I Have A Question About Ebay Sales And The Forums

I have noticed that the only apparent category that is listed under ebay under one's user id is "Stamps" - yet I have looked at a couple of other members' ebay "signatures" and noticed that there are a lot of covers. Does one have to list covers, in my case, it will be postcards and a couple of covers, in the stamp category? This is confusing to me.

Also, I have noticed that 51studebaker has a nice signature block and am wondering if anyone else has a nicely done signature block such as his. I am wondering how it is set up if anyone knows, or if it requires setup with forum markup code (BBCode). If forum markup code is required I can understand that maybe the forum administrator doesn't particularly want every joemember messing about with the BBCode. Maybe only Don knows and I understand that he is very busy, and do not want to bug him. But I thought I would ask in case someone else knows about the ebay links and how they are set up.

I am just wondering what I need to do. I have a lot of things that have nothing to do with stamps out there, mostly vintage jewelry, and I wouldn't expect that to be advertised in this forum, but I do have some postcards up and I anticipate more paper, for instance, I have an 1886 Booneville cover and letter I will be selling at some point, and I am unclear if that will have to be listed in the "Stamps" category. If someone can point me to the appropriate documentation that would be highly appreciated or let me know some other way about the best way to get my ebay items listed in the forum.

By the way I tried searching the forum for " ebay signature" - maybe that was a poor choice, I will try some other searches.

Oh, one last question, is there a section in this forum where you list your item for sale just here? It looked like a section was items for sale when ventured in there. That sounds like a double effort to me.

OK, thank you for any help you can give me on this topic. Julie

Julie - on ebay, if you're selling a cover, your main category would be 'stamps,' but there are sub-headings to this. For US covers that would be considered postal history (as opposed to, for example, FDC's), you would use the following menu string when listing:

Stamps>United States>Covers>Postal History

This you would be set up when you do your Main Listing category. Used postcards could either be placed into the 'postcard' category, or, since they've been mailed, under 'postal history'
or both, for an additional ebay fee). Un-mailed postcards should only be listed under the 'postcard' main category.

Hello docgfd,

I have not sold more than a stamp or two and a couple of postcards in this area of ebay - I just went out and looked at one of the few postcards I have up on ebay, it is listed under Collectibles>Postcards and Supplies>Postcards>Topicgraphical Postcards. There is a Benjamin Franklin 1 cent stamp on this particular postcard. What I am getting from this is that I should have listed it under stamps since this postcard has been through the mail. This is a case of the seller not understanding the postal mind. I haven't got one, maybe someday I will learn enough to have one, but that day is some distance off. I need to understand this better. I don't want to sell these postcards in the wrong category. Now that I look at where I have that postcard listed it seems to me that I should end the listing and put it in a better category. I feel like the proverbial bull in a china shop when it comes to stamps or should I say philatelic endeavors. I have to go look at the other postcards as well. Thank you for helping me think about this subject with a little more sense, docgfd.

Julie,

I would leave your listing for the used postcard alone where it is.

Consider: the card is worth a buck or two (perhaps more, I have not seen it), the stamp is worth a few cents. What category is the best fit for maximum value?

There is seldom any need to double-list an item in multiple categories. It just costs more in listing fees for no real monetary return.

I have a gut feeling that the vast majority of your used postcards are worth more for the card than the stamp and should be listed in the collectibles>postcards>... category. You will find thousands of other used cards there.

Hi John, I actually had 3 of them out there, I changed them and to my astonishment, they showed up on my signature. I came here and saw that and felt kind of uncomfortable about the prices I have them set at, far more than the stamps are worth. I did do some pricing research before pricing the postcards so I don't think I am out of line for the category I originally had them in. So I put them back the way they were. They should be disappearing from my signature now. But at least I got answers to the questions that were bothering me. I have a much better understanding of the way the ebay signature block works now. And thank you John for your most sensible guidance. I appreciate it. Happy New Year to you! Julie

First of all, welcome back! And Happy New Year!
1886 Boonville, Cal? If so, I'm always looking for cards or covers from Mendocino county, Calif.

My post above was the "simple" answer - to list an item in the category where it has the most value.

The more complex answer for the "most valuable" listing location would logically involve evaluation of other facets like the notariety of the sender/recipient, the message, the postmark, etc. Factors like these take many years to learn. It is best to assume the card itself is the best feature and list them there with quality keywords. Serious collectors of postal history will be searching the postcard categories too.

I have not seen any of your listings, so I do not now your listing philosophy. Some use ebay as a net price venue and some as an auction venue. Obviously, net pricing puts a ceiling on the your returns. Auctions depend on whether one starts low or very near the expected final price. Pricing postcards is definitely an art since there are few catalogs or price guides, unlike stamps, coins, baseball cards, etc. Similarly, I do not know how you value your time. Many sellers have a minimum expected return per lot, often in the $10 range. Selling lots below one's minimum is not worth the time. And lastly, whether one uses ebay's more expensive tracking/shipping services or sends lots out with discount postage, etc.

