Selling collectibles from home on eBay can be extremely profitable. If you are into the collectibles market, you can make a decent living selling on eBay. The trick is to know what you are selling and keeping in mind what is hot this month.
If you are into collectibles then eBay is a great place for you to start selling collectibles from home. The best place to start is to sell off your unwanted items. Try to make a profit at this. Before you start listing and selling you should invest in a decent digital camera and learn how to take a good picture of your merchandise. Your photograph is all that a potential customer will see of your product. A great picture will get you a higher selling price and it may be the difference between your item selling or not selling at all. Once you have taken really good pictures of the items you want to sell, look at a few suctions already running. Determine which ones have bids and tailor your listings to look like theirs, don't make exact copies as you want to establish your own identity.
Here is what the other ads can tell you. How much is reasonable for shipping? You will see what the others are charging. Buyers don't like to pay excessive shipping fees. Then look at the description. Did they mention any special marks? If the item is silver, did they show the 925 stamp? What other important information did the ad mention.
Check the What's Hot page to see what trends are in collectibles. Are vintage Barbie Dolls hot: all of them or just certain dolls? What about toys? Which games are hot. Are they easy to locate? Can you go through your kids old matchbox cars and find a few that are in good condition to sell. Old Lego's are hot too! If you are into collectibles then you have sources for your collection. Are there other sources that will sell to you wholesale? You should have a book that will help you know the difference between a real item and a fake. Take Limoges boxes for example. Don't be fooled by lowering your eBay price because you saw a Limoges type or style box. These are not authentic and they will never command top dollar. Know your merchandise. Be prepared to expand your products into other areas. If you collect Limoges boxes; perhaps you may want to extend your items for sale into all Limoges glass. Prior to embarking on this journey, check with the marketing tools on eBay to be sure that these are items that sell.
If you have a large amount of expensive collectibles that you are storing at home, then you may want to consider insuring them. This way if the unforeseen happens, you will not suffer a huge loss financially. This is especially true if some of your pieces are rare and cannot easily be replaced. One final word of advice when selling collectibles from home on eBay; require your buyers to purchase shipping insurance and delivery confirmation. This not only protects you and the buyer in case of a damaged shipment, it also protects you from unscrupulous buyers who will claim that they never received an expensive item and require you to replace the item or refund their money.
Selling collectibles on eBay can be a rewarding and profitable experience. Be sure that you take measures to protect yourself as a seller and a collector. The old adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" applies here.