paloma91
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posted on June 19, 2006 08:45:01 AM new
Update on records: I listed 15 last week and one sold. Not any of the ones that I thought would sell. Now I have 35 up as of yesterday and one has a bid on it with all of the auctions closing next Sunday. The research I did was useless. Was it because it was father's day? I don't get it.
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myfavorites4u
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posted on June 19, 2006 09:08:13 AM new
From my experience, records are like postcards. Better to run a couple of auctions a week (to let people know you are selling them) and then put the others in the store and be patient. The right person has to come along who is looking for that particular record.
I list them, pack them, and take them to back to storage where they sit on shelves until sold.
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paloma91
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posted on June 19, 2006 09:12:02 AM new
Thanks Roadie, I was going to check Smart & final out today. I only have 2 records sold out of 35 listed. If that trend continues, I don't think I'll need a whole lot of boxes.
myfavorites4u, maybe I am doing this all wrong. I should open a store and list the ones that didn't sell in auction.
[ edited by paloma91 on Jun 19, 2006 09:14 AM ]
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myfavorites4u
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posted on June 19, 2006 09:20:45 AM new
You would need enough items in the store to support it. Do you have a variety of inventory?
Stores aren't for the faint of heart. I usually make at least $600 a month from mine but many make a lot more. I run very few auction listings these days since I don't do very well with them.
Records are a tough sell unless you have a truly unique one or one that is high in demand (like had multiple bids last time it ran on Ebay and even then, mine will sometimes just sit there).
I don't have records listed now since I hate trying to ship them in the hot summer days. But, I am getting several hundred listings ready for September.
I found Christmas records do better the first week in December or even in July (funny patterns). I couldn't give them away in November.
I should have added that for me the 3 cents a month for store listings is a great bargain! I have tons of inventory sitting around the house and it can sit in my store just as easy.
[ edited by myfavorites4u on Jun 19, 2006 09:23 AM ]
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paloma91
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posted on June 19, 2006 09:28:43 AM new
Fav, can I ask how many items do you have listed in your store at one time?
[ edited by paloma91 on Jun 19, 2006 09:34 AM ]
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bluroks
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posted on June 19, 2006 10:01:38 AM new
We used to sell a ton of records on Ebay. Good prices too. The last three months have been terrible. Even our Beatles albums only fetch a few dollars now. Not even worth listing.
Had a lot in our Ebay store too, but since they changed the store search, we have sold not one record in the last two and one half months!
Thinking about dropping the Ebay store. Paying for nothing now. Little drabs every now and then.
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paloma91
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posted on June 19, 2006 10:08:22 AM new
Maybe it would be more cost effective for me to sell them at a garage sale for $1 each. I have approx 200 of them
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myfavorites4u
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posted on June 19, 2006 10:26:20 AM new
Do you have enough to have 4 or so of any one artist? I have had success that way and sometimes will even get lucky and have bidding wars. Sold 8 Crosby Stills and Nash lps for $36 and then couldn't give away the other two lots. Maybe the one had a more valuable record, but I had 3 people wanting that batch and was very pleased with the results.
I keep a minimum of 1000 items in my store. Right now I have 2000 but they are all postcards. I am building that total up to 6000 over the summer then will go back to adding more records and other things.
What I like about my store is the fact I can make some money without doing much of anything if I get tied up with my other job. I didn't list anything new in store for the past 1 1/2 months and still made over $600 a month with just relists. I also didn't run any auctions. I had a lot of company down and just couldn't get around to doing much.
My Ebay fees have dropped from $500+ A Month to less than $150 a month since I stopped running so many auction listings. But, my sales dropped from $1200 a month to around $680. The fact I'm not putting a lot of work into it, and keeping more through less fees, means I'm making about the same though.
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myfavorites4u
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posted on June 19, 2006 10:28:09 AM new
Oh Yeah, what I really really love about my store is the fact I can ask WHAT I WANT FOR THE ITEM, and just let it sit there until someone is willing to pay that
At 36 cents a year in listing fees per item, you can afford to be very patient. I've sold postcards for $6.95 that I had started at $2.95 3 years ago. I have slowly raised the rate as I have seen there is very little difference in sell through rate. In fact, I can list a postcard in auction for $5.95 then put it in store for $8.95 and sell it the next month. You just never know what the store will bring.
And, it is very cheap to maintain!
[ edited by myfavorites4u on Jun 19, 2006 10:29 AM ]
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paloma91
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posted on June 19, 2006 11:02:50 AM new
fav, can I ask what plan you are using in your store? I was thinking of going with the cheapest one since I am just getting started
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roadsmith
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posted on June 19, 2006 12:42:13 PM new
Paloma: Father's Day could have been the problem with low sales. And couple that with the typical summer slump for many of us--and you have a chance of low sales. I'm still listing and selling collectibles and books but had written myself a note not to bother trying to sell in July, as it was rotten for me the last two summers.
