Dollars or Discards?
While watching last week’s Extreme Garage Makeover, some people wondered how the experts from Easysale were able to help the homeowners spot potential dollars amid the hundreds of items they had accumulated in their over-filled garage.
David Goldstein, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at the North Texas eBay consignment store chain says that it all comes down to experience.
“We monitor eBay all day, every day,” he explains. “We know what sells, and what won’t. We’ve sold nearly 100,000 items over the past few years, and we consistently get prices that are higher than the average eBay selling price for the items we list.”
How? By tapping the company’s internal and external experts for accurate pre-auction estimates, condition, accurate descriptions, and (if needed) provenance (or verified authenticity). Of course, not every items that is brought to one of Easysale’s five North Texas locations will sell — overall, the store averages a 70-80% sell-through rate, or roughly twice as high as the eBay average.
A wall of photographs in the company’s Arlington headquarters is covered with a few memorable treasures that wound up selling far above their pre-auction estimates.
Among them:
- A mounted European boar’s head that sold for $124.
- A large group of Mary Kay products that sold for $5,299.99
- Documents and a letter from Lee Harvey Oswald asking for permission to return to the U.S. from Russia that sold for $29,309.
The items that sell the best on eBay usually have a well-known brand name. (Or, in the case of celebrity memorabilia and art, can be proved to have an association with a well-known artist, historical personality or celebrity.) Condition, Goldstein says, is critical.
Sellers want to get the highest possible price for their items – and buyers want a bargain. “One of our jobs is to ensure that they both get what they want, by presenting items in a way that clearly demonstrate the value of the items our consignors sell,” he adds.
Taking up to 25 pictures per listing is one way to do that, while crafting descriptions that clearly explain why bidders should purchase is another. For more information on what sells on eBay, click here. Or, you can bring items into any of the five stores, or arrange for an expert from Easysale to visit your home to evaluate a items for possible sale.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/skrewtape/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
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