Best Way/Place To Sell A Few Stamps, Etc.

For me, the biggest thing about ebay is just sheer patience. I find that eventually, most everything I list will sell. Fortunately, I'm not trying to make a living, so I can afford a bit of patience.

Following up on an older thread, I have a few hundred duplicates that I would like to start selling. They aren't terribly valuable, but they are a bit more than space fillers; catalog values range from $10-20 to a few hundred dollars. I've read the comments above comparing various venues - ebay, APS, Bidstart, etc. and am still thinking that aspect over. I had seen some recent comments/articles about ebay favoring big sellers, so I would be interested in any updated comments from folks familiar with ebay as to whether that would be an appropriate venue in my case, particularly since I would only be supplementing the stock for sale at a slow rate over time as more duplicates straggle in.

If ebay turns out to be a suitable venue, I would also be interested in any suggestions w/r to how to position myself or the material so as to entice potential buyers to bid on items despite my being a brand new seller. As a buyer, I myself tend to gravitate towards sellers that appear to have an extensive history and numerous good reviews versus sellers with thinner resumes.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

You need to have accurate descriptions and excellent scans. No photographs, no failure to mention defects. For all of that, expect to get about 1/3 of retail for good stamps at auction. Expect 5 to 15 percent of catalog for faulty stamps (some exceptions exist). Look at what other sellers are doing. Auctions have to be run frequently to achieve the highest potential. Fixed price stamps with or without best offer will sell if the prices are competitive (not too high).

Ship no later than the next day and use First Class Packages (with tracking) and make sure that ebay receives the tracking numbers. You can charge for shipping, but it is better to give free shipping and set prices accordingly. Because of tracking it really doesn't pay to sell individual items at below $10 or $15 dollars. Group lots do sell fairly well if properly imaged and described.

It usually takes most new sellers about a year to learn to sell on ebay unless they are already professional stamp dealers. APS StampStore may be a better deal, assuming descriptions are accurate and prices are realistic. All of the fulfillment is handled by the APS. Some complain about the 20% fee, but ebay + shipping + PayPal is likely to cost more.

Clark

Newer sellers are at a disadvantage when selling better items at auction, at least in the areas I collect. You may want to consider listing them as buy-it-now at a reasonable price, with a best offer option. They'll take longer to sell (maybe months), but you'll probably get more for them.