EBay is trying to get younger shoppers by providing more new merchandise and making searches quicker on phones. Eighty percent of the offerings are now new and 86 percent are sold at a fixed price, not an auction, which seems to be becoming outmoded. (Wall Street Journal) Most antiques and collectibles are one-of-a–kind, while new merchandise listings can offer many of the same item from a single ad. A collector who is selling part of a collection has costs that include listing fees, and other EBay charges, as well as Paypal, photographs and time. It’s probably no longer the best way to sell a collection.
I also used to sell on ebay but it seems that they keep changing the rules and bend over backwards in favor of the buyers at the expense of the sellers…and the scammers know this. I was scammed once and haven’t sold on there since. I now list items on Craig’s List–cash and carry with no ebay or paypal fees–and have had pretty good luck there.
We run a live auction at our gallery in Arkansas. This year, we have been running our auctions with an “in house” crowd and live simulcast online through Ebay and AuctionZip. Buyers are able to absentee bid prior to the auction, or watch and bid “live” as the auction is happening on their phone or laptop, or come to our gallery in person if they are in Arkansas.
We have found that this combination of platforms do accommodate everyone – those who like to be there in person, absentee bidders, and live online bidders across the globe. Our experience is that some collectibles and antiques do quite well and do make it into other Collector’s hands. Some of the posts are correct though – some items once desirable are no longer wanted, no matter how they are offered! That is the hardest thing to realize if you are a long time collector or liquidating a loved one’s lifetime collection.
I found http://www.liveauctioneers.com they specialize in antiques and collectibles, the older the better.. what I like about them most is, they charge 13% which means you get to keep 87%.
I have sold a few things on there so far, the way it works is, you send them pictures of what you have to auction, they look it over and determine if they want to sell it. I have had some items rejected, they will contact you within three business days of the results.
I have also bought things on there in their LIVE auctions, but the shipping and handling fees are horrible, (found that out the hard way). But for sellers its pretty nice.
Look into Ruby Lane at rubylane.com
You must work it though and be very professional about it as it is a vetted site.
You must be willing to take returns (required as long as buyer informs you of a return within 3 days of receipt and of course as long as returned in same condition as sent).
eBid gives so much moe for so little!
Several years ago, I found eBid.net. They have been growing quie a bit lately–probably because of eBay’s fees and practices. If we could all get together and join eBid, it would really help. $49 gives you Seller Plus for a lifetime. No listing fees and minimal final value fees. Thwere are a few extras that can be paid for, but extremely reasonable. After the past two months, I am going to list more and more with them!
Andy Pruitt ~ Thank you. I feel validated. I was starting to think it was only me. Your story is similar to mine. I also have moved to using Buy-It-Now with the price I want for most items. Auctions do well with unusual items. In order to remain a Top Rated Seller I have to offer 60 day returns, one day handling and maintain my feedback ratings.
Yes, eBay has changed! I have been selling to supplement income since 2000. I sell vintage, antiques (smalls,) some collectibles and jewelry. I noticed the biggest changes in 2012 when sales dropped dramatically. Some said it was the search engine eBay changed. Since, I’ve had some bad years and some good years. I’ve tried Etsy and have not sold one thing there. It is still eBay for me as I’ve found nothing else. They are killing me with taking away Turbo Lister next year. Also, I think eBay requiring 30 day return policy for the type things I sell is ridiculous. I start most things on auction. That gives me an idea of the interest. If it fails to sell at auction, I may do it as BIN. I can’t see much difference between the two ways as to what sells and what does not.
We have been antique/collectible dealers on eBay almost since the beginning (1998) and have lived through the many changes they have made. Some were harder to accept than others and the biggest change for us is that eBay now caters to the buyers offering all-inclusive protection. You can still sell your collection and get what you want for items but you must start with a price that you are willing to let it sell for and then be willing to take a return for any reason (up to 30 days now). We still use auctions for items that are unusual and hard to find and these items do just fine. It is the more common stuff that doesn’t bring what it used to. I would recommend asking at antique malls for dealers who would be willing to let you “consign” items on eBay and charge you a commission (if you don’t want to do it yourself) or hire an estate sale company. Hope this is helpful.
Where is the best place now to sell antiques? Go to Doyles?
Hawker Services in Rochester,MN. You can see what they handle and how they work at http://www.Hawkerservices.com. They have an international following and the buyer pays for the shipping. The bidder must provide a valid credit card to bid on items and is automatically charged at the close of the auction. If they don’t pay they will be unable to bid on future events. Check it out.
I sell vintage and antique items on eBay as a part-time income and it is still going strong. Yes, auctions are dead and nobody has the patience for them, but I strictly use the Buy It Now option and have great success. As long as the item is competitively priced, it will sell in a reasonable time frame.
Hawker Services in Rochester, MN sells collections and one of a kind items online to a national audience. The seller doesn’t have to pay to ship to the buyer. The seller need not list or photograph. They also sell estate items like lamps and furniture and sometimes books, vintage tools and car parts and of course coins, jewelry, electronics and art. http://Www.Hawkerservices.com. See for yourselves. They have excellent references and best of all you are protected from people bidding and then not paying. Bidders must give a valid credit card a day before getting their first shot at bidding on the site. If payment doesn’t go through the bidder is blocked.
