ddmiles
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posted on April 5, 2002 11:02:36 AM new
I haven't sold much on ebay in the last year and I was curious if the antiques and collectibles market was still as hot on ebay as in years past. I know for a while, everyone was leaving the brick and mortar for ebay but I wonder if it's not coming back full circle. When I do browse the auctions, I don't see the quality that used to be there. And there are so many reproductions! I think the one that got me most was "Vintage Hat Stand Brand New". I did take the plunge and list a few items last week and I sold two out of five and one of them met a high reserve. However, it was a very unique item. The other two were items that have always done well for me in the past. One didn't even get a bid and the other two didn't come close to my reserve. I do realize this is a bad time of year for everyone between spring breaks, taxes, and the unstable economy.
Oh well, enough of my ramblings. Just was curious how others felt.
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tomwiii
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posted on April 5, 2002 12:38:10 PM new
After moving from BOSTON last OCT, I lost my access to my UNABRIDGED AUDIOBOOKS which I happily sold on feeBay for 1 1/2 years with a sell-thru of around 90% -- SIGH! GROAN!
BUT...
HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!
I just hooked-up (via the SA program) with a lady here that has oodles & oodles of vintage ladies articles & I am once again busier than the dopamine in Dubya's brain! 
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stopwhining
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posted on April 5, 2002 07:12:28 PM new
it seems there are more junks than before.
as for the professional dealers who have good stock,they are not giving them away.
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roadsmith
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posted on April 5, 2002 11:12:18 PM new
The only collectible area I know a lot about is Wallpockets. I can tell you that two years ago I began buying them (I collect them) and was paying fairly high prices (for me). A couple of those wallpockets were not to my liking and I tried to sell them a year later. They brought perhaps half what I'd paid for them.
The other thing I've noticed is that, whereas almost every single wallpocket used to get at least an opening bid if not more bids, now there are many with no bids. I don't know if we collectors are getting pickier, or learning the truth--that if you miss one, another will be along and hardly anything is unique in the world, or if we're tiring of run-of-the-mill wallpockets, or just if the craze is over for most of us! Wish I knew more. I myself am in the category of (1) getting pickier and narrowing down the KIND of wallpockets I want to collect, and (2) getting interested in other china and pottery areas. I can attest, though, to the absolute fact that wallpockets are depressed, as a group, on eBay.
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kiara
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posted on April 5, 2002 11:31:01 PM new
I don't believe the market is as hot as it used to be mainly because there are more sellers now and more items to choose from.
The harder to find items still bring good bids though. The best bet on other items is to have two newbies that get in a bidding war and they don't know enough to check around and find it for less.
Many sellers have gone back to B&M stores, antique malls, flea markets, etc. and they have also built websites. The best way is to sell in as many venues as possible and you will find that most items do okay in one place or another. But it's lots of work.
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quickdraw29
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posted on April 5, 2002 11:49:24 PM new
The higher priced collectibles I'm selling are hot. The stock market is shaky, and interest rates are low so people are putting their money into the higher end collectibles.
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toolhound
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posted on April 6, 2002 02:33:16 AM new
I still do okay with most high end stuff but even some of those are down. An antique wrench that I sold on eBay 2 years ago for $356.00 just sold for $49.99 I have seen many other items drop 50 to 60% in selling price in collectable tools and fishing.
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bidsbids
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posted on April 6, 2002 09:27:39 AM new
With 7.4 million listed items ( http://www.medved.net/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND ) it is getting harder and harder to get opening bids and multiple bids on anything, including collectibles on eBay. In years past many collectors would see an item they wanted and say "I better get that item or I may never see it again" by now they know there is another one rolling down the conveyor belt that may be in better condition, or cheaper, or even have a seller that offers PayPal if they are a PayPal junkie.
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erthlng
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posted on April 6, 2002 09:48:49 AM new
Here is an interesting story from Auctionbytes.com on this topic.
http://auctionbytes.com/pages/abn/y01/m06/i06/s01
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rgrem
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posted on April 6, 2002 09:51:57 AM new
Someone hit the nail on the head with the word "unique". My stuff is one-of-a-kind in its condition, and bidding is good. Another comment also hit the nail on the head- some of my stuff that was unique a couple of years ago is not any more. It's coming out of the woodwork, drawers, closets, etc. And there is probably a limited market in some things because everyone who wanted one has found one. Something that is guiding people back to fleas and shows is the ability to actually see the items, being able to dicker and not paying SHI charges. jmho
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quickdraw29
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posted on April 6, 2002 10:07:22 AM new
I'm with you on the "unique." Run of the mill items get lost in the shuffle. Unique items stand out and get the bids.
