I set my minimum bid to whatever my threshold of pain on the item is and let the chips fall where they may. So far, most items have exceeded my expectations, so I have no complaints.
green97probe Do your research to determine a reasonable price. When you have determined what you want out of an item, stay firm on the price. It might not sell on day one, but it will sell sooner or later if the price is reasonable.
Do your research to determine a reasonable price. When you have determined what you want out of an item, stay firm on the price. It might not sell on day one, but it will sell sooner or later if the price is reasonable.
Jim,
With all due respect, that may be easier said than done, particularly on eBay.
You can price an item as a Buy It Now or set a Reserve price, but in my experience, and that of my son who is a Power Seller, a used item is less likely to sell if it is priced as a Buy It Now or set with a Reserve price. Used items that are priced to begin an auction at $0.99 or $9.99 are far more likely to sell and to bring in a good final price.
Having said that, whenever you list used items on eBay at attractively low starting bids, you are at risk that the item will sell at a lower price than your desired minimum price.
Rich
Alton Junction
I'd like to add some things based on my experience here:
1. Do your research to determine a reasonable price. When you have determined what you want out of an item, stay firm on the price. It might not sell on day one, but it will sell sooner or later if the price is reasonable.
2. Be sure you can let go. I've listed items for sale only to discover that I couldn't part with them just yet. Be absolutely sure you don't want the item any longer before you attempt to sell.
Another source to sell your trains on is www.choochooauctions.com
You can also see what stuff is selling for on there and get a better figuire of what to expect. Sometimes ebay is overpriced for things and then it is underpriced for others and it is the buyer's mood that generally determines the prices.
Train shows usually are low cost places to sell and nobody wants to pay top dollar at one.
Lee F.
At this point in time, eBay is the definitive source for pricing on model railroad items as well as just about anything else. It is far superior to printed guide books that fail to reflect the public's mood for a specific item on a given day.
I use eBay completed listings as a guide, then I just do a search on the Internet and see if any stores are selling them in similar condition and what they're asking.
to me the best solution was the second one i think and that is goto ebay and look for similar items as to be honest price guides are just that a guide and as much as the market has changed and you have to remember those guides are normally about a year behind when printed. after they get all the material and print them and then get them to market its been close to a year and if your talking about 2011 price guide it probably came out about Oct 2010 so at best its about 6 months old already. and yes prices have jumped since last year on some items and dropped on others. don't get me wrong price guides are great especially if you at like a train meet or your buying from an individual to give you an idea what there all worth.
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
Check the ebay auction site to see what identical or similar items are selling for. The site is about as current as you can get for actual Lionel selling prices.
Bill T.
how do you determine what to sell a train for i haveb2 lionel trains that dont intrest me and thinking of getting rid of them a jc fm tmcc and a gg1 with tmcc anyone have any idea.
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