small time seller of family collectibles for three years 2017 worst year ever what to do

[prflood]

3 yr member, very small time seller of collectibles, 100 percent positive feedback,2017 worst year ever for sales, my prices very low  cannot stay at ebay at this pace , all suggestions greatly appreciated

[castlemagicmemories]

OP, sorry you are going through this.

You are not alone; collectibles sellers have reported slow sales.

GTC and 30 day listings can lower your visibility; some have had success removing lists from those.

Great titles help visibility; clear pictures, complete descriptions can help seal the deal.

[lemarcheaupuces]

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@prflood wrote:

3 yr member, very small time seller of collectibles, 100 percent positive feedback,2017 worst year ever for sales, my prices very low  cannot stay at ebay at this pace , all suggestions greatly appreciated

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the market in Antiques and Collectibles has changed.

today is about;

rare, desirable, very cheap, current fad, hot...

i just gave away tons of collectibles to the GW.

Hummels, duck decoys, cranberry fenton glass, mccoy, van briggle, doulton, longaberger, tons of junk jewelry, hull, roseville...

the list goes on... it was thousands of items...

moving soon and had to.

stuff that NO longer sells on ebay.

even put ads on CL with the max pics in each ad.

not even 1 single interested person.

actually 1.

she emailed 3 weeks after the fact.some are going to tell you it is ebay's fault.

but the truth is that the value of most antiques and collectibles has gone down the drain because online selling venues (not just ebay) are flooded with them.

just last month thrift shops (at least 4 that i know of) were hit with a huge donation of Royal Doulton mugs and pitchers.

and i mean huge. each shop got hundreds of them.

for once the GW offered the best prices.

1 could have snatched them for $15 each (for a large one mug or pitcher).

some shops were selling them for $50 and higher.

didn't even waste my time.

i barely got $15 for the last Doulton figurine i sold on ebay including shipping and fees.

1 might be rare of course but you'd have to go through a hundred to find a rare one.

these days "rare" is the key in antiques and collectibles.

the days you could sell anything and everything are over.

the only ones still doing good with that stuff are thrift shops.

every day brings new wannabees collectibles collectors/resellers that think they hit the jackpot because that stuff is listed in the Schroeder's book.

yesterday caught managers and employees raving about Avon Milk glass.

they talked about it as if it was made of gold.

what i would recommend you to do is to check what users on this board sell.

some do very good.

unless you have rare items, you can NO longer sell just in a few categories.

some sell clothing, tools, collectibles... etc... etc...

click through the various threads and user names.

then click on sold listings.

see what they sell.perhaps you can duplicate their success...

[coolections]

I see most of your items are old records. That lot that has 75 records for $275, you will be lucky to get a buck a piece for them. The one tool set you sold at BIN could have made you 2x the amount.  It would benefit you to check sold listings for price ranges prior to listing items.

[luckythewinner]

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@prflood wrote:

3 yr member, very small time seller of collectibles, 100 percent positive feedback,2017 worst year ever for sales, my prices very low  cannot stay at ebay at this pace , all suggestions greatly appreciated

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I see 14 sales in October out of 47 listings that ended in October.

IMHO a sell through rate of 30% is an extremly good result. 

[chrysylys]

There is a certain item I watch and search for daily.  I've bought a few and missed others.  The item is no longer made or sold, so everything listed is new, old stock dug up from estates or who knows where.  It was made in several styles, colors and sizes and though the packaging changed a few times, the product seems to be the same.  When put up for BIN, one certain combination of size, style and color will sell here almost immediately, sometimes within hours.  When put up for auction, it may sit with no bids until the last few minutes, then get several bids.  That ONE combination rarely goes unsold.  Other combinations may sit for days or weeks unsold.

[*eponymous*]

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@prflood wrote:

3 yr member, very small time seller of collectibles, 100 percent positive feedback,2017 worst year ever for sales, my prices very low  cannot stay at ebay at this pace , all suggestions greatly appreciated

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@prflood Did you read the suggestions that were offered?

