also, eBay is indeed a great place to sell your items but as you keep reading you will see that there are also many other options for selling your treasures too!
Identifying what you have
For many the first step to selling an item is figuring out what the heck it is. Is it a figurine or something that looks like it should be in a kitchen, or a piece of furniture? Perhaps it is a book or a collection of ephemera. What if it could possibly be some tools – but are they for a garage or kitchen? What if you have clothing, handbags, or jewelry? Yes, identifying the item is the very first step!
Step 1. How to identify what your have:
The first thing I do when I have a new item in my hand is to look on the bottom for any possible identifying makers marks, patent numbers, country where item was made stamp, tags or labels, and then I also look the item over to see if there are any signatures. Also, this is the time to check the item condition for damage, repairs, chips, cracks, crazing, dings, flea bites, tears, rips, holes, stains, smells, discoloration, etc….
If your item has any of the above identifiers then you are in some luck as you can now take the information and proceed with researching it. But, if your item has none of the above ways to identify it, then you will need to do even more research in the hopes of identifying it.