posted on December 20, 2000 01:32:19 PM
I'm not a photograph seller, but...
I bought a boxfull of old WWII photographs (real photo prints, but professional Army pics, not snapshots), all from the South Pacific theatre. Many are official Signal Corps US Army photos, perhaps smuggled, perhaps declassified and released. I don't know.
Many are reconnaissance aerial photos (some of Nagaski, Japan before the atom bomb), some of American soldiers, Phillipine guerrillas, and Japanese prisoners. Three of General MacArthur and several of other generals. Lots of aircraft photos and ship photos. Some were taken from airplanes during raids.
Many of these have captions on the back and are identifed. Many are not identified. Most in very good to excellent shape, some not.
I'll list some separately to see if they get some bids. How much interest do you think these will bring and what should I start the bidding at?
posted on December 20, 2000 01:41:34 PM
Loosecannon,
You just found yourself quite a deal! I
would list each one of those photos individually for a starting bid anywhere between 4.99 and 9.99. You're bound to get lots of bids! I'd list them in:
Collectibles:Militaria: US:WW II:General
and I bet you'll find you'll do quite well. Original photographs of that time period and subject matter are likely to sell for $20+ apiece. Just make sure you have good scans of the photos... and include the captions in your item description. Good luck!
posted on December 20, 2000 02:55:14 PMLC...ditto what eauctionmgnt...A nice find! Do go look at the categories mentioned...and the best of luck to you.
********************
posted on December 20, 2000 03:10:00 PM
eauctionmgnt is right. I search on 2 specific ship names every so often, and those photos seem to do very well. Good Luck!
posted on December 20, 2000 03:11:46 PM
Thanks Shosh, eauctionmgnt & snowyegret
Now I'm getting excited! I've been looking through these (dozens of them) and some of them look to be quite good, taken by knowledgable photographers, good subject matter, well composed, etc. Others probably won't sell at all due to not being very interesting. And I did find some that appear to be snapshots and they are probably not valuable.
[ edited by loosecannon on Dec 20, 2000 03:13 PM ]
posted on December 22, 2000 02:59:35 PM
These photos aren't doing well at all.
I listed a dozen of them and 10 of them have been on almost 48 hours. Most have a 4.99 opening bid except for two that I thought were worthy of 9.99.
I've got only one bid on one photo.
I thought it may have been the 1.50 shipping charge but that's a very average charge. Some charge more, some less. I'm actually offering either 1.50 First Class or 3.20 Priority on the shipping.
Could it be that most of them are small prints? They average around 3 3/4 by 4 1/2 inches. Could it be this is a horrible week to have listed them?
They are authentic, I can tell you that. I'll bet that some or even most of them are one-of-a-kind.
posted on December 22, 2000 06:11:19 PM
I am not an expert in this area, but do buy in it for both my hubby and father. While I usually advocate selling things individually, this is one thing that I would think would do better as a collection of WWII South Pacific Theater Memorabilia. That would give all the photos a historical reference point and interest those who served or collect in that area. I just fought a hard battle for something similar, and I wouldn't have been anywhere near as interested in just 1 or 2 photos. A number of other bidders must have felt the same way.
victory was sweet......cariad
Thank you for responding. I understand that a collection is usually more desirable than a single piece.
However, these are actual 55 year old photo prints, some a bit older. Real photo prints, not something clipped out of Life magazine. And many are official US Army Signal Corps photos.
Many could be one of a kind. If that ain't worth five or ten bucks then nothing is.
Yet they aren't selling.
[ edited by loosecannon on Dec 22, 2000 07:20 PM ]
posted on December 22, 2000 06:51:27 PM
loosecannon, I just checked out the 2 ship names I search on ( the USS Maryland & the Lex). Less listed, and few bids.
posted on December 22, 2000 06:54:45 PM
Loosecannon: How long will these auctions run? My experience is that most bidders bid on the last day, and sometimes in the last three or four hours.
But if they don't sell, another idea would be to group them in categories like ships (esp. if the name shows on the side) or other categories I can't conjure up right now.
If you sell the whole shebang as a collection, and that's a good idea, be sure to single out several of the most dramatic to show in the auction.
posted on December 22, 2000 07:20:58 PM
Your ads look fine to me. It does help if you can give background to them, i.e. who has had them all this time, was this someone with Stillwell or MacArthur. Sometimes it pays to do a little research and be able to give detailed info.. the more info, the more interest you may get. If you do sell the rest as a collection, you could put a substantial starting price on it. If those who want it are there, they will pay it. I'm sure you will get the bids, as they do tend to wait, but the power of the best photos may carry the whole collection further than what you will get for those that do sell individually..just my 2 cents.
posted on December 22, 2000 07:56:46 PM
Hi,
I sell film stills, collectable photographs and lots of AP wirephotos. I start MOST of my stuff at $6.00, and things like you have for $9.99. Sales have been extremely slow this month, I suspect because of the holiday. If I were you, I would wait and list them after all of the hullabaloo has passed, list them in the category mentioned above, and then if they have an "aircraft" or other interest in them, list them in the appropriate SECOND category. You could also make your second category "collectibles - photographic images - general" That's where I list when I'm at a loss for what something is. I know it costs a little more to use the second category option, but sometimes, when a photo can go into either/or, it helps for visibility.
Also make sure to put a disclaimer that you "PLEASE NOTE: THIS ITEM IS AN ORIGINAL AND IS BEING SOLD AS A COLLECTORS ITEM. I DO NOT OWN, NOR AM I REPRESENTING TO SELL THE COPYRIGHT TO THIS ITEM." - just incase someone recognizes who the photographer might have been, or whatever other things might bite their butts. It doesn't happen often, but once I had a guy send me a very threatening email because his uncle was supposedly the photographer. I have also listed things at $9.99, 4 or 5 times with no bids, then relisted AGAIN and dropped the price to $6.00, and wouldn't you know, with a starting bid of $6.00, items have sold for over $20.00. I don't have much listed right now, but my eBay ID is shellsputer, if you would like to take a look at how I list different things. I would also sell them all individually, but don't list 2 things that are VERY similar at the same time. I hope my rambling makes sense to you, and I hope I helped a little.
posted on December 22, 2000 08:52:21 PM
Hello loosecannon!
Nice find.
Suggest you list some of the photo's at Militaria Collectibles Auction Haus. They can be found at:
http://www.militaria-collectibles.com
They tend to have more of a collector base.
Have fun!
[ edited by tolz on Dec 22, 2000 08:52 PM ]
posted on December 22, 2000 10:21:14 PM
Thanks to all for your help.
shellsputer and tolz
I checked out your auctions and the military collectibles site. Thank you.
You know something? I get very antsy when it gets slow like this and then my wife says "the bidders usually come through for us". She's right. My auctions look desolate right now but in a few days it'll be going good....I hope.
roadsmith
I'm resisting the temptation to sell them all at once or in large groups.
If they want groups or more than one they can get one or 12 shipped for the same 1.50.
