Advice needed from Antique & Collectable Sellers

[westernstargifts]

I didn't want to sabotage purse_of_the_legionary's thread with a change of subject so I am asking this question on a separate thread.

I have recently had 2 friends ask me about selling antiques and collectables on eBay. Two years ago, or even 1 year ago I would have told them to jump right in to selling here.

This year I have read many negative posts from sellers in those categories on both the Canadian & U.S. boards. Their main complaint, it seems, is the fact that their listings get lost among all of the cheap replicas in "Best? Match" and their sales have plummeted.

I don't want my friends to waste their time and money here if it is no longer a good place to sell in these categories. Any advice on what to tell them?

Thanks a bunch.

Judy

[pierrelebel]

Potential sellers of higher priced collectibles may want to "test the water" by using a Trading Assistant familiar with their category.

For more information, please check this http://pages.ebay.ca/tradingassistants/becoming-trading-assistant.html

"Stuff" is still selling on eBay. Millions of dollars worth every day! Not every sale of for "cheap" stuff.

[recped]

If you have the right stuff eBay is still one of the best places, if your "collectibles" are common then it's not so good.

[femmefan1946]

If the items were produced as collectibles (like decorator plates or Franklin Mint products) the person who owns them is probably the last customer.

That is, the entire market was saturated by the company producing the "collectible" and there are no new collectors nor are there any collectors who did not buy when the items came out first.

In addition, you have to watch your demographics. The little girls who deeply desired a Shirley Temple doll are now in their 80s and disposing of collections. The girls who wanted a Barbara Ann Scott doll are in their 70s and bought one 15 years ago as a retirement present.

In other words, collectibles go out of fashion.

But they also come back into fashion. "Rocket Mail" was a big deal in the stamp collecting world in the 1930s then almost disappeared until the late 1990s, when there was a small but definite resurgence of interest.

Your friends should do a little buying to build up their feedback before listing a few low value but interesting items to test their skills.

Your input should be limited to helping with the rules, teaching how to write a good title, and setting up a Paypal account.

Don't get talked into selling for them if you value their friendship.

[westernstargifts]

Good point, Pierre. I hadn't thought about a trading assistant. I would certainly give them all the help I could but I am not that familiar with those categories. Also I don't think either one of them have ever bought anything on eBay so they will be starting from square one.

Thanks to both of you. I know there are other sites where they can sell them too, but none of them get the traffic that eBay does.

Although I don't know where the buyers have been for the past couple of weeks. My sales have slowed almost to a halt. I made use of the 100 free listings promo on .com on 2 other id's and it was a colossal waste of time. Some of them still have 3 days to go but hardly any watchers and no bids at the moment.