Legos and Minifigs are Hot Sellers on eBay

Today's post is provided by Lynn from the eBay Facebook Group.

Lego is a great item to sell on eBay. It’s one of the most popular toys and it’s been around for a long time so there are a lot of Lego bricks out there. Lego is expensive to buy new and there are many enthusiastic Lego collectors.

Always buy Lego when you see it at garage sales, rummage sales and thrift stores. Buy complete sets, opened boxes, mixed lots and Bionicles. Especially buy Lego Technics (the robotics components) because these are very expensive and sought after by enthusiasts. If you’re at garage sales and you spot teenage children around, ask them if they have any Lego they want to sell. A few times this has resulted in a teenage boy going into their house and returning with a large tote of legos. Also, check on Craiglist regularly to see if any Lego is posted for sale.

If you buy a Lego set and want to check if it’s complete, a great site is www.peeron.com. If you enter the item number, it will give the year of manufacture, a complete inventory of all the pieces in the set and sometimes assembly instructions which can be downloaded. If there are just a couple of pieces missing, you might want to think about replacing them. Used Lego sets generally sell for 70% - 90% of the original retail price (although some vintage sets can sell for 200% and up). The electrified train sets, pirates, castle, and Star Wars are especially sought after. If it’s a large set and you don’t want to spend the time doing an inventory, you can just stockpile the pieces to sell later.

Which brings me on to selling mixed bulk lots of Lego. Generally, I like to sell items that don’t require a lot of effort to list and re-sell, but large Lego lots are an exception. If you take the time and effort to pre-sort the lot, your return on investment is going to be many times more than it would have been otherwise. Here are the steps for listing a large lot of Lego:

1) Remove anything that isn’t Lego from the box.This can be easy if we’re talking about a few stray Lincoln logs and Playmobil people. It’s a lot trickier if the previous owner mixed their Mega Blocks in with the Lego. Just remember that almost all Lego pieces are marked “Lego” on them somewhere. If you do this, you can put “100% Lego” in your title. Other good key words are “bulk “ or “large lot”

2) Separate all the minifigure people, assemble them and photograph them separately. Identify the number and kind of minifig (Stars, Knight, Harry Potter etc.) in your eBay title as this helps buyers identify the kinds of blocks which are likely to be in the lot. A good eBay title might be “30+ lbs 100% LEGO Bulk Vintage Lot Star Wars 50 minifigs”. Note that not all of the minifigs would have to be Star Wars in this lot, just some of them.

3) For bulk lots, start the bidding at $9.99. This will guarantee that you get plenty of bidders. You can expect to get around $6 per pound plus $1 for each minifigure, although some minifigures are worth more ($2-$3 for Western, Space and Pirate, and $4 and up for Star Wars). A 30 lbs lot of Lego with 50 minifigures will sell for at least $230. I’ve sold bulk Lego lots for over $450.

Good luck, and keep looking for that hollow gold!

Click here to visit Lynn's store on eBay and check out her selection.

If you would like to submit a guest post, please send your idea to eBaycoach @ yahoo

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Free Shipping Supplies!

I LOVE getting anything free. I have figured out a way to get my poly mailers, bubble mailers, labels, tape, packing peanuts, bubble wrap, and other shipping supplies FREE!

You may remember reading my posts about using Swagbucks rewards to buy gift cards to resell on eBay. Swagbucks is a site that offers rewards for using their search engine. You don't have to use it exclusively, but just use it a few times a day.

Then I realized that electronic gift cards are not allowed on eBay any more - so that strategy went out the window. Now I am using my Swagbucks points to buy Amazon gift cards, which I then redeem for shipping supplies on Amazon. When you order $25 of products that qualify for Super Saver Shipping, shipping is free. I ship a lot of items First Class domestic and international, so I need materials other than priority mail supplies I get free at the post office. Here is a screen shot of my rewards from January through May of this year:



You can see that I am earning about $150 a month in gift cards which pays for all of my shipping supplies (and a few extras for myself!). The key is that you have to use the search engine and refer others. You can earn up to 1,000 points per referral. Click here to sign up now and start earning points that you can redeem for whatever you like.


