Selling Stamps, Have You? Would You?

Hello! As 2010 goes and 2011 comes.
All the best for next year to everyone!

When it comes to buying and selling stamps it has all been done at bricks and mortar auctions for me.

The area of selling is what my family is about to go into next year!
We see that the next 12 month will be about building our credibility in the stamp industry.

We have a lot of good stock catalogued in many areas in Australian stamps. There was a quiet excitement in the family as it was talked about. I thought I would be lumped with the lot. Nice stuff. Any comments?

Happy New Year. KGV and Family.

A lot of people buy from online auctions and I think with a some practise it can become a good source of income.
ebay is the most popular but the fees are ridiculous so I would avoid it for selling.
I tend to buy lots (auction lots)of multiple sheets or albums and kiloware rather than individual items and pick up better examples of individual items at shows etc.
I will be selling/trading what I have decided not to collect this year but it isn't a large scale operation

When starting out I think you have hit the nail on the head in building your reputation as being the primary objective.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing your items online somewhere.

If not ebay then where is a good online selling place?

Try Bidstart.

ebay us where you get the exposure to the worldwide stamp collecting community...the trick is to find the balance between the fees and what people will pay...theres a lot of competition out there..i sell a cover on occasion but my stamps mostly cataloging a dollar or less would not be worthwhile to myself or the buyer...

We are thinking to start off our auction selling with a simple packet of 500 different Australian Decimal stamps. With a surprise bonus of 100 different Aust pre-Dec stamps as a lot with a reserve of 99c, weekly for 26 weeks. We can do this 3x if it works that way.
After 4 to 6 weeks (or else where 12 weeks) and start to sell Aust Dec kiloware on paper with a 99c reserve. We can also do this for 26 weeks 3x as well.

After a period of time, to release the packets from 500 to 1,700 different Aust Dec stamps and so on. But looking for credibility first before releasing the expensive stock onto the market place.
Am I on track or totally lost? There is a great deal of wisdom out there! KGV

John,

i dont have any advice on buying or selling.but put me in line to be one of your customers.

note this is my 50th post so now i'm legal

i really want to thank you and all the other people that have helped me.so,if you have any farming/agriculture stamps sorted out let me know.

thanks,
T.J.

It is 2.40am 2011 here.
Great to hear about your 50 posts TJ.
I will contact you in the next day or two!
Have your freebie nearly ready to go.

Happy New Year TJ and everyone else. KGV and to bed.

Congratulations T.J.

KS

Happy New Year to the other side of the world! Keep us in the loop on your successes KGV!

Happy New Year John and everyone else when it comes to you.

KGV,

From my own experience ebay differs from any other site (either your own site or delcampe or bidstart) by the horrible fees it charges. If you accept paypal expect to pay around 18% in fees for both ebay (listing fee + 9% selling fee) and paypal (3.4 for cross border transaction + 30 cents + 2.5% when payment is converted to your own currency).

I would think the best way is to have whatever stock you want to sell on delcampe (which charges nothing for listing fees) or on your own web store (many sites are charging around $US40 per month for unlimited number of items). Sell some items (packets and such) on ebay (which is great when traffic is concerned) and communicate with your clients through emails (1 or 2 per month). Make sure to refer them to your delcampe/bidstart/ or own store.

This way you will gradually build a client base which will shop where it's cheaper for you to sell.

It's a bit of a stretch but the only way I know to reduce the fees ebay charges.

And another thing: I am not sure that selling 500 Australia stamps for 99 cents is such a great idea. Selling for less than the minimum (and of course - you decide what the minimum is) will turn you sour in no time.

At the beginning you might want to charge less but putting at risk all the hard labour you put into the packets (as proven here at the "we close our eyes etc." thread) just does'nt seem right.

It's just my 2 cents and I hope you find it useful.

Happy New Year,

Avi

with Seahorse.

ebay is expensive, but you reach a wide audience that, through future contact or enclosed advertisements in your mailings, you lure to your own store or a cheaper site to sell on like BidStart or DelCampe.

On ebay (and elsewhere also) include lots and lots of pictures, showing the stamps clearly and in zoomed-in -on detail almost. You do not have to make the scans high resolution or high detail, just 75 pixels per inch is enough for web presentation.

