FT Women - any experts on eBay? thinking of selling my St. John's
To tie this into travel , I was chatting w/ my sister over the holiday & bemoaning the lessening of travel due to client cutbacks (ie, my retainers last year when they scaled back - I took a $48K income hit, so discretionary travel was limited).
And she said - you've got a gazillion St. John's, you don't dress as much as you did when you worked in the corporate world now that you work out of home, why don't you consider selling some of them rather than have them sit in the closet, and then you can use the proceeds to book some trips...
So I started thinking about it - she's right. I really do have a boatload of St. John clothing. Some I'd keep, but there's probably quite a bit I could part w/.
And the reason I'm posting this in the Women's forum rather than OMNI is that I figure females are more familiar w/ the St. John brand than guys would be.
So that's the background. The further background is that I've only been on eBay 4x/bought something, so definitely not that familiar with how it all works.
It also occurred to me that if I did post stuff on eBay I might get rid of the crystal teddy bear collection I have (Baccarat, Waterford, Orrefors, etc), primarily cuz I'm tired of dusting the darn things and they could bring in some income, although obviously not the same level as the St. John clothing.
So - if I decided to do this, any tips, ideas, etc? Any input appreciated.
Unrelated topic: did she like the Phillips surround sound system? I'm loving mine
Back o/t: I've bought and sold on eBay and it's such a pain in the neck to do. BUT it is a way to get rid of some of the more collectible items where you want the widest possible audience who may be willing to pay top dollar for your items.
Photos are key; pay the extra to have your ad list with a photo. Unless there's something really unique that you need to showcase, you can probably get by with the free photo they let you have per item.
Pace your St. John's stuff slowly on the site, so you aren't competing with your own offerings. Run a quick search to see how much of any given item is up before you add something similar that day.
Craigslist is only good for some things. I sold a 400-lb safe that way...and made them come haul it away. I'd have never sold something like that on eBay!
Sharon, I sold a bunch of our excess stuff on ebay a few years ago, but not much in the way of clothing. You'd be amazed at what people will buy. Hubby2e even sold used shoes
I'll gladly offer any advice I can, but the best place to get an education is on their BBs. They have a community area with boards for each topic. You would be most interested in the Seller's board.
I learned alot of stuff about selling and how to list things and what to do/not to do when dealing with buyers.
If it's got a designer label, and your stuff does, you shouldn't have much trouble selling it. I've even sold a used coach wallet that hubby2e didn't like any longer.
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Mary Life is too short to spend it being angry
I've sold a few things on ebay with decent success. I sold a Louis Vuitton purse that I never cared much for. I bought it because I thought it would be a good travel purse (drawstring on top), but it wasn't. I got $476.00 for it which was good given that it was many years old albeit in brand new condition.
I also sold my long mink coat on ebay since I don't wear fur anymore and can't recall exactly what I got for it although I remember not being displeased with the price. But, I do know that I didn't market the mink coat correctly. I put a minimum bid on it that was too high and people didn't start bidding on it until later in the game.
Pictures, as Owlchick said, are crucial to getting a decent price. The condition of the clothes is important, as well.
Also, it seems the best time to sell things is in October, November and the beginning of Dec. People buy things for Christmas. The summer is slow.
It is a pain in the neck to do though. It's the packing and sending that I don't like.
I've been selling on ebay since 1998 - fine china dinnerware and crystal like Wedgwood and Baccarat - and although it has become more and more cumbersome and costly, it's still a great way to move merchandise by offering it to a wide audience. The poster who recommended good quality pics is right on target and pricing to sell with no reserve is generally the best way. Many buyers these days won't mess with auctions where the item isn't really for sale - as many aren't with high reserves. The only downside I see for you is lack of feedback. On designer items, there is some hesitancy on the part of buyers given the large number of fakes out there unless a seller has good feedback.
As long as you are fairly comfortable downloading/uploading photos, the process isn't at all difficult but setting up your first few auctions will take longer than you think. Be patient though and you'll get the hang of it.
If you can't navigate it, how about offering some of your goodies to your pals on FT? I can see the coupon connection now W: Miles and karma H:St. John knit suit, size 8, with tags!!
