Simple Question-How do i get 1st Dibs & Chairish Prices for My Junque ?

Any tips or techniques for getting that kind of cash for my garage rarities:1985 Sears Washing Machine,used light bulbs. Also any ideas on property tax rebates or a $30 hr plumber or electrician.
PS-Sorry for my goofiness,pray my feeble levity does not offend.

 

take terrible photo's
describe it as rare and been in the family for generations...
speculate that it must be valuable because you couldn't;t find another one like it on the web !!!
then price it .... high....and take the 1st offer u get !!!

 

1st dibs seems to be an internet shop front for swanky antique shops who operate in upper class city areas. The prices are not out of place if you look in places like Chelsea, The Silver Vaults, Metropolitan Antiques NY etc.

I know a mortal who signed up - had to commit to 12 months at ~ 1k per month, six months in he said his total sales on the site were 1.5k

 

Yow-12K a Year ! Makes Ebay seem cheap (except for it being an arm of the IRS now).

 

I guess it is like anything, it is relative. If you are turning over 100k per month it's not a lot, but for most it's a small fortune. Ebay costs us more than 1k per month, but it is performance related, so if it didn't work they don't make their cut. 1st Dibs isn't linked to performance.

 

What percentage does Ebay take ?

 

Anywhere between 13 and 30%, depending.

 

Averages about 13% all in for us inc the shop fees, but we get the VAT portion back, if you are not VAT registered you lose that part [uk], different countries have different rates.

 

Still not linked in the UK, they have pushes from time to time, but it's still not automatic. Surprised it hasn't been brought in yet.

 

I've heard that some sellers have set up YouTube channels to great effect.

 

MOS is right. There is a seller on ebay that has a youtube channel and most all of her listings get bids lickety split. I am not saying she is getting rich, but she sure does sell a lot of stuff.

 

Thanks ALL-So it's 13% Fee + 15-25% in IRS Taxation (so you darn well better ask for a receipt when you buy a Rembrandt from Granny's Garage-or else). Any suggestions on best/cheapest way to ship to please/appease the all holy Buyer & not get the big Negative ? Any other suggestions to keep Ebay Clients in their 'happy place' ?

 

There are quite a few, and the ones that do well make their most money from Youtube, the flipping is their subject not their main revenue stream.

There is also quite a difference in markets, in the US lots of lower end items fetch reasonable money, in the UK the same items would be unsaleable for profit and only sell for minimal prices at a charity (thrift) store or car boot sale. Also in the UK garage and private estate sales are rare, for any decent stock you need to go to the fairs, auctions and antique centers where you have to pay a lot more for the items. Sure you can get the odd find at a charity store or car boot sale, but no way near enough to sustain a business.

 

I wish there was a show in Britain like 'American Pickers'. I still catch the odd rerun of 'Lovejoy'-Ian Mcshane got big here in the States when he played Al Swearengen in 'Deadwood',also superb as Odin in 'American Gods'. My life in my parallel dimension is close to Lovejoy's.

 

Sorry to break it to you, but American Pickers is staged in advance. But they do show some neat stuff.

 

I pretty much stopped watching American Pickers because a lot of it did not make business sense. They were paying SO much for so many items with little profit. Of course they are were paid a good sum for the show. They did say they are now in the rental biz for their items, so perhaps that helps with their ability to make more money over time.

I also am not into rusty crusty falling apart things like they are so I lost interest.

 

I think their resale is now the smallest part of the biz. Mike also has all sorts of properties all over the place. The show fell apart for me when Frank had to bow out/was forced out (depending on who you believe). A lot of the televised buyers are like that.

One of the Youtubers mentioned is the Crazy Lamp Lady. I think she's making as much off the videos as the stuff. Some scrap metal dudes probably make more from the Youtube revenue.

 

Yes Ruth that is the seller I meant.

 

I watch her to learn about breakables I normally don't touch. Newer stuff too. Glassie Babies and Mackenzie-Child's come to mind.

 

They came through Columbia SC about 10 years ago & went to a couple of dealers that frequented a local auction house. Their staff shows up ahead of them & goes through everything. They told them what stuff to put where so that it could be "found" by Frank or Mike.

One guy sold them a train set & he told me what he gave for it. If they made any money on that set it would be a friggin' miracle.