Wifasso.com
Henry’s Random Thoughts
Item
Categories: Following are tips on item categories which I have dealt with.
Every category has different issues that can help or hurt you.
Event
Tickets: The
biggest issue with these is the fact that they are time-sensitive. You need to
make it clear in the listing that you expect payment within a certain period of
time. Unless the event is months away, it is not practical to accept payment
through the mail. You really have to hold buyers’ hands and let them know
exactly what to expect with regards to shipping. You will need to let them know
whether they need to sign for the envelope or not. Remember, if a sale goes
bad, your loss will be total in most cases. You won’t get the chance to re-sell
them in many cases, because the event will happen while the mess is being
cleaned up.
There
are sill anti-scalping laws in a few backwards states, so be aware of that. You
might have to state the face value, which prevents bidders in that state from
exceeding it. Many sellers get around this by inflating the face value. I’m not
recommending bending the rules, but I don’t have much regard for anti-scalping
laws, so all I can say is that you will have to learn from experience what you
can get away with.
Don’t
bother with pictures of the tickets themselves. Instead, insert a seating chart
if it doesn’t offend the source of the chart.
Most
professional ticket scalpers use ebay very little, in spite of the fact that
the news is constantly dwelling on ebay prices for hot events. For hot events
that sell out in minutes or high-profile ones like the Super Bowl, ebay can be
a good market. Also, if you get some seats for a bargain price and can sell
them at a steep discount vs. face, that can appeal to ebay’s community of
bargain-hunters. But most events do not sell out or sell out very late. The
bread and butter of scalping are good seats for events that are not sold out,
but have only bad seats available at the window. These tickets do much better
on sites like StubHub than on ebay.
Baseball
Cards, Bobbleheads, and Other Collectibles: The most important thing to remember is to
know your hobby. For example, bobblehead collectors like editions that are given
away at the stadium. Sometimes the difference between these and versions sold
in stores can be subtle. If you can’t distinguish, you could have some unhappy
customers if you promise one and deliver another. With cards, it is important
to authenticate certain cards. While a 1987 Barry Bonds probably is exactly
what it looks like, extremely valuable cards of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb have been
reprinted extensively. You don’t want to list something like that with a line
like “I’m not sure if it’s real, you be the judge.” That is exactly the line
the crooks use when they know it’s fake. If you use that line, the community
will assume you are trying to sell fakes. As a general rule with collectibles,
you should start out small. If you come across something valuable, look up
completed listings to see what reputable sellers do to put the buyer’s mind at
ease. But most of the time someone offers you a box of old Ruths and Cobbs,
they are reprints, and no amount of wishing will make them real.
Cars: Especially if you are
selling a collector car, be prepared to get some questions. Take a ton of
pictures, describe things meticulously, and check for questions several times a
day. Remember, insertion fees are high in the ebay Motors section, so make your
listing count and price your car to sell. You should be prepared to have people
arrange to drop by and look at the car. Look at other car listings for ideas of
what methods of payment to take. Shipping terms should be customer pickup, but
be prepared to put some effort into pulling off the pickup. I guess my main
point is that selling cars on ebay isn’t much different from other ways to sell
cars. You don’t dodge the hassle. Many of ebay’s car listers are dealers.
Music
and Other Media: Stay away from bootlegs and other semi-legit issues. Ebay will remove
such things.
Written by Henry Grimmelsman starting in 2007. Please do not use without citation and linking to my website.