Hello LittleRiverPhil,

It is good to hear from you again. Thank you for the welcome and the New Year wish, the same to you, I hope you have a great New Year as well. I thought I would show you the Booneville letter from 1886.

Here is the entire packet which includes the letter:



Here is the cover:




Here us a close up of the stamp. I am not quite sure which stamp it is, I chose Scott 135 A45 as a possibility. I noticed once I got the larger picture of the stamp it looks like it might possibly be torn on the bottom right corner, but I am not sure.



I have been holding on to this cover for some years because I am not sure how to put a fair price on it. I do not know if the stamp is valuable, I do not know if the cover is valuable with the stamp on it - I just don't know enough about the subject - and since it isn't mine, I want to make sure I get the best deal I can for the guy who I sell for. I try to be conscientious about cutting him a fair deal too. All of these considerations have led to me dragging my feet about selling this cover. Plus, I don't know if I will ever have another of these George Washington stamps in my hands, part of it is the desire to keep the stamp myself. If I were to do that I would need to still pay the guy I sell for a fair price for the stamp or cover.

So, LittleRiverPhil, what do you think? This is your line of expertise as I recall. You can barely read the postmark on this cover, but you can read the beginning of Booneville on it. Maybe you can tell more than I can, you guys always amaze me with the information you have, always... Best regards, Julie

Hi John,

I did not see your reply as I was working on the posting to LittleRiverPhil - which took more time than usual since I bought myself a new laptop for Christmas and my upcoming birthday and had to download some software. It just arrived yesterday at the base of my driveway in the snow, lucky it wasn't damaged.

As for selling on ebay, I have sold a variety of things from cars to rocks. My main category has always been jewelry. My philosophy is that I don't like to sell things that aren't worth my time say, 10 dollars or under - just like some of the other people you mentioned, but I occasionally will go lower if it is a nice item.

My prices are derived from researching the item I am selling and pricing my auctions at or just below the price that I come up with as a fair price for an item. I use Buy-it-now's if I want to sell something quickly and auctions when I think I may have undercut myself. That is about it. I am not a very deep thinker when it comes to ebay, perhaps I should be and I would do better, but I am not.

I have been selling there since about 2005 or so. I do just keep on going with it because I like researching old and unusual items, most of what I sell is vintage or antique which is why I sell for a guy in San Jose who has a plethora of these kinds of things that he needs to have sold for him. So, it's a way of making a little spare change so I can buy myself a new laptop for Christmas. :)

I usually start high and lower my prices as time goes by. I always get nervous when something sells quickly, I feel like I have not asked a high enough price for it.

I was interested in what you said about ebay's expensive mail system. I found that they are cheaper than when I walk into a post office with an item and pay for it there. The only way it is cheaper for me than ebay is when it is media mail. I had just sold a postcard a day or so ago that cost me 53 cents to mail using ebay's mail system, that seemed more than reasonable to me. So I am interested to know whether you know of some method of mailing which costs even less? Curious to know.

So I have divulged my selling practices here. I'm not very sophisticated about it. When it comes to selling philatelic items I get very nervous since I don't know anything about the market and it is a complicated topic.

Julie

Julie - Your stamp on the CA cover is Scott 210 issued in 1883.

Shipping: Some people are charging $3-5 for shipping a single postcard, which is more than most cards are worth.
For an overall per-lot price threshold, the vast majority of postcards are not worth $10, or even $5 for that matter. The last postcard show I attended a few months ago had numerous dealers with $1 and 50 cent boxes.

John - 50c is high, frankly. The great majority of postcards, like the great majority of stamps, are worth a penny apiece. The average view postcard really is a drug on the market, as I know to my cost!

GeoffHa,
If you see a "penny box" let me know.

Thank you so much rogdcam, I do appreciate that. I guess I don't have a very good eye for detail anymore. But I will keep trying, that is all I can do.

So it looks to me like this stamp is a workhorse from that era, and a bunch of them were issued. How difficult are they to acquire these days? I guess I don't have to fear never being able to replace with another (maybe better) sample at some time in hopefully the not too distant future.

I won't put too much stock in the stamp then, it seems like the value might be in the cover if there is any value at all.

GeoffHa and JohnBecker, I have figured out that a plain postcard does not sell for much in the collectibles route, the RPPC and picture postcards seem to sell for more, and sell in general instead of just sitting there for days.

It sounds like you two are talking about the value of postcards taking the stamp route. If most stamps are worthless or close to it because so many were issued, then it stands to reason that the postcards would be too unless there is a valuable stamp on the cover or there is something else special about the postcard. Most of the cards I have were meant to be amusing or informative, and I think they still have these same qualities today in 2022 (yikes, another year goes by!)

Happy New Year to everyone! Julie

John - the "penny box"? it's my ebay lots!

As you stated it was a heavily used stamp. So many were printed you can still find post office fresh copies 140 years later. The cover is torn and damaged so any value would be sentimental.