eBay

[mp170.6]

A friend and I were having a debate.  What's the lowest value item (in terms of $$$) worth listing on eBay?  At what point do you say screw it, and just give it away, or donate to charity?

 

I said that unless you have multiple quantities of something, $10 to 15 would be my bottom limit considering the time and effort involved.  On the other hand, if the item is bulky and difficult to package for shipping, then $20 or 30 might even be too low. 

 

I suppose the answer to these questions depends how poor a person is...

[nate]

We do sell stuff on Craigslist occasionally for 20 or 30 dollars.  Usually kids stuff that my daughter has grown out of and family doesn't want it.  I can't stand ebay but I suppose if I had a cutoff it would be $100.

[Blarg]

I think if you are shipping something like a jersey you could go as low as $8.99.

[mp170.6]

I don't like Ebay either, but it may be our only option.

 

We're trying to sell some collector's items belonging to a mutual friend who died.  He overvalued the stuff he had, and in doing so convinced his wife (maybe intentionally) that his junk was worth many thousands of dollars.  I don't see it that way because most of the individual items sell for $10-15 each. 

 

By the time we photograph each item, tweak the photos in Photoshop, write a description, box the item for shipping, drive it to the post office, that's probably fifteen minutes per item.  Not worth the hassle in my opinion. 

[DW711]

It depends how much it costs to package/ship.

[Lou]

sell it on AW.com

[Lou]

mp, have you convinced the wife of the actual value of the items?

[HaloMagic]

sell it on AW.com

Solid choice.

[gotbeer]

I don't like Ebay either, but it may be our only option.

 

We're trying to sell some collector's items belonging to a mutual friend who died.  He overvalued the stuff he had, and in doing so convinced his wife (maybe intentionally) that his junk was worth many thousands of dollars.  I don't see it that way because most of the individual items sell for $10-15 each. 

 

By the time we photograph each item, tweak the photos in Photoshop, write a description, box the item for shipping, drive it to the post office, that's probably fifteen minutes per item.  Not worth the hassle in my opinion. 

 

Same thing happened to me.  They had a house full of stuff.  Some of it was brand new.  Some was hardly used.  Lowest I would go for sales is $5.  Because after all of the ebay and paypal fees, that's about break even.  

 

Personally, save yourself the headache.  Don't tweak, outside of cropping in photoshop, and post lots of photos.  Use a generic description for all items, and just change each post with a section with the item specifics.  Order priority mail supplies from the post office.  Flat rate or priority mail.  Ebay is also one of the cheaper places for shipping supplies like tape(how some of these places stay in business with free shipping, I have no idea).  Make the buyer pay for shipping.  

 

And you have to have patience.  Because things typically take a while to sell.  And ebay gets weird sometimes.  If you price it too low, it won't sell.  But if you price it higher, it sells.  

[Lou]

they add the shipping costs into the price.

 

people filter their searches to add "free shipping", so this keeps your item from being weeded out

[mp170.6]

mp, have you convinced the wife of the actual value of the items?

 

We've failed at this, so far...

 

I think she's still clinging to the $$$ values her hubby claimed years ago.  To be honest, I think he BS'ed her to silence the nagging.  His baseball stuff might be more valuable (we haven't gotten there yet), but something else he collected was these miniature plastic model airplanes. 

 

These are the ones that came in a box of a hundred pieces which you had to glue together with plastic cement.  Each one is mounted on a little wooden stand and they look pretty cool on bookshelves or coffee tables.  Ebay says they go for $15 to 20.  His wife thinks they are worth $125+ each! 

[Lou]

I'd definitely straighten that out before you sell anything.   Best to avoid a problem down the road.

[mp170.6]

Yeah, for sure.

 

I told her they were going for $15 or 20 each, and she said, "well, look some place else because I know they're worth a LOT more!"

[nate]

Any plastic collectible is not going to be worth much.

[Lou]

ask her to show you where she has seen them worth that much

[mp170.6]

That's just it...I think she's in denial. 

 

She probably expects to get $125 a piece because that's what hubby told her, and anything less would be disrespectful because of all the hard work he put in.  Not that it makes any difference with him now gone, but she's still clinging to that idea.

[gotbeer]

Yeah, for sure.

 

I told her they were going for $15 or 20 each, and she said, "well, look some place else because I know they're worth a LOT more!"

 

This is where all those TV shows blow up in people's face.  They see a ming dynasty vase sold for a few million, so my knock off chinese vase that looks just like it must be worth a few hundred.  

[2002_halos_II]

Value might depend on how old those plastic planes are.

[Lhalo]

I heard Elizabethan era plastic planes can fetch quite a large sum of moneys.

[stevestevens]

That's just it...I think she's in denial.

She probably expects to get $125 a piece because that's what hubby told her, and anything less would be disrespectful because of all the hard work he put in. Not that it makes any difference with him now gone, but she's still clinging to that idea.

Mp, if they are the ones i am thinking of, i know a buyer in england that will pay $150 for them. Only problem is that he can only pay for them in cashier checks of $300. He will buy all of them and then you can just cash the extra money and keep 20% of the extra money and then just send my buyer the planes and leftover cash.

Win win for everyone. Let me know

[ELEVEN]

I heard Elizabethan era plastic planes can fetch quite a large sum of moneys.

I would go as high as $125 for one of those.

[Lou]

That's just it...I think she's in denial. 

 

She probably expects to get $125 a piece because that's what hubby told her, and anything less would be disrespectful because of all the hard work he put in.  Not that it makes any difference with him now gone, but she's still clinging to that idea.

 

i'd print out what you've found their value to be an tell her that if she's not satisfied with that she

may be better off holding on to them or having someone else take care of it for her.  

[nate]

Holding onto them would be terrible advice.  Basically anything plastic and collectible was made to be mass produced.  Their value is not going to climb and their condition will only get worse.

[Lou]

i didn't suggest holding on to them because i think they'll increase in value.

 

it was a way for mp to get out of selling the items for her.  Put the onus on her.

 

 

 

 

Onus, idiots

[HaloMagic]

I would think a plastic plane in your onus would be undesirable.