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bidsbids
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posted on April 6, 2002 11:35:39 AM new
I try to only acquire unique items these days for resale on eBay. The days of "Oh, it's an Elvis item and will go for a nice price on eBay" are over.
I agree with the more people are heading back to flea markets statement too. The new postal increases should knock a lot of low end items off eBay completely.
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luculent
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posted on April 6, 2002 05:42:48 PM new
Also, I'm hearing that a lot of buyers of the high end and/or unique items are becoming skeptical of on-line auctions.
They are coming back to the b&m stores because they can see and touch the items they considering purchasing. Too many have learned the hard way that no matter how good a picture or description is, the items just aren't alway up to standard.
And postage is getting quite high also. Then there are all the fees sellers have to add in, credit cards, final value, packing supplies. Sometimes the internet is not the bargain they are looking for, nor the quality they can see and touch before laying out their money.
Lucy
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quickdraw29
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posted on April 6, 2002 06:31:50 PM new
That sound like an exaggeration. If it's an unique item, I doubt they will even find it in the store unless they spend quite a bit of effort and time looking for it and yet still probably never find it.
Also, people who are willing to bid a lot of money to win an unique item probably won't balk at paying a couple dollars in handling. These people also tend to be very knowlegable about the field they are collecting and know what to look for, what to ask and can tell a lot about an item through your description.
Higher postage does not effect buying on the internet. Inflation is built into people's wages. Cars cost 3x as much as twenty years ago yet people keep right on buying cars. Reason being, the true cost of the car in relation to income hasn't changed.
I think you're blowing a lot of hot air.
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luculent
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posted on April 6, 2002 07:55:24 PM new
I'm not trying to blow hot air. I'm just repeating what I'm hearing in the shops, at shows and such. There may be bidding on "unique" items on Ebay, but the prices being bid are down from a couple years ago.
Shops and shows, live auctions, are all seeing an upturn in customers. And yes, the cost of postage and handling is becoming a concern.
There are lots of customers of high end items that are returning to the "touch and feel" market, rather than rely on pictures and descriptions.
I know the internet market is here to stay, I just believe that there are too many sellers who slap items up without knowing much about being a seller. And too many buyers with high expectations that are not always being fulfilled.
It's not hot air, it's just levelling out the playing field more.
Lucy
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bidsbids
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posted on April 6, 2002 08:12:46 PM new
It's not a minor postal hike they are talking about. I can easily see the daily average number of listed items on eBay dropping by 2 million items after a few weeks pass when the new rates hit. People in LA are going to say $12 s/h on an $8 item from New York? I guess I'll try to get it locally. There may be very little effect on rare or very unique items but the common low end stuff should suffer mightily.
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quickdraw29
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posted on April 6, 2002 08:22:27 PM new
Don't be so sure about that! I ship many big items and none of them complains about shipping. It's the little items that cost $3 to ship where I get all my shipping complaints.
If it's going to cost $12 to ship through USPS, I'd recommend having it shipped through Fedex for much less, I think around $6-7.
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luculent
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posted on April 6, 2002 08:30:05 PM new
Is Fed-Ex shipping available in rural areas and smaller towns? Is it available without a pickup fee that will have to be passed along to buyers? Does Fed-Ex insure antiques and collectibles above the $500 value?
I'm in a small town. UPS is not convenient or close. Don't know about Fed-Ex. I've heard that Fed-Ex won't insure antiques for more than $500.
Lucy
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revvassago
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posted on April 7, 2002 01:45:06 PM new
I pulled all my antiques off of eBay, and rented space in a local antique mall.
I've sold more in 3 weeks than I sold on eBay in the past 3 months.
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ddmiles
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posted on April 7, 2002 03:44:59 PM new
It was really interesting to hear all your comments, thanks so much. I think eBay is like everything else. It was hot for a while and now it's not, everything comes full circle. I believe unique or a special niche is the key for ebay, shows or anywhere else. Something your customer knows you carry and will repeat business.
The market is so gluted now with yard sale items carrying antique prices that it just gets discouraging to wade thru the junk to find the few treasures, when at one time that was the thrill. However, I am a confirmed addict and I will still wade while there's a breath left in me and that hope still survives of finding that once in a lifetime undiscovered treasure! (LOL!)
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petertdavis
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posted on April 8, 2002 09:43:10 AM new
Tom, why did you have to give up access to audiobooks?
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