Ebay: still a viable $$$ maker for rekkids?

iron_monkey

haven't really sold more than a handful of records on ebay. Never really got into the whole thing. Is it still a worthwhile thing money-wise? Can you really unload common ass records on the daily? Let a dood know cuz the scratch is gettin kinda low and I need to step up my money game pronto....Give me the sage advice brothers & sisters....How do you do it>?

oldnewsoul

And what other Options are available? I'm down to about 12 weeks of unemployment and no prospects on the horizon.

The_Hook_Up

Ebay is definitely a fickle bitch...some days I go with every item going unsold, but some days those same records sell when I repost them...no rhyme or reason. for example I had a Mingus Candid LP up for an opening bid of 9.99...it went unsold, no watchers, nothing... relisted it and it went for $124..????????????? So, for it to be a money making aspect, its gotta be an everyday thing...one timing it may get ya $$$ or it might put you in the red(listing fee, your time)...

kala

for all the dross and dreck that gets accumulated from buying whole collections or full crates at 5-10 dollars each and overstock i can't sell to academy/kims but is still too valuble to donate...
i place in lots of 50-100 and start with a low opening price like 13.99
i will have 40-70% of semi decent but common titles[cti/kudu/all the majors /enterprise/hi/stax/motown etc] in vg/vg=/vg- to fair.

i mostly sell these too timmy digalot 101 who just started digging and needs
the basic lps to feel good about himself

after all is said and done i usuually average a buck a record unless the titles are above average
then i charge 30-35 bucks for 100 lps media mail and make maybe 5-10 bucks there as well
but you have to remember it takes 15 minutes to pack and ship it so the extra $$$ is really a handling fee in my eyes.
this works just as well for 45s and is less labor intensive
i only ship these to the us with a confirmation that i pay for and i have never had a problem

kala

Ebay is definitely a fickle bitch...some days I go with every item going unsold, but some days those same records sell when I repost them...no rhyme or reason. for example I had a Mingus Candid LP up for an opening bid of 9.99...it went unsold, no watchers, nothing... relisted it and it went for $124..????????????? So, for it to be a money making aspect, its gotta be an everyday thing...one timing it may get ya $$$ or it might put you in the red(listing fee, your time)...

yeah it seems like full time professional record dealers with big ongoing auctions/storefronts like 21st century music/disco john always have 300-500 listings up

iron_monkey

OK, I see what you're sayin... definitely appreciated info. Would also like the more seasoned SoulStrut sellers like Latency and Raj to chime in if they could. Here's another question: have you ever had your account hacked into? It's happened to me twice in past 6 months and Ebay temporarily disables my account to fix it. Should I just cut it off and start a new account?

Jonny_Paycheck

Unless you are trying to unload some good records you're not going to get much money

The problem with crap is that it's crap, and most people know it's crap

If you were to load up 100+ items and start bidding low, like $2-3, I bet you would average $5 (or even $10) a record, that's usually what I do with shwag...

If you've got some good stuff to sell, like Latency for instance, you'll do well, but you might want to consider getting a table at the next swap... you can get better money for most shwag in person and your fees will be significantly less.

iron_monkey

Well, I'm not looking to sell exclusively crap records on there but the rarities will be few and far between. I'm interested in knowing if common but good records still yield a decent price. Y'know, your James Browns, Curtis, Sly, etc.

spelunk

Ebay = unpredictable as fuck.

If you do sell stuff, having audio clips always helps. The sellers who get consistantly high prices on their eBay shit usually have audio samples.

Oh and Shadow samples = eBay gold.

Tuff_Gong

Maybe this has as much with me being a little dude on eBay and not having the big marquee name that people look for, but eBay has been shit for me the past few times I've sold on there. Back in the day I could make decent money putting even somewhat common things up there, but recently even stuff that's somewhat hard to find hasn't sold anywhere near where I expected it to. For instance, I put up a copy of the "Cleopatra Jones" soundtrack. That record easily used to go for $20-30 and higher, and what did I get for it? $11.50. Another thing I put up was a record by a group called the Insect Trust that routinely used to go for $40-60 easy, and I only got $19.50 for it.

And then there's the stuff I've put up that goes unsold or for just the opening price. I put up an original of "The Songs Of Leonard Cohen" with an opening bid of $1.99 and it went unsold the first time, and then sold for just the opening bid the second time. That's less than I paid for it! I put up a copy of "The Cactus Album" by 3rd Bass...I've seen that shoot up to $20-30 before, and what did I get for it? The $1.99 opening bid. BAH FUCKING HUMBUG.

So yeah, me and eBay aren't on speaking terms right now. Soon as I get a real job I'm pretty much done selling records on eBay because it ain't pulling in the money right now and it's not worth the hassle. Not only did I not get anywhere close to what I should have for that Cleopatra Jones soundtrack, but as a slap in the face the guy I sold it to in Italy received the item broken and gave me my first negative feedback. Phooey on that!