Recently, a friend asked me to help her brother sell his collection on Lladro glass figurines on eBay. These are expensive glass collectibles and I knew nothing about them – but I don’t have to. The principles for selling expensive collectibles on eBay are the same, regardless of what is being sold.
Obviously, like any eBay auction, the seller must have a powerful listing with great pictures. This is always true regardless of what the merchandise is. Expensive collectibles offer splendid opportunities, but also need special precautions.
1. Price: decide the lowest amount you will accept for each figurine and set that price as a reserve. Then make your opening bid absurdly low – yes, absurdly.
Example: if you will accept $1,000 – make your opening bid $25. There is no risk in this, because you don’t have to sell unless the bidding reaches $1000, but the low price attracts buyers, (assuming there is demand, of course).
Looking at completed eBay auctions allows us to track prices, Again and again we learn that starting the price where the seller hopes it will end is not a wise tactic.
For instance, a seller...