My First eBay Sale: Success or Failure?

The other day I wrote about buying a blaster of Topps 2013 in search of Reds, Tigers, Cubs and Jarrod Parker cards.

I came up pretty short across the board in finding those cards so that night I decided on a whim to try my hand at eBay for the first time ever. After a blogger changed his mind on the patch I pulled, I decided to list it and see if I could recoup a few dollars from a somewhat disappointing purchase.

I listed this Bryce Harper manupatch at a $4.99 start and went with the 24-hour auction timeframe. I reviewed some of the ins and outs of listing, decided instead of free shipping to go with $2.00 - and later got some great advice from a few bloggers about packaging/mailing.

Long story short, the card sold that night for $19.38, not counting the $2.00 shipping. It appears this card is going anywhere from $8.00 to $23.00 on eBay. I like the card, actually, but was surprise I got what I got. I think the appeal will wear off some as the set ages a few weeks.

Interestingly, another seller popped up early in the sale day and listed the same card for an auction ending at the exact same time as mine. I was concerned as he had several other cards available and combined shipping options. He also was a highly rated seller. Choosing the same auction ending time as mine seemed bush league but all is fair I guess.

In the end, it didn't matter. His card fetched almost $4.00 less than mine!

I had never sold on eBay before, although I also asked bloggers about it last spring when I pulled my greatest card find from a retail purchase - a Bob Gibson/Matt Holliday dual auto from a value pack at Walmart. I'm still planning to sell that card as it was going for more than $200 - although I may have missed my window on that.


I'll likely rarely sell on eBay as I prefer trading but there are some bundles of cards in my trade list that have gone unclaimed for some time that I may end up listing.

In any case, it feels good to get my first eBay sale in the books. It felt even better when the buyer paid with five minutes of winning the auction!

Giving eBay a Go

I remain one of the few U.S. residents to have never sold anything on eBay. This is about to end.

I'm hoping for a few tips on shipping. I know how to properly protect and ship for an eBay buyer but I'm curious if there's anything special that should be done for shipping labels and if it's critical for seller protection to get tracking with all packages. I'm certainly assuming it is.

Anything else you think I should know?

I appreciate any and all tips.

Meanwhile, I listed last night some 2013 cards available for trade. Take a look at the end of the post if you are in the market and missed it.

Thanks.

ebay: Are You Experienced?

I've read plenty of comments and posts over the past year about the, ahem, thrills of selling on ebay. I've made passing note of them but never had any desire to do so myself, so I didn't pay a lot of attention.

But now I'm considering throwing some cards up there and giving it a whirl. I guess, what I'm wondering, is just how difficult it is to get started doing this. I thought I'd ask here before taking a deeper look at the site and trying to figure it out.

You see, today I pulled a very nice card - certainly the best one I've ever opened in a random pack - and I'm toying with the idea of selling it. I'll feature the card later today or perhaps tomorrow - or possibly even Monday depending on how busy Easter gets for me. Normally I'd never consider selling such a card - but I just might with this one for various reasons.

I would post it here now but I haven't had a chance to scan it.

Stay tuned, but any helpful ebay comments would be great.