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I have never sold anything on EBay before, and also have zero experience in the retail sector, new or used. Bearing in mind the fact I am selling second-hand goods, I would like some advice from people regarding the best time to sell some GW model cases and some models? Would before or after Christmas be better? I suspect after Christmas is better, as these are second-hand goods, so unlikely to be purchased as presents, and quite likely to be bought with Christmas money?

While I welcome everyone's opinions (and tough luck if I don't, right? ) I am especially keen to hear from anyone with relevant past experience.

Fifty wrote:I have never sold anything on EBay before, and also have zero experience in the retail sector, new or used. Bearing in mind the fact I am selling second-hand goods, I would like some advice from people regarding the best time to sell some GW model cases and some models? Would before or after Christmas be better? I suspect after Christmas is better, as these are second-hand goods, so unlikely to be purchased as presents, and quite likely to be bought with Christmas money?

While I welcome everyone's opinions (and tough luck if I don't, right? ) I am especially keen to hear from anyone with relevant past experience.

Before is better. Ebay drops like a stone from Christmas until about March / April when people start to recover from their holiday / vacation spending and get their tax returns. Pretty much any time during the week is good for miniatures but if you want it might help a little to start your items on Sunday. I have sold well over 3000 items on Ebay over the years.

Thanks very much.

I reckon Sunday is the way to go, too. I can't be bothered to do it tonight, plus I don't have my replacement model cases yet, so I'll do it next week.

brettz123 wrote:
Before is better. Ebay drops like a stone from Christmas until about March / April when people start to recover from their holiday / vacation spending and get their tax returns. Pretty much any time during the week is good for miniatures but if you want it might help a little to start your items on Sunday. I have sold well over 3000 items on Ebay over the years.

If the painting is good, make sure the photo shows it.
Nothing more off putting than fuzzy pictures, and dont forget to link on dakka.

Oh, I won't be selling anything that has a good paint job!

But yeah, I know how much difference a good photo makes.

The main things I will be selling first are two large and one small GW model cases. Can't stand the boody things. Just ordered a bunch of KR multi-cases. Still won't be able to fit all of my models in proper cases, but hey, half of them are years away from getting painted anyway, so it doesn' really matter.

Try to make sure your auction doesnt end on a saturday or sunday, it will effect it. Ive had items end on a weekend go unsold with a ton of watchers, then relisted the item to end during the week and it sold. Many people bid last minute and seem to get busy on weekends and forget about online stuff.

Generally speaking having an auction end sunday night around 8-10 pm is a good time, however depending on the item this may not be the best times. Think of the target audience when posting an item.

Also give as much concise information as you can, and look at the listings of other top sellers as to what they say in their posts.

In terms of selling for christmas, putting items up around now until 2-3 weeks before is the best time, as the packages will arrive before the 25th by then, normally.

Also, try to post during a time when they have Free Listings...

Ebay allows one picture to be put up for free. And if you list items starting at $.99, with no "Reserve Price" or "Buy It Now" options, your entry fee for posting the auction will be free.

Obviously, that also means you potentially sell your goods at less than what you're willing to sell them for, but if you're happy with the cheapest solutions, then there it is for you.

Good luck!

Im a little iffy about ebay. Whats to stop people from creating another account and bidding on their own item, upping the bid?

They check IPs and account names. I revived a warning and a temp ban just because someone with the same ISP IP bid on one of my items.

I find that listing stuff on a weekend with seven days auction is a good starting point.

Correct spelling is a simple way of making sure that they get seen by the people that want to buy them as well.

Advertise the sale on as forums with trading sections as humanly possible.

Never advertise as Pro Painted unless you are a pro painter, you're much better off putting well painted.

If there is a problem with the models, say missing a bit or you've converted part of the model make sure you list it as such. Good feedback is incredibly useful.

If you have metal or plastic models with a bad or thick paint job and are selling them purely as the models strip them with fairy power spray first.
In my experience people tend to buy stripped models for more than horribly painted ones.

A single good photo is better than none. You can add more than one but this adds to the listing price.
Just remember they do take a commission so the less you get charged the more profit you'll make.