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new to buttons

Good morning. I also am new to buttons. I have inheirted a big box and aquired another collection. I realize that I cannot hold onto all for lack of space. It is so much fun going through them. dust and all. I am finding so many interesting ones. while trying to figure out what best to do with them I looked to this group. I spent a lot of time last night at the website mentionsed here. It is great! I learned a lot- and know that i still do not have a good basis for determining value. but feel I did gain some knowledge.I have listed a few on ebay over the summer and have two listings right now. I wonder if you all have any opinions on the best time to list buttons. I go through them every once in a while ususallly while in front of the tv. But now that winter sports are stating I will not be home much and am thinking maybe i should dedicate some time to get this project done. Not that they take up a whole lot of space but I did get some grief from my kids last week for having this big box sitting out in the dining room for over a week- of course they are not allowed to leave anything out so long-lol. well just thought I would ask for your thoughts. thanks
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new to buttons

Hi: I looked at your auctions and you are off to a good start listing buttons. I recommend to anyone listing buttons to get a good close view of the front and back. If you have multiples to list, it's not necessary to show the whole lot unless they differ quite a bit in appearance. It is important to bidders to see close views of the front and back and for size to be noted. Measure straight across the top side to side and report that size. If your camera won't get up close, just do the best you can. Learning about values isn't that necessary when listing on eBay. Bidding will usually be at the fair market value except in very slow bidding periods. At this time of year we start to see almost all bidding going up. It's hard to sell common buttons anymore and the ones you are listing, while very nice, are fairly common. I find it hard to stay in the button selling business because it seems only the rarest ones sell anymore. There is another button listing areas under "crafts", you have to dig around to find the buttons there but there is a category for them. This would be a good place to list buttons that aren't particularly collectible but good for craft projects.
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new to buttons

The previous person had some really good advice and I too looked at your auctions. Of course, I have some of my own advice. There are two types of button people, collecting and crafting. I deal with both. Therefore, you need to ask yourself are these buttons for the collector or crafter. Generally, collectors like to purchase for their collection. Duh! Think in the lines of what you would like to see if you are collecting buttons. Therefore, I think these folks would like 1) buttons with same subject matter, but with different materials (such as flowers, insects, horses, faces): or 2) buttons made with the same material such as plastic, metal, glass, mother of pearl, etc. or 3) realistic buttons – these are buttons that are shaped based on their subject, such as a horse or dear.; or 4) color - some of my collector buddies collect buttons based on color. As you can see collecting buttons can be diverse. Can you group some buttons together to make a unique set. So, if you have several of one buttons, you could make up several sets and experiment with what I recommend above. There is one thing you should think about, I personally will not bid on a lot of buttons for my collection with a bunch of plan and useless buttons in it. As a collector I don’t want to be bothered with buttons that don’t add benefit to my collection. Specify the size of the buttons and please include a picture of the shank. Depending on the material of the button, shanks are important to button collectors. I take it you don’t want to get into specifics. For example if the buyer eyes an older polymer, such as bakelite or celluloid, they can confirm it one way by the shank. There are other buttons that shank is used to validate what they are. So, just include a picture of the shank on all of them or at least describe it. Now let’s talk about craft people. They generally like buttons in a set of about 6 to 10 buttons and the only thing they are worried about is the size, shape and color for their project. Not much terminology here. Think about what a crafter might use buttons for, sewing, scrapbooks, etc. (Search for “button*”) on eBay and see what sections come up. I think you will be surprised. Than again, I was. Just because a button is old doesn’t mean it is collectable. The reverse is true for new buttons. Just because a button is new doesn’t mean it is only used in crafts. A set of old buttons might sell in the craft section better than in collectable vintage sewing section. I think you get it. One last piece of advice, remember that eBay charges a fee for listing auctions. Duh, again! If you have a ton of buttons, look into using an eBay store and using some of your auctions as a marketing tool to get the sellers into your store. Let’s say you have determined you have 400 buttons, some of them sets, which you want to list as separate auctions. You are going to list 100 auctions a week, starting price for each auction is $9.99 and you are going to run them for 7 days. Therefore, your insertion fees for each auction will be 30 cents, or $30 per week, or $120 per month. With an eBay store, there is base fee of $15.95/month and an insertion fee of 2 cents/listing for the entire month ($8.00). The grand total is $23.95/month. The eBay fees for auctions can kill you so beware of them. If you have any questions contact me. If you saw this piece of information in another discussion, you are correct. I just cut and paste it here to save some time. I thought it work here also. Thanks - Linda at The Responder
Linda Falkenthal
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new to buttons

emlace3
Enthusiast
Hi,as I'm also new to collecting buttons, I have enjoyed the messages of helpful hints. Now, does anyone have suggestions on how to keep the buttons sorted and filed?
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new to buttons

wow - thanks much for the advise. This will really help me out. I have to say i do not think the store would work for me due to lack of time to dedicate to the project. I am happy to say that what I have cleaned out so far is along the lines of your adivise. I started by sepaerating ito like group ie color, metal etc. Sad thing is I am staring to get to the point of wanting to keep them all. I found one fantastic large rhinestone button I love! I was trying to find a way to put on a ribbon to wear on my neck but it does not work as it flops over. Well in continuing to go though all the estate stuff- i have a box of hats and found a really cool little black one i hope to someday wear. i pinned the buttono on it. Now i just need a reason to wear. thanks again for the help. have agreat week everyone.
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new to buttons

I am new in this button "stuff" too! I have had a real interesting time trying to figure out what is worth saving and what is worth selling. I list a few here and there but overall I agree the best is to list in an ebay store otherwise the fees can be overwhelming if they do not sell. Buttons can be a very interesting hobby! Thanks for the information from all of you! Carolyn Cherry-Picked Goods
Live with Passion.....
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new to buttons

Hi emlace3, Look at the decision group on keeping old buttons. There is some good advice on sorting and keeping buttons. Of course I have my two cents there also. Welcome fellow button buddy and have a wonderful collecting experience. Linda at The Responder
Linda Falkenthal
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