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That's a hell of an act, General.
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If you do decide to sell on Ebay, don't use your home address as your return address on your shipments. Just not good for your security when selling luxury items.
My boss let me use the office address for my return address when I was selling books and CD's on Amazon.com (back when you could make some money doing that).
Our office sold some stuff on EBay which was easy for us as we having a shipping dept. We quit doing it when the 'bother' factor got too high, but it was a good source of petty cash for a while.
I think with clothing, not only sizes but also measurements help tell the story. A tape measure on the bust, waist, hip, inseam, pantleg width, sleeve length, etc.
I look at the rating of the buyer too, and for you the trick will be to get a few sales done and get some positive ratings. That will then help subsequent sales.
The words "Smoke free house" are big with many people. And even "Pet free". Or "non-smoker" in the case of apparel.
More description of colors, since photos to computer screens can result in quite a bit of drift.
Lots of photos, as somebody else said.
A lot of the postings seem to make a fair part of the profit just in inflating the postage cost. Up to you?
My son sold stuff on eBay for a while. He offered insurance. Said it was pure profit.
The crystal items will probably sell well on Ebay.
Used clothing, even designer, doesn't sell quite as well. If the clothing is used with the tags removed you will take a major hit on price. Let's say the item was originally $500, the store probably marked the item down at the end of the season by 50%, so it's value new is only $250. You wore the item twice, so it is no longer "new" and that slashes it again by at least 50%. Any alterations (adding bust darts, hemming, etc) you make to item also slashes the price.
I would start by placing an ad on Craigslist asking if someone wanted "shop" your collection. Another option for designer clothing is consignment shops. When buying used clothing people want to check the fit and check out the fabric for stains, rips, weak spots, etc.
* 15-16 suits
* 7-8 evening gowns
* 16-17 dresses (some for day; some cocktail)
i was really into st. john there for a while (well, still am but given the above how much do i really need), and of course will still keep some of the items as i still have to go to corp stuff or entertainment industry events.
st. john doesn't usually get marked down very much, but with the exception of 1-2 items that i bought & totally forgot about (ie, never worn w/ tags), the clothes have been used. some only worn 1x, or a few times. others more. but everything is in fabulous condition. i'm certainly not expecting to get what i paid for them (pricing on st. john clothes i bought range from $600-$2,000), and probably in some cases not even 1/2-1/3, but i would imagine i'd still get somewhat of a decent price - at least to buy an airline ticket or two - or go to missy's sea-do x
my sister thought ebay because of the % the resale shops take.
i'm not sure what no reserve is, and i don't know how they figure out the shipping costs. guess i'll be doing some research on both ebay & craigslist this weekend. also this sounds dumb, but i saw measurements mentioned when i searched st. john on ebay, but how are they coming up w/ bust etc? and in the searches i did, things that were the same size had dif measurements. it was confusing to me (granted, it's not hard to confuse me).
mary, funny you mention shoes. i was just looking in both closets & realizing how many i own that i don't wear. would never have occurred to me to sell those
btw - when i moved to my current place i ended up donating 15 really good suits (not st. john) to the local goodwill, because dress for success (which i've donated to before) wasn't accepting donations. while i believe in charity etc, i'm not willing to donate the st. johns to goodwill.
prncess, interestingly enough, when i searched on crystal teddy bears, not that many cropped up & some were being listed by people who own actual stores so the prices were retail. i've got the boxes for some of them, but thought of going to the waterford, orrofers, etc, sites to figure out original pricing. some i bought; some were gifts from years ago.
owlchick - sister loved the home theatre system. poor golden retrievers who were sleeping in front of the telly when an action sequence came on the dvd were a bit startled; sound system really worked!
When selling the crystal pieces be sure to copy the style # and descriptions from the manufacturer's site and include that info in your listing.
If you are trying to figure out the market for your items I would start off with the tagged items (which usually sell quite well) and see how much you can get for them. You may also want to only place items that are currently in season.
