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<p>[QUOTE="Sholom, post: 771595, member: 17753"]I agree with almost everything that's been written here -- good pix, good return policy, immediate shipping, super customer service (to keep ratings up), etc. Also, I think most buyers are savvy enough that you don't need to oversell (e.g., avoid crap like "this is a great investment opportunity!!!!!", and the like).</p><p><br /></p><p>BTW, nothing depresses a coin more than a bad pic, because the buyer has to discount the probably that he's getting a bad coin. The pic doesn't have to be beautiful -- but, rather, it needs to be large/detailed enough so the buyer can see details. I can't tell you how many old Lincolns I've seen where, even with a pic, you can't even tell if the wheat lines are there, and so you don't even know if you're bidding on a G-4 or a VF! Invariably, these coins command a G-4 price.</p><p><br /></p><p>Compute ahead of time what all your expenses are going to be: shipping, eBay commission, paypal commission, to see what you need to sell it for to make any money. Then, go to "completed sales" to see what your item typically sells for. If I recall correctly, "Buy-it-now" has a much higher commission than auction sales.</p><p><br /></p><p>(Obvious comment: for packages, use paypal or usps.com to print the shipping label, it's cheaper and easier than the post office, with free electronic tracking).</p><p><br /></p><p>I've also found that on some coins where there is obvious demand, the price ends up going higher when I start the bidding at .01 (!!) Perhaps it's because once people start bidding on an item, they feel invested in it. I dunno. But that's not for the faint of heart. I've had some auctions where I thought I'd take a big loss, but the selling price increased 50% in the last 10 minutes.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you anticipate a lot of sales, you might consider using a place like Auctiva to store pix, html, and the like. They have nice management software, you can schedule postings, etc. OTOH, it costs $9.99/month.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you have an item that is frequently sold and there is a clear supply and demand -- I'm not sure listing it for more than 3 days is worth anything (or even more than one day), because most people search by "ending soonest", and your item won't even show up on the first page of hits. With common items (I was selling a lot of proof singles right when they came out) my listings were for a single day. The strategy might be different for selling a higher end or rarer item.</p><p><br /></p><p>The one thing I disagree with from the thread so far, is the timing of your sales. I find that my best prices come when my auctions end on Sat, Sun, Mon evenings. But I haven't studied that with any rigor, and my impression might be wrong. (I've also gotten some of my cheapest bargains at auctions that end at weird times -- like 5am on any day -- or 8am on a weekday).</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, I'm pretty impressed with the ebay market. In my experience, most (with tons of exceptions of course, but most) of the items I try to buy or sell end up selling at a very fair price (around greysheet or so). There are plenty of exceptions, and my experience limited to a certain segment of the market (low end items). I'm also convinced that with research I could figure out which certain types tend to undersell and which tend to sell higher then they should -- but that's just a hunch.</p><p><br /></p><p>Neverntheless, searching on completed sales can get you a decent idea of what your item may sell for.</p><p><br /></p><p>I enjoy selling on eBay, and sometimes I feel like I'm helping out low-end collectors. I often get statehood quarters on the day they are released, and people like to purchase them asap. Where else can a guy who lives 2000 miles away from me purchase a P&D of a quarter that came out yesterday at a very fair price with only $0.44 shipping?</p><p><br /></p><p>Of course, your mileage may -- indeed will -- vary. My experience is limited to very small time stuff, and I suspect that your employer has larger things in mind.</p><p><br /></p><p>Keep us posted!![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Sholom, post: 771595, member: 17753"]I agree with almost everything that's been written here -- good pix, good return policy, immediate shipping, super customer service (to keep ratings up), etc. Also, I think most buyers are savvy enough that you don't need to oversell (e.g., avoid crap like "this is a great investment opportunity!!!!!", and the like). BTW, nothing depresses a coin more than a bad pic, because the buyer has to discount the probably that he's getting a bad coin. The pic doesn't have to be beautiful -- but, rather, it needs to be large/detailed enough so the buyer can see details. I can't tell you how many old Lincolns I've seen where, even with a pic, you can't even tell if the wheat lines are there, and so you don't even know if you're bidding on a G-4 or a VF! Invariably, these coins command a G-4 price. Compute ahead of time what all your expenses are going to be: shipping, eBay commission, paypal commission, to see what you need to sell it for to make any money. Then, go to "completed sales" to see what your item typically sells for. If I recall correctly, "Buy-it-now" has a much higher commission than auction sales. (Obvious comment: for packages, use paypal or usps.com to print the shipping label, it's cheaper and easier than the post office, with free electronic tracking). I've also found that on some coins where there is obvious demand, the price ends up going higher when I start the bidding at .01 (!!) Perhaps it's because once people start bidding on an item, they feel invested in it. I dunno. But that's not for the faint of heart. I've had some auctions where I thought I'd take a big loss, but the selling price increased 50% in the last 10 minutes. If you anticipate a lot of sales, you might consider using a place like Auctiva to store pix, html, and the like. They have nice management software, you can schedule postings, etc. OTOH, it costs $9.99/month. If you have an item that is frequently sold and there is a clear supply and demand -- I'm not sure listing it for more than 3 days is worth anything (or even more than one day), because most people search by "ending soonest", and your item won't even show up on the first page of hits. With common items (I was selling a lot of proof singles right when they came out) my listings were for a single day. The strategy might be different for selling a higher end or rarer item. The one thing I disagree with from the thread so far, is the timing of your sales. I find that my best prices come when my auctions end on Sat, Sun, Mon evenings. But I haven't studied that with any rigor, and my impression might be wrong. (I've also gotten some of my cheapest bargains at auctions that end at weird times -- like 5am on any day -- or 8am on a weekday). Finally, I'm pretty impressed with the ebay market. In my experience, most (with tons of exceptions of course, but most) of the items I try to buy or sell end up selling at a very fair price (around greysheet or so). There are plenty of exceptions, and my experience limited to a certain segment of the market (low end items). I'm also convinced that with research I could figure out which certain types tend to undersell and which tend to sell higher then they should -- but that's just a hunch. Neverntheless, searching on completed sales can get you a decent idea of what your item may sell for. I enjoy selling on eBay, and sometimes I feel like I'm helping out low-end collectors. I often get statehood quarters on the day they are released, and people like to purchase them asap. Where else can a guy who lives 2000 miles away from me purchase a P&D of a quarter that came out yesterday at a very fair price with only $0.44 shipping? Of course, your mileage may -- indeed will -- vary. My experience is limited to very small time stuff, and I suspect that your employer has larger things in mind. Keep us posted!![/QUOTE]
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