eBay

gotpickled2013 · ‎12-23-2022

Help! My mother recently passed away. I've found a huge collection of PCs, at least 10,000. Some are postmarked, some are not. They range from 1903 to the 2020s. Any subject you can think of. My question is: Because I have no knowledge of PCs and am finding researching these cards overwhelming, should I sell them all together? In the long run do you think it would be worth selling them one at a time? That seems like an impossible thing to do. Any opinions or advice is appreciated. Merry Christmas.

1786davycrockett · ‎12-23-2022

Selling them one at a time is probably going to be more time consuming than it is worth.

While I am not a postcard collector, I would suggest selling them in lots, such as similar landmarks, or cities, or states, or subject matter -- you get the idea, right?

But you may also have some pricey items in your collection -- hopefully, some of the eBay postcard collectors will check in soon, to give you some more qualified ideas.

Good luck!

melda58 · ‎12-24-2022

There are many postcard dealers around who would probably buy the entire lot for the right price. Or you could consider listing them in groups of say 1,000 as @1786davycrockett suggests, grouped by categories. If you don't want to try and figure out pricing, I'd suggest listing as an auction. The more recent ones won't be as desirable in most cases.

Rita

sonomabarn67 · ‎12-24-2022

As a start, sort through and set aside RPPC (real photo postcards B&W). A good chance that any high value cards will live in there. Look for street scenes, motorcycles/cars/planes/Halloween etc and so on. Anything truly unusual. If you have that many cards take your time to ferret out the good ones. Pretty floral cards etc are mostly unwanted.

exit55 · ‎12-25-2022

From my limited experience of PC selling, I understand that PCs of building, places, etc. that no longer exit are more desirable

mobley120 · ‎12-25-2022

Opinion:

The older cards would "most likely" be more profitable to sell them individually. If it were me, I'd go with the auction format: starting bids at "like" a 1.99 with free shipping. And the newer cards it'd probably be best to go with lots, 10 in each lot; set price format, like at 6.00 to 9.00 with free shipping.

Postcards can be shipped by an envelope with a regular postage stamp. Although it won't please eBay and it isn't great for you eBay matrix standing. But it's really not that big of a deal. And just to note, I've found that postcards collectors are honest people. What matters though, is the condition of the cards. Do a bid of research to learn about how to determine the cards overall condition.

If you list around 70 cards a week, like 10 a day, including the lot sets as one listing. You'll have them all listed within a year. When you list them, have individual envelopes at hand, write on the envelope eBay's given item number with a brief description of the card then put the listed card in that envelope: that's my procedure, but you might figure something out that's more suitable to your personal likings.

It sounds like a lot of work, but it's not once you get in a rhythm. And it can be enjoyable, if you let be.

BTW, I'm a postcard collector 😉