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Tip #4
Nobody wants your Plastic Cows!
Sellers! Nobody is going line up and bust your doors for everyday type items. Several attempts at selling this for $3.99 proved futile.
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This is so obvious on Ebay, that most people will overlook it! Nobody is interested in spending any real money on your Orange Cow, Made in China, plastic watering can from 2002! BUT, they are interested in spending big money on a Nippon marked (which means made in Japan) porcelain set of salt and pepper shakers with hand painted cows from 1915!
The difference here is that if it looks Walmart, then it will do horribly on Ebay! Nobody wants to spend big bucks on items they can easily get at any discount store! Ebay shoppers want vintage, antique, collectible, and other items they would have to spend weeks looking for through specialty stores! They want something they think has some real value! In other words, Ebay is loaded with common, everyday items. And these items will usually not do the money you hope for.
Now, this is an interesting avenue for you to explore before beginning your Ebay adventure. I suggest before selling to explore the categories you might be interested in. Not only should you look at closing prices, but you should also see how much bidding is actually going on. You might be suprised to find out items that you are considering to sell have absolutely no value on Ebay. In that case, I will tell you to save your money and not list them at all!
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Antique and classic clocks have always been a favorite hobby of mine. And the anniversary clocks like the one shown to the left are popular amoung Ebay Buyers. The clock shown is a 1950s Kundo from Germany. Now granted, you can go to Walmart and purchase an anniversary clock for $10 retail. It will look real close to this one. What's the difference? The Walmart clock is a cheap-ass, battery driven, made in Japan thing. The Kundo is mechanical, meaning you have to have a key to wind it. The dome is made of glass. And the most important thing is that they are not made anymore!
I paid $10 for this clock at an estate auction.
I listed it on Ebay- $9.95 no reserve.
It closed at $62.50
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Not all items have to be antique. Many useful appliances seem to be still in demand. The 1983 Oster Kitchen Center is still a good seller on Ebay. I have had 3 of these with varying attatchments.
Not one did I pay over $5 for!
I sold them for $52, $64 and $60!
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Don't be afraid of selling "Off-the-Wall" type of items! In other words, don't let your personal preferences judge your buying decisions. There have been many items that I have purchased that I would be ashamed to display in my house. Some of them actually needed to have a barf bag close by! But, you would be suprised how the expression "What's one man's garbage is another man's treasure" applies! Some of the strangest and ugliest stuff seems to attract a whole different group of people!
One student of mine spent the afternoon shopping garage sales. At one sale, she purchased a bunch of stuff. The owner threw in this abstract thing with colored glass on long wires. It was so bad, he couldn't get a dollar for it, so he gave it to her for free. I have no idea what it was. But I can say it was wierd and ugly. I named it "Bongs floating in the Breeze". That's what it looked like! Something you would have to smoke a bag of grass before working on it. And the worst part was is that the artist actually put his name on this bastard-art.
She puts it on Ebay for like five-bucks. Low and Behold, people fight for it and it does like $160. Here it turns out it was made by some well-known artist back in the 1960's. I never heard of him. But apparently, many people have. I still wouldn't have bid on it!
Avoid using those bogus MSRP's in your title.
Most people aren't that gullible anymore!
Using those inflated Manufactures Suggested Retail Prices on your title or description is not only an old tactic, but one any semi-intelligent person knows is crap. An example of that is:
Ladies 1/2 ct. cluster diamond ring-$1795 MSRP
Everybody knows that these prices are not Manufactures Suggested Retail Prices. They are MANUFACTURED retail prices! In other words, prices jacked up real high so the retailer can sell it at a big discount and make idiot buyers think the are getting some some of bargain. In truth, the retailer is still usually making 100% to 200% profit on the item.
If you are going to quote prices, then be realistic. It's sheer crap to put in your description
"Suggested Retail Price of $59.95 is stamped right on the box."
It is more upfront and less insulting to be able to validate the value with a little proof.
"I saw this exact same item at Home Depot on sale for $59.95!"
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"The Ugliest 1950's TV Lamp I have Ever Seen"
And that is exactly how my title was worded in August 2004. This dated 1954 TV lamp is a perfect example of some of the unusual and weird things you need to be on the lookout for. I paid one-dollar for this lamp. The results were disappointing. Maybe it was a little too ugly for the 300 people who viewed this auction. It received only 5 bids and closed at a mere $10. What is important to realize here is something like this could have had a strong, profit ceiling. Maybe on a different month, different day, with the right buyers, a bidding war could develop. Ah! Only if we could find a crystal ball to tell us the exact time to list an item!
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