Jump to content
 

Selling Model Railway Items


hconn
 Share

Recommended Posts

Does anyone know a good website to sell items? I have previously used eBay but have been bombarded with ridiculous fees. I have 3 display cabinets that I want to sell, but don't want to be hit with massive fees.

Link to post
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, hconn said:

Does anyone know a good website to sell items? I have previously used eBay but have been bombarded with ridiculous fees. I have 3 display cabinets that I want to sell, but don't want to be hit with massive fees.

 

Just wait till the next eBay offer of £1 max selling fee, far cheaper than anything else and must have the largest audience of all,

 

if what you have said eBay would not sell as much as they do. Remember if you took your items to a traditional auction, the auction would charge you between 18 & 22% plus VAT selling fee the same charge is also levied on the buyer. Given this is a massive 40%+ eBay's 10% looks good value to me, the 1% offers are a bargain in themselves

  • Like 1
  • Agree 7
  • Informative/Useful 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Back in pre internet days you either sold to shops for around half resale value or took out small ads which were charged per word and took ages to get printed. Even with PayPal fees selling on ebay at standard rates will cost less than 15% of the final take. 

  • Like 1
  • Agree 5
Link to post
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

Why do so many think the internet should run on fresh air?

I was just wondering whether there was anywhere that did it for less, I didn't expect it for nothing

 

28 minutes ago, hayfield said:

 

Just wait till the next eBay offer of £1 max selling fee, far cheaper than anything else and must have the largest audience of all,

 

if what you have said eBay would not sell as much as they do. Remember if you took your items to a traditional auction, the auction would charge you between 18 & 22% plus VAT selling fee the same charge is also levied on the buyer. Given this is a massive 40%+ eBay's 10% looks good value to me, the 1% offers are a bargain in themselves

Thanks I will look out for this

 

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Izzy said:

If the items are heavy then Gumtree might be an alternative to consider if you don't mind people collecting in person. Transaction can then be in cash.

 

Izzy

 

I have found for heavier items Hermes are very competitive with prices and they now are so much better in the quality of service than a couple of years ago, just takes a day or two longer to arrive than Royal Mail 

 

However if you are selling display cabinets delivery will be an issue as I assume they are quite heavy. Collection in person may be the best option, but this will greatly reduce the number of folk who would be interested (as would expensive carriage) thus reducing what may be the amount raised. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, hayfield said:

 

Just wait till the next eBay offer of £1 max selling fee, far cheaper than anything else and must have the largest audience of all,

 

if what you have said eBay would not sell as much as they do. Remember if you took your items to a traditional auction, the auction would charge you between 18 & 22% plus VAT selling fee the same charge is also levied on the buyer. Given this is a massive 40%+ eBay's 10% looks good value to me, the 1% offers are a bargain in themselves

£1 selling  fees  are  not  automatic  though,  they   are  only  offered  to  those  with  a  good  reputation!!  and  have  been  ebay  users  for  some  time,  I have  saved  quite  a  lot  over  the  years  with  the  £1 selling  fee  concession,  I  also  receive  occasionally  buying  concessions  of  10%  discount  on  purchases  over £100.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • Moderators
9 minutes ago, Georgeconna said:

No one said anything about being free.

 

And neither did I if you read it properly. I just get fed up of people moaning about prices of the non-essentials in life, especially at this time of year when some struggle to feed themselves and their families. 

 

Anyway, please define 'massive' and 'reasonable' - you won't be able to, it's subjective.

 

 

  • Like 3
  • Agree 8
  • Friendly/supportive 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Georgeconna said:

 

There is quite a Difference between resonable and massive fees. No one said anything about being free.

 

 

 

Georgeconna

 

There are people who just love to hate successful companies, usually I expect those who never use them and probably will not use them in the future anyway

 

Traditional auction houses have a completely different pricing structure, usually charging both the buyers and the sellers the same amount (anything between 18%  & 22 % + VAT each) which will probably be totalling about 40% of the sale value. Items sells for £100, seller gets £80 buyer pays £120

 

A typical eBay model railways seller gets the listing for free and pays 10% sales fee on both the item and postage (some categories have different charges) There are no buyers fee. An item which sells for £100 + £5 postage eBay charges £10.50. If using PayPal (Now a different company from eBay) there will be a transaction charge (3% ?)

 

Many of us find great little gems via eBay many which would have probably gone to waste in the past. Others do find there unwanted items are actually quite sought after by grateful modellers willing to pay reasonable prices

 

If using a traditional a traditional auction company the sales fee would be £20 and the buyer would have had to pay £20. However if the buyer took the sales commission into account the winning bid would have been £82, rather than the seller getting £80 this would result in a net income of about £66. The eBay seller after both eBay and PalPal fees would get £87. If you are offered a £1 selling fee then you will net £96

 

However another point to consider is that Ebay will have far more watchers/potential buyers that a traditional auction plus you can choose the time and date of sale which does actually make a great deal of difference in the selling price attained.

