Beer Steins... In need of some eBay advice

[Baltimore]

Hey all,
This is my first post in the forums, so first of all I want to thank everyone for such an interesting and helpful forum! I began buying stuff at thrift stores and yard sales and reselling things on ebay several months ago and now I'm hooked. I've had a fair amount of success, but I have a question for any of the experienced ebayers. I recently bought a lot of 9 80's commemorative beer steins from one of my local thrift stores for about $25. Miller, Budweiser, Pabst, etc. I looked up collector values for them, and they range from $15 to $35 a piece, according to the sites. My question for you all is this: should I divide them up and sell them individually, or sell them as one big lot? They seem to be fairly hit or miss when sold individually, selling for between $2 and $20. On the flip side, It seems that lots sell fairly well. However, I feel like shipping 9 collectable ceramic beer steins at once could be a recipe for disaster, especially because I am a fairly new seller with no prior experience shipping ceramics... Any advice from persons more experienced than I would be Greatly appreciated!

 

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[clovis97]

If they were my steins, I would strongly consider selling them individually, as a Buy It Now, and each one listed for 30 days at a time.

I like to combine shipping for the buyer, but be careful with those steins. If you do ship several together, box each one with padding, and them pack those in a larger box with even more padding.

 

[Baltimore]

Thanks Clovis97. I appreciate the input. That is a great idea, I hadn't considered BIN. I will probably do that, and then see how it goes. If that doesn't work, several smaller lots maybe? As much as I would like the profit from a large lot, I don't think shipping them all together is all that realistic.

 

[GrizLeeBear]

I always had the best return on investment by buying in lots and selling individually.

 

[Ursus]

Thanks Clovis97. I appreciate the input. That is a great idea, I hadn't considered BIN. I will probably do that, and then see how it goes. If that doesn't work, several smaller lots maybe? As much as I would like the profit from a large lot, I don't think shipping them all together is all that realistic.

9 steins shouldn't be too many to ship at once. Clovis97 is correct - pack the heck out of those steins before you ship them. I agree with GrizLee that parting it out probably will get you more $ overall but it might take some time (depends on your financial strategy and situation).

And, if you are selling them as a lot, I advise insurance. That whole subject has been discussed on here on previous threads but it saved me on a Dale Tiffany floor lamp that appears that, from the photos sent to me, no amount of padding would have saved it (and it's pieces were double boxed).

 

[Iron Patch]

The margin of profit you make often depends on how much patience you have to wait for you price. Just last night I sold something that I sort of rolled the dice on before Christmas. Only paid about $60, and thought it was lost as it was 5 weeks in the mail before it finally arrived, but when it did I was pleasantly surprised and decided to price it high to start.... $225. I then got pretty busy and didn't think about it much, so didn't drop it any closer to $175 which was my min.. Part of the reason I probably didn't revise it is because I never had anyone ask me about it, and the only reason I thought to revise it, is because someone did...and more than one. And once that happened I looked to see there was 11 tracking it at $225 so I decided I might as well leave it a while and see if anyone goes for it, and last night someone did. I undercharged by about $9 on the shipping, pay $25 or so for fees, but that still leaves me pretty good for my 3 month investment. Many things I do move quick because I need the steady income, but others I will tie up as long as I have to and take no risk and get my price.

Lots can actually work in your favor for a couple of reasons. The first is if a single item is expensive to ship in relation to what it's worth, grouping them together will lower the over all cost per Stein. The other advantage is you will only need one buyer, and there are people out there who will estimate things higher than they're worth, and therefore over pay. I always start things a fair bit higher than they are worth because you just never know. And even if they don't sell and you auction them, you still plant a seed for anyone who has interest, but just can't quite do that price. Also take good pictures and list them like they are something great... but not in a way that makes you look like an idiot by calling them something they are not, like extremely rare. The longer I do this the more I realize how much more there is than just buy it and sell it. Well there's more for the people who have figured out some tricks or have the skill to try and stay ahead. It's sort of like the guy who is just a beep and dig type compared to someone who is able to interpret the sound and detect at a higher level. Knowledge and experience makes all the difference in the world, and even though it takes a long time to get there, you only have to learn each lesson once.

 

[Baltimore]

Great, thanks guys. I think I could probably get a quicker profit on the lot, because it is fairly common to see these steins individually but significantly less common to see lots. I've got a couple that are slightly rarer than the others that could potentially convince people to bid on the whole thing, that way I wouldn't get stuck with a couple that never sell. I'm in no rush, I sell in my spare time for grocery money and such, so I could definitely just individually list them and wait it out.

 

[Iron Patch]

Great, thanks guys. I think I could probably get a quicker profit on the lot, because it is fairly common to see these steins individually but significantly less common to see lots. I've got a couple that are slightly rarer than the others that could potentially convince people to bid on the whole thing, that way I wouldn't get stuck with a couple that never sell. I'm in no rush, I sell in my spare time for grocery money and such, so I could definitely just individually list them and wait it out.

I might sell the common ones in a lot, but would probably save the better ones to list alone later. Having them in there can also work against you because them being better would mean there would be interest, but those people who would pay well would not want to have to buy all the common ones. The only real buyer in that scenario is someone who is going to flip them, and probably do what I just described (keeping the best out). I'm not a collector, so I guess that makes me more a dealer type, and many times I lose out to collectors because they're willing to pay market price, but one of the times I have them is when it's a group of items and I'm bidding on the full value to resell, and they only want the 1 item.

 

[Baltimore]

I might sell the common ones in a lot, but would probably save the better ones to list alone later. Having them in there can also work against you because them being better would mean there would be interest, but those people who would pay well would not want to have to buy all the common ones. The only real buyer in that scenario is someone who is going to flip them, and probably do what I just described (keeping the best out). I'm not a collector, so I guess that makes me more a dealer type, and many times I lose out to collectors because they're willing to pay market price, but one of the times I have them is when it's a group of items and I'm bidding on the full value to resell, and they only want the 1 item.

Good point. It's settled then, Lot up the common ones and sell the rarer ones individually. Thanks everyone for your help, I'll let you all know how the sales go.

 

[northwoods]

Good finds. You get your first 50 auction listing free each month on eBay with a buy-it-now. I would list them all for free at $19.95, and you might want to put a free BIN at say $25-30. Maybe somebody will buy them. The problem with steins is the shipping weight. That's why they don't sell that great. Sellers have to add at least $7-8 for shipping, because most weight over 2 LBS and have to be shipped Priority Mail. IF you list them as a lot, you will not make much money on them, unless you use your free listing and start them at $60 or so.