Related Articles:

How eBay Helped me Pull $62 Out of Thin Air

Get Free Starbucks Gift Cards

Monthly Swagbucks Report

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How to Promote Your eBay Trading Assistant Business

The eBay Trading Assistant program provides templates for marketing materials including flyers, business cards, and even scripts for radio commercials. Sign into your TA account and look for the Tool Kit on the left side of the page.

Print off the business cards and keep plenty of them with you at all times. You never know when an opportunity will present itself for you to hand out a business card.

Always enter restaurant giveaways - those bowls they have at the register where you can drop in your business card. Try to get it in there facing out if it is a glass container. Passersby and restaurant employees will see your card.

Post flyers on bulletin boards in high traffic areas. (Always ask before posting a flyer on a bulletin board.) See if you can post them at your gym, church, dry cleaner, Laundromat, library, grocery store, break room at work, or clubhouse. Ask your friends to place them in their break rooms at work and their church.

Promote your business using social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Partner with local businesses. Talk to owners of consignment stores, thrift stores, boutiques, or retail stores and ask them if they have someone selling their merchandise on eBay. You may be able to strike up a deal where you sell their merchandise for a commission.

Also check with your dry cleaner to see what they do with unclaimed items. You may be able to work out a deal where you sell the better unclaimed items for a commission.

Give plenty of cards to connectors and explain your TA business. Connectors are people who know lots of other people and are good networkers. Examples include realtors, teachers, public officials, volunteer workers, receptionists, bank tellers, little league coaches, etc. Think of people you know who come in contact with lots of other people every day, and may see an opportunity to connect you with someone who could use your service.

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Starting a Website - Should You Sell on Your Own?

Many of my clients and readers ask if they should start their own website and sell beyond eBay. I want share my experience with you because I did not find the success I had hoped for when I started my own site.

People find safety, security, and a sense of protection in buying from eBay, Amazon, Overstock.com, Bonanzle, and other large sites because there are systems in place for recourse if the buyer is not satisfied or if there is a problem with the transaction. Starting your own website not only involves a great deal of time and work in establishing the site and moving up in the Google rankings to get traffic, but buyers simply are not comfortable buying from John Doe online who they do not know.

Last year I thought starting a website to sell American health and beauty products was a good idea – I promoted my website to my international customers (300+ a month and many repeat customers) and they continued to purchase the items from eBay. I asked my customers why they were not buying from my site. They stated that they were just more comfortable buying from a large site like eBay that offers buyer protection. Even if they had to pay a little bit more, they still bought from eBay. I had 3 sales within 6 months (and my products only cost $10-$20 each) so I shut down the site. Definitely a learning experience.

I understand the concern with paying eBay fees, but you will be spending money on your own website for domain name registration, hosting fees, web design, marketing, and spending a lot of valuable time on this venture. eBay fees may be the most cost effective and time efficient way to go.

You may not be able to sell anything on your own website, even after all the work. You may want to focus on optimizing your efforts on eBay and other sites along with affiliate marketing, writing articles, and blogging. eBay has millions of buyers congregated in one place ready to buy. You won’t find that with your own website. eBay fees are a small price to pay for access to millions of buyers.

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Selling Athletic Apparel on eBay

Today's post is provided by Paula who lives in the Lake Tahoe area. Paula is always sharing her great finds and sales on the Facebook group, so she agreed to write up something special for my readers.

Living in a ski town has given me access to an abundance of athletic apparel and sports equipment. At garage sales and thrift stores in my town it is not uncommon to find name brand sports apparel at rock bottom prices. Thus my ebay niche was born. When I am in a thrift store I first head over to the T-shirt aisle. I go by feel, if it’s silky feeling then I stop and look at it to see what brand it is. If its cotton I don’t bother. This is where I find my cycling jerseys, base layer shirts and team jerseys. I do the same thing with the pants section, if it feels like nylon or silky I stop to look at it. In the sweatshirt aisle I only look at the fleece. These are the brands I buy:

The North Face, Patagonia, Columbia, REI, Pearl Izumi, Nike (Dri Fit), Spyder, Hot Chilly’s, Decente DNA, Mountain Hardwear, Under Armour, Maxit, Lowe Alpine, Sporthill. Those are the main ones that come to mind.If you see something that looks and feels like quality by all means look it up and see what the completed listings show. If I can’t find something on Ebay then I will go to the company’s website and see what the item is selling for brand new. This will give me an idea of what to price mine at. Almost all of my items are “Buy it Now”. I would rather wait for the right buyer to come along who knows what the item is worth than to sell it for next to nothing at auction.

