Selling sports cards

[ladgr_5]

First tim selling baseball, basketball and football cards thru ebay.  I have posted 40 cards correctly through ebay with auction recommended .01 to start the bidding process.  I nave went over 10 days with 0 bids?  Any advice and should I just be patient?

[animesalesandmore]

That stuff is better on WhatNot so many more people interested in that stuff and btw any topps 80'-90's not worth anything.

[chapeau-noir]

My only recommendation is to never take eBay's recommendations on pricing anything.  They're living in the past when it comes to starting prices on auctions.  Start your cards at what you're willing to get for them with one bid.

The experienced sports card sellers here will be along with some more specialist advice.

[onefootflipper]

I specialize in cards.

First off, I see cards worth under $20 with $4.60 shipping. All your competitors are going to use ebay standard envelope and charge under $1 for shipping.

Second, I basically would never auction a card. Sold 10,000 cards last year, zero of them were auctions. 

Also, everything of yours with a starting price over a penny that I checked had a starting price many multiples of what I could just buy the card from from someone else. Most of the cards you have listed for auction are cards I would use as packing material. There isn't a single card in the 1989 Topps set worth what you are charging for shipping. I don't even look through that year to pull singles from. I just use all of them as packing material.

[donsdetour]

Are you willing to sell all the items at your starting bid??

Never, never use that method: it only makes eBay money and cost you.

Remember eBay fees are calculated on the final value of the item, pulse the shipping if any, plus the tax if any than the final value is calculated:

Added to that id the fixed fee of .30 cents.

Also if sold international even if shipping is in country you get an international fee as well.

Don't forget any promotional fees as well as if you had any listings fees.

As you are doing it you are paying eBay and the shipper to give your stuff away for free.

[onefootflipper]

Also, looking at your photos, they are bad for cards as you just can't tell the condition from the photos on most of your listings. Most card sellers use either a scanner or a mounted document camera like an Ipevo. 

[lepke1979]

Auctions can be hit or miss. So yes, be patient. On the other hand, you might be better off just doing flat pricing unless the card is particularly special.

Other issue is your photos aren't the best. And in penny sleeves/card holders. Can maybe let it slide for the lower value cards. But if you're plunking down $5, $10, or even $100 for a card. You're going to want to see as much detail as possible. Particularly if they aren't graded/slabbed. Also, perhaps it's because of them being auctions and you expect the price to go over $20. But for lower value cards, you might want to look into eBay Standard Envelope for shipping instead of First Class.

Last issue might be prices, but not knowledgeable enough to comment on that.

[donsdetour]

New seller selling high end cards.

Best read some things.

https://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/stay_safe.html 

And internet search may also aid you in what scams can happen with internet sales.

[soh.maryl]

How much money do you figure you'll make if the cards sell at the opening bid of one cent? Or even one dollar?

Part of the reason you are not getting bids may be because buyers are just a little leery of a seller who appears to not understand how eBay works in regard to selling fees etc.  

[powell-memorabilia]

Spot checked a couple of your penny auctions.  I can buy them from other sellers for $1-$2, and that includes the shipping.  Your shipping is over $4.  AND those others aren’t using auctions - I can get the card straight away and pay a lower price.  Your “high end” card prices look way out of whack - that $150 mantle reprint won’t go for more than $10.

[dirk12955]

1)    All your auctions without bids,    End them.

2)  Go buy a scanner.

3)  Research what your competition is doing, and what they are actually selling for.

4)  Start over using the suggestions here as a guideline

PS:   When you research the true value of a card on ebay,    Look at what they are actually 

selling for,  not the fantasy prices some sellers ask for.   

You're half way home,   Good luck.  

[wrong66]

Sorry, but none of your cards you're starting at one cent at auction are even worth a penny, much less the outrageous shipping you're charging for each. The Ryne Sandberg card is maybe worth a quarter, not $200-$800. You need to rethink this whole thing. Sorry.

[wrong66]

Your Jordan card sells on eBay from $2.00 - $30.00. Graded.

[femmefan1946]

Don't list anything for a penny that you will not happily sell for a penny.

Free Shipping is not free. It is a marketing strategy that includes your cost of shipping in the asking price.

Buyers hate paying shipping.

Buyers hate even more paying shipping which is higher than the selling price.

[onefootflipper]

If you are seriously going to sell cards I suggest an Ipevo document camera over a scanner. That is what we used at the card shop so that is what I bought when I went out on my own. You can simply process more cards quicker with it and it is good for other small items as well.