posted on August 17, 2003 05:05:51 PM new
Maybe 10 years ago there was a difference, but with ebay, the distinctions are blurred. If you are selling on ebay (either full time or just occasionally as a hobby) you are a dealer in my book...
posted on August 17, 2003 05:14:57 PM new
kiara I don't run to the sales, those days are over. If when I get there, there is something for me I will buy. I have changed my buying habits and find that this helps. I don't think there is anyone in town that buys the same asdo anymore, at least I hope not because the items are still there. Not plentiful but enough. I am retired. Sleep until 9, shower then read the paper to see what is happening. If it sounds good I go if not I stay home. The jewelry I was talking about I didn't make it to that sale until 11 o'clock each Saturday. The day I bought the jewelry it ws 10:30. Early is not for me anymore....
posted on August 17, 2003 05:20:48 PM new
Hobby sellers! I know some bad ones!
Like the one guy who checks the obituaries in the local papers and harrasses the new widow or widower in their time of grief and cleans them out of all their trinkets.
Like the hobby seller that sneaks back late at night and steals off the porch and cleans out the shed.
The hobby seller that gets to every garage sale the day the weekly paper hits the streets, days before the sale actually starts.
The hobby seller that gets into houses to "look" at private collections and then swipes stuff while the trusting owner turns his back.
The hobby seller that buys and sells more than I do and he does it without any license and never pays taxes or keeps books like I do.
I know some of these "hobby sellers" now selling on ebay. One has been kicked off under another ID where he screwed buyers and I loathe him the very most.
Yeah, glad someone brought that up. I needed to vent about Hobby Sellers. Now I feel better.
NOT saying anyone on this thread is like a few of the hobby sellers I just mentioned. I know lots of good hobby sellers also.
posted on August 17, 2003 05:26:53 PM new
Libra, you have found some beautiful jewelry (not sure where) and I've loved looking at your auctions at times.
And I know what you mean about the early mornings. But I did go to a few sales this past spring and it was fun again. We did arrive late but we still found some amazing buys.
Also on our way to some sales listed in our paper we found others just setting things out and they hadn't advertised at all.
It's most fun when you aren't really looking and you find a treasure.
posted on August 17, 2003 05:31:04 PM new
Dealers here in New Jersey say they are experts and have expertise in value, so why is it that time after time i have seen them go in and under estimate the value so low its disgusting the poor old lady homeowner who is getting ripped by these scum sucking pigs is disgusting, i have gone to estate sales where they all gather around at the early am hours telling there war stories, i was once pushed and shoved , it never happened again, now i have a partner hes frankie the fist we now get respect from the
Green acres Mr Hanie Junk dealers
posted on August 17, 2003 05:34:04 PM new
Fluffy's post reminds me of a Flea Market Dealer who sets up at our local flea market.This guy is 81 years old,a retired military vet who can't quit buying.He mainly buys new military stuff and has five tables he keeps rented,and storage building he rents at the flea market.Along with this he has two vans he bought new stuffed completely full with only the drivers seat vacant,he hasn't seen the floors since he bought them.He also has a pick up truck and the car he drives completely full.The real shocker is that the guy never uncovers his tables just places a few items on top of the heap each week and sells very little.He says he can't quit buying. I think this poor guy has furnished a home for about 1000 generations of mice as he has done this for the last ten years I know of.
posted on August 17, 2003 05:34:56 PM new
Look, ever since the beginning people have been trying to rip each other off. It is sad, but it is the truth. The best thing you can do as a seller is get a little educated and learn about what you have. If you think you have something of value (i.e. antiques) then PAY to get a licensed dealer to give you a PAID appraisal. It won't cost that much, and you can decide what to do from there. If you invite a complete stranger into your home, there are no complaints. Yes, there are a lot of bottom feeding scum out there, but they will always be there.
posted on August 17, 2003 05:35:42 PM new
professional dealer versus hobby seller??
if i turn trick once,does it make me a prostitute or just an amateur participant??
burgerflipper,you go first!!!!!
posted on August 17, 2003 05:38:24 PM new
The military guy is not unique. There are a lot of people like that at the flea markets. I know at the end of her life, what kept my grandmother alive was selling at the flea market. The last few years, she was not turning a profit. However, it gave her something to do, got her out of the house, and interacted with people. It really was a blessing that kept her active until the day she died (she died the night before she was going to set up at a craft festival) It may seem strange to some around here, but it is better than sitting around at home waiting to die...
posted on August 17, 2003 06:46:52 PM new
She had problems, cancer, radiation treatment, etc. She was far from perfect health...as I said, it kept her going
posted on August 17, 2003 08:10:22 PM new
I kinda think if you do sell on ebay you are a dealer, whether you like it or not.
