Just want to share a great ebay sale!

[disneysteve]

How do you get the courage to buy an item you think may go on ebay & then list it w/ fees? It seems every time I go out on a hunch, I lose money, so I try to play it safe, definately not as much fun!

It is definitely a learned skill. I've had this question posed to me many times.

I grew up with parents who were collectors of various things over the years. I spent many, many, many weekends, evenings, etc. at antique stores, collectible stores, flea markets, auctions, collector club meetings and shows, etc. Over the years, I've learned a great deal about all types of antiques and collectibles, not just the few areas that we focused on. Personally, I've collected Disney memorabilia since 1975 and have been a dealer of Disney and, gradually, other collectibles since 1986. Over time, you just can't help but learn what has value and what doesn't.

I've been selling on ebay since May 1997. When I was doing it seriously, I listed 10 items/day for 10 day auctions (back when that was the standard) so I always had 100 auctions going. I shopped yard sales, flea markets and auctions to get my stock. To answer your question about having the courage to buy an item, I never just looked at an individual item exactly, but rather the big picture. If I went to an auction and spent a total of $50 and over the next 2 weeks sold those items for a total of $300-$400, I was happy, even if not all the items sold. The ones that did sell more than made up for it. Selling things for 10-20 times what I paid for them was a weekly occurrence. And sometimes I ended up reselling something for less than I paid, or even giving it to Goodwill if it didn't sell at all, but the net result was still very positive.

 

[ntburns22]

What kind of beer sign was it? We have a couple of those in our garage right now that my husband wants to sell. I was just leary of selling them on ebay because I dont know how you would ship them safely.

I am a yard saler but how do you know what to buy to put on ebay. I dont want to end up with a bunch of junk but I would never have thought to buy a doll head either.

I am not too sure it was from an old brewery in Cleveland, Ohio.

 

[Goingtodisneyworld]

It is definitely a learned skill. I've had this question posed to me many times.

I grew up with parents who were collectors of various things over the years. I spent many, many, many weekends, evenings, etc. at antique stores, collectible stores, flea markets, auctions, collector club meetings and shows, etc. Over the years, I've learned a great deal about all types of antiques and collectibles, not just the few areas that we focused on. Personally, I've collected Disney memorabilia since 1975 and have been a dealer of Disney and, gradually, other collectibles since 1986. Over time, you just can't help but learn what has value and what doesn't.

I've been selling on ebay since May 1997. When I was doing it seriously, I listed 10 items/day for 10 day auctions (back when that was the standard) so I always had 100 auctions going. I shopped yard sales, flea markets and auctions to get my stock. To answer your question about having the courage to buy an item, I never just looked at an individual item exactly, but rather the big picture. If I went to an auction and spent a total of $50 and over the next 2 weeks sold those items for a total of $300-$400, I was happy, even if not all the items sold. The ones that did sell more than made up for it. Selling things for 10-20 times what I paid for them was a weekly occurrence. And sometimes I ended up reselling something for less than I paid, or even giving it to Goodwill if it didn't sell at all, but the net result was still very positive.

Wow Steve, THANK YOU!!! Like I said, I've had some luck, enough to keep me excited & as a SAHM, any extra $ always helps! BUT, I have never thought to look at the Big Picture, awesome advice for small veterans like myself & far any ebay newbies! Thank You Very Much, I look forward to posting & reading more success stories!!!

 

[welovedis]

I've had a few WOOHOOs as we call them on the eBay boards, one was a Coogi brand men's sweater which I bought for $4.95 and sold for $330. Another was a 3 piece women's knit suit by St. John (not the JCPenney brand) that I paid $45 for and sold for $991!!!

 

[ChristyJ]

I think my best Ebay sales have been a pail of old (wooden-rare) Fisher Price Little People that I got for $1.00 at a garage sale & sold for $198!! I had oodles of Emails for the entire week they were listed (and I had started my listing for $5.99-had NO idea have valuable a couple of them were...). I recently picked up a 20lb. box of Thomas trains & tracks for $20. that sold for $176!!!

My mom found an American Girl doll at a garage sale for $10., I helped her list it (her first listing), and it sold for $203!!! It ended up being a special ed. American Girl...

Ebay has been a wonderful thing for us-I have our 10 night trip at the WL & dining, hoppers, etc. all paid for, and although I've had direct deposit into a savings account going specifically for this trip for a while now, I've saved well over $1000 from Ebay. I've also paid for 3 months of swimming lessons for my 2 girls at a private club, paid for both of their birthday parties, etc.

I look at my Ebay money as some to be saved, some to be spent at garage sales (to make more money ), and some to be spent for the extras I want to do for my family!

It's like treasure hunting! It's so much fun to me to find a deal at a garage sale and see what it's worth on Ebay. I have had disappointments, but more often than not, I'm thrilled with the end results!

On another note, I went to a garage sale last weekend and this woman had 2, brand new pairs of UGG boots that she had ordered from Australia and paid $160. each for...she didn't know how to return them and they didn't fit her, so she sold them to me for $15. each!!!!!! They fit me, so I'm keeping at least 1 pair for myself, but I may sell the second pair...I don't know...

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Steve,
Wow, I'm sure that was a nice surprise!

My DH & I can't quite figure out the Ebay process. We list stuff from our garage that we want to get rid of & it sells well. Then we get brave & purchase a few things just to list, & they don't sell. At times, we're really encouraged & can't wait to list items. Then we go through times, when we can't find the motivation to list anything. Like many others, I wish we could find our niche. Our best sell so far was an antenna we had in our attic. My DH had tried to sell it for $5 in a garage sell, but noone bit. We later sold it on Ebay for $80+. Boy, were we glad noone at the garage sell wanted it.