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myfavorites4u
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posted on June 19, 2006 02:25:41 PM new
I just have the cheapest store. I can't see any real advantages to the $50 one. Since I dislike click through links and never use them I don't think the keyword deal would help me that much.
Neglus might know though. I think she has or had the featured store.
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paloma91
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posted on June 19, 2006 04:25:17 PM new
Well, I guess tomorrow I start setting up my store and atleast put the records in there that didn't sell.
Thanks everyone@
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local
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posted on June 21, 2006 07:29:49 PM new
I bought boxes from brasspack on ebay last year & these boxes are GREAT! Not only can you sell records, but some books fit in the boxes. Search for "LP Record Album Boxes".
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paloma91
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posted on June 21, 2006 07:40:27 PM new
Thanks Local, I'll check it out. Well, I've put the records and other things that didn't sell the second time around in the store. I think I'll give most of the records a week of auctions on ebay and if they don't sell, I'll put them in the store. I hope they sell sooner than later. One can only hope.
By the way, I had questions about setting up the store. I started another thread to list the questions. I hope some experienced persons can give a newby store seller some help
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roadsmith
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posted on June 21, 2006 09:30:17 PM new
Local: It looks as though, with shipping, those boxes you recommend are going to cost a dollar each, more or less. The pizza boxes might be 35 - 45 cents at most. I'm sure it all depends on how fussy you are about having a good-looking blank box to ship the records in, rather than something printed with colors etc. When I was selling lots of old 78s and some 33s, not one buyer complained that I shipped his records in a clean pizza box.
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local
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posted on June 24, 2006 10:47:01 AM new
Roadsmith: Thanks for the info. I add a handling fee for the boxes & I have enough to last a while.
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paloma91
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posted on June 24, 2006 11:15:37 AM new
Road, the 35 - 45 cent ones you are speaking about, are they the ones at Smart and Final?
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pat1959
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posted on June 24, 2006 03:36:03 PM new
I have to agree with my favorites4u. I just put my records in my store and let them wait for the right buyer. At 3 cents a month (36 cents a year per listing with gallery pic) we can afford to let them wait for the right buyer.
In the beginning I used Pizza Hut boxes, which they gave me. I turned them inside-out so there was no advertising showing and they served their purpose well.
Later, when my Dad passed away and I inherited his collection -- with no turntable to play them on -- I invested in purchased LP boxes and plastic sleeves. The best of his collection were snapped up right away on auctions, at very good prices. Later, when I came into another collection of LPs (at no cost to me), I simply put them in the store and am letting them sit. Sales are averaging about two a week. No big profit there, as these secondary LPs are in abundance on eBay, but the sale of these records pays my eBay store fees.
Half way through listing the latest batch, I decided to put them up with International shipping available. The average on International is running about 1 in 4 sales. Shipping generally runs about $12.00 USPS Air Freight and the overseas buyers seem willing to pay the price.
Concerning research, I only researched the eBay listings (current and closed) to establish my in-store price, which runs just a bit under the highest closing prices.
Patience is the key to LP sales on eBay (today) and the store is the only solution I am aware of at this point. LPs appear to be sought by only a few die-hard enthusiasts, and it may take awhile for them to find that special LP they are seeking. Just today I got another ASAQ note requesting the LP# on one of my listings. This buyer was seeking a specific release date, number and manufacturer. Unfortunately, my LP was not the one he was seeking, but we had a nice chat and I learned quite a bit from this ardent collector.
Good luck with your sales! I wish you the best!
Pat
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roadsmith
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posted on June 24, 2006 05:35:28 PM new
Paloma: I think I misspoke--the Smart & Final ones were between 25 and 35 cents each. Yes, that's where I got them. But any restaurant supply store might also have them.
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paloma91
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posted on June 24, 2006 06:04:12 PM new
Thanks Pat, Road and Fav. for the info. I'd love to reearch these but most of these are so unique that there are no listings of these on ebay except mine. I put the ones that didn't sell last week in my store and listed them for 10.00 each. Do you think that is too high ? I do offer discounted shipping when more than one is purchased. What do you think?
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myfavorites4u
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posted on June 24, 2006 07:33:37 PM new
Do you offer world-wide shipping?
Pat is right about the international buyers.
If they are so unique that you can't find them on Ebay closed listings I'd definitely leave them at $10 or even higher. I have a record value book (not goldmine...it's Official Price Guide Records by Jerry Osborne and is very comprehensive).
If you would like me to take a look at a couple and see if they are in the book drop me an email at [email protected]
[ edited by myfavorites4u on Jun 24, 2006 07:34 PM ]
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