posted on March 4, 2003 06:11:35 PM new
I think I stumbled onto a little gold mine (maybe). My dad was digging through some old boxes in his closet and he came across an old set of hardback Tom Swift Jr. books circa late 50s to early 60s. He said they're all in excellent condition. I vaguely remember seeing these books on a bookshelf in my older brothers room when I was young. I'll know more about how many in the set and the condition when I pick them up later this week. At any rate, do these books have any significant value beyond being old books? Any good advice on selling books on ebay (or other auction sites)? I've been selling on Ebay for almost two years but books aren't my normal offerings.
posted on March 4, 2003 09:52:46 PM new
Tom: Last summer I found two ratty Tom Swift books from the 20s, orange cloth covers, no DJ. Got them for $1 each at a library book sale. I cleaned them off with a solution of detergent, bleach, and water, let them dry (yes, it worked, but I'd never do it with a really valuable book) and sold each one for $15 or $20 on ebay.
posted on March 4, 2003 10:14:01 PM new
Roadsmith:
Interesting...if I remember correctly, there were around 15-20 of these books in the collection and if I'm not mistaken they were all sequential. I wonder if it would be better to sell them as a group or individually?
posted on March 4, 2003 10:21:47 PM new
If you go to the completed search on ebay you may get some ideas. It looks like many of them do very well. Check it out here:
posted on March 4, 2003 10:27:15 PM new
My first inclination would be to sell them individually, especially if they're all in about the same condition. I am just about through selling a whole bunch of collectible magazines for my son-in-law. I started with #1 and I'm now at #79! The first, because they were oldest, did better, and some have just sold for the starting price, but they've all sold. I'm absolutely convinced I would have done worse if I'd grouped them, because I heard from a lot of buyers whose personal collections of this magazine were just missing #22, #59, #61, etc. and were looking for that one.
It could be different with books, of course. But be sure to tell your buyers that you have more (a "small collection" and will be listing them in coming weeks. Ask if they'd like you to notify them when more are up for sale. And if they e-mail and ask to buy some off ebay, you can do that too, then, if their price is right.
I listed only 10 magazines at a time and sometimes waited a couple of weeks before listing the next batch, because I didn't want to flood the market.
If these Swift books were mine, I'd probably list 3 at a time, singly. And if they didn't do well and I was tired of selling them, then I'd group them in perhaps twos or threes. A lot depends on how much patience and time you have. The Big Game here for me is selling every danged thing I list--at least that's my goal. Getting some money for everything. Turning what people don't want into cold cash. That's the game, and when it's no longer fun, I'll stop.
posted on March 4, 2003 10:47:49 PM new
I agree with Roadsmith. I'd list them singly the first time around. I would probably be inclined to list them all at the same time, launching each auction about 5 minutes apart, with a line of default text in each auction referring to the other auctions. There will be bidders who will want the complete set, and there will be others who only want one or two to fill out a partial set they already have. Be sure you mention liberal shipping discounts for multiple wins. By having them all up at once, individually, you are setting the stage for some possible bidding wars.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
and will be listing them in coming weeks. Ask if they'd like you to notify them when more are up for sale. And if they e-mail and ask to buy some off ebay, you can do that too, then, if their price is right.