Granted the auction will present the item to its best on the web, but then eBay listing is very easy to do whether you use a computer, tablet or phone and if you are too lazy to take a couple of decent in focus photos and add a simple clear description then perhaps you do not deserve the best prices.

 

As Andy says, very little in life is free and quite often you get what you pay for

  • Agree 6
  • Informative/Useful 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
6 hours ago, Stevelewis said:

  I  also  receive  occasionally  buying  concessions  of  10%  discount  on  purchases  over £100.

:offtopic:

I once received 20% discount and proceeded to buy a West Country and two 64xx tanks with best offers 15% under the seller's already discounted own website price. Recouped several months of my own ebay selling fees. :D

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, TheSignalEngineer said:

There are at least half a dozen groups on FB dedicated to buying and selling model railways, even one describing itself as an on-line swapmeet. 

 

 

How many folk view the items?, plus not an auction. Don't forget with an auction not only can bargains be found but sometimes items go for far more than anticipated !!

  • Agree 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Got to admit I have never had any luck selling railway items on facebook marketplace, although i have bought a couple of things, did once advertise a leather sofa at £10 for collection only ,  got one reply from a lady who would give me the £10 when i delivered it to a town 20 miles away!

 

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium
12 hours ago, hayfield said:

 

However if you are selling display cabinets delivery will be an issue as I assume they are quite heavy. Collection in person may be the best option, but this will greatly reduce the number of folk who would be interested (as would expensive carriage) thus reducing what may be the amount raised. 

 

I suspect the (probably) glass front would be more of a problem than the weight.....

  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

On ‎18‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 09:28, hayfield said:

 

I have found for heavier items Hermes are very competitive with prices and they now are so much better in the quality of service than a couple of years ago, just takes a day or two longer to arrive than Royal Mail 

Unfortunately Hermes has gained a deserved reputation for 'losing' stuff and its processes for dealing with such a situation are designed to make it very difficult to get redress (voice of multiple negative experiences). Add to that the low value of included risk in the carriage cost and the high cost of adding insurance which anyone selling locomotives or more than one item of rolling stock would be wise to take, then the alternative of signing up to Royal Mail in order to use the Tracked 48 service is remarkably attractive, cost competitive and with a sensible insured limit.

 

https://www.royalmail.com/sending/uk/tracked-48

Link to post
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, 37114 said:

I would generally recommend Ebay, yes you pay the fees bit the wide market access often means better prices, I have been pleasantly surprised by some of the final sale price of my recent auctions. 

 

I think you have summed it up very well, you get what you pay for, possibly the largest auction audience available. However that does not mean that you can just dump items on without too much care. unless of course you are a buyer who wants a bargain, Some of the best items I have bought have been extremely badly presented, out of focus photos of items which look like a box has been emptied on top of each other, little or no description and ending when everyone is at work or asleep

 

Either list as small lots or single items, with clear in focus photo/photos. Describe as best as you can the item and its condition. Key words in the title really works for those who search for specific items.  Use the appropriate section to list in. Select closely a prime time ending, Weekend I find is best, Sunday late afternoon/early evening is my favorite.

 

Research the item prior to selling, by finding out the maker, its name, region, whether its a kit, the material its made of, look for the same or similar items which have sold on eBay.  Make the listings at your leisure and save them for listing in prime time. Look at other listings of similar items and copy the things which you like. As I have said quite often there are promotional events, use them. Also only sell a couple of items at a time, as packing large numbers of items is very time consuming. 

 

 

 

 

  • Agree 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, Pint of Adnams said:

Unfortunately Hermes has gained a deserved reputation for 'losing' stuff and its processes for dealing with such a situation are designed to make it very difficult to get redress (voice of multiple negative experiences). Add to that the low value of included risk in the carriage cost and the high cost of adding insurance which anyone selling locomotives or more than one item of rolling stock would be wise to take, then the alternative of signing up to Royal Mail in order to use the Tracked 48 service is remarkably attractive, cost competitive and with a sensible insured limit.

 

https://www.royalmail.com/sending/uk/tracked-48

 

I used to avoid Hermes due to the issues you have highlighted, I still use Royal Mail in preference, but Hermes are now so much better and for heavier items much cheaper than Royal Mail

  • Informative/Useful 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, hayfield said:

 

I used to avoid Hermes due to the issues you have highlighted, I still use Royal Mail in preference, but Hermes are now so much better and for heavier items much cheaper than Royal Mail

Lucky you! 'er indoors had a delivery from Disney 'go missing' only late last month - intended for granddaughter's 6th birthday. Fortunately Disney issued a refund but of course no birthday present.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...