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same here–in my case about 80% of my merchandise comes from auctions–I love it, the local auction house went all online, and it is great for me, I can shop in my PJs and then the pick-up is only 15 mins away.
As for BOLOs–definitely bongo drums, I have sold every set I have found, I sell them for around $35, people love them for Tiki decor, etc.
The best thing that I have learned in the last few months is knowing when to put the brakes on spending, with that philosophy I have been able to hold onto more cash than usual–I am also being as selective as possible when buying.
I definitely think that ebay buyers expect “best offer” now–I put it on most things over $39.99, which is why I like etsy–no official best offer, it doesn’t keep people from making offers but they usually aren’t as low ball as some I get on ebay, but best offer has taken the place of the auction pretty much.
I think that your instincts about the piece–tourist–is correct, that said, I have sold paintings of this sort with great frequency.
Total Items in Store: 400+ on etsy, 200+ on ebay
Items Sold: 19 (9 on ebay, 10 on etsy
Total Sales: $745. ($349 ebay/$395 etsy)
Highest Price Sold: $70 (antique perfume on ebay)
Average Price Sold: $39
Returns: 0good week
I am so jealous of your fluency in Japanese, in the 90’s my partner and I sold vintage clothing to mostly Japanese clients–I tried to teach myself conversational Japanese (I didn’t even try with the various writing systems they use.) Japanese is not an easy language to learn.
I also get all the vintage decor mags–they are $10 a pop, but worth it to see what is happening in the antiques/vintage decorator market.
The week was OK for me, $480—about half of what I sold last week. I had a $100 return on a piece of jewelry, the main complaint seems to be that she can’t make any money on it (she is also a seller) LOL, I take returns period, she made a molehill out of a minor flaw (the stone was a little loose in its bezel.) Whatever, I am slightly astonished because I try to price at retail, and I honestly wouldn’t have picked that particular item to resell if I saw it in someone else’s store.
yeah well, you can see why ebay would rather keep the money and issue a “credit” LOL
” paid $40 and ended up selling for $120″
I do this too–I like having great stuff in my stores and I pay up to get it. It is not always about making 100xs what you pay.
I have only sold at Bonham’s L.A., first were my prints that sold for $35,000 and the second was a Zia Indian pot that they estimated would sell for $1200 that didn’t sell the first time (Bonham’s, like many higher end auctions, has an unspoken reserve–that would be the low end of the estimate), the thing is that it still costs money if the item does not sell–storage fees, catalog fees, etc., add up–I paid $3 for the pot and it would have cost me $150 to have them send it back, I just left it with them for their next Native Indian auction and it did sell on the next go round for the bottom asking price of $500–in that case I could have gotten more on ebay for it. All of this should be considered when you auction something. In addition, higher end auction houses can take weeks to pay you. The first step should always be to send .jpegs to the better auction houses, if the piece is worth their time, they will get back to you and make an offer. Auction fees are also pretty high–they took $6000 from the sale of the prints, and $175 on the pot–so also something to consider when consigning.
yes, Etsy has taken over–I like listing there so much better–fees are a little less, but for vintage I am more of a big fish in a small pond, that said, I would never give up ebay because plenty of times when etsy is slow, ebay sales pick up. I think that sellers really need to diversify to make a good income in this business.
Pricing is interesting, I am trying to advise a friend who is getting started about pricing–her natural tendency is to price cheaply. My take is somewhat different than yours, I go by my gut, I look up sold prices, but as Jay found out, many ebay sellers are willing to give away their stuff very cheaply (so much so that someone could buy most of their merchandise on ebay to resell on ebay and elsewhere.) At any rate, I just price in a way that I am comfortable with and can make a profit on–especially since I have a fraction of the inventory that you and many others have, I need to keep my income moving. Even so, my per unit average is decent, around $40. Here are my stats this week:
Total Items in Store: 215–>ebay, 413–>etsy
Items Sold: 18 (11 on etsy, 7 on ebay)
Total Sales: $917.63 ($340 on ebay, $576 on etsy)
Highest Price Sold: $145 (mink coat on etsy)
Average Price Sold: $50.97
Returns: 0I got close to a $1000 week, but “no cigar” as they say.
A few notables:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/507554573/rare-antique-the-rathskeller-cafe-and?ref=shop_home_active_2
found at an online auction for $15, sold for $60 I was the only bidder and there were a couple of other saleable pieces in the lot.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/507585319/antique-1900-worlds-fair-paris-france?ref=shop_home_active_1
another online find–sold for $65 and I have a few stereoviews that came in the lot still to sell.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/488717044/vintage-1946-drink-pepsi-cola?ref=shop_home_active_10
This is an interesting story, found at a thrift store for $10, I was really excited when I got it home and took it apart and saw that it was stamped 1946–I wanted a lot of money for it, until it was brought to my attention that the Pepsi-cola decal was almost certainly added much later, anyway I got $55 for it “as is” and was happy with that.
bought online for $30, sold for $75–a quick flip as they say.
