You HAVE to try this!! EBAY your way to DISNEY!!

[C.Ann]

Hey, DMRick - nice to hear from you again.. I've needed your advice several times and you weren't around.. sob..choke..sniffle.. That's okay - just go off on vacation and leave me stranded.. LOL

Thanks for the invite - not sure how I'm going to spend the weekend yet - they're saying rain right on thru till TUESDAY!!

From past history, how bad is the selling over Memorial Day weekend? I can't make up my mind if I should list - or just take some time off.. Some of the things I want to put up (went scrounging thru boxes of stuff I had packed away) might fetch a nice price if the buyers are available.. Do you think I should hold off?

Also - a few pages back - you said something about Christmas.. I have loads of new stuff that could be used as gifts - and TONS of other Christmas items to get rid of.. When is the best time to start putting that stuff up?

And how about Halloween and Thanksgiving? Should I start that stuff in late August or the first week of September?

Thanks for all the info!!

Oh - by the way - where did you go?? We missed you on the thread!!!!!

 

[DMRick]

I've never sold any Holiday items...just gifts. The only exception was an antique cardboard house set, and that type of thing is collectable so it good anytime. So if you are looking to put up collectibles (Barbies, John Deer catalogs, old fishing tackle etc, go for it). Of course everyone sells something different, so what you have might do better at different times, than what I sell. My items sell year around (except for the times I don't put on because of upcoming vacations..and of course the items I sell, are very quiet in the summer) for birthdays, etc, but start selling very well mid September, and once mid October comes, we hardly come up for air.

Memorial Day last year I didn't sell much, but the weather was better than what this weekend sounds like. I have a bunch to go up on Thursday, and can't decide if I should or shouldn't. They wouldn't be ending until the weekend after, so maybe I will. Indecision! I actually picked out just my best sellers, but I always end up putting up my favorites as well (even if I'm the only one who likes them LOL), so I'm up to 75 already. I planned on putting some regular stuff as well as my crafts items, since that draws more people in. We'll see.

BTW, when I'm away, you can always email..I usually bring the computer except when at Disney, and use my cell phone to check messages.

 

[DMRick]

cheap bubble and bubble mailers online?

I now get mine delivered local now, and the savings on shipping is substantial, but Bubblefast used to be where I got them. For the Bubble envies, I look on Quilcorp, and Viking, and wait for sales. Sometimes they have buy one get one, and so I get two cases, or two different sizes.
If you have a Christian gift and bookstore in yoru area, you can get a lot of bubble wrap and peanuts from them if they are willing to save it for you. I get a lot of pillow air bags from them too..but I don't use them, so they just collect.

Doris

 

[twinklingstars4u]

DMRick:

AARRGG!!! I just went to the UPS and USPS websites to get a shipping quote for a 1 lb package shipped form 30065 to 90210 (Only zip I can ever remember in CA!) and you are right, it is not cheaper until you get to 4 lbs. Last time I checked it was months ago!

I did get a estimated quote from the Airborne website for $3.77, but it doesn't look like that includes fuel or residential charge. So looks like I'm back to Priority Mail for over a 1lb, you can see how much I ship heavy items!

Mary Beth

 

[DMRick]

Airborne website for $3.77

Very difficult to get a true price from them. I have an account, but they charge an arm and a leg to pick up, since I don't ship enough to suit them. And they keep addign stuff on. I have clients that want me to use them, but it's never worked out good for me.
Doris

 

[Robinrs]

Boy, am I glad that fiasco was fixed before I got back here! Yo, chill out, folks!!! (my Brooklyn coming out!)

I'm looking for a cheap store to get bubble mailers. WalMart, maybe?

BTW, someone posted about putting books on Half.com, I forget who, but THANKS! My sister had a box of pretty recent hardcover books that I posted on Half.com yesterday. Sold one already today! Kewl!

She gave me some more to put up. They have a very simple process and it's very inexpensive. Thanks again whoever posted this!

 

[Jon99]

Thanks for the great idea....Just put a book on Ebay that I couldn't seel at a garage sale for $1, within 24 hours the bid is at $7.50...

 

[twinklingstars4u]

Robinrs:
I have found that the cheapest place to just go buy bubble mailers is either Office Depot or Office Max. They sell them in cases of around 25. The Walmart here is to expensive for me when it comes to small quanities of shipping supplies.

If you want them in a larger quantity, for when your e-Bay business really takes off! We have right here in Duluth, Ga ~ ULine Shipping Supplies (www.uline.com). They allow you to pick-up your order to save on shipping cost.

Mary Beth

 

[twinklingstars4u]

Anybody have any of these packed away?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2634390501

now looks like a good time to sell!!

 

[DMRick]

Anybody have any of these packed away?

Oh oh...I think the third missing plate was the one I threw out the door, when the neighborhood cats were howling. Oh nuts, there goes $17 thousand dollars! (LOL)


Doris

 

[wdwpluto]

Originally posted by C.Ann

Now - who is selling what this week? I still have NO bids at all!!! Grrrrrrrrr...