I mentioned team jerseys. These do very well. Again buy the ones that have a silky feel. Any jersey from the Pro Football, Baseball , Basketball or Soccer teams do well. I recently sold a used soccer jersey to a guy in Brazil for $50. Any type of cycling apparel does well. Jerseys, shorts, wind vests have all done well for me in the past. Some brands to look for are, Biemme, Voler, Hind, Pearl Izumi, She Beest, REI, Performance, Aussie just to name a few. You can’t go wrong with Cycling apparel.

Water sports apparel is also a very good seller. I have sold many wetsuits and surf shirts also known as rash guards. I have sold wetsuits for little toddlers for about the same price as the adult sizes. I think the toddler sizes must be harder to come by. Here’s some brands to look for : O’Neil, Jobe, Body Glove, Rip Curl.

Don’t forget shoes and boots. Water sport sandals are great sellers. My top selling brands are Teva and Chaco. Hiking boots and Snow boots are very popular and high dollar items. Sorel snow boots, Kamik , Vasque, Lowa, Columbia are just a few that come to mind.

Lastly I do sell sports equipment. Don’t forget about hats! I have sold many ski hats at a very good profit. Look for the name brands I listed above. I have found wrestling ear pads, helmets , motocross and hockey pads and have done well. A couple of brands of helmets that get top dollar are Bieffe, Boeri, Pro Tec and Giro. Cross country ski boots are good sellers, but I don’t bother with downhill ski boots.

I am a skier, snowboarder and cyclist so this niche is FUN for me; I hope this information will help you find some great stuff!

You can visit Paula's eBay Store here.

If you would like to contribute a guest post, send me an email at ebaycoach @ yahoo.com with your idea.

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Independence Day Giveaway - Statue of Liberty Barbie

In honor of Independence Day, I am holding a giveaway for the newest Collectible Barbie - Statue of Liberty Barbie. She is part of the Dolls Around the World Collection, featuring Barbie dolls dressed in native costumes. Statue of Liberty Barbie is part of a brand new line, Landmark Collection, which celebrates world renowned landmarks.

Statue of Liberty Barbie will be one for the collectors! She will only be available for a limited time at a retail price of $34.95. One winner will be chosen at random to receive this unique Barbie doll. Not a fan of Barbie? No problem! You can always sell her on eBay to a collector. Some collectible Barbies can sell for hundreds of dollars. Click here to view completed eBay listings for collectible Barbies.

To enter, just leave a comment below. (Please leave contact email in your comment so I can reach you if you win!) For extra entries (and a better chance of winning), do any of the following:

Post a link to this giveaway on:

Your own blog
Your Facebook page
A Facebook group’s wall
Twitter
A group or forum
StumbleUpon
Digg
Your MySpace page
Bulk email your friends in your email address book

Be sure to leave a comment for each “extra” that you do. Good luck! The winner will be announced on Friday, July 9.

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Mens Ferragamo Shoes - eBay Seller Success Story

Diana (one of my former clients) send in this success story:

Suzanne - I had to tell you about one of my sisters "big" sales. She called me last week and I was on the phone with another person and couldn't get off the phone with them. After the conversation ended, I called my sister back to see what she wanted. She said too late now for she had already left the Goodwill to go home. She said she found a pair of mens Ferragamo shoes for $3.99 but put them back because the soles were pretty worn. I looked them up on e-Bay and told her she should have gotten them. She then proceeded to take a u-turn and head back to the Goodwill to pick them up and sold them tonight for $79.99!!! Unbelievable. I told her I need to start getting a percentage of what she sells (HA!). What I wouldn't give to have that type of Goodwill near my house. It is in a high end part of town so therefore there are more high end items for sale there. Here is the listing:



Thrift store cost: $3.99
eBay sale price: $79.99
Profit before fees: $76

Wow! is about all I can say! If you have a success story to share, send it in to me at eBaycoach @ yahoo.com.

To learn more about thrift store finds to sell on eBay, check out my eBook:

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