A lot of people think
selling antiques and collectibles online is easy and for the most part it is easy. However just listing what you have to sell is just part of it, your antiques and collectibles will sell better if you know what you are selling. This is done by going online researching prices of similar items, visiting flea markets and antique shows too, Also desirability at the time you are trying to sell an item is of the utmost importance. Just because you looked something up in a book and the price says 500.00 doesn't necessarily mean your antique is worth that same 500.00. The markets fluctuate all the time. What was desirable yesterday may not be as desirable in today's markets or could be worth twice as much in today's markets. That's why researching what you are about to sell is so important.
1. Make great Titles for your antiques. Use great Keywords, keywords is so important. If a seller lists a black tea pot, and that's all they use as a title it is a very limited title and may sell someday down the road. But if another sellers does a title like example Black tea pot made in England Mid Century or whichever era this tea pot has better chances of selling with the added keywords. Here is another example of making the most of your titles - If you are selling an old lamp for example you might use “1960 Art Deco glass lamp” as a title instead of just great old lamp.
2. Be clear on your descriptions of the antique you are listing. If the antique is in poor condition make sure you put it in your description of the item. Also if the description is short, that hurts too. Sellers shouldn't be afraid to add personal touches to an ad. Like (this is such a funny item. I remember when my sister and I played with this long ago). Sometimes adding that personal touch helps a customer relate better and that helps them to decide they want fond memories too about that antique or collectible. Sometimes buyers need that extra help to make a purchase plus it shows them your human and not just another machine listing stuff.
3. Now I'd like to talk about the display of your antiques and collectibles. I can't over emphasize DISPLAY, DISPLAY, DISPLAY. Display is very important whether you’re selling online or setting up at a show. When you’re taking pictures of your antiques try to only show what you are selling. I see all the time people listing say an antique bottle on a table cluttered with stuff behind the bottle that's for sale. When doing that it takes away from the antique bottle and makes it appear as just another object amongst other stuff. If you took that same bottle against a solid color that's pleasing to the eye with nothing else in the picture, it not only highlights the antique bottle but gives it some importance and helps the value of the bottle. I personally like black backgrounds but some collectibles such as jewelry or other objects look good with light greens or pinks etc. fabric is inexpensive enough to buy a yard or two for background colors. The display of an item can make or break a sale. Have clear uncluttered pictures of the antique.
4. Ask a fair price for your item. If your vintage item is in poor condition be sure to reflect that in your price.
5. Take great pictures of your antiques and make sure you optimize the image for the web. When your images of your antiques load fast, that leaves more time for the potential buyers to spend looking at your collectibles. If your images are slow and large – most buyers will move on and go to another item. When taking pictures of your antiques think of it as if you were looking to buy the item. If you were holding something in your hand would you only look at the front? Or maybe just look at the front and back? No, you would look it over very good to make sure all sides are nice and everything is functioning properly. We are limited by the amount of pictures we can load on a page so try to show as much of an item as possible, for the buyer to feel comfortable about the antique is as we state it. So next time you are going to sell something hold it in your hand and take the pictures that might help you to decide what you show is the important parts of the object whether or not there are faults or the antique is in mint condition.
6. I have found that my items sell better and faster if I use PayPal. People seem to trust PayPal and it is faster than waiting for someone to send you a check and then waiting for the check to clear the bank before shipping.
7. List your
antiques in many places. There are many Free Places to list your antiques and collectibles.
Junkables.com is just one example of an online antique store that allows their members to list their antiques with no listing or seller fees of any kind. You can list antiques for sale on more than just one place at a time, and the more places you list your antiques the more potential buyers will see them. When the antique online store is free to list on, then go for it. Just make sure if you have a paypal buynow button, that you set your button to have a track inventory on it, and set the inventory to 1, this allows paypal to turn off the button as soon as the antique or collectable sells, no matter how many sites you have the antique on. ( that way you will be sure that you only sell your antique once)
8. Let people know where they can find your antiques. Post your item on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and any other social networking site you are a member of.
9. Only charge the cost of your shipping and handling fees.
10. Be clear on where you will and will not ship to. Then pack the antique with care and mail promptly. It is good business and you want your customers to be happy and satisfied so they will spread the word.
