Is now a good time to sell rare stuff on Ebay?

[norkusa]

I really didn't know which forum to post this in. Could have gone in Off Topic or Everything Ebay, but I thought it'd fit in better here.

Anyhoo, I know the economy is in the toilet right now but I was wondering if now would be a good time to sell rare stuff on Ebay since tax returns are starting to roll in.

Last month I tried selling some of my rare import Virtual Boy stuff on Ebay but the bids I got were MUCH lower than I expected. I had a reserve set but I'm thinking that may have hurt me more than it helped.

I gave up on selling my VB stuff for now and decided to sell all my rare NES carts. Just waiting for the right time. First ones I plan on putting up are the 3 Panesian NES adult titles, so I've been searching the auctions regularly. Then I see these sell for ridiculously high prices:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=370164019396

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=110355413921

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bubble-Bath-Babes-NES-Complete-in-Box-Rare-Mint-CIB_W0QQitemZ120382447235QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Vin tage_Video_Games?hash=item120382447235

So I'm kind of confused on what to do. Could it just be a fluke that these sold so high or is now the time to sell? What do you guys think? I would set a reserve and just see what they go for but Ebay fees have been killing me lately (last bill was $100+).

[DKTheArcadeRat]

I'm not sure, but something seems fishy about the first two auctions both ending for $1,352.21....... It seems like a very odd price for two separate yet similar auctions to end at. Hah, but thats just me and my conspiracy theories.

I'd say if they haven't been selling for that, then those are just out of the blue prices.

[Kitsune Sniper]

It's not.

I can't even sell rare games for half they're worth right now.

[JLukas]

From what I've seen, auctions with reserve set _never_ end well. You, as a seller, may set what you consider is a fair reserve, but more often than not the buyer will assume it will be top dollar and simply not bid. In other words, they see no chance at getting a deal, and there will be no bidding war with other users that will drive the price up. In the end, the auction without a reserve probably would've ended at the reserve price anyway, or higher.

The other problem as you mentioned is the economy. Although prices are mostly down it seems that some rare stuff is holding its value just fine, or even surprise at top dollar. It's really hard to tell right now. If you're not hurting for the money it would probably be a good idea to hold onto the games for now.

If you do have to sell, I would suggest putting one game up as a test, 1 cent start, no reserve, and see what happens. There's a chance it will end badly but it's worth a shot vs. an auction with a high fixed starting price/BIN only/reserve set.

[PapaStu]

I'm going to move this over to Everything Auctions. Doesn't quite fit in Classic Gaming.

We've got a similar type thread going already as well here (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128827) though its a little more about the general economy, rather than focusing directly on ebay.

[ryborg]

Whatever you decide, do NOT list your stuff auction-style with a reserve. It's a total waste of money and you almost never get the bids you're looking for.

I recommend using a fixed price listing that lasts until it's sold. It's very cheap to list ($.35 or less per month) and you get to determine your price and if you want to consider offers or not. I've had great success with this method. However, it only works if your item is truly rare and your price is competitive.

[norkusa]

Thanks a lot for the tips. The more I think about it, the more of a waste reserve auctions seem. And I didn't realize fixed price auctions were so cheap. Kind of feel stupid now for not trying it sooner. And people can still submit offers to me while it's listed? That sounds like the way to go.

Just in case anyone is interested (got a couple PM's about my NES stuff already), I've got the 3 Panesian games complete, a sealed Cheetahmen, a boxed Flintstones At Dinosaur Peek and a loose Caltron 6-in-1, as well as 722 other unique NES carts. If you're interested any anything, make me an offer. :D

[Kitsune Sniper]

Thanks a lot for the tips. The more I think about it, the more of a waste reserve auctions seem. And I didn't realize fixed price auctions were so cheap. Kind of feel stupid now for not trying it sooner. And people can still submit offers to me while it's listed? That sounds like the way to go.

Just in case anyone is interested (got a couple PM's about my NES stuff already), I've got the 3 Panesian games complete, a sealed Cheetahmen, a boxed Flintstones At Dinosaur Peek and a loose Caltron 6-in-1, as well as 722 other unique NES carts. If you're interested any anything, make me an offer. :D

They're cheap. But they take at least 15% off the final sale price, AND they force you to use PayPal (that lops off at least 3% more).

I'd suggest using the Chuckwagon but I have very bad luck there, so.

[hellfire]

No, america is in a recession and people are selling stuff and not buying, Their are tons of earthbound carts for 40$ on ebay right now

[hellfire]

Thanks a lot for the tips. The more I think about it, the more of a waste reserve auctions seem. And I didn't realize fixed price auctions were so cheap. Kind of feel stupid now for not trying it sooner. And people can still submit offers to me while it's listed? That sounds like the way to go.

