Selling your unwanted stuff

[RichGreen]

Hi,

I sold a few RPG books I didn't want on ebay uk a year or so ago. It was quite a lot of hassle for not a great deal of cash, but I'm pleased that the books went to a bunch of gamers who actually wanted them!

Cheers


Richard

 

[jcfiala]

Ebay can work well for getting rid of things. (I had a bidder on my Sim City cards, even!)

Some tips:
1) Write everything you want to say in the description of the item ahead of time, before you do the posting. Check similar items to see what sort of details you can include.
2) Take a picture of what you're selling, or find a picture you can use that's representitive. People like to see what they're buying.
3) Make sure you include as many correctly-spelled terms as possible in the title. If it's a D&D book like the draconomicon, I'd have it as 'D&D 3.5 Draconomicon D20' so that someone searching for d20 books will find it, as will people looking for both D&D and D&D 3.5. The more people who see your auction the better.
4) Don't bother with reserve prices, and put a low minimum bid out there if you really want to get rid of it.
5) Figure how how and how much shipping is for each item before you post them.
6) Post all your items at the same time. This way if someone likes the auction for 'The complete book of elves' then they can see that you're also getting rid of 'The complete book of half-orcs'.

Hope that helps!
John

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I've won a lot of auctions on Ebay but I've never sold anything. How much work is it to set up a selling account, what's involved, and how expensive would it be?

 

[palleomortis]

Seriously, befor you go, I would post the stuff you looking to sell here, and see if anyone wants to buy. Twice as easy, and it's going to know players.

 

[Neo]

I've won a lot of auctions on Ebay but I've never sold anything. How much work is it to set up a selling account, what's involved, and how expensive would it be?

Fairly cheap they charge to list something, with options to add features and greater options to a listing costing more, they also take a small piece of a successfully sold item. If an item isnt sold they do not charge and it is free to relist it.

Also if you sell something and allow paypal as a mehtod of payment they take a little bit too.. for small or single items it may be significant but for groups of items its a negligible expense.

 

[IronWolf]

I tend to use eBay when looking for older books I am trying to add to my collection. From the looks of it several other peope do too. I sold a couple of old Twilight 2000 modules on eBay. All three of them went, though I had to relist one of them before it sold.

 

[MonsterMash]

I like selling via Amazon z-shops. Ebay just doesn't seem right to me. I don't recommend selling heavy hardbacks via z-shops though as their p&p charge won't cover the postage.

I use both, but find for mainstream books Amazon z-shops are vastly more productive, while e-bay is better for miniatures and RPG stuff.

 

[CarlZog]

The problem I found with my unwanted stuff is that most people didn't want it either. I tried bundeling books. That worked out slightly better. So if you're getting rid of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, I would crank the price up a buck and toss in Diomin d20, because otherwise you'll never get rid of it.

One of the unmentioned advantages of donating stuff like this to a non-profit is the tax deduction. Obviously it depends on your situation, but a Forgotten Realms Campaign setting, for example, may just be worth a lot more on your tax return than it is on ebay.

Carl

 

[Gwaihir]

Tax effects are significant. In Michigan , for stuff donated to libraries, You not only get the Federal deduction for charitable gifts if you itemize, but also a State tax credit for gifts to libraries.

 

[Driddle]

re donations: I've itemized such deductions before, and for our piddly lifestyle it's just not worth the tax-prep effort. (Not the donation itself, but the result.) The only time our deductions bumped over the line into tangible savings was when my wife and I both donated our used cars to charity.

Besides, we're regular supporters of the metro library system already, usually dropping a few hundred books each year. For certain items, I'd rather have the pocket cash.