Selling Tips for a Newb

[Jimmy2Thymes]

Back in my early years of collecting, there was no eBay and all we did was trade. Since getting back into the hobby a few months ago, I've accumulated a decent collection of good cards. I'd like to sell a few of my duplicates and a recent SP I just pulled.

The question is...what's the most efficient way to sell a card with zero eBay sales under my belt. Do I start with some lesser valued cards? Or go for the gusto with the Lux SP I just pulled? The last thing I want is for someone to lowball me because they realize I'm inexperienced. There was a recent sale of my Lux orange refractor SP #'d to 25 for $565 so I'd like to get that kind of money for it.

There's obviously the BST thread here but again...I have zero eBay sales under my belt. I've seen some breakers do BST threads on Twitter but it seems random.

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

If you want $565 or “that kind of money” for it, list it on eBay as Buy It Now with an Or Best Offer option. You can even set the OBO to automatically reject any offer below an amount you feel is too low to even consider.

[Pacmeyer]

There really is rhyme or reason as to why an item goes for XX amount of dollars while the exact same thing from a different seller goes for much less or much more. It's not always about feedback, DSRs, or length of time on ebay so there's not much you can do if you want a certain amount for your card except to offer it as a BIN.

If you've seen all the bidder block threads the you know the real headaches in selling on ebay are handling returns and sellers getting scammed by fraudulent buyers. Before you list your first item be sure to at least change the seller preferences to automatically filter out buyers with unpaid item strikes and foreign buyers if there are specific countries you don't want to ship to. Otherwise just set shipping to your home country only when you list. If you ship internationally, write in the listing that taxes/duties are buyer's responsibility. It helps a little in warding off buyers who think sellers should help with customs fees.

You can also filter out deadbeats by using BIN with immediate payment but if you end up not feeling comfortable shipping to the buyer you'd have to refund and too many cancellations will get you on ebay's naughty list. Also, when relisting an item, be sure that ebay doesn't automatically turn on best offer (if you don't want it) or discounts the price of the item on your behalf.

The ebay forum has more information about selling than you'll get here. There's also a "horrible pictures of cards for sale" discussion in the basketball threads that shows what not to do when listing cards.

[Jimmy2Thymes]

There really is rhyme or reason as to why an item goes for XX amount of dollars while the exact same thing from a different seller goes for much less or much more. It's not always about feedback, DSRs, or length of time on ebay so there's not much you can do if you want a certain amount for your card except to offer it as a BIN.

If you've seen all the bidder block threads the you know the real headaches in selling on ebay are handling returns and sellers getting scammed by fraudulent buyers. Before you list your first item be sure to at least change the seller preferences to automatically filter out buyers with unpaid item strikes and foreign buyers if there are specific countries you don't want to ship to. Otherwise just set shipping to your home country only when you list. If you ship internationally, write in the listing that taxes/duties are buyer's responsibility. It helps a little in warding off buyers who think sellers should help with customs fees.

You can also filter out deadbeats by using BIN with immediate payment but if you end up not feeling comfortable shipping to the buyer you'd have to refund and too many cancellations will get you on ebay's naughty list. Also, when relisting an item, be sure that ebay doesn't automatically turn on best offer (if you don't want it) or discounts the price of the item on your behalf.

The ebay forum has more information about selling than you'll get here. There's also a "horrible pictures of cards for sale" discussion in the basketball threads that shows what not to do when listing cards.

I really appreciate the advice! Would have had no idea.