It is amazing what people buy and sell on ebay. You can buy pretty much anything. If you are new to selling you may want to get your feet wet selling some smaller lower dollar items to figure out if it is worth your time. Other items to look into selling are books, DVDs, CDs, designer handbags and designer costume jewelry.
One other thing to look into is an ebay consigner. They take a much smaller portion than a traditional consignment shop. The photograph and list your items, collect payment and take a small profit. You may want to list on Craigslist looking for someone to list your items in trade for 10% of the sales price. If your items are high dollar items you may do better that way. Having an experienced person list your items means they have a high feedback ratings which can sometimes lead to higher sales prices.
My parents sell fairly regularly on ebay and for a while were listing rare and high value items for acquaintances in return for a piece of the profits since they had a high positive feedback rating.
Sharon, your list is giving me heart palpitations! And I thought I had clothing obsessions! Please give all of us a heads up when you list and I'll be the first one to bid if you have my size (6/8 I hope).
As for your questions, I have never used Craigslist for such things, but all of the previous posts offer good advice. The new with tags stuff (look for NWT in the listings when you search for comps) will definitely do much better than the other stuff. Sadly, even designer used clothing doesn't come close to recouping anything approaching its original sale price. I'd say if you could get 25%, you'd be doing well.
No reserve means the bidding starts at the minimum bid set by you and the item then sells at the highest price offered at the end of the sale regardless of the end-of-sale price. Reserve auctions have a hidden minimum price above the minimum bid price set by you, for example if you have a reserve auction, you may set the minimum opening bid at $50, but you tell ebay that your reserve - the minimum amount you're actually willing to SELL the item for - is $100. In the meantime, bidders who bid at least 50 but less than 100 will be told that their bid has not met the reserve. This is a big turnoff to buyers, who waste their time bidding on an item that isn't really for sale at the bid price. I don't recommend reserve, especially on clothing items.
As for shipping, if I were you, I would simply do a flat fee instead of schlepping each package to the post office for a price and then communicating it to your buyer. For one suit, for example, I'd charge $15 for regular shipping and include insurance. If one buyer purchases multiple items from you, you can combine shipping, say $15 for the first item purchased then $5 for each additional item. Buyers love the opportunity to do this, especially for specialty items like you are talking about. Shipping really is the worst part of the experience for online sellers, so make it as easy as possible on yourself. For years I spend weekends bubble wrapping and double boxing thousands of dollars worth of fine china and crystal. Clothes are much easier!
Make sure you price to sell, if that's what you really want to do, by checking not only the current auctions but the completed ones. You want to see where you stand on similar pieces so you don't make your initial prices too high or too low. You might also consider a buy-it-now option for buyers who know exactly what they want and want it immediately.
I know there's so much more that I can't think of right now so please feel free to PM me any time if you have any questions. I'm happy to help if I can. It can be a lot of fun!
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That's a hell of an act, General.
Forgot to mention about your teddy bears - having the boxes is good as true collectors want those. You will get much better prices compared to retail on this kind of stuff versus the clothing. Once again, I'd definitely recommend looking at recent completed auctions when deciding on pricing. The collectibles marketplace is pretty saturated now compared to when I started almost 10 years ago, but if you really want to move your stuff and price it to sell, you shouldn't have any trouble selling these pieces for decent $.
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That's a hell of an act, General.
Sharon, look at the adult ed classes in your area to see if a class is taught on how to use eBay. We have a class taught locally once a quarter. I believe it is just 3 hours long. I'd certainly invest the time if I were in your shoes with high value items.
Thanks for all the tips! I knew FTers would come through. And I will need to do some research, so while this is a good idea to get rid of good things that I'm not likely to use, won't be offering them for eBay or craigslist this weekend.
Also like the idea of trying some smaller items such as books & dvds to get my feet wet & build up a good reputation.
And yes a lot of the dresses/suits/evening gowns are size 6/8.
, I was chatting w/ my sister over the holiday & bemoaning the lessening of travel due to client cutbacks (ie, my retainers last year when they scaled back - I took a $48K income hit, so discretionary travel was limited).
I'd have never sold something like that on eBay!
Life is too short to spend it being angry 
