Expand Your Horizons
Since beginning my eBay adventure I have been a bookseller, focusing primarily on children's books and materials of interest to homeschoolers. This is an area in which I feel comfortable and which I enjoy. From time to time, however, I have encountered non-book items of interest that I thought might do well at auction. Sometimes I have purchased them; other times I have resisted the urge, worried that my lack of expertise in a particular area will mislead me and I'll end up wasting money on something of no value. For the most part, my purchases have paid off nicely but I have encountered duds from time to time. It is the fear of those duds along with the fact that I am in this primarily to make money, not spend it, that keeps me from being more adventurous.
I am slowly overcoming this fear and expanding my horizons as a seller on eBay. One thing I have done that has forced me to step outside my comfort zone is register to be a trading assistant. I do pretty extensive research before listing something for one of my consignors in order to be as competitive as possible. So far, I have listed only collectibles as a TA but this experience has been an excellent one for me. I am essentially being paid to learn and can apply that newfound knowledge when hunting for more items for eBay! I knew nothing about collectible dolls and Steiff teddy bears when I took on this consignment. I have learned enough, though, that if I now encountered these items at an auction or in another venue, I'd feel more comfortable deciding whether to purchase them for resale.
Another thing I have occasionally done is to browse completed listings in categories other than books. I pick a category which has items that I see frequently when I am out, hoping to acquire enough information to make a wise decision the next time I am out. To a certain extent, this has paid off. I need to be more focused in my research, though, and strive to learn more about a particular category instead of trying to learn about many at one time.
Finally, I have gotten over the mentality that says spending more than a dollar on something for resale is too much of an investment! I've started to really go out on a limb and pay up to $3.00 for something whose eBay value is questionable due to my lack of knowledge! :) I will, of course, pay more if I am pretty confident of the item's eBay value. I've even been known to spend $10 or 15 for a single book!
Non-book items I've picked up lately which have proven or promise to hold reasonable eBay value:
* 1967 Spirograph - I picked this up for $1.50 at a thrift store. Box is rather beat up and two pieces (in addition to the original pens) are missing. Listed it last week, included what I thought was a high BIN of $25.99 considering condition and availability of better examples and was pleasantly surprised when it sold the next day!
* 1960's PlaySkool wooden puzzles for preschoolers. I actually picked these up at a library sale for $1.00 total
* Texas Instruments TI-83 Graphing Calculator - I picked this up at a fundraising rummage sale for the chorale group with which my daughter sings. Stepped way out on the limb with this and spent $3.00 with no real knowledge of value. I figured I could always use it at home if it proved to be a dud. Not a dud. Just waiting for my daughter to get it listed!
* A pair of 1950's era Paint By Numbers paintings of traditional scenes of Jesus. Paid $3.99 I think for these. They didn't sell at auction so I put them in my store. I had one buyer offer $10 for them, which I declined. About a month later, they sold for $24.99.
None of these purchases would have broken the bank had they proven to be losers. The two I've sold so far have been clear winners in my book. As a result, I've decided to take a few risks every now and then and spend a little money on something I know nothing about. I'm not planning to spend $100 to speculate on the potential success of an item, but a few dollars here and there certainly won't put me in the poor house!
Walk on the wild side! Take a chance and see what happens! You might be pleasantly surprised at what happens.
I am slowly overcoming this fear and expanding my horizons as a seller on eBay. One thing I have done that has forced me to step outside my comfort zone is register to be a trading assistant. I do pretty extensive research before listing something for one of my consignors in order to be as competitive as possible. So far, I have listed only collectibles as a TA but this experience has been an excellent one for me. I am essentially being paid to learn and can apply that newfound knowledge when hunting for more items for eBay! I knew nothing about collectible dolls and Steiff teddy bears when I took on this consignment. I have learned enough, though, that if I now encountered these items at an auction or in another venue, I'd feel more comfortable deciding whether to purchase them for resale.
Another thing I have occasionally done is to browse completed listings in categories other than books. I pick a category which has items that I see frequently when I am out, hoping to acquire enough information to make a wise decision the next time I am out. To a certain extent, this has paid off. I need to be more focused in my research, though, and strive to learn more about a particular category instead of trying to learn about many at one time.
Finally, I have gotten over the mentality that says spending more than a dollar on something for resale is too much of an investment! I've started to really go out on a limb and pay up to $3.00 for something whose eBay value is questionable due to my lack of knowledge! :) I will, of course, pay more if I am pretty confident of the item's eBay value. I've even been known to spend $10 or 15 for a single book!
Non-book items I've picked up lately which have proven or promise to hold reasonable eBay value:
* 1967 Spirograph - I picked this up for $1.50 at a thrift store. Box is rather beat up and two pieces (in addition to the original pens) are missing. Listed it last week, included what I thought was a high BIN of $25.99 considering condition and availability of better examples and was pleasantly surprised when it sold the next day!
* 1960's PlaySkool wooden puzzles for preschoolers. I actually picked these up at a library sale for $1.00 total
* Texas Instruments TI-83 Graphing Calculator - I picked this up at a fundraising rummage sale for the chorale group with which my daughter sings. Stepped way out on the limb with this and spent $3.00 with no real knowledge of value. I figured I could always use it at home if it proved to be a dud. Not a dud. Just waiting for my daughter to get it listed!
* A pair of 1950's era Paint By Numbers paintings of traditional scenes of Jesus. Paid $3.99 I think for these. They didn't sell at auction so I put them in my store. I had one buyer offer $10 for them, which I declined. About a month later, they sold for $24.99.
None of these purchases would have broken the bank had they proven to be losers. The two I've sold so far have been clear winners in my book. As a result, I've decided to take a few risks every now and then and spend a little money on something I know nothing about. I'm not planning to spend $100 to speculate on the potential success of an item, but a few dollars here and there certainly won't put me in the poor house!
Walk on the wild side! Take a chance and see what happens! You might be pleasantly surprised at what happens.
posted by Pamela | 8:09 PM
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