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  • Selling and Buying Baseball Card on eBay

    Selling and Buying Baseball Card on eBay

    Why should you sell your baseball cards on eBay?

    At the time of this writing, there were almost three million listings for baseball cards. Does that mean there are too many cards for sale in order to offer yours successfully?

    No! What it really means is that baseball cards are a hot commodity, and eBay is a great place for listing them.

    eBay works for you whether you are selling cards or buying them. In fact, you can buy cards on eBay and then turn around and sell them again.

    Baseball Card CollectionBaseball Card Collection – Photo by Baseball Collection on Flickr

    Professional Grading

    When you’re buying or selling cards, you can opt for cards or packs of cards that have been authenticated by a professional sports memorabilia authenticator. That way, there is no argument between you and the seller (or buyer) about whether the object for sale is genuine or not.

    The grader has made a decision that will be respected over the years to come.

    The most common sports card grader is the PSA, which stands for Professional Sports Authenticator. If you’re selling a box of baseball cards that you’ve found in your attic, you cannot guarantee the cards are worth money unless they’ve been authenticated. The PSA will assign a value up to 10 on your card or pack of cards, and that designation can dramatically increase the value of what you have.

    For example, according to the PSA, a 1963 Topps Roberto Clemente card certified as a 10, which means it’s in mint condition, might bring $300 without the authentication or $21,000 with the authentication.

    But it’s costly to get that big box of cards graded.  You must be a member of the PSA in order to submit cards, and memberships cost between $110 and $200. If you’re not a member, you can still submit your cards through a dealer who will submit them on your behalf. It costs $15 per card, or possibly $10 per card when submitted in bulk.

    On eBay, when you search through the category of Sports Memorabilia, Cards, and Fan Shop, you will see a checklist on the left-hand side of the screen. You can check off whether you want to look only at ungraded cards or you can check off one or more graders. PSA is not the only authenticator. Beckett, Global Authentics, and Sportscards also offer great credibility.

    Buying and Then Selling

    As a buyer, that means you might very well make some money if you buy that huge box of ungraded cards offered by a seller who “claims” he found them in his grandfather’s attic. You can take a chance on those cards and you might very well find that mint Mickey Mantle, just like the person who discovers a Rembrandt in a picture frame at a flea market.

    Once you go through that lot, you can take out about 10 or 15 that you think might be worth submitting to a grader, and then resell the remainder on eBay—in lots according to team or player.  Whether you are buying or selling, cards can be sorted according to era, by condition, or by price. You can sort according to year or team, although one successful eBay seller—the link to his guide is below—claims that only two teams generate sufficient profitable interest: The Yankees and the Red Sox.

    Ripping Packs

    The graded cards and packs come sealed with the authenticator’s information and grade on the top of the packet. Many people buy these packets and never open them, because then the authentication is voided. However, if you buy an authenticated pack and you want to know what’s inside—maybe you’ll find that elusive Andre Dawson or Roberto Clemente card!—the process of cutting the pack open is known as “ripping.”

    What’s That Pack Worth?

    How do people know an unopened pack might contain something worthwhile? Many experts sort those packs by weight or size. If the pack holds an insert, it might weigh a smidgen more than other packs. Experts use micrometres to see if a pack is a smidgen wider than other packs. That’s why people will bid more for a specific pack.

    Ready, Set, Action!

    If you’re ready to sell your baseball cards, go to eBay’s home page and click on the Sell option at the top right-hand side of the page. Go to the Seller Information Centre. In the search bar, type in “baseball cards.” On the left click on Best Practices and you will find eBay’s current terms for listing baseball cards. While eBay normally charges you an insertion fee plus a final selling fee if the item sells, sometimes there are deals: For example, during the latter half of 2012 you can list without an insertion fee.

    For additional advice, check out our Top 3 eBay Selling Guides review or go to the eBay.com Buying Guides.

    This will bring you to eBay’s assortment of reviews and guides, many written by eBay’s top sellers.

    Resources

    Pack Searching: How Do They Do It? By ace2468, top eBay seller, at

    http://reviews.ebay.com/Pack-Searching-How-do-they-do-it?ugid=10000000001398346

    How To Make Money Selling Baseball Cards, also by ace2468, at

    http://reviews.ebay.com/How-to-make-money-selling-Baseball-cards?ugid=10000000001395890

    HowOMG.com

  • Top 10 How to Sell on eBay Secrets

    Top 10 How to Sell on eBay Secrets

    Selling on eBay has become a big moneymaker for many people. However, if you want to join their ranks and be among those who can turn a sizable profit from your auctions or Buy Now sales, you need to know and make the most of the top 10 eBay secrets listed below.

