Single figures or "lots"

[grahamthomson]

I shall be putting some large portions of my TF collection on eBay in the near future to raise some capital for a few personal projects and with so many figures to process it feels like a daunting process.

What would be better; listing each TF individually, listing teams (e.g. Seacons) in one go, listing an entire subline/range in one "lot"?

Any general thoughts would be appreciated, both from a buyer and seller point of view.

[kayevcee]

When it comes to combiners, if you have a complete set (including all the accessories) I'd say list them together. For non-combining team members, I'd recommend individual auctions. I reckon.

-Nick

[grahamthomson]

That was exactly my train of thinking, too.

And, yeah, accessories. Gonna have to sort them all out. Shit.

[Nigel]

Generally speaking, you should make more money if you sell them individually, though vintage toy lots also tend to sell for high amounts, especially if there are some choice pieces included.

A complete figure would certainly be worth selling on its own; if you have incomplete figures, it may be worthwhile splitting the accessories off and selling them separately, though buyer response to accessories can be variable. (Also, from the buyer perspective, I sometimes find it annoying when a seller has obviously purposely split up a toy to make more money, especially when together it would have been near-complete, or worse, complete.)

I've never had a complete team (eg Seacons) to sell in one go, so I can't really say anything about that.

You could perhaps try selling individually and if, after a round or two of listings, you find that there are some you're having trouble selling, then try them as a lot instead.

eBay is not charging for the Gallery option over the summer (until September sometime). At a saving of 15p per listing, that's worth taking into account. Also, they've done two cheap listing days in the last three weeks, so I wouldn't be surprised if they do more over the summer.

Another consideration is time. If you want to sell them quickly or don't want to spend too much time listing, then selling in lots is less time-consuming.

Take some time browsing eBay for similar items and see what success other people seem to be having.

[grahamthomson]

Thanks for your advice Nigel, some good tips there.

I don't have a massive amount of spare time to do this but I think you've come up with a good idea there of putting unsold individual items as a lot later on.

I wouldn't ever go the route of selling accessories separate to the Transformer that needs them; as a buyer I find that really annoying as well.

I do have a few "junk" lots as well, consisting of naff Pretender Beasts and whatnot. At a local market last year a seller had a complete Action Master Megatron that I really wanted but would only sell it to me as a lot with a load of other TFs, so I was stuck with a lot of crap from the late 80s.

[kayevcee]

They're not charging for gallery pictures? Ooh! Have to get some more comics up soon then!

-Nick

[Hero]

G mate. Is there any chance of posting a list here first so that:

a/ Hubbers can get first dibs
and b/ to save you a bit of money on insertion and final value fees?

[grahamthomson]

I'll see what I can do.

[Deleted]

Jun 17, 2008 10:34:51 GMT @grahamthomson said:

I wouldn't ever go the route of selling accessories separate to the Transformer that needs them; as a buyer I find that really annoying as well.

There are some people who browse Ebay looking for job lots of just weapons. This is either because the gun to so-and-so Transformer has got lost over time or they want to customise an existing one. I once saw an auction for a stack of guns and projectiles on Ebay and it eventually went for silly money after a dozen or so bids were placed on it.

[grahamthomson]

Having spent the best part of a day sorting out guns I am left with some weird unknown missiles or various colours and shapes. They may go on as a lot. However, I would have no idea with which Transformer they would match.

[Nigel]

This website might be of help, but it's far from complete: www.cobraislandtoys.com/tf/identify.html

[t4e]

Another thing to consider is the timing of the auction. I was chatting with my mum today who is in to Lego (mostly Lego Star Wars) and a couple weeks ago she said that sales were running dry. I also found the same with TF's recently and have been amazed how cheap some items have sold for. Suddenly in the last week things have picked up with TF's and mum said the same has happened with Lego as well....

One thought was if it might have to do with peoples pay day?? I'm guessing most people get paid either in the middle of the month or at the end? I honestly don't know as Im self employed.

It's something I'd never thought of before, but depending on the time of the month you list (ie around pay day for most) could well make a big difference as to the final amount if running auction style.

Well thats my 2p worth....... If people think I'm talking nonsense I'll blame it on being tired...... and trying to post at 1am! lol

Jon