Hello all, I have a couple of south sea pearls I want to sell, but
after reading the posts Re: ebay I am a bit hesitant to list it
there. Does anyone know of a reputable auction site I could use? These
are pretty expensive pearls (19.4mm diameter silvery blue colour).
Any suggestions can be emailed to me off list dmac@mjgd.com.au
TIA,
Don
http://www.mjgd.com.au
dmac@mjgd.com.au
For each and every Ebay seller who attempts to sell something too
good to be true (a topic we have all discussed at length); there are
hundreds of Ebay sellers who are reputable. There is no reason you
can’t sell the pearls on Ebay; but, I would suggest you keep several
things in mind.
The majority of people are looking for “deals” on Ebay.
It will help if you know the approximate retail price and write a
description which demonstrates your knowledge about the item you are
selling - - assuring potential buyers that you know what you are
talking about. Request that buyers email you to ask any/all
questions - - put your email address in the description so that
people can reach you easily and also expect that people will write to
you after the auction if they don’t sell.
2a) Try to come up with a title and beginning of a description which
allows your item to be picked up by as many search parameters as
possible. (I would suggest you do not offer the Buy It Now option
2b) Take GREAT pictures and make sure at least one picture has a
size perspective… people have a very hard time visualizing sizes
unless helped.
Take some time and research comparable items (active and
completed auctions) to see how other sellers did and specifically
where they listed the items.
List them at night; picking a time when both east and west coast
can “attend” the end of the auction. There are an amazing amount of
people who wait until the last minute to bid.
The simple fact is that for sheer exposure, Ebay remains one of the
best places to sell items. I offer all this advice from a
perspective of having sucessfully sold antique sterling (1800’s
American sterling by Tiffany, Shiebler, Sharp, etc) for almost 2
years on Ebay. I sold one piece of my jewelry via Ebay and listed a
second piece for a market perspective on how much interest the second
piece generated, etc.
All in all, the whole Ebay experience has been exceptionall
professional and pleasant. But, again, I am well aware that “too
good to be true” is exactly that on Ebay and that my own intelligence
will protect me against sham sellers much better than Ebay ever will.