I know the things I buy now, since ebay, are not things I would have bought at sales two or three years ago. I dont haggle much, but I do see the experienced dealers doing so. However, some items you simply wont be able to resell if you pay the asking price, for any decent profit, anyway. The choice is still always is to the seller to say no.
Shoving and pushing isnt too prevelant in the south...the manners thing and all
posted on August 17, 2003 10:08:32 PM new
My buying philosophy at flea markets and garage sales is that the money outlay must be very low since much of the stuff listed on ebay turns out to be stinkers anyway. I try to figure that the item must bring at least 5 times what it costs if sold on ebay. A $1 book that will be a certain $5 ebay seller falls into that range as 5 of those books is $25. If some thing is very unusual and unique and the seller only wants a dollar or two then many times I'll roll the dice on those items and gamble to see if they were ebayable. There are certain items that I know are great sellers on ebay and I'm always on the lookout for those items at low prices.
-------------- sig file ----------- He who angers you controls you
posted on August 18, 2003 01:51:56 AM new
There is a dealer in my area that is the worst....... Not only does he go the day before and buy when they will let him but then after he gets what he wants - he tells them they should charge more for the other stuff and tells them what it is, if they don't know!!!
But I got one up on him one day when I walked up to the jewelry table right after him. He was holding a group of Bakelite bangles. Plain w/o cravings etc but nice colors. 5 for a quarter!!! I could tell he wasn't sure about them so I watch and when he dropped them back into the box - well I'll just say they didn't hit the box!!! I sold them for $65.00.
I always feel like if you are meant to have it - it will be yours.
I find some of my best items the last sales or two of the day. Even find great stuff after the dealers have made their sweep at Estate Sales.
posted on August 18, 2003 06:38:40 AM new
A month ago my two sisters and I had a garage sale, it was our "done having kids" sale and we had tons and tons of baby and toddler stuff. We put an ad in our local newspaper stating we had tons of nice baby stuff. Our sale was on Sat. from 8-4. Friday evening around 5:30 I pull into my sister's driveway to help start setting up and pricing, and there were two unfamiliar cars there. Both my sisters were in the midst of digging out baby stuff out of rubbermaid totes, and two older ladies were trying to help them. I had a quizzical look on my face, or more like a wtf look, and one of my sister said to me, "is it okay if these ladies look through the stuff while we set it up and price it?" Well, being a bit more vocal and blunt then either of my sisters, I said, "nope, the sale is tomorrow, could you come back when we are all ready?"
The two ladies were simply aghast, both had handfuls of stuff, that was neither priced or sorted out yet. One said to me, "Don't you want to sell this stuff?" to which I answered, "yep, but we are selling it tomorrow, tonight we are just setting up."
The other lady said " I have to be out of town tomorrow, and won't be able to stop by here, can I come back later tonight when everything is ready?" To which I still said, and I was really quite pleasant and polite, not pissy acting at all, "Nope, I don't know how late we will be here, and once everything is priced, we are leaving."
They reluctantly left, the first lady just whipped the stuff she had in her hands down, and said," this is ridiculous." I got a little hot then, but didn't say anything.
The day of the sale, we had people there at 7:00 am, which we had expected, and had everything ready to go by then. Sold almost every baby item that we had by noon. What we had left, we packed up and took to goodwill that evening. After the goodwill drop off, we got pizza and were eating it on my sister's back patio. The second lady, who was going to be out of town, suddenly showed up in the backyard. She asked "could I look through the baby stuff that you had left from the sale?" she was very polite and nice about it. I said "we just took everything that was left to goodwill." She was totally shocked. And then left.
Point being, I should have put no early sales in the newspaper ad, and it didn't matter that I ran two potential shoppers off, because we sold everything we wanted to anyway.
