Selling an old Obituary
I sell obituaries from The New York Times and I had one on Christine Keeler that passed away in Dec. 2017. I had 2 copies and for the last 8 years no sales, I sent offers lowered the price but no bites. On Thursday I sold one and last nite I sold the other, how can this be? Not complaining but amazed.
18 comments
onlinecentral
·8 months agoA YouTube content creator sent me a message saying that he did a product review for a TV interference filter called an FM Trap. He put a link to my eBay listing in his description. Five buyers purchased within 24 hours. Sales resumed to the normal pace of 2 to 3 a month after that surge.
Sales of line telephone accessories has dwindled. On 12/21/2025, buyers purchased the last 3 of an item within a few hours. Sometimes scarcity sells.
a-lotta-stuff
·8 months agoThat is so weird - we just played Al Steward's fifth LP - 'Past, Present and Future' - which has a song called "Post World War Two Blues" that Christine Keeler is mentioned in.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·8 months ago@a-lotta-stuff That's a great album!
a-lotta-stuff
·8 months agoYes it is - All six of his pre 'year of the cat' albums are great - first thing I heard by him was 'A small fruit song' on a friend's mix tape ... which then went straight into 'Baby On Fire' by Eno.
simply-the-best-for-you
·8 months ago@a-lotta-stuff OMG, love both Al Stewart & that Brian Eno song! Can't believe anyone else here knows it😯
a-lotta-stuff
·8 months agoYou don't own a record store for fifty plus years without hearing a few songs.
meme6253
·8 months agoGood news for you on the sales, I never would have even thought of selling an item like that.People do collect many different items, But this is a first for me to hear about this, I would figure it to be a Dead end to try & sell!,(Pun Intended)
inhawaii
·8 months agoHappens to me a lot too.
I can have a widget for sale. No sale for years.
Then all of a sudden i'll sell 3 in one month.
I can't explain it, but it happens.
christworks
·8 months agoCongrats on the sale, and what unique items to sale. It appears you do quite well with it! Awesome!
simply-the-best-for-you
·8 months ago@mantle1951 There's a lot of ways this happens. Sometimes there's a bit of a temporary boost on those items, when you've sold a couple of a similar item. I notice it with brands in Clothing. Other times it's b/c of a blog or forum mention somewhere (or collector's group) & sometimes it's b/c your item rose to the top of Google shopping search.
My weirdest one was a bike jersey I had multiples of. I normally don't sell multiples. A couple sold immediately, mainly the preferred sizes & then I had 6 left. They'd been up for a couple of years. Suddenly in ONE NIGHT, 5 of them sold within a 2 hour time-span, all different buyers & all over the US & all paid asap. I was napping & DH was freaking out b/c he was pulling them & it was so unlikely. He was certain it was a scam, I was certain it was a scam, but try as I might I could not figure out the scam. They all seemed totally legit. I finally reached out to 1 buyer & explained the weirdness & just asked if he had any insight. My listing with mulitples was the #1 on Google Shopping for that item he told me. Also, the race it was related to was happening soon & they had to buy their own jersey this year & in past years it had been provided to them. So, just a perfect storm, but I think most of it had to do with being so high in the Google Shopping results.
pickapaper
·8 months ago@mantle1951
Kudos to you for selecting obituaries as an item to sell. I would never have thought of that. But I can understand why people would want to buy them, if they are collectors or have an interest in a certain person.
bonanza125
·8 months agoSales can happen whenever and this shows folks never to give up but also how long it can take just to sell an item cause of lack of demand. There is a chance there was something on Christine Keeler recently which made the interest level go up which you might have been unaware of.
soh.maryl
·8 months agoAn interesting thing to sell, that's for sure. Who buys them? And are they just those of famous people? How do you decide which will sell well?
mantle1951
OP8 months agoFrom some conversations I have had with buyers looks like it's older folks, people who still keep scrapbooks and collectors of clippings. Most people don't receive or read newspapers anymore so when a famous person passes away they want that physical piece of paper. The Times prints obits of many people that are not " famous" but may be well known in their field such as scientists, lecturers, political figures( governors don't sell at all). World War II enlisted people sell fairly well but Alex Trebek nobody wants!! As famous as he was not a bite since 2020! Oh well I'm happy with whatever sales I get.
silverstatetreasureboxes
·8 months ago@soh.maryl
It is interesting, I loved getting the Las Vegas review journal and browsing the obits. Lots of celebs, dancers, comics, showgirls etc. I did like the Tony Curtis obit.
luckythewinner
·8 months agoHappens a lot in music memorabilia.
Someone buys it, and then post about it online or tells a friend or mentions it in a collector group. Others then go searching.
mantle1951
OP8 months agoKeeler was infamous for having an affair at a young age with a member of Parliament around 1962 and he eventually had to resign.
zobal99
·8 months agoHappens to me a lot. Sometimes I will have 6 or 8 of an item sell in a couple of days that hasn't sold for a while. Ebay puts on your listing something like...... "One sold in the last hour "or "Two sold in the last 24 hours." Seeing this gets people motivated to buy when they see it being sold especiay if it's a hard to get item like that.