People like to see what they are buying and they feel better about you when they see you are showing them what they are buying (and especially when you tell them exactly that, that the stamps they see are the ones they will receive when they do buy this item).

Don't treat people with dis-respect but also don't assume they know all the abbreviations and terminology of stamp collecting, or even Australian terminology or US terminology or French terminology. You can use common abbreviations in the title (to keep the space used to a minimum (so you can include key, searched-for words), but spell it out in your descriptions.

Save templates of your descriptions to Word or Office or something. Learn HTML so you can write your own descriptions and, most importantly, include your own photos and not have to pay ebay extra fees for hosting your photos beyond the minimum. (e-mail me about this)

The more photos you have (reasonable amount) the better your listing will sell (17%++) and the better buyers will feel about it.

Be nice, don't talk down to buyers. Be polite, say Thank You, you appreciate that they are here. Don't over-do it, just be sincere.


When Seahorse mentions about the possible hesitancy of listing for the lowest price, I agree with him. A few items listed as 'loss leaders' is OK. Not all. You've got quality stuff, tell people that. Tell people what's good about your stuff. The features of the stamps or this particular item, the benefits of buying from you. Include special bonuses when you ship, and make sure you let the buyer know that it is a special bonus with a Thank You note.

That sounds like a lot to 'get right' the first little while and it is. Take it slow, be sincere, respect people, be reasonable, don't cave in to buyers who prey on new sellers. Take your time, don't get angry, review, learn, be business-like and polite. Maintain calm. Practice meditation. Go outside and beat a big branch against the fence.

Plan out (this is so important) who you are and how you are going to present yourself and your business to buyers. Are you here for the long haul? Or are you just selling some stamps off. Do you have integrity and stand by your word? Can people trust you? Do you sound like it or are you just saying that? All this and more comes across in the words you choose and the attitudes you take (as evident in the email replies you send, the Thank You appreciation emails, the thinking that, hmmm, probably the buyer would want to know when I shipped that, that it is packaged securely, that it will travel to him safely, that you are looking after him 'after the sale'.

This after the sale thing is almost the most important aspect of selling. This brings people back as repeat customers. They come back because you have done things that they remember and like and want more of. After a while the price is not as important as your legendary service and compassion to their issues and problems. But don't be a sucker. Establish this all before you start out. Write it down even (good idea, I haven't done that yet!)

Attracting new buyers IS important, yes, but it is much more important to keep that one buyer that you have managed, by some magical heaven-sent means, to attract in the first place. Give him a discount on his second purchase. Send him a Christmas card (or something appropriate, a Thank You card). Maybe that is too much, but from your words, you are trying to plan long term and to 'hook people on your fishing line' (in a nice way, being attractive to them) and then, over time, inform them and educate them about the benefits and features of your stamps (some people really don't know why Australian stamps are so good, can you believe it?), let them know they are special. (Direct them (without using a direct URL link) to your SCF topics. Or copy some of it to your About ME Page.)

You do not have to say that you will look after them or their every need, at least I don't think so, just that they are special and appreciated, and by your simple words and obviously kind and caring actions, you do care about them. They are friends. Why is that so darn important? Because friends trust friends. Who is more likely to help you if you are in trouble? A friend, usually.

You don't have to really be a best friend to anybody. Just acting and talking friendly makes it obvious you are a friendly person. What do friends do? They 'look after' their friends, in the way that they think about them, can anticipate their needs or wants, and try to help in a way that they are able to and is reasonable.

Is all this evil or planned beforehand so thus Not really friendly? Nope. Not at all. All you are choosing to do here (and in your business and professional relations) is to be friendly and reasonable. That's all. What's so bad about that? It's not hard. It's easy.

There is always talk about sales being a numbers game, in some ways. I tend to think that sales is just being friendly and wanting to help people. The 'numbers' just come with that. Don't chase the numbers. Chase the people. Your customers are your greatest resource.

There will be a written test in three days. (just kidding!)

Is that all too much? I should hope so. You have to learn all kinds of little things and the ways of selling and shipping and communications and etc etc from your own personal point of view and how you would do it. You can copy good ideas but it is you yourself and your way of doing things that you are ultimately selling in any transaction.

Make it a rule that once a week or month or some time period, you stop and review what you have done this last period and see how you can 'improve' or change or adapt to changing circumstances. Make new rules or guidelines to reflect these new thoughts and ways. Practice them during the next period and see how they succeeded or didn't. Change and adapt again. And again. Rinse and repeat. Simple.

