eBay: How do you find out what it's worth?

Now that you're ready to sell on eBay, you pull out the items you want to sell and look at them. How do you price them? I want to share a few tips.

THINK TWICE ABOUT STARTING AT 99¢

A long time ago, sellers could start items at 99¢ and generate a bidding war. Over the years, eBay has changed. Yes, starting at 99¢ may work great for in demand items, like a popular electronics gadget. But for vintage and one of a kind items, or media of almost any type, I have found that items started at 99¢ usually end at exactly that -- 99¢. Your time is more valuable than that -- and shipping supplies may end up costing you almost as much as you make! I never recommend starting that low.

THE IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH

The easiest way to see what your item is worth is to do a search on eBay. After you search, you will want to sort by price, and then look at the difference in Auctions Only items (tab at top of screen) and Buy It Now Only items (tab at top of screen). You may also want to look at the left-hand side of the screen and click on Completed Listings.

With books, you are likely to see a very broad spectrum of prices. I always disregard the "penny seller" listings (big companies that list many, many books for under $1). I try to look for listings by other "regular sellers" to get an idea of pricing. If a book is in good to very good condition, or if it fairly uncommon, I usually price near the upper end of the price range -- but not the highest price.

I also recommend Best Offer for items, but that is a future blog post here!

CHECK OTHER SITES

If your item is rare, you may want to do a Google search for it as well. I check more uncommon book titles on ABEBOOKS (http://www.abebooks.com/) for prices, and I also like the used book search at Addall (http://used.addall.com/). There are other item-specific sites for different categories.

WHEN IN DOUBT, HAVE A DEFAULT PRICE.

When in doubt, especially with items I cannot find online, I start auctions at $9.99. This has worked well for me in the past. I highly recommend having your own default price, especially for auctions. My fixed price default runs a bit higher, as I also include Best Offer.

I hope these pricing tips are helpful, and I hope you make great sales on eBay!

It's a Mystery! Levenger Brass Terrier Dogs

Hi all!

I did not intend to go yard sale-ing today when I went out to have breakfast and run a few errands with my best friend. But we heard the siren call of the yard sales, and had to stop at just a few.

I found 6 - 7 lovely 1950's vintage cookbooks (one signed by author) and these very cute brass terrier dogs. They look like Wirehair Fox Terriers and are very cute. They are marked Levenger (perhaps from the pen company at http://www.levenger.com/?). They are brass. They are very heavy. But what ARE they? At first I thought they were bookends, but now I'm wondering if they are pen stands. But the dogs' paws are outstretched in a manner as if they are meant to hold something.

Can anyone help me solve this yard sale mystery? Thank you in advance!

Where do you find things you sell on eBay?

Shopping for vintage goodies is one of my favorite parts of "the job." I go treasure hunting regularly with friends and family and it is great fun. Here are a few suggestions for finding great things to sell online.

LOOK IN YOUR OWN HOME

Especially when starting out, your own home is a great resource for goodies to sell on eBay. For instance, I regularly cull my CDs, DVDs, and books and pull aside things that I don't think I'll listen to/watch/read again.

And don't forget to think creatively. See my old blog post called "Never Throw Away an Empty Box!" (http://birdhousebooks.blogspot.com/2007/12/never-throw-away-empty-vintage-box.html) I found some vintage department store gift boxes from long-defunct stores, and they sold great on eBay!

CHURCH AND COMMUNITY SALES

Organized sales at churches, community groups, libraries, etc. are all great! For these, you want to arrive early and be sure to take a cloth bag or box to gather your treasures as you shop. My biggest tip is to always look ON the tables, ABOVE the tables, and UNDER the tables, as you never know what you will find.

THRIFT STORES

I have had uneven luck with thrift stores. They are browsed so heavily in my area by collectors and dealers, and the prices tend to be on the pricey side for resale. But -- I have friends in other areas who swear by great buys at the thrift store, and you may have some wonderful stores in your town.

One word about prices for resale -- I never spend over 10% what I think resale will be. For instance, if I think a vintage children's book will resell for $10, I would never pay over $1 for it. (And I certainly would love to get it for less than that!)

EBAY AND OTHER VINTAGE SITES

Again, not as great a venue for resale ... once you add in the shipping I've found you typically pay more than you should for a resale item, using my 10% rule. But -- you never know, and worth looking!