I'm selling collectibles and my old photography equipment. I'm doing ok. Could be better.

I was checking out the eBay boards, the clothing board in particular and if anyone is looking to sell clothing here's what they reccommend as far as seasons

Jan, Feb, Mar - Spring
Apr, May, June - Summer
July, Aug, Sep - Fall
Oct, Nov, Dec - Winter

The big 'back to school' push starts in July and it seems like a lot of people are laying low until then because things are slow (in general but w/ clothing in particular I guess).

I imagine this would be an ok guideline for holiday merch that someone asked about as well.

So spend this slow time digging for merch, taking pictures and writing descriptions to get ready for the big push!

Lori

 

[Robinrs]

Thanks for the link to uline, Mary Beth!

BTW, I sent you a PM! Check it out!

 

[disneyfan551]

Can someone tell me how to find the recent sales for certain items? I am getting ready to start ebaying my gazillion Barbie dolls, and would like to see how much they seem to be going for on ebay.

thanks!

 

[ByJiminy]

Sorry to ask this again, but I didn't get a response before and I just want to make sure I handle this properly. I can't really find a good answer anywhere.

My auctions state I do not accept personal checks, yet someone sent me one. First, aren't buyers required to use a payment method stated in the auction? I don't have to accept this check, do I?

I am considering telling the buyer I will accept the check, but will not ship until the check clears, and let them know that this may take a while since I don't know when I'll be able to get it deposited. Do you think that's okay? It would mean a separate trip out of my way to make the deposit, which is partially why I said I don't take checks, and I don't think I should have to make a special trip for a $5 item and a buyer that isn't following the payment terms I think he agreed to when he bid!

I was going to try listing some more items, but I think I've only had one transaction so far where there wasn't some sort of time consuming glitch. I know part of that is where I'm at on the learning curve, but it's taking me so long to wade through all this!

I greatly appreciate any help!

 

[Robinrs]

Hi, Tiffany:

You can do an advanced search on Completed Items Only. This will show you the most recent auctions for your item description and if it sold and for how much.

 

[ByJiminy]

Tiffany,

What I do for items is do a search, I start pretty broad and then if there are a ton I narrow the search a bit until you're seeing mostly items quite similar to what you have. Then I click onto "completed items" (it's over on the left if you scroll down a bit) and it shows what things have sold for.

I actually do this if I'm going to bid on something, too, just to get an idea where bids may go.

I also sometimes look at a few items and check what categories they are in, if you have an item that could fall into a couple of different categories, just so I have an idea when I'm listing. I know some others have been selling Barbies, so they may have more ideas, but I get the impression there are different categories for vintage vs. newer ones. If you look around you'll probably get an idea where yours fit in.

 

[wdwpluto]

Originally posted by ByJiminy
Sorry to ask this again, but I didn't get a response before and I just want to make sure I handle this properly. I can't really find a good answer anywhere.

My auctions state I do not accept personal checks, yet someone sent me one. First, aren't buyers required to use a payment method stated in the auction? I don't have to accept this check, do I?

I am considering telling the buyer I will accept the check, but will not ship until the check clears, and let them know that this may take a while since I don't know when I'll be able to get it deposited. Do you think that's okay? It would mean a separate trip out of my way to make the deposit, which is partially why I said I don't take checks, and I don't think I should have to make a special trip for a $5 item and a buyer that isn't following the payment terms I think he agreed to when he bid!

I was going to try listing some more items, but I think I've only had one transaction so far where there wasn't some sort of time consuming glitch. I know part of that is where I'm at on the learning curve, but it's taking me so long to wade through all this!

I greatly appreciate any help!

You are not obligated to take the check. I had this happen once and I nicely emailed the buyer and told her that I didn't accept personal checks and that had been stated in the auction. She realized her error and asked me to mail the check back to her and sent me a m/o in its place.

If you do accept it and it bounces, I don't know what recourse you have for getting fees and what not back. I don't think there is any, but I could be wrong.

HTH,
Lori

 

[ByJiminy]

You are not obligated to take the check. I had this happen once and I nicely emailed the buyer and told her that I didn't accept personal checks and that had been stated in the auction. She realized her error and asked me to mail the check back to her and sent me a m/o in its place.

Thanks Lori, I'll try a nice email and see what they say.

 

[susan137]

I just listed 4 items to end next Sunday (6/1). Hope I did the right thing with the holiday and all. The weather here in Pa is awful! What is everyone else doing..listing or...not listing over the holiday???

Susan

 

[cindala]

I only listed a few things to end Monday night. I'm going to wait to list items to end next weekend. I don't feel like paying the extra for a 10 day auction, even though the weather is lousy here, any many may be looking at eBay. Still, it may still be nice in other parts of the country.