Collections

[ginas5351bmw]

Hi. I want to sell all of a collection of items. There are 76 items and 120 photos. There is an inventory of each  item describing it in detail (color, condition, age, description, etc.).  How is this presented on ebay so a potential buyer can view?  Is a video of the collection possible? Just starting out to do this, so need some information.  

[adamcartwright]

@ginas5351bmw 

Each listing allows 24 photos + 1 video of about 1 minute long. 

[fbusoni]

@ginas5351bmw 

Do you want to sell all 76 items together, as a set, to a single person?   Or do you want to sell all or some of them individually?

One listing will likely give you enough room for the inventory text, but as @adamcartwright notes, you are limited in terms of photos and video -- although you do have the option of indicating in your listing that you can send the balance of the photos in an eBay message to a prospective buyer.

Depending on the nature of the items (tools, cosmetics, toys, silverware, etc.) in question, you might be better off financially selling them individually, although that will require a lot more work listing each item.  But sometimes it's worth it.

If you provide more details, many here with direct experience may be able to offer you some expert advice.  regards

[pickapaper]

@ginas5351bmw 

As @fbusoni said above, it depends on what the collection consists of.  

The problem with trying to sell a collection as one group is that many people who collect that type item already might have some of the individual pieces and don't want duplicates.  So, I can almost guarantee you that if you list the collection as one, you will receive messages from buyers, "would you sell me just the one [whatever]?".

Another problem is that most people are no longer interested in buying an "instant collection".  Most likely, the buyers who would buy your collection would buy it to resell the items, therefore would want to buy them as cheaply as possible, maybe even pennies on the dollar.   

Shipping would also be a consideration.  If your items are say, pieces of jewelry or something small, shipping would not be that much of a problem.  But if your items are say, pottery pieces, shipping could be very tedious and very expensive for 76 items.   For those items that would be heavy, fragile, expensive to ship, you could offer "local pickup only" but that would cut down tremendously on buyers who do not live in your area.

Lots of things to consider with what you are trying to do.   And we can only give generalities since we do not know what type collection you want to sell.

[dhbookds]

I strongly suggest you list a few relatively cheap things individually first.......so that you learn something about selling before trying to tackle something that big.......

[jrkirk]

Start slow, as this responder says, and learn as you go. Other people's experience can help, but you need to learn eBay selling for yourself. This is your project. Read the rules first, then read them all again. Then go slow, sell a few items. As you sell, you will learn.

[kensgiftshop]

@ginas5351bmw 

What kind of a collection are you talking about?

[ginas5351bmw]

Military memorabilia 

[pickapaper]

@ginas5351bmw 

Military memorabilia still covers a wide area, i.e. American or other country, WWII or other conflict, etc.  

Still not knowing exactly what you have, my gut feeling is that it would be better to piece it out rather than as one big group but, of course, that is up to you.   Also,  in case you have not done so, you might want to check eBay's prohibited items list because there are some military things that cannot be sold on eBay.  

[inhawaii]

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@dhbookds wrote:

I strongly suggest you list a few relatively cheap things individually first.......so that you learn something about selling before trying to tackle something that big.......

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GREAT ADVICE!

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Large lots on Ebay appear easier to deal with and sometimes are.

But large lots on Ebay usually sell for much less than the items would bring if sold by the piece.

The bulk of the buyers willing to buy a large lot will be resellers who will break up the lot and resell at retail. Therefore they will only pay a wholesale price which allows them a suitable profit margin.

You could potentially do better selling the items locally through Craigslist, or Facebook marketplace without many of the Ebay procedures and restrictions.