    For tips and secrets on How to Sell on eBay the right way, Click Here to read my Top eBay Selling Guide Reviews.

    #10 – Choosing the Right Keywords

    Remember that you want your product to appear in the listings when people do searches. Otherwise, you’re never going to get any sales. That means you have to choose the best keywords possible. Depending on what you have for sale, that can be easy.

    However, it’s always best to do some research on which keywords are frequently searched for. You can use free tools such as the Google Adwords Keyword Tool. Even though the tool isn’t designed to be one of the top 10 eBay secrets, it will provide the information you want.

    #9 – Picking the Right Product

    When you’re trying to decide what to sell, you want to find a product that is in demand but that not many other sellers have up for bids. However, you also need to choose something for which you can make a hefty profit. You’re looking for a 30:1 profit meaning you make back 30 times what you spent. The best ways to find such items are through the auctions themselves (just don’t get caught in a bidding war that drives up prices).

    #8 – Listing at the Right Time

    When you’re trying to decide when to post your item, you want to pick a time that will end up with your auction closing between 6 to 9 pm EST on the final day. During those last hours before the close is when your auction price will skyrocket but if you close at 2 in the morning or at noon on a weekday you’ll have less potential buyers available and you won’t see as great of an increase.

    #7 – Listing on the Right Day

    Probably one of the most interesting of the top 10 eBay secrets is that when your auction closes can have an impact on how much you make. Research has consistently shown that closing on a Sunday is the best choice (more than 64% of eBay sellers say this is when they have the best luck). Make sure to list your items so they close on a Sunday. The success of the Sunday closing probably has a lot to do with that being a time when people are home and near their computers.

    #6 – Choosing the Right Format

    One of the biggest decisions you need to make when posting a new product is whether you should choose the auction or the Buy Now format. Typically, these two auctions attract different people: Buy Now auctions attract serious buyers who want what they want right now while auction buyers are more interested in getting the best deal possible.

    If you don’t have a good idea of how much an item you’re selling might go for, you’re better off with an auction sale. That way you don’t end up selling too cheaply and losing money or selling too high and losing buyers. If you do choose to do a Buy Now, set the price at 30% above what you expect the product to sell for through an auction.

    #5 – Using Copywriting Skills

    Just throwing a product up on eBay with a picture or two isn’t going to be enough to win over buyers. Instead, you need to make the most of your or someone else’s writing skills as you add the listing details. Always remember that less is more when it comes to describing the product.

    Also, honesty is going to go far with potential customers. If there is an almost unnoticeable flaw in the item, let potential buyers know. This increases your reputation as a reputable seller and decreases the risk of complaints later on. Make sure to avoid anything “cute” or “funny” in your listing details – these never work as well as amateur sellers think they will.

    #4 – Adding Clear & Accurate Pictures

    A picture is worth a thousand words or in the case of the top 10 eBay secrets it’s worth as much three times the price you would receive without a picture. As both a seller and a buyer, it seems eBayers have a mistrust of any listing that does not include photos. And stock photos provided by the site don’t count. Buyers want to see what their buying. Now you don’t have to include a dozen shots from every angle but one to two good shots should do the trick.

    #3 – Setting Reasonable Shipping Rates

    A big problem with some listings is that sellers charge next to nothing for the item being sold in order to attract potential buyers then nail them with outrageous and grossly inflated shipping charges. Although eBay does have rules about this, many sellers are guilty. Don’t be one of them. You’ll earn a lot more money by establishing reasonable rates (always do your homework first, of course) and making sure your shipping policy is clearly stated in the listing for each of your products.

    #2 – Offering a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee

    One of the biggest deterrents to bidders is risk. They don’t know you or what you’re selling beyond what they see in your listing so that makes them nervous. To overcome that nervousness, you can offer a money back guarantee.

    While you could choose a lower or a longer time for the guarantee, 30 days is fairly standard and is what most people expect. Don’t worry though – as long as you’ve written an accurate description of the product you should have no trouble keeping your return rate very low. And if there are problems, most buyers will let you know immediately.

    #1 – Offering a 12 Month Warranty

    For big ticket items, you might need more than just a 30 day money back guarantee to lure in customers. In those cases, you could offer a warranty for up to 12 months. Make sure you are serious about upholding your end of the warranty because this will be a binding contract connecting you to the buyer for a full year. Make sure to clearly spell out what the warranty covers and what you will do to rectify the problems under the warranty.

    For more secrets on How to Sell on eBay make sure you check out my reviews of the Top How to Sell on eBay tutorials.

    Wishing You Great Success,

    HowOMG.com