Ebay Help need some advice

Ok here is the deal, My grandparents are moving in to a condo and they are liquidating a bunch of suff. They have lived in the same house for about 25 years so they have accumulated all kinds of stuff. My grandfather has some old british cars and and parts that he is going to get rid off.

I have sold some stuff on Ebay before but would like to get some pinters from some of the experts so I know I am doing the best job I can for him. We have started taking pictures of some of the stuff and he is writing up descriptions of the stuff since British cars are forign to me (pun intended).

Hes got some NOS Triumph TR4-TR250 fenders, rockers, a grill, and a complete MG TD and a Sunbeam Alpine. Plus a hole bunch of other stuff we have not uncovered yet.

So what kind of pointers can you all give me?

 

In my opinion, the good thing about ebay is the buyers will dictate the price of an item. You won't be selling stuff TOO CHEAP! For instance, if you think something's worth $100 and it only bids to $75, then you can think all you want that it's worth $100. At a swap meet, someone might offer you $20 early in the day and you'll never know what it was really worth. With a 7 day auction lots of people will see your item and bid it accordingly. However, if you feel strongly that your item is worth $100 and you put that price as your reserve and the item doesn't sell, sometimes if you immediately relist it, a new set of lookers will come aboard and one of those may give you your $100. I put an old model on ebay for $9.99 and nobody bid on it. The second it ended, i relisted and it went for almost $20. You never know. Hope this helps.

 

One trick I have learned is to start your auctions on Saturday around 6pm PST or 9pm est, this way you get almost 2 weekends. T

 

You have a far bigger 'audience' in the USA than we do in England, so if you run it in a 10 day auction a zillion people get to see it. That way if you get no decent bids, it is because nobody wanted it, not because nobody saw it.

 

Hey Junk, something that always works for us is to get online and do your homework. Find out what similar items go for, in order to know where to start your bid. Also it helps out in knowing where to list them so the right people see 'em... A good example:

Dad found a '32 five-window/sedan dash listed with a header of "OLD FORD Model A dash". He won the bid for $46 due to the listing. If that dash had been listed under '32 Ford I'm sure it would have gone for more $$$

My 2 cents if it helps.

 

Take good clear pictures it always helps

 

Research and good pictures are good advice. Ending the aution on Saturday isn't something I would reccomend. I end mine on tue-thursday in the evening so people that aren't smart enough to use a sniping service will be home after work to bid.A lot of people aren't home on weekends. I get some of my best bargains on stuff ending on weekends. If you have time, pay a bit extra for the 10 day listing so it plays over 2 weekends. The best bidding is on items that start low and have no reserve. And if you do use a reserve make it a bit under a big number and not over. Case in point; I had a #11 griswold skillet. When I listed it there was one just like it bogged down at about $103 without making reserve. I put mine on for $125 buy it now and it sold in an hour. Several days later the other one ended and never got another bid. See when it went over 100 and didn't make reserve, bidders lost interest because they had no idea what this guy thought it was worth. Reserve and high opening bids cost more. I figure the stuff is worth what it will bring and I only use a high opening bid or reserve occasionally when I have a certain amount invested and won't sell for less. That is seldom. And yeah I take a hit once in a while but it washes out. The buy it now works great too as people will jump on something that is fairly priced. The only thing with the buy it now is that it disappears if a bid is made over the opening bid or over the reserve.

 

Willowbilly, have you started that flathead yet?

 

I think one of the big keys to ebay is pictures – good pictures. Don’t take a picture of the car inside of a garage looking down the side. Get it out outside and use a good background. Use a digital camera and take as many pictures as you can from every angle, then chose the best ones to publish. If you don’t like the pictures, take more.
When you are choosing options, use the picture pack. It only costs a couple dollars and is well worth the money. You get supersize pictures and a gallery picture with your listing.
Try and be as complete as possible in your description. If there is a problem, make sure you mention it. I have sold many items for more than someone’s similar item because I had better pictures and a better description.
Answer all emails in a timely manner. One blown off email could cost you money or a sale.
I use Turbo Lister when I am doing multiple auctions. That way you can set up all of you auctions off-line and not tie up your phone line for hours. Listing can take a while so be patient. I use my WORD program to make all my descriptions. That way you can spell check everything. Then all you have to do is copy the description and paste it just as I am doing now.
Hope some of this helps…Tom - restorit

 

ebay is great, but as previously stated,
it all depends on who is looking for what, and when....

good luck..!!

 

[ QUOTE ]
Willowbilly, have you started that flathead yet?

[/ QUOTE ] Well, no, but I did find another one today. Thinking about putting it in the 96 F-150 so I can keep up with your 57. I figure I can mount it backwards in the bed to drive the front wheels and just kick it in when I need it. kinda like an after burner.