Is there such a thing as an ebay middleman?

[Threehearts]

I have a house full of antiques, paintings, expensive electronic gifts, fur coats and the like. Many of these things were given to me by my family but do not necessarily have any sentimental meaning. I do not have a digital camera or know how to scan these items but wonder if a person would act as a go- between and take a cut of the ebay profit. I would sure like to lighten this house. We usually put a lot of end tables etc. on the street for our "trash and treasures" weekend here in town but there is no profit or tax deduction with this. I ended up giving away a beautiful porch wicker set from the 1800s because the house and storage just couldn't take one more thing. Thanks for any insights.

Threehearts

 

[powellrj]

look in your yellow pages, I know our area has several people that will sell your items on ebay for you. You might check with your local library, I know ours offers classes on ebay selling. Also see if your local community colleges have classes. If you have a lot, you may even see if you can find someone who deals in estate sales and see if they can help you.

 

[BettyCv]

You might want to try http://www.auctiondrop.com

I had looked into it to see if maybe I would sell some of my kids things by using them, but they don't take the kinds of items I need to sell.

Looks like they might take some of the stuff you have, though.

Good luck!

Betty

 

[DebbieB]

When I was out shopping yesterday, I noticed a sign on a little tax office that read "we do e-bay".

 

[PrincessTeddyBear]

Yes there is. Their fees varry so you'd have to look into it. I actually know someone who just left the company I work for to start an eBay selling business like this. I think a lot of places take between 15 and 40 percent of the profit that you make on the item.

 

[pediatric-rnp]

I just went yestrerday with DS to visit a "drop off" place here in RI - it's in North Providence. I was a bit shocked at his sliding scale fees - I sell on ebay, but DS wanted to put his bike on auction, and I just didn't want to be bothered with the shipping of a bike. This particular place charges 30% of the final bid for anything under $100.00, 25% for anything from 100.01-500.00, etc. You complete a form, with the item description, a reserve price if you want it, and he takes care of the rest - the paypal and auction listing fees are included in the percentage you pay him. He is located next door to "Mailbox ETC", so he goes there for the shipping. He is retired, and this store is located in a small strip mall on a very busy street in the city, so I assume he makes a good living out of doing this, in order to pay the overhead.

I guess when you think about all the work involved, tho, it really isn't all that unreasonable. I just wasn't really thinking much about the cost to go to a place like this, and was somewhat surprised. DS left his bike, but came back home with the paintball equipment he had also planned on leaving - I hate listing something I am not familiar with, so I had initally told him I would not list those for him, but I changed my mind when I saw how much $$ he would lose, so I will give it a try, and just put in a disclaimer in the auction description that I am not familiar with the item and am selling for someone else - I have seen others do this. I have 100% perfect feedback, and hate to jeopardize it!

One good thing came out of the visit to this place - when the owner found out I also sell on ebay, he told me to leave my name/phone # with him, as he frequently gets calls to sell clothing and also household items worth under $40.00. He said he will give these people my contact info and I can decide if I want to sell for them! never thought of that before, but it's a way to make more $$ for the WDW trip account!!

 

[va32h]

Ebay has several "trading assistants" that can help you do this. Just visit the main ebay site and look for TA's under the site map.

 

[HayGan]

I've used a trading assistant before and it worked out fine. Go to the Ebay site and look under sell and then trading assistants. You can put in your zip code and find people in your are who do this.

 

[Threehearts]

thanks, everyone! Susan(Threehearts)

 

[lsayd]

Not sure if you've seen it, but take a look!

 

[Taja]

If the items you have actually are antiques (even good reproductions or vintage pieces), I would contact a local museum for names of reputable appraisers who specialize in the periods and types of items and have everything appraised first. Not all antiques are valuable, but you may have a gem or two in the mix.

Depending on the items, I might contact a local (or in nearby town) consignment shop, since you will have an idea of the "retail" value of them. Expect them to be priced at 40% to 50% of the appraisers "retail" appraisal, and you would receive a percentage of that, depending on the store's policy.

Then check into someone who will sell for you on eBay. I was driving my uncle yesterday and saw a van with the eBay logo parked on a street outside a small business; they handle eBay consignment sales.