[*eponymous*]

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@prflood wrote:

3 yr member, very small time seller of collectibles, 100 percent positive feedback,2017 worst year ever for sales, my prices very low  cannot stay at ebay at this pace , all suggestions greatly appreciated

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@prflood Your prices aren't low compared to your competition. You can keep your stuff or lower your price. This is a seller issue, not an eBay issue.

[hawgryders]

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@prflood wrote:

3 yr member, very small time seller of collectibles, 100 percent positive feedback,2017 worst year ever for sales, my prices very low  cannot stay at ebay at this pace , all suggestions greatly appreciated

---

Look at the "Big Picture" --- most people have not gotten a real raise for nearly 10 years now --- yet prices for commodities keep going up

1st thing to go is unnecessary spending --- it is happening everywhere --- across every industry --- and it affect nearly everyone

Look at your own spending habits --- I'll wager you have cut back quite a bit --- as have most of us ...

[lemarcheaupuces]

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@hawgryders wrote:

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@prflood wrote:

3 yr member, very small time seller of collectibles, 100 percent positive feedback,2017 worst year ever for sales, my prices very low  cannot stay at ebay at this pace , all suggestions greatly appreciated

---

Look at the "Big Picture" --- most people have not gotten a real raise for nearly 10 years now --- yet prices for commodities keep going up

1st thing to go is unnecessary spending --- it is happening everywhere --- across every industry --- and it affect nearly everyone

Look at your own spending habits --- I'll wager you have cut back quite a bit --- as have most of us ...

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i moved to the US in the 80s.

back then i used to travel from city to city.

could rent a small apartment in Alphabet city NY for $600.

about the same cost in KW Fl.

could jump in the Greyhound bus for $69 and travel all over the US for 30 days with stops.

all of the above is no longer possible.

going back to Europe soon.

have been doing some travelling before i go.

some cities charge up to 8$ for a bus day pass today.

that was the price of a short cab fare in NYC back then.

paid $50 for a cab from Lax to the French consulate months ago (1 way).

could have rented a car for that much.

the gap in between the rich and the poor is becoming wider and wider in this country.

thank god some services and food are still affordable.

but life has surely change in the US.

back in the 80s and 90s it used to be sweet...

[bubbleman2010]

outofroom all those folks that unable to hold a job outside of the home what did they do pre ebay?

[18704d]

""If it doesn't sell, raise the price.""

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That can still work for original unique items.

Just make sure you add a BIN to it.

Lynn

[hawgryders]

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@18704d wrote:

""If it doesn't sell, raise the price.""

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That can still work for original unique items.

Just make sure you add a BIN to it.

Lynn

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That advice was a "Ruby Lane" answer then & is an "Etsy" answer now ...

[phcd1]

EBay has made it clear that they don'y want small sellers, nor used items (typically collectibles falls into both categories). Unfortunately there really is no good online place to sell those. I would suggest if you have a large houseful of stuff, you go to an estate buyer and let them make an offer on the whole lot. If you don't want to do that, local swapmeets still seem to sell just fine in that category as do consignment shops (however I would only do consignment as a percentage, not billed per month).

[lemarcheaupuces]

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@bubbleman2010 wrote:

outofroom all those folks that unable to hold a job outside of the home what did they do pre ebay?

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collect disability?

which they can still do now.

have a few friends that collect it.

they don't roll on gold but they live better than me.

1 does dog sitting on the side, (under the table).

she does very well.

[mayisvardumtyan7]

I don't think that our new generation does not have interest in COLLECTABLES.  I use to attend flea markets and there are lots of younger people looking for vintage and collectable items.  The problem is in the EBay now.  I am a long time seller on EBay but now I can't find my listings on the search engine.  I think eBay doesn't care about small sellers. Ebay is a big market for Chinese sellers, dropshoping services and guys with big pockets. It is better to have 10 % from 1 million $ than 10% from  $10.