Setting Up New Account On Ebay

Hi everyone I've been collecting stamps for over 40 yrs. I have a walk in closet stacked to the ceiling with boxes of stamps. How do I start and what do I need to set up a ebay account. Need some expert help on how to scan and market my severe overstock. My wife wants her closet back, she also wants a new Mercedes glk 350. So I need to get busy and sell. Help Please!

Break them down into their respective countries, then years and look up catalog value for the ones with nice centering and no damage and pit them up fr 10% of catalog which is a lot more close to the actual real-world market. Best of luck and post some pics please!

Hi wash500,

Your wife wants a Mercedes glk 350? I am working towards getting a Volvo 240 GLT. Ideally one like this.....



Terry

Are you new to ebay or have you been using it for a while?

Is the material you want to sell organized into collections, stockbooks etc? There are many different ways to organize sales on ebay, but generally the finer you break the material down the more $, but also more work.

Over the years I've sold 100s of lbs. of material, and I still enjoy doing it.

Thanks everyone for the info. All of my back stock is all U.S. and pre-1930 except 1 or 2 boxes of airmail and back of book stuff, all are Scott numbered and in glassines, so I'm ready. I guess what I need most help with is getting it all out there for sale. I need info. on a good scanner, also a good business plan or tips on good sales plan or technics. All your feedback will be appreciated.

Wash500,
Buying and recommending a scanner requires we know a bit more about your PC. Is it Windows? If so, what version? Is your PC older (32-bit) or a newer one (64 bit)?

The following assumes that you will be selling quite a bit on ebay over an extended period of time.
1.As far as ebay goes, consider establishing a separate bank account/credit card strictly for this purpose. Put a few hundred dollars in it to start it up but keeping it separate from your household monies is best.
2.Be prepared to have eBay/PayPal hold you money until you have some history with them.
3.Having a PO box also insulates you a bit from the possibility of having someone learn exactly where you live (in case you are concerned about robberies/break-ins).
4.If you plan on selling individual stamps you will want to consider scanning the back and front of each stamp; this greatly helps the buyer understand the quality of your material and will ultimately save you time. (Less answering pre-sale questions and less returns.)
5.Fully describe each item but do not add a lot of marketing 'fluffy'. Saying things like 'post office fresh' can mean a lot of different thing to different people and only opens the door for a buyer to return thing on your dime if they do not on the same page as you.
6.If the stamp has any faults, describe them fully.
7.Consider selling only to North America until you get your feet wet. International shipping can be expensive and can involve some difficult water to navigate; some sellers have problems with 'non-delivery' to certain countries.
8.Starting out do not get sucked into paying for listings and features; utilize the free listing offered by ebay until you fully understand how it works and the best way to sell for you. If you end up selling a lot (like hundreds of items each month) you may want to open an ebay 'store' but don't jump right into one.
9.Become familiar with doing 'Look ups' (searches) for existing material on ebay. You will want to pay attention not to other listings but to other listings which SOLD. Note if they were sold as an auction or 'buy it now' mode. If an auction, note bidding history (see what the item was started at).
10.If you want to sell at auctions, many people feel listing them to be sold during the weekend will result in the most attention. You can build listing at any time, save it as a draft, and then roll it out at the time that you feel is most advantageous. (You can also schedule a listing but this costs money.)
11.Use the 'built-in' categories to get the highest amount of search hits for your listings.

Let us know about your PC a little and we will make some scanner recommendations.
Don

51Studebaker I have a windows base 64 bit Intel i7 3.2Ghz processor with 8 gigs of ram if that helps you. your info about Paypal and such is helpful but I could use more info about how it works, the does and don'ts if you will

wash500,
My recommendation for a scanner solution would be a Flatbed scanner. This assumes that you will be using the scanner primarily to scan stamps.

In the flatbed marketplace Canon and Epson offer several good values. The Canon Canoscan models (such as their LiDE110 USB model @ around $80) is a good bet. Epson's Perfection Series (i.e. Perfection Series V37 @ around $90) is also a good solution. These are typical of home/consumer models. Of course you can spring for higher end models which bring additional capabilities to the table (such as photo/negative scanning). For flatbed scanners you want to look for the ability to fully open/expose the scanner bed. This often helps when trying to scan something from a larger bound book. I have a fair amount of experience with both manufacturers and each have their own strengths and weaknesses but generally speaking both should serve you well without many headaches. The choice between them might come down to which software bundle is more appealing to you, you might want to go to the local Best Buy and spend a few minutes with each one.

Be aware that most scanners have an optical resolution and an interpolated resolution. I usually pay more attention to the optical resolution (higher is better) since it reflect the hardware capability. Interpolated resolution simply uses software algorithms to increase the outputted image. This not only sucks time but you are getting a manipulated image as the end result.
Don

I don't do ebay selling, but I have one of the flatbed Canon Canoscans (mine is the LiDE 600F) that 51studebaker mentions, and I love it as a stamp collecting tool. I use it all the time, and the icing on the cake is that it was so inexpensive -- under $100, as Don says.

Thanks Don, I was going to Best Buy today anyway, I'll check out both of those scanners. I'm still nerves about putting things on ebay, I've only bought not sold and I always pay attention to a vendors rating. I'll be starting from scratch, why would people buy from a newbe. I have things I would like to sell like a roll of Edison coils, early plate blocks and such how do I get started?

Before starting it would pay to do some research. Most stamps are not worth selling individually on ebay. Generally, stamps selling for less than ten dollars will not be worthwhile. The market is oversaturated with off center and damaged stamps. Most collectors overvalue their stamps and may end up pricing them to never sell. The Scott Valuing guide in the US Specialized is a fairly accurate selling price guide for fixed price listings. Auctions tend to sell at wholesale or below, especially for better items. Off center or damaged stamps generally don't sell well as fixed price listings, but will achieve 5 to 8 percent of catalog value, or sometimes more, at auction.

I believe that it takes a year or two to learn the ropes well enough to sell on ebay. Many seller scans fall short resulting in dull and lifeless images. Many sellers don't seem to be able to spot defects or over grade the centering of their stamps. The best stamps should have certificates. Unfortunately, because so many stamps on ebay have undescribed faults, buyers tend to bid low not wanting to receive damaged stamps they don't want and can't return.

Are there alternatives? A very good alternative for someone with no ebay selling experience would be the American Philatelic Society StampStore. The 20% sales commission is low when all of the factors of labor and time are taken into consideration. The main drawbacks are the listing form and the quality of their scans. The advantage is that the stamps can be listed and sent to the APS getting them out of the house. Box lots or low value bulk material is best sold at the local stamp club or taking a $50 to $100 table at a local stamp bourse. A resale permit may be required, but is a good idea anyway.

Clark

"I'll be starting from scratch, why would people buy from a newbe"

You may want to try selling some of your more common material first to get at least a few feedbacks first before putting up more expensive material. By more common, I mean items that sell for a few dollars on up. Since you're new, a short, informative paragraph about yourself might be helpful - something like "lifelong collector disposing of collection", list your APS# (if you're a member), memberships in any societies, etc. You want to give prospective buyers some level of comfort. And be sure to offer returns, etc. You can save templates so you only have to type all that once and then you can use it over and over again. The actual listing of stamps is easy. Maximizing your sale price is the hard part.