A little Ebay knowledge please

CrimsonTider · February 16, 2009 10:07PM

My wife works for a bank branch that is about to close in 3-4 months. Since we have a 2 month old daughter this is really a not bad thing, we've been debating if she should resign and stay at home while Emma is an young. Its the difference between mommmy care and day care. So this actually works out better, now she can draw unemployment for at least six months.

We have been discussing different ways that she could make some money while at home, and one of the ideas is consignment selling on Ebay. To give this a try, I was going to let her try selling some of my baseball cards. Not any of my Dale Murphy cards, they are off limits!

My questions

Ebay store or just auctions?

What type of equipment would she need? i.e. scanner and so forth

jimq112 · February 16, 2009 11:35PM

I would think a good camera and a good scanner, good computer skills, a secure storage area, and good writing skills would be a must. Then you have to consider whether there are other ebay consigners nearby and whether the economy is going to be a buyer's market or a seller's market. Hard to make money consigning things when the owners want more than the item will sell for.

I would talk to other consigners and get opinions and advice before you spend any money on the project. Talk to Storm about the future of ebay and what new changes will be coming.

lsutigers1973 · February 17, 2009 12:09AM

I opened my eBay store about 5 months ago and have pretty good results and have already gained a frew repeat customers. Thanks to the suggestions of a few forum users, my highest traffic times are when I am running a handul of regular auctions. I had quite a few end this past Sunday and a lot of buyers added a card or two from my store.

billwaltonsbeard · February 17, 2009 12:11AM

That Mitch Webster card should be enough to live off of for years.

philipjgolden · February 17, 2009 12:41AM

the jury is very out on the ebay store. it costs 50 bucks/month, but then buy it now auctions are only 3 cents instead of 35 for insertion fees. so, you can do the math. also, without a store, you can still use buy it now.

regular auctions not allowed in stores, only buy it now. BIN also has higher closing % fees.

philipjgolden · February 17, 2009 12:43AM

CrimsonTider · February 17, 2009 1:39AM

Any suggestions on a quality scanner

blades3 · February 17, 2009 1:48AM

My opinion is that in this economy, a store is the only way to go unless the consignor wants the item auctioned or it's a rare enough piece that the auction makes more sense. There are so many items I have that would sell for only a buck or so in an auction, but I have great luck selling them with buy it nows in my store for $5, $10 or $15. Stores are only $15 per month (the basic one) and insertion are 3 cents. You'll be happy to pay the higher final value fee when you sell something for $14.95 in your store that would have sold for $3 in an auction. As far as equipment, a good digital camera and probably a scanner are vital. I have a copy stand that provides lighting and a mount for my digital camera so even graded cards photograph pretty nicely. You definitely need a room devoted to it with space for your computer, etc. and a separate shipping table (I put my copy stand on that table) if you are doing high volume.

WinPitcher · February 17, 2009 2:00AM

Finding viable items is the trick here, perhaps you can start by selling things you already have around the house?

Steve

SS · February 17, 2009 4:21AM

Store, definately!

$15 / month for a basic store, and basic is all you need.

On your less rare items, you will just be giving them away on auctions. Put them in a store instead and be patient.

On your more rare and valuable items, run an auction with a reserve. If it doesn't sell, put it in your store.

thedutymon · February 17, 2009 4:59AM

<< <i>Finding viable items is the trick here, perhaps you can start by selling things you already have around the house?

Steve >>

Wife and Kids count???, Dog?

Nah just kidding, if I do that I would have wasted all those Insurance premiums I've paid for years now.

Neil

storm888 · February 17, 2009 5:00AM

An EBAY store is still a good deal for folks who want
an easy introduction to selling online.

I now prefer ecarter.com, but it is more work and it
requires buying google-adwords to achieve volume
sales. (It is STILL much cheaper than EBAY, and one
does not have to put up with any of the EBAY/PayPal
nonsense.)

A little Ebay knowledge please

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