Category: Selling tips

How do you find items to sell online?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Inventory, Selling tips, Tips for the beginner, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

One of the more common questions that I am asked is how I find items to sell online.  Some of the more common places to find items are estate sales, auctions and even flea markets are common, and you can even find items at local thrift stores.

So where are some other places that that I find items to sell online?

Did you know that you can even find items in junkyards?  The obvious items to be found there are car parts.  I have seen other items like enamel signs, wire baskets and even gas pumps hanging out in junkyards.

I have also found items to sell on the curb of my own neighborhood that my neighbors set out at the curb for free.

The clearance isle of a store is a good possibility of finding items as well.

These are just a few ways to find items to sell.  How have you found the items you sell?

What are some tips for people that are starting to sell online?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Inventory, Selling tips, Tips for the beginnerLeave a comment

You have shopped on websites like eBay and Etsy, now you have decided to take the plunge and sell some stuff on one of those sites.

What are some tips to keep in mind when you do?

The first thing to remember is sell something that you have around the house, you don’t have to make a special purchase when you dive into selling.

The next thing to remember is the selling sites will take a percentage of the sale to cover any fee that will occur when you sell an item.  I would check to see what the fee is before I listed the item.

Another thing to remember is to consider the time it takes to sell an item.  I have seen a wide variety of how long it takes to sell an item after it is listed—there have been items that sell within seconds after listing it and there have been another take two months to sell.

This is a small handful of tips when you start to sell online.  What tips help you out?

What are some tips to help generate sales?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Selling tips, Tips for the beginner1 Comment

The first thing that pops into my mind when you talk about selling items online is, well, the sale itself.  What are some tips that will help generate some sales?

All three tips deal with the online listing itself, and the first tip is to take good photos of what you are listing.  I can’t begin to count how many online listings I have walked away from because the photo is blurry, or the photo is a part of the item to where I can’t make out what is being sold.

The second tip that has helped me with sales is to have a really good description of the item.  Not only do I try to give as much information as I can about the item, I also try to use full sentences.  I do this so the potential buyer doesn’t get confused with what I am trying to say and how I am trying to describe the item.

The third tip that I do is to try and keep shipping costs low.  Not only that, I try to ship as fast as possible–I do this in hopes that the customer remembers how fast they got the item and comes back to purchase another item because of the shipping speed.

These are just a few tips that I do to help generate sales.  What kinds of tips have you heard?

What are some of the different types of prices that you will you run across?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Selling tipsLeave a comment

When you make the plunge into the world of antiques and collectibles, you will be amazed at what you run across.

You will see anything from advertising items to musical instruments and even glassware and pottery items.  You will quickly find out that the one thing that will get the most attention is the price of an item.

Did you know that there are different types of prices in the world of antiques and collectibles?  Here are some of the more common types that you will run across:

Reserve price—this is the minimum price that a seller will accept as the winning bid at an auction.

Auction Price—this is the price that is paid when auctioneer’s hammer falls.  This price does not include the Buyer’s Premium—the Buyer’s Premium will be applied when the buyer pays for their items.  The auction price is also known as the hammer price.

Retail Price—this is for an item that is for sale in someone’s physical store or booth.

This is some of the different types of prices that you will run across.  What other types have you seen?

How much do you charge for shipping when selling online?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Selling tipsLeave a comment

This question stumped me when I first started selling items online.  Every time you list an item on an online site, the question on how much to charge on shipping always comes up.  So how do you know how much to charge on the item that you are selling?

After I get all the pictures taken of the item, I will get a start on the packing part for the item to be mailed.  The first step that I do is to find a box that the item fits in.  I will look for a box that is a little bigger than what I am packing so I can put some packing peanuts around it.

When I find a box that works, I go ahead and wrap the item in some bubble wrap it.  When I get the packing peanuts and the bubble wrap around the item in the box, I will weigh the box.

I know that this might be a little over kill, but the size of the box and how much it weighs are what you use to figure the price of the shipping.

When you know that, you can head on over to the USPS website.  There is a postage calculator on that website, and all you have to do is to plug in the weight and size of the box.  When you do, the calculator will give you an idea on how much it will cost on shipping.

One thing that I do after I do this is to write on the inside flap what is inside the box and set it aside—this way all I have do is to put a packing slip inside the box before I tape it closed and attach a shipping label.

This is one way to figure out how much to charge for shipping.  What do you do to figure this out?

What are some mistakes to avoid when you are selling items online?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Selling tips, Tips for the beginnerLeave a comment

When it comes to selling items online, there are plenty of mistakes that can happen, it doesn’t matter if you are starting out or are a seasoned pro.  There are many, and I mean many, mistakes that can be made.

Here are some mistakes to look out for when you are selling items online:

One mistake is to make sure you have the right category when you list your item for sale.  I have seen people list a piece of Fenton in the section intended to be for automotive items (no joke), and I have also seen a piece of Roseville pottery listed in the section intended for Depression Glass.  I always double and triple check on what category I am listing an item in before I make it live and ready to purchase.