Just in case anyone is interested (got a couple PM's about my NES stuff already), I've got the 3 Panesian games complete, a sealed Cheetahmen, a boxed Flintstones At Dinosaur Peek and a loose Caltron 6-in-1, as well as 722 other unique NES carts. If you're interested any anything, make me an offer. :D

What does a loose flinstones at dinosaur peak sell for, Im wondering if I should sell mine

[carlcarlson]

Are you planning on selling the other 722 as a lot, or seperately? I need about 200 more carts for a "complete" set, and wouldn't mind picking up a bunch of those if the price is right.

[norkusa]

No, america is in a recession and people are selling stuff and not buying, Their are tons of earthbound carts for 40$ on ebay right now


That's understandable since Earthbound carts aren't rare and there's dozens listed on Ebay at any given time. I think JLukas has a point with truly rare stuff holding it's value though. If you keep an eye on the Myraid 6-in-1 and Panesian auctions, those always seem to maintain their value whereas stuff like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III always fluctuate.

But I didn't realize that the Ebay commision on the fixed price listings was higher than a normal auction listing. Is it still worth it to use fixed price when it's that high? I guess it's still better than a reserve auction.


@carl - I originally wanted to sell everything as one giant lot, but just thinking about shipping it out is giving me a massive headache. I think I'm just going to split everything up and sell them separately. Time consuming but much easier on me. If you need a bunchof carts to complete your collection though, I could help you out with that.

[Fuyukaze]

If you want top $$, maybe now isnt the best time to be selling your big money items. If you want lots of money right now, you may need to accept less then what the games would normaly fetch.

[gum_drops]

I am not sure where these $40 Earthbound carts are, BIN Earthbounds are still selling in the 65-80 range for cart only copies, and complete copies have jumped up in price over the last several years.

As a few others have said, stick them up with a BIN or Best offer. Worst case scenario, you are out a measly 5 cents per auction.

[Kitsune Sniper]

But I didn't realize that the Ebay commision on the fixed price listings was higher than a normal auction listing. Is it still worth it to use fixed price when it's that high? I guess it's still better than a reserve auction.

A friend of mine once suggested that I list items as auction, with the minimum price I'd be willing to accept as the opening bid. I don't do that because I end up losing money, but it's a nice suggestion. :P

[Cornelius]

Yeah, the two ways to do it as far as I can tell are to do a BIN that's a little higher than the average auction end price, or a regular auction with a .99 start. I've gone the .99 start route because it seems when I do BIN they never sell, and I don't maintain a store. The one exception is a game that I think will sell in the 4-7 dollar range. Those I'll start at 3.50 or something because there is a chance they'll only get the one .99 bid, and then it isn't worth selling at all.

[carlcarlson]

@carl - I originally wanted to sell everything as one giant lot, but just thinking about shipping it out is giving me a massive headache. I think I'm just going to split everything up and sell them separately. Time consuming but much easier on me. If you need a bunchof carts to complete your collection though, I could help you out with that.

PM sent.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Yeah, the two ways to do it as far as I can tell are to do a BIN that's a little higher than the average auction end price, or a regular auction with a .99 start. I've gone the .99 start route because it seems when I do BIN they never sell, and I don't maintain a store. The one exception is a game that I think will sell in the 4-7 dollar range. Those I'll start at 3.50 or something because there is a chance they'll only get the one .99 bid, and then it isn't worth selling at all.

Actually, when it comes to games, you can list stuff with Buy It Now for five cents, for up to 30 days. Once the thirty days are up, it auto relists, and it costs you five cents again.

That's about the only good thing that came out of eBay's crap changes.

[Joe West]

the best time to sell is at the beginning of the month, & if its ebay, 3 day auction, 7 days your just wasting time.......

[Felixthegamer]

Prices are down, for the most part. There are going to be certain carts that fetch normal market value or above it. There's many great things to be had right now, but I would not want to be seller. I hope you do well though!

[j1e]

I am not sure where these $40 Earthbound carts are, BIN Earthbounds are still selling in the 65-80 range for cart only copies, and complete copies have jumped up in price over the last several years.

As a few others have said, stick them up with a BIN or Best offer. Worst case scenario, you are out a measly 5 cents per auction.

Yeah, I haven't seen any Earthbounds for 40 bucks. They're more around the $60-$70 range cart only. Tons of Earthounds on eBay for $40 right now? I ain't seen none, man. :)

[Press_Start]

Even in a recession, there are still people with too much money. (Unfortunately, I learned that lesson recently.) The rare items will sell for a high price by die-hard collectors or sellers to looking to resell. Either way, there's a good chunk of profit to be made unless you've paid for them in gold bricks.

My advice is don't sell your games as a lot, that's the sure fire way to getting a lot less than what you hoped. Sell them off separately. zektor did the same thing with his Turbo collection and was able to pay no more than $10 in listing fees. Give him a PM as I don't know the exact details myself. Hope that helps.

[2Dskillz]

Also, be sure to look at New Game release schedules. I know it sounds silly, but people are generally shopping less for their collection when they are getting hit with a ton of new games to choose from. This is not always the case, but from the gamers around me this seems to be the trend.