YARD SALES

Ahh! My favorite! One of my favorite things to do is have breakfast with friends and go to dozens of yard sales. I am going to say a couple of things that are contradictory to what you may read elsewhere, but these tips work for me. We never go as "early birds," but go after the "early bird" dealers, so we can be a bit more leisurely and also more thorough. (It is amazing what the early birds pass by, and what gets put out later in the morning!) Also, we do not go as dealers, with business cards, book scanners, etc. We are always friendly and chatty with yard sale sellers, and friendly conversation often yields great goodies that aren't yet put out. For instance, "I love these vintage books! Do you have any more?"

A nice thing about yard sales is that prices are not written in stone. I like to gather all the things I want to purchase together, and then ask "how much for everything?" I usually get better prices that way than when I make a specific offer.

Again, a big reminder to look ON tables, UNDER tables, and ABOVE tables ... and to think outside the box about goodies you see.

However you choose to search, I hope you find great goodies ... and I would love to hear about them!

1920's - 1930's Vintage Children's Valentines

I'm working with some charming 1920's - 1930's vintage die-cut children's Valentines today, and found some that are too sweet not to share. Above you'll see Little Red Riding Hood and the Woodsman from the fairy tale: "I'm the woodsman big and strong who'll protect you all life long, Valentine." 1935 card.

The little clown or Pierrot above also dates from 1935. What lovely art work on these vintage cards!

The 1931 card above shows a little boy and girl in a hot air balloon. It reads: "I'm up in the air over you! Please be my Valentine."

This undated card (1920's to 1930's vintage) shows a sweet little Dutch girl with a heart. Note her wooden shoes! It reads: "My Valentine. Here is mine heart. Let us together never part."

This card (looks like 1920's from style) shows a boy who is a cheerleader. He has a megaphone and the little flag behind his head looks like it says Yale. "Here's my favorite yell Valentine - rah, rah, rah, I think you're swell!"

If you'd like to see a large -- and always growing -- collection of vintage Valentine cards, 1920's to 1960's vintage -- please stop by my store:

http://stores.ebay.com/Birdhouse-Books__W0QQ_sidZ81052548?_nkw=Valentine

First Steps to Selling on eBay

For the next few days, I'm going to post some tips about starting out as an eBay seller. If you've ever thought about selling online, it is easy and fun ... and I'm looking forward to sharing a few tips with you!

WHY DO YOU WANT TO SELL?

Do you want to sell just a few things you have around the house, or do you want to get into selling as a way to bring in additional income (i.e. selling regularly)? This will make a difference as you plan your first steps.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SELL?

Unless you are selling things that you have around home (and that is a great way to start!), you should think about what you want to sell. I strongly advise picking an area, or 2 or 3, that you know and enjoy, and starting with that area. Examples would include CDs, baseball cards, baby clothes, cosmetics, handcrafted jewelry, or more.

When I first started on eBay, I sold books ... new or used, all different types. I've worked as a bookstore manager and I love books, so it seemed like a good starting place. Over time, I started listing especially in the areas I know and love best -- children's books and cookbooks. Through the children's books, I also developed a love of illustration, and a love of vintage ephemera as well. That's how I started on vintage cards.

HOW MUCH DO YOU PLAN TO SELL?

If you want to sell just a few items a week, you will do well working with the sell your item form at eBay. If you want to sell more, you will want to choose a listing service to keep things organized, to design good looking auctions, and to develop a more professional auction look. I have used the Inkfrog listing service for years and I highly recommend it -- http://www.inkfrog.com/. Inkfrog allows you to make auction templates, so you can "fill in the blanks" for similar types of listings, and it also lets you design an auction look that suits what you are selling. For instance, I use a vintage cherries design that looks a lot like a 1950's stamped tablecloth linen. If you'd like to peek, you can look at one of my auctions here:
Make It With Buttons 'N Beads - 1975 vintage craft book
http://cgi.ebay.com/Make-Buttons-N-Beads-1975-Kap-Krafts-CRAFTS-Bk-/350349766629?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_Childrens_Books&hash=item5192792fe5

I'll pick up tomorrow with a new installment on where to find items to sell on eBay. Hope you'll stop back by!