Finally time to sell on ebay....need some help/advice

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quambomb

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It took me a while but I've finally come to the realization that I need to start selling some cards on ebay; especially the lower-valued inserts/RCs/parallels I have that are now a few years old. So I need some advice as I prepare for this from my fellow Benchies. I'm getting a nice Canon scanner off craigslist soon for a steal of a deal which will help with pics.

Open to any advice on ebay selling. Some questions I have for now are:

1) When to set a Buy It Now vs. minimum bid? Are there certain cards for either

2) Better to sell as lot of cards or individuals? Know lots are probably easier to process, but are they worth it? I'm specifically thinking of selling some player collections and maybe short prints as lots

3) How long does or how many auctions does it typically take to sell some lower value insert or parallel cards?

Thanks in advance.
 
As a general rule, you will make more if you sell individual cards as opposed to selling lots. But the trade-off is the additional time it takes to scan/list/ship single cards. The problem with low value inserts is that no one wants to pay $3 shipping for a quarter box card. So for the low value cards (< bv $12), I generally charge $0.50 to ship via PWE.
 
What wahoo said --- shipping is expensive for the buyer for individual cards. Make sure you have a good combined shipping policy so that multiple sales happen.
 
You can also offer free shipping on your sales.

also do research look up the final sales on each card to get a general idea what the card sold for I'll do a combination
of 4 or more final sale which will give me an idea what to list a card -But because of time very rarely will list a card
that has a bv less than $5
 
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Be sure to proofread your listing as there are a lot scammers out there that'll try to screw you over for the slightest mistake.
 
As a general rule, you will make more if you sell individual cards as opposed to selling lots. But the trade-off is the additional time it takes to scan/list/ship single cards. The problem with low value inserts is that no one wants to pay $3 shipping for a quarter box card. So for the low value cards (< bv $12), I generally charge $0.50 to ship via PWE.

Thanks - that all makes sense. In regards to your $0.50 shipping via PWE rule, what are the specifics of making that happen? Are you able to make it as a shipping option with an ebay listing, or just call it out in your description and policy? Sorry I haven't sold much on ebay in a while.

What wahoo said --- shipping is expensive for the buyer for individual cards. Make sure you have a good combined shipping policy so that multiple sales happen.

Good idea, but how do you make combined shipping cost happen, does ebay have the tool to do this? or is there manual work to adjusting cost back to the buyer, etc?

You can also offer free shipping on your sales.

also do research look up the final sales on each card to get a general idea what the card sold for I'll do a combination
of 4 or more final sale which will give me an idea what to list a card -But because of time very rarely will list a card
that has a bv less than $5

I definitely will do this. I already do this to get a rough idea of my cards' worth now, so makes sense.

Be sure to proofread your listing as there are a lot scammers out there that'll try to screw you over for the slightest mistake.

I can imagine. Good tip, thanks
 
Thanks - that all makes sense. In regards to your $0.50 shipping via PWE rule, what are the specifics of making that happen? Are you able to make it as a shipping option with an ebay listing, or just call it out in your description and policy? Sorry I haven't sold much on ebay in a while.

There is no option in ebay to designate PWE. You just need to state it clearly in your item description. You'll also probably want to state "no international bidders" since that will obviously cost you more postage (and de-select global/international shipping in the listing process).
 
Good idea, but how do you make combined shipping cost happen, does ebay have the tool to do this? or is there manual work to adjusting cost back to the buyer, etc?

You can setup combined shipping "rules" in your account preferences, there are instructions for doing so on this page:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/pay/shipping-discounts.html

For example, you can set a rule which states to charge $0.50 for each additional item purchased after the first. eBay will automatically use the highest shipping amount for the first item and then apply this rule for all other items. But when you list your item, you have to be sure to check the box which says "use my combined shipping rule", otherwise that item is excluded from the rule.

Further you can also set a "maximum" shipping amount by creating a Promotional shipping rule which will always apply to all your listings. This allows you to add a rule such as "Spend $10 on 2 or more items and shipping is FREE" or "Spend no more than $5.00 for shipping on a single order" (these rules can be used in addition to your "combined shipping" rule)

If you want to list a large number of low-end inserts, its a good idea to have a Promotional shipping rule because it will encourage buyers to browse your inventory and select more cards to buy so they can get a deal on shipping. It works on me! I simply won't pay $3.00 shipping for a $0.99 card, but if you give me free shipping if I buy 10 cards at $0.99, then I'd be more inclined to look over all the items you are selling.
 
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