Thanks for the comments andsome very good suggestions. I am working on a long report of where and how to sell that will include specialized sites. Please send more comments. Even the major auction houses and fancy shops are noticing collectors and collecting are changing. But so are newspapers, books, even phones, all important if the past when selling.
I primarily buy on eBay and I have noticed the change in types of items (e.g. commercial new items) Buy Now.
The problem I see is the length of time an item stay up. I see a lot of items in Auction and Buy Now there for weeks. No big deal on a Buy Now, but very different for an auction. Experience shows me that no one really gets serious for an auction item until the last hour with the major effort put forth in the final 10-minutes. I would recommend that auction items but put up for 1 to 3 days (no more than 4) with a reserve and or minimum start bid that is reasonable.
Etsy is the best place that I have found to sell vintage and antique items.
There are buy and sell pages on Facebook. You can do a search. But you don’t have the protection that eBay offers. Are there sites like Ruby Lane and TIAS which have the traffic eBay does?
There are sale sites on Facebook now. All of the ones we look at or use are free. There are local yard sale pages and there are some serious antiques and art pages, which are mainly closed groups, with some rules. For the local pages type in your location and ‘sales’,’ yardsales’, ‘buy sell trade’ or similar words. You can also look for buy and sell groups. For our serious collecting needs, we like :identify and value my paintings; talking antiues and a Japanese ceramics page. The drawback to the Facebook pages is that you don’t have the protections that eBay offers. If you sell something to someone local, be sure to meet in a public place. We’ve sold a couple things from our home, but we knew the people. I would like to know if there are places besides Ruby Lane and TIAS. Thanks!
I still buy used books from Ebay and some other sources, but I’ve never been a fan of auctions — too much drama.
And shipping costs have ruined the fun of finding odd bits of pottery here and there…
As a buyer and a seller I still use ebay regularly. It has seemed a bit harder to get good prices for selling collectibles, a higher starting price (as another reader commented) and the “Buy It Now” option are good tips. However as a buyer, every so often I get a bargain, but those garage sale and flea market prices are few and far between. I am amazed at the prices some sellers ask and wonder who on earth is their target customer. Even among the new merchandise prices are high compared to other retailers. The only real bargains are on things that ship direct from China which take longer to receive and I’d rather buy from USA.
If not eBay, then where is best to sell collectibles? My mom just passed away and she had been a dealer in antiques and we don’t know what to do with these things. Thanks for your help!
I think I recognized this 2 years ago, yet I make my meager living selling picked smalls on eBay. The trick is to start listings at the minimum price you would like for the item and not the recommended 99 cent starting bid.
I came to this realization when a pair of 14kt gold earrings sold for less than $5. Few people have the attention span when purchasing via eCommerce to nurse a 7 day auction.
But, it’s still viable to sell collections. More time is required to evaluate recent sales of comparable items.
Since it appears that eBay may no longer be a good venue for selling collections, which alternatives should one consider when selling antiques and collectibles?
Ebay isn’t much fun anymore. Not to sell on or buy from. It used to be like a huge garage sale but now it is just another store and mostly junk from Asia
I sold on ebay about 8 or 9 years ago for a while, all auction, all vintage items, and did very well. I have some listings on there now and have only sold one item. It was vintage and I had it in auction status. I have a couple of other items in auction status that are not doing anything, even my fixed price items are not selling. I am disappointed with it. I have an Etsy shop and do fairly well on there. Sites like Etsy are the way to go now.
I am now 80 years old and have collected over the years delft, Hagger Pottery, head vases, flow blu, large German fish sets etc. What is my best source to try and sell them now?
If eBay is no longer the best place to sell a collection – where is?
If EBay is no longer the best way to sell a collection, what is?
Signed,
A collector
I had no idea this was going on! I’ve used ebay in the past extensively in the past & am planning to use it again in the near future. Thanks so much for being such a wonderful source of important information!!! You folks ROCK!!!!
We had been using eBay to downsize and had good results. My husband has been ill this year, so we aren’t doing anything with our collection. It is boxed up and put away until he is better. Do you have any Internet sites you prefer to eBay? In case we ever get to pick up where we left off. Thank you.
It’s sad to see this change in eBay. Since 2005 I have been buying many pieces of antique and collectable sterling silver, china and crystal along with miscellaneous other items. I have notice a change in eBay over the last year or so. They’ve altered their website which is less user friendly to me now and thus I have virtually stopped buying things on eBay and going more to local estate sales now.
If eBay is no longer the best way to sell collections, what would be now? We need to have a good resource for selling!
If eBay is no longer a viable option to sell a collection then what is recommended?
As a seller on eBay for over 18 years …
This year has been unbelievably bad
Yes it has changed and not too sure where to go next?
Etsy or
I sell ephemera on eBay not sure how that would do on Etsy sine I believe a good part of their customer base are woman.
I would like to hear what other peolpe think
If eBay is not the best way to sell antiques… what is? They still seem to be the only real game in town for most areas of antiques and collectibles.
Hello, With regard to this article, what does Kovels recommend and Art, Antiques and collectibles dealer do? There really isn’t a internet site that appears to pick up the slack so I would welcome your recommendation. Thank you, Susan
What sites do you recommend for on-line selling, particularly for individual items, not an entire collection?
Well, I guess along with Turbolister going away, I will have to stop buying anything, which is going to be hard to do, old habits die hard. In the meantime, I have about 6 tubs vintage stuff I need to do something with now.
So, what is the best online place to sell a collection?