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Any selling advice?

Posted: 23 October, 2010 - 17:00

And to think I was just about to crack and list on ebay... what a close call. My thanks to the gents upstairs for taking a shot at this concept.

As I was saying, I know some of you guys have done this enough on other forums, so before I go off half-cocked I thought I'd ask for some general advice on subjects like shipping and payment methods. For instance, is Pay Pal cool with you guys, or is there some other, more practical method that I not aware of? You get the idea. While I think it would be neat to be the first guy to sell something, I would much rather NOT be the first guy to jack up such a transaction.

Nice to (see) you all again :)

This is usually pretty straightforward

  • 24 October, 2010 - 18:57

I sell on other boards (specifically Tformers and TFINO) and usually the best way to do this is as simplistic as possible.

First, if you're going to sell, list everything you have to sell and indicate if you're taking offers on stuff, rather than fixed prices. If you have fixed prices in mind, list them. Don't try to surprise buyers with prices. Be upfront and honest.

Second, provide pics of what you're selling. Offer to take more pics if your buyer wants to see more. The more you show, the better your chance of a sale. Try to describe everything you're selling as accurately as possible (what it comes with/doesn't come with, conditions of paint, stickers, joints, etc.)

Third, USE PAYPAL. Using paypal for all of your sales is THE SAFEST way to get your money without any hassles. And you can even circumvent Paypal fees by having your buyer note their transaction as a gift. Neat trick, huh?

Fourth, HAVE PATIENCE. Not all of your stuff will sell in a day. Sometimes it can take a little bit before you actually get some sales offers, as well. I usually wait about a month before I resort to ebay to get rid of my unsold stuff, as it can generally be assumed that most people who visit a board who were interested in buying would have seen your stuff in that amount of time. Also, have patience with your buyers. Not everyone can put up the money as soon as they offer. Sometimes people like to wait a week or two before paying. Offer to hold items for buyers, but be firm in a holding time (if they say a week, make it a week). After such a period ends, message the buyer and find out what's going on with the sale. Some people may lose interest and it sucks to get burned like that, but IT HAPPENS. That is a part of the risk with selling on boards.

Fifth, HAVE FUN! Seriously, you can score some major deals by selling and buying online on boards like this. From my own experience, I've managed to get my hands on some killer deals for Transformers from sellers who were just trying to unload some extra stuff they had on hand. If the seller welcomes it, try to negotiate. You never know how low someone is willing to go with their stuff.

That's all I can think of at the moment. If I can think of more, I'll post them :-)

Thanks thesnadd!

  • 24 October, 2010 - 20:37

Please, keep it coming. And anyone else, too.

Definitely some good advice. I like the negotiating attitude for sure, but is gifting really the way around PayPal? Doesn't that make it easier for someone to rip you off? Sounds tricky, indeed.

One of the things I know we can achieve by developing selling on this forum is helping to establish equilibrium in pricing some of these toys. One thing ebay proves is that the current model for commodifying anachronistic playthings is out of date. I think it's cool anytime we get another "Morphy's," however, as things progress it's more likely a hobby we'll be enjoying at online forums, and at fleas, and at garage sales, for the foreseeable future.