Advice needed: large set of Oneida stainless flatware

[lu12-deals]

I bought a bought of flatware this week and was surprised when looking up the comps on this pattern on eBay. The sold prices are pretty high -  a single 5 piece set (2 spoons, 2 forks, knife) can go for $50 to $85, judging from recent sales. 

I'm not sure how many sets I've got.  It's a got to be a dozen. I could sells individual sets or individual pieces, or maybe I should just sell the whole lot in one go.  Looks like there's some serving pieces in this same pattern. 

Any recommendation out there on what you'd likely do with these?  

[hollysfinds]

I tend to sell flatware whole sets at a time.

I just don't like fiddling around selling smaller lots, but that's just me.

It all depends on how long you want to take to get it all sold.

[dhbookds]

If your figures are correct...........I would relist as a 5 pic set.....with quantities rather than do a 60pc set which would bring 12 x $50(whatever) = $600.  I just think they would move faster that way as a smaller, cheaper set........you could try a 20pc set and then some of the 5 pc..... or you could do 4 knives, etc.  I would NOT do 1 knife, etc.  too much packing work.   Serving  pieces I would do individually, assuming they would bring $20 or more each.....if less, I'd lot them together...... 

With that much quantity you've plenty of room to move around.......  Good luck!!!

[lu12-deals]

hollysfinds, when you say 'whole set' you mean the entire lot, not just a 5 piece set, correct? 

[lu12-deals]

I'll just add one other piece of 'food for thought' on this.  Out of curiosity, I checked prices on Replacements for these and my jaw dropped. 

Moral of this story:  if you need to buy something, no matter what it is, always always always check eBay first. Don't jump to the most obvious seller. Don't automatically go browse The Big River.  Wish I'd known this years ago, before I started reselling! 

[hollysfinds]

Yes, I meant the entire lot.

But, like I said, that's just me.

Usually more money can be made selling things separately,

but I just like to get things out the door quickly.

I always tell my husband, " Do you want to sell stuff or store stuff ?" , LOL.

You do what works best for you 

[jayjaspersgarage]

"I always tell my husband, " Do you want to sell stuff or store stuff ?" , LOL."

And his answer was? ...

[coolections]

They are yours so only you can decide how to list them.

[katzrul15]

We sell quite a bit of vintage flatware.

Sell the serving pieces individually.

Offer some as place settings and odd ones individually.  We do ours with free shipping (shipping built in) and use flat rate bubble mailers and flat rate boxes to ship.  Buyers combine multiples easily, etc. 

[a_c_green]

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@jayjaspersgarage wrote:

"I always tell my husband, " Do you want to sell stuff or store stuff ?" , LOL."

And his answer was? ...

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"What's for dinner?" 

No, wait, I was supposed to address the OP here...

@lu12-deals : Whenever I'm in a similar situation with a bunch of stuff I haven't sold before, I try to picture what my most likely buyer will be looking for, and package the item(s) to match. I have often bought a pile of identical items at a great price, but I know that the most likely buyers are only going to want one, so I'm prepared to sell one at a time of (whatever it is) and stockpile the rest. 

I will generally list the availability as just a few items at a time in total (and sometimes a buyer will snag all of them at once), because I don't think you're going to stampede anyone into buying if you're showing 62 of the things in stock.

Conversely, I don't list a Fixed Price quantity of just one if I actually have more, because I've noticed that when my multi-item BuyItNow eventually sells down to one remaining, eBay adds a nice bright red "Last one" to the listing, definitely an incentive.

So as far as this Oneida flatware is concerned, I can't see someone suddenly jumping up and deciding to buy the whole pile unless it's at a significant discount. I also don't think it's likely that someone will be looking for precisely one piece of replacement dinner hardware unless he's someone who sits around counting their teaspoons. I can see more than one buyer deciding to add some more place settings to a collection that he's already got, and so if I had just bought that quantity of Oneida flatware, I would be selling it off in place-setting groups, following the lead of other sellers who sound like they've done pretty well at that. (Although if you have enough to spare, you could also list a few individual items piecemeal and see which method gets more attention.)

Incidentally, I would also try auctioning the first place setting rather than showing a Fixed Price, in case it might provoke a bidding war. If it does, the non-winners can get a Second Chance Offer if desired, to boost the payoff. You can always go to the Fixed Price format later if there isn't enough immediate interest now.

[dhbookds]

Incidentally, I would also try auctioning the first place setting rather than showing a Fixed Price, in case it might provoke a bidding war. If it does, the non-winners can get a Second Chance Offer if desired, to boost the payoff. You can always go to the Fixed Price format later if there isn't enough immediate interest now.

I think that's an excellent suggestion......assuming there are not a number of like listings...........

[monroe67]

In my experience, Replacements.com lists items much, much higher than similar ones have been sold for on eBay.   Take Princess House Crystal items.   (Please.)

My selling ID recently sold a small serving piece of silverplate from the late 1930s.  I priced it based on similar sold items here on eBay.   I spent maybe four or five minutes cleaning minimal tarnish off it with Hagerty's silver foam.   I posted the shiniest pictures I could take of it.  

While googling the brand, I came across a listing on Aunt Betsy's site of the exact same serving piece -- that looked like it had survived since the 1930s underground, used in gardening in a part of the country with rich black soil, or maybe even spray-painted matte black.  It looked awful.  And the seller was asking three times what mine sold for.   

Best advice for pricing anything, really, that you want to sell on eBay:
Check Sold Items to get an average of those prices.  

[lu12-deals]

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@monroe67 wrote:

 Take Princess House Crystal items.   (Please.)

LOL!!  😂

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[silverstatetreasureboxes]

@monroe67 

Excellent advice, especially about the Princess house! I never go with replacements.com except to look up info and years. I think the majority here is sell your flatware at a 5 piece place setting and serving pieces separately. 

      Merry Christmas!

[femmefan1946]

Since the company is out of business, I buy single pieces in my pattern when I spot them, since over the past 50+ years the original number in my cutlery drawer has diminished.

My pattern is Frostfire, because I married in 1968.

I have paid over $20 for a single piece but that includes shipping to Canada.