When she had a carton full of genealogical reference books sitting in her garage that she no longer needed, Linda Dewey looked around for a way to get them to people who could use them. She decided to auction them. She was thrilled with the results and has since gone on to selling English bone china and pottery.
Dewey decided to use eBay, where it costs nothing for buyers to participate in auctions. But eBay does charge sellers modest fees for listing and selling items. Other sites, such as Amazon.com and Yahoo do not charge sellers or buyers.
"There are six keys to succeeding at online auctions," Dewey says. "Research and know what you sell; write good copy; set prices competitively; show the item; pay attention to when an auction closes; and pack and ship items well."
As a former retailer who owned her own store, Dewey says you have to know your products. "Check the auction site to see what identical or similar items are selling for. Use your copy and photographs to give your prospective customers the 'experience' of examining the item, as they would in a store."
She also cautions sellers to disclose even very minor faults in an item. "For serious collectors, condition is paramount."
Dewey usually runs her auctions for 10 days, and times her listings so the sale will run over two Sundays. "Also, time them to close in the evening," she says.
For picture storage and auction management, Dewey recommends the free Auction Watch service. A similar service is available from Andale.
Dewey accepts checks, money orders and credit cards from buyers through the online processing firm PayPal. For packing, she turns to Shipping Supplies.com. "Except for very large items," Dewey says, "I always use U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail."