Another mistake is not telling about damage if there is some.  I have seen plenty of sellers say that the item is in good shape when I can tell in the photos that they provided that there is a chip or a crack somewhere (or even something like a dent is present).

Don’t ship before you get paid.  I know that this one also tends to be categorized as a scam as well, but I have heard of people accidently shipping an item before they got paid.  I always look to see if payment is completed before I buy the shipping label.

These are a small handful of the mistakes to look out for when you sell items online.  What are some of the mistakes that happened to you?  Have you heard of any to look out for?

When it comes to selling an item online, how do you know how to price it?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Inventory, Selling tips, Tips for the beginnerLeave a comment

Not too long ago, you purchased an item that you were wanting to list online and try to sell.  You have some terrific pictures of it and even a killer description of the item to post in the listing.  There is one thing that you are now starting to mull over—what kind of price do I put on it?

An easy thing to do is to do a general google search for it.  This way you can get a good range on not only what it is listed for sale online, but what it sells for as well.

Another thing that you can do is to ask a fellow dealer and see if they have sold a similar item.  One thing to keep in mind is if the dealer thinks that they can make a profit on it, they might make you an offer on your item.

The third way that you can find a price for your item is to do a little bit of math—I have seen a LOT of people take the price that they paid for the item and double it (if you paid $10 for it you would charge $20 with this method).  I have seen people use this method myself and it works (especially if I really can’t find a comparable item online or if I am talking to another dealer).

This is a few of the tricks to keep in mind when you are trying to get a price for an item you are going to sell online.  What kind of tricks have you heard of?

What are some questions to ask when you decide to sell an item?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Selling tips, Tips for the beginnerLeave a comment

When you are going to sell an item online or in person, there are going to be times when you will need to ask some questions.

Here are some of the questions that you should ask:

Are there fees that I must pay when I sell my items and how much are they?  This is a good question to ask, especially when you sell an item online.  There are fees when you sell an item online, and I have seen the fees be anywhere from 4% to 16% of the final selling price of the item.

Are there any restrictions on the item that I am about to sell and what are they?  The first two items that I know of that have restrictions on them are ivory and Brazilian Rosewood.  Both have been over harvested to the point where both are almost extinct.  To get a good idea on what else the selling site restricts, visit either the FAQ section or SELLER SECTION of their website.

Will I have to pay rent on a space that I want to set up at a local antique store or swap meet?  Yes, you will.  The rent will depend on the location that you want to be at.  I have seen rent be anywhere from as little as $20 at a local swap meet and around $130 to be the average cost of a booth at an antique store.

This is just a handful of the questions that you will hear when you start to sell items.  What are some of the questions that you have heard?

Simple photography tips for vintage jewelry items

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Jewelry, Photography, Selling tips, Tips for the beginnerLeave a comment

One of the first things that I have learned while selling things online is that taking pictures of the item you are going to sell is one of the most important things to do.  When it comes to photographs of jewelry, simple tips can really help make your piece really stand out.

Here are some tips to remember when you are taking some photographs of jewelry:

When it comes to taking the phot itself, you don’t need the most expensive camera on the market.  There are some really good digital point and shoot cameras out there—if you have access to a DSLR camera you could also use that too.  Another great way to take photos is with your smartphone (you can even list the item while you are at it with the selling app on your phone).

Take the time to steady the camera that you are using.  Putting it on a flat area like a chair or even using a tripod can help keep your photos in focus especially when you are zooming in on the item.

Another thing to remember is that your jewelry should be clean when you take photos of it.  There have been times that I thought I could skip giving the piece a quick polish before I took some photographs.  Boy was I wrong!  The second I looked at the photos that I just took is when I found smudges on the piece of jewelry (and wow, did it look bad!).

Any piece of jewelry will look a million times better if you take some time on how the background looks behind the piece of jewelry.  A ring holder, a piece of colored felt, and even a marble slab will make your jewelry really stand out.

This is a small handful of tips to remember when it comes to taking photographs of jewelry.  What tips have you found that works great?

Where are some of the strange places that you have found inventory to sell?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Inventory, Selling tips, Tips for the beginnerLeave a comment

When it comes to finding inventory, the best rule of thumb is to keep your eyes open.  You never know where you will find something—it could be anywhere from the trunk of a Honda to a Church.

One weird place that I got some inventory was a neighbor’s trash can—a person was throwing away a TOMS countertop wire rack.  Another neighbor down the street from me was going to throw away a movie card that I asked if I could have (and I still have it).

Countless sheds, outbuildings and barns have also had many things that I have bought.  Make sure you even check the rafters of these buildings.

There was also the out of business grocery store.  There was a local auction company that was having a sale there—you could still see that the meat department still stocked with its slicer and tables there.  It was interesting to see all of that when I bought a wood Hayward Wakefield table at the sale.

One of the strangest places that I found a piece to sell is a chicken coup—it had a 4-foot tall by 8-foot-long enamel Coca Cola sign inside.

What was the strangest place that I have ever bought something out of?  It was a haunted house that was on the back of a person’s property.

This is a small handful of strange places that I have bought inventory to sell.  Where are some strange places that you have bought inventory at?