eBay Big Dawgs Secrets!

[Cebus Capucinis]

I just started trying to 'flip' some collection goodies on eBay and am barely starting my way into the wide, wide world of eBay classic game selling. I mostly just sell loose 2600 carts (and I wouldn't really say "sell" more as "list and then don't get buyers") and it's pretty obvious I don't really know what the ropes of this stuff is.

 

So any of you 'big dawg' pros of the ebay seller market (ax, shawn sr., etc.) have any tips to share? You don't need to give away your BIG secrets to business, but just some general ideas as to make a little of the green stuff on the side selling off doubles and whatnot?

 

EDIT: Sorry if this should be in a 'general/off-topic' forum, I wasn't sure where to put it and since it's relevant to selling and trading, I thought marketplace would be the most 'on-topic'. I'm just looking to garner some discussion about the vintage game market and how selling works, etc.

Edited December 7, 2009 by CebusCapucinis

[BDW]

I suggest typing "SUPER DUPER ULTRA RARE" in every one of your listings. Rant on about how rare and valuable it is. Justify the rediculous prices you are going to put on your items by (again) stating how obnoxiously rare it is. If the item is ugly beyond comparison, just say it is a factory defect. Take any shelless carts and masquerade them as protos.

 

 

Follow these rules and become rich!

Edited December 7, 2009 by brandondwright

[Mirage]

You forgot the "LQQK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[Cebus Capucinis]

I use the more rare and less-oft-used l@@k!

[busterm]

I use the more rare and less-oft-used l@@k!

 

 

**RARE** always works. Though I recently encountered how Flawed ebays feedback system is yesterday. I sold a broken Neogeocd unit and clearly stated it was broken for parts repair only at least 3 times in the auction and in the title was Neo-Geo CD Read Description. Guy bought it didnt read the description then left me negative feedback cuz it didn't work. What a moron. I even offered him a refund and his reply was. Id rather give you a negative than take a refund.

 

Boy ebay has really gone down hill lately.

 

So what ever you do be careful with some of the nut cases when it comes to old games and systems.

[Cebus Capucinis]

Well, I refuse to lie about stuff. I'm not going to say 'Atari 2600 Combat Cart **RARE**' if it's obviously not.

[Ransom]

Boy ebay has really gone down hill lately.

 

Your definition of 'lately' must be very different than mine.

 

Edited December 7, 2009 by Ransom

[Mirage]

Boy ebay has really gone down hill lately.

 

Your definition of 'lately' must be very different than mine.

 

 

Totally agreed. That's what I thought too... "so, lately is like the past 5 or 6 years of a downhill slide?"

[busterm]

Boy ebay has really gone down hill lately.

 

Your definition of 'lately' must be very different than mine.

 

 

Totally agreed. That's what I thought too... "so, lately is like the past 5 or 6 years of a downhill slide?"

 

 

HAHA well ok its been bad the past few years but the past couple months have been the worse with all the new policy changes. The new paypal changes, and so on.

[Carey85]

Kind of funny regarding "LQQK" and "L@@K" in auction titles. I make it a point to put LQQK, L@@K, ULTRA, NOT, and PAL in my search strings on ebay when looking for Atari stuff. You'd be amazed how much of the riffraff you weed out just by excluding those keywords in your search string.

[Zwackery]

1) Clean and test all of your carts, and then say they have been cleaned & tested in the auction description. Fairly close up pics are useful, too.

2) Considering bundling lots together. Some people go for the all commons, all uncommons, all rares lots, while others do a lot of common, a few uncommons, and maybe a rare or two. If the latter, you need to make it worth going for the mixed grouping to a collector, who is most likely interested in the rares. People with Atari nostalgia might go after a "greatest hits" mix of carts.

3) Be as accurate as possible with shipping charges. You may want to consider flat rate boxes and see how many carts you can pack in for blowout deals on loose carts.

4) People have different views on when the best time to end auctions is. I personally avoid the weekend, especially Sunday, and typically end on Tuesday or Wednesday, usually around 11pm Eastern, which gives West Coast people time to bid and overseas folks are often able to catch these auctions as well (or set an alarm without too much difficulty).

5) On that note, shipping overseas reliably has gotten very cost prohibitive for us in the US. I've never had any problems shipping to Mexico or Canada (other than some long transit times due to customs, but that happens extremely infrequently to me, maybe I'm lucky). So, consider going international with the bidding, but have everything (weight of package, shipping charge depending on carrier, customs issues) well researched beforehand.