Be Friendly. Be reasonable. Keep it Simple.

I like this saying that a fellow was selling, amongst others, on ebay a while ago. To me it means life is not just a flash in the pan, it is what you do every day that is important.

I am not sure I get all this John,
if you have cleaned and sorted 500 different
and your quality is OK, personally I would be reserving
around $25 -$50. Otherwise your efforts are akin
to slavery, surely?
I'd be working from "reasonable" backwards, pricewise.

Good point Rod.

perhaps, john, you could take a 500 packet and break it down into 25 0r 50 or 100 stamps at a time to sell at a Starting price (do not use the Reserve feature as buyers do not like that at all) of 99c.

People do this every day. Search worldwide for the term 'selection' or 'mix' or 'mix*' which gets you mix and mixture, or 'collection'. Or 'lot' (not so good for this type of thing). Search for words like 'nice' or 'excellent' or 'postally used' or even 'wonderful', 'beautiful' or 'great' also and see what happens. Use 'modern' or 'new' or 'recent'. Research. What feels better to you? use a thesaurus. Search worldwide and then just in the markets (Australia, USA, Malaysia, ?) you are interested in and see what words grab the most interest, or a mixture of interests. You have 55 characters to make it work on ebay, better be useful and searched-for terms.

Copying is the sincerest form of flattery, and you have to copy to start out until you find what is comfortable and what works for you.

Some sellers exist on this type of sale. Some sellers do the packet route but start at the lowest price you want to sell these for and then hope for more.

The trick is to balance the low starting price (thus attracting bidders, thus attracting more people to look and hopefully more bidders) with the realistic goal of making your money back, selling reasonably, attracting new customers, having a good time maybe, and making a profit to boot.

Perhaps have a listing every week for the 99c rate for 35-50 different stamps but also have a larger packet available for purchase (and direct buyers from one listing to the other too) at your regular selling price, stressing the quality and features and benefits and good after the sale behavior.

Some will buy the starter small amounts and then slowly graduate to the larger ones, as you suggest in your action plan. But some will make the leap of faith into the large packet right away for various reasons.

Keep in mind it might not always sell all the time. The sell-through-rate may be lower than what you have anticipated for many reasons, not all of them under your immediate control. So include the re-listing fee in your price to cover this.

Another note, be reasonable with your shipping rates. Knock off a penny or 5c to come in below the rounded off rates of others. You might be surprised but this does help in the ebay 'Best Match' automatically chosen search that is used today. So not $5.00 but $4.99 or $4.95 or $4.97 or something. Don't ever lose on shipping, just don't make a lot if any. Be reasonable.

Hey, you are saving them 5c there compared to other sellers. That little thing is noticed and appreciated.

But don't feel you have to compete with the low low prices that other sellers seem to have. Nope. Remember, you are selling your service and integrity and quality. The kind of stamps you sell, and how you describe them just reflect your own qualities that the buyers can see and perhaps consciously or unconsciously choose over other, not so attractive qualities.

Say out loud every day 'I sell superior products.'. (I think you do this already now.)

Post affirmations or good ideas up on signs around your work space(s).

Make your passwords to sites the first letters of positive affirming sentences. Example 'I Can Easily Establish Rapport With Other People.' = password = iceerwop88 (number you like added on for more security). After a few times very easy to remember and very hard to guess.

is this all free information?

No, of course not. Hidden in all the o\words are subliminal suggestions that you will help Me to establish positive thoughts and attitudes (because I am rather slow at it it seems). There is always a price to pay. Heh heh.

Thanks heaps for the comments. Sharing on SCF, rules.
When it comes to stock and the time spent on it. This to me is what makes it expensive stock. So (we close our eyes and still see stamps) has had a lot of time in sorting and cataloguing put into it. So I need to guard what this stock sells for. I have the impression not to start with this stock.
To start on-line selling I set myself a budget to buy the stock, to make a packet out of very good bundleware. The stamps are random Aust Dec 500 different with 75 packets costing $1.50c per packet. It seems to be the way to go to start. But now I am wondering if it is the right way to go.
The issue of how to start selling is stopping me from making packets at the minute. I do not want to wast a lot of time and go nowhere. Thanks again KGV