posted on September 9, 2002 01:07:30 PM new
I don't normally do consignments. I have a few times, but for family looking to get rid of some items. No charge deals. But, now I have a friend of the family that wants to liquidate an entire collection of Hummels, Snow Village, and misc antiques. He says it is probably close to 500 items. He doesn't want to touch them. He is willing to pay to have me "take care of the details" of pictures, listing, managing auctions, emails, ect. He is willing to help with descriptions, but that's about it.
I'm kind of lost about how much to charge. Of course fee coverage would be where to start, but how high from there? I was curious as to what most of you are doing when it comes to consigment work. Any suggestions, tips, or comments would be greatly appreciated!
posted on September 9, 2002 01:26:05 PM new
ok I know I just signed up today,
but I have other ID's and selling experience , but I'm too lazy to log out.
anyway, definitly agree on everything upfront, write it down, both of you sign it,
have a witness in the worst part, you wanna be sure about everything before you start!
get the items in your possesion.
make a list of items.
(include that in the papers that you both sign) with that many items I would include inventory # to each item.
all the fees (insertion, FVF, auctionwatch,
gallery fees...etc ) should be paid by this person.
also I would charge a fee to take all pictures (lots of work, even if you do just 2-3 pics per item)
emails, description and managing items
i would put in the % that I would take.
I know opinion on this varies,
atleast 20 % of Final sell price would be a minimum,
depends on what it is that he has.
dont forget to work out shipping upfront,
for large items will he arange some company to deal with it?
how to deal with shipping charges?
buyer of course will pay for shipping, but there is cost of packing suplies, he should cover that, save all paper work and receipts.
one more thing, if the items have any damage, scratches, missing parts etc...
write all of that down durring inventory, extra work but worth it.
dont know anything else about selling large pieces, we do clothes only, hopefully some "expert" will reply to your post.
remember, get everything in writing before you start!
posted on September 9, 2002 02:10:32 PM new
I charge 10% to 50% as well as all the other dealers in my area. It depends on the item and what they want. I do all the shipping and I have the product right here in warehouse/studio from A to Z I take care of it. Do not forget to inventory it and have a contract written up ie these are the item(s) I am taking that you have agreed to have me sell so on and so on
posted on September 9, 2002 02:53:56 PM new
Good advice from other posters. Might be a good idea to set up another id for selling someone else's items.
Would also hang on to the payments after a sale for at least 30 day's just in case something goes south.
posted on September 9, 2002 04:59:53 PM new
I see you are pretty new to this message board. Everyone here has great ideas, lots of help if needed. You will get some great advice from the seasoned sellers so before you go into this adventure be sure and think everything through. Good Luck
posted on September 9, 2002 08:21:30 PM new
I have a second I.D. on both Ebay and AW for consignment sales. I charge $2.00 for listing and photos, whether the item sales or not. I charge 20% of final sale price and the client pays all Ebay fees. I take care of all shipping and pocket overages and eat undercharges. You can set up any type of arrangement that has been discussed here or come up with your own. But above all else, do not ignore the sellers here who advise you to NEVER list anything that is not in your possession and that you do not have FULL control of.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
posted on September 10, 2002 02:13:13 AM new
i charge a flat 30% which covers ebay fees, etc. ... also, i tell them that i will 'list it to sell', meaning i start it out with a low enough opening bid price, that i'm sure it WILL sell ... if it doesn't happen to get a bid in 1 go-'round, i give it back to the owner.
[ edited by aintrichyet on Sep 10, 2002 02:14 AM ]
posted on September 10, 2002 04:41:37 AM new
Do some extensive ground work first. What are these things worth? Are they salable or slugs?
What does the buyer expect to get for the collection? Can you sell some of the collection in lots? Are there any rare pieces that should command big bucks? How much will S&H be?
How much will packing material cost? Maybe some pieces or all would sell better at an antique mall or yard sale. How much time will it take to photograph,list, pack & ship each item? What is your time worth per hour? As suggested, move the collection to your location and get a signed contract.
posted on September 10, 2002 07:57:39 AM new
I pay my daughter 30% + I pay all fees and I am happy to do that. I also do my own auctions and I would not take consignments for any less unless the items are very high priced.
and selling experience , but I'm too lazy to log out.