I'm going to get rid of a lot of dead weight and downsize my not-vast-but-not-small book and trade journal collection. While I'd love to get some of my money back on things like "Cinefex" and my collection of movie-related art books, I don't really expect a whole lot of cash-per-item. Mainly, I need to just clear out the junk and if I can turn some coin, all the better. Ellis suggested I post about it to get the perspective of Jim and anyone else who's done some eBay business. What's the best way to go about this, what are some of the pitfalls and how much work is it to liquidate collections of mostly-sentimental-valued stuff?
13 comments:
I'll try to bullet point.
1. USPS is best. Don't mess with shipping. The lines may look shorter but it's too expensive.
2. Book shipping should all be calculated based on the FREE priority boxes that usps supplies. They should have you covered on box sizes. The cost is a standard you can depend on as part of your auction.
3. Get the category you want to sell in, then pick "sell similar" a lot. Makes it easier.
4. Use social media to spam your sales. I could go back to ebay after tweeting an auction. My numbers had doubled. People don't find your stuff if it just lays there.
That's about all I got. Once I standardized my shipping approach, I actually made a little money with ebay. And enjoyed the process much more.
For my sanity I don't mess with anything but continental United States for sales. They have a lot of filtering options you can use for that.
Jim is a big international shipper and is probably 5 times the success for it. He may have some tips on minimizing the hassles with that kind of shipping.
I also don't consider this a career where customer satisfaction is something I give a hoot about. I have a no refund policy and mean it.
If you have something that is a mystery to you, ask it. I might know the answer.
Those free boxes and envelopes are your tax dollars at work. Be generous with yourself but be aware that USPS will jump you if they think you're using their boxes for your next move.
Take about 5 or so new boxes and envelopes for every shipping trip you make.
My workhorse mailer in the standard priority mail flat rate envelope. About 9 by 12. Perfect for your cinefx mags. Pad them with the bubble stuff. Mark "Don't Bend " on them. Your job is done.
Took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out not to screw around trying to modify boxes and hold down shipping costs as part of my auctioneering job.
Depending how old they are. Most newer mags don't sell unless they are special issues or limited runs. Ship these Media Mail. Cheapest way. add tracking. I usually send stuff like that in minilla envelopes with cardboard backings for protection. I cut down USPS boxes for this. I also use the usps boxes and cut them down to fit and use Gummed Brown Tape to cover the usps markings (I take a sharpie to black out the usps markings first) then wrap the whole thing like a brown paper wrap. Never had a problem so far. You may be lucky and get another retailer bid on the lot for resale. If so...go for it.
Jim made a point that I think I made to you with a tweet. Books are low value as ebay currency. At a minimum, I donated 5000 dollars worth of books to the library on my way out the door in Culver City.
My biggest help getting some of them sold- An instructor at Cal State Fullerton took boxes of some of my primo books, offered them to students who bought them right up.
Some sort of relationship like that could be a big help. If Rick still gets big turn out for TAG north, that might be an opportunity to flea market your books to some likely customers.
I can't believe some of what Jim is talking about. That's exactly what I'm talking about avoiding with usps standard mailers. Just let the buyer know what they pay for shipping. You don't care if it's 2 or 3 dollars more. You just invoice it to make sure you don't pay it.
Ellis, people DON't want to pay for shipping. period. If they can get cheap or free they bite. I said NOTHING about actually mailing anything in USPS mailers as is. You need to READ what I said again. Most people don't like paying PRIORITY mailing for a magazine. I've sold enough to know and I get lots of good comments on HOW I pack my stuff. As long as the USPS box or makings are NOT visible, you can get away with shipping at the lesser rate. I've worked out my own tricks on shipping over time. It take a little more effort but the goal is to move BULK, like I do to profit. If you just have a few that really have no resale value...the trash is the next stop.
And don't forget Posting fees, shipping fees, sale fees, Paypal fees that cut into your final price. Selling these in lots is probably best. Sell a lot at $15 to $20. EBay/PP nips around $5 total out of that. They are sold and you got some $$$. Better than nothing
True. You get that bill from ebay and you fell like you've been running a charitable donation operation for ebay. Very sobering.
Thats something you have to take into consideration when you post
The other alternative is a yard sale. donation at Goodwill or the trash
Ronnie, I wish you huge bids and cheap shipping...(I got taken when I sold a car on eBay...had to ship an extra pair of wheels and buyer promised to reimburse me the $87...still waiting for that check).
Still collating/reading info. Lots to digest. Sincere thanks to everyone for their experience and advice.
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