Question regarding ebay sales

[Wolf Kiessling]

I believe some of you folks have experience dealing with ebay so I am going to try to solicit some info. My late wife was a stained glass artist and I have decided to sell all of her equipment. This includes tools, books, glass, etc. I have advertised in the local electrical co-op paper because I don’t want to pack and ship all of this stuff, particularly the glass. I have gotten a couple of inquiries but have been unable to sell this stuff.

Here is my question: would it be worth my while to go to the expense and trouble of listing this stuff on ebay and specifying that this is for local pick-up only, the stuff will not be shipped. I also will not sell this stuff piecemeal. I am under the impression that the things that are sold on ebay get shipped all over the world, but, as I said, I will not do that.

So, should I go the ebay route or not……..

[John Miliunas]

I believe some of you folks have experience dealing with ebay so I am going to try to solicit some info. My late wife was a stained glass artist and I have decided to sell all of her equipment. This includes tools, books, glass, etc. I have advertised in the local electrical co-op paper because I don’t want to pack and ship all of this stuff, particularly the glass. I have gotten a couple of inquiries but have been unable to sell this stuff.

Here is my question: would it be worth my while to go to the expense and trouble of listing this stuff on ebay and specifying that this is for local pick-up only, the stuff will not be shipped. I also will not sell this stuff piecemeal. I am under the impression that the things that are sold on ebay get shipped all over the world, but, as I said, I will not do that.

So, should I go the ebay route or not……..

Wolf, just MHO but, for this type of stuff, eBay is usually a darn good gauge for what the items are actually worth! In other words, it's a good place to probably get the most $$ for the items. However, that said, by not shipping (and I completely understand!!!) you do severely limit your buying audience. If you go into it with that particular thought in mind, then you may do just fine, indeed. You may want to "bend" a bit and offer to meet a buyer within an x-amount miles radius to help them out a bit and garner a few more possible buyers, thus still not using the "shipping" option. That, however, is entirely up to you. :) Regardless, I think the 'Bay would give you the largest audience for the least amount of cost in the event the items don't sell. Again, just my 00.02....:) :cool:

[Scott Loven]

Do some research on where the best place(s) to list on ebay are. Take a lot of pictures, write a good description with as much detail as you can. The more of this you do, the more interest you will generate. You could list easy to ship, high value items seperately and ship them. Keep whats left for local pick-up only. If you go to www.usps.com (http://www.usps.com) you can get shipping boxes for free delivered to your door. It will be a trade-off money or time. I have sold 5000+ items on ebay over the past 6 years. PM me if you wany to talk, I will send you my phone#, I hate to type!
Scott (tall-corn on ebay)

[Joe Pelonio]

Wolf,

I have sold on e-bay but am also a stained glass artist. First I'd say that since not that many people are using stained glass equipment set a minimum bid on the tools, you don't want to give them away. If you do e-bay put "stained glass tools" in the title but also use the words for anything bigger like a grinder or saw. The glass is a real pain to ship. If I were you I'd look for stained glass forums and see if they accept ads, but better yet see if any of your local suppliers will allow you to post an ad in their store. Some will not want the competition, but you might have some luck. Also, try to contact any local trade or art schools that may have students interested. Often the stained glass suppliers offer classes, sometimes at their stores, if you can find out where and when try to get a quick meeting with the teacher to see if he'll pass along your number.

[Mark Stutz]

Wolf,
I have heard of "businesses" that will sell on ebay for you. I've never used one, and have no idea how much commission, etc. but I suspect would handle the shipping. With something as specialized as stained glass, there will likely be more bidders, and therefore higher bids, if it can be shipped. Just a thought. Good luck.

[Wolf Kiessling]

Do some research on where the best place(s) to list on ebay are. Take a lot of pictures, write a good description with as much detail as you can. The more of this you do, the more interest you will generate. You could list easy to ship, high value items seperately and ship them. Keep whats left for local pick-up only. If you go to www.usps.com (http://www.usps.com) you can get shipping boxes for free delivered to your door. It will be a trade-off money or time. I have sold 5000+ items on ebay over the past 6 years. PM me if you wany to talk, I will send you my phone#, I hate to type!
Scott (tall-corn on ebay)

Thanks for the input Scott. I will probably end up listing the stuff on ebay and use the "local pick-up only" option. I don't want to ship the stuff because of the sheets of glass involved and I just do not want to piecemeal this stuff out. I want to get rid of it in one fell swoop. Just for your info, I went thru her old catalogs and figure she paid about 600 bucks for the stuff and I am going to try to get 250.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Wolf, the cost of listing items on eBay is pretty small...for your $250 they would charge about $3.60 to list the item. Then, if it sells, you'd pay about $6.20, depending on the final bid price. The formula they use is 5.25% of the initial $25.00 ($1.31), plus 2.75% of the remaining closing value balance ($25.01 to $1,000.00).

- Vaughn

[Rob Littleton]

Wolf,
I have heard of "businesses" that will sell on ebay for you. I've never used one, and have no idea how much commission, etc. but I suspect would handle the shipping. With something as specialized as stained glass, there will likely be more bidders, and therefore higher bids, if it can be shipped. Just a thought. Good luck.
goto www.i-soldit.com (http://www.i-soldit.com........i) i just heard about these guys recently on the radio. Never used them nor do I know anything about them but the web site is very informative.

Good luck.

[John Bailey]

I've found that most of the woodworking machines are sold "local pick-up only." I bought a radial arm saw and a jointer that way. Both times I had to travel quite a distance, but was able to combine the pick-up with a trip I was making anyway.

I've lost more bids for machines that were sold "local pick-up only" than I have won, so somebody is bidding. I think it would be worth a try.

John