Large collection of OO gauge

[Peter Eaton]

You could take a chance on renting a stall at a swop-meet,

or just try a few as a start on Ebay to see how that worked out for you.

only a bit of research is needed as on looking how popular an individual item is & on completed listing seeing how it has done on past sales.

For all the good or bad the site is popular obviously for model railway collectables,

You are thus spreading any risk slowly in the sales process & than see has progressed & passing your site dealing on here most members I assume would advise & help the process on items

 

Hope this may help you.

 

Peter

[Nearholmer]

I think it’s their overheads, rather than their profits.
 

I had a clear-out of rather a lot of things that I’d bought for large 00 layout that it became obvious was never going to happen (Redhill c1970-75 as it happens), and was too busy with work and family to get into a big eBay fest, so I ended-up selling to a guy who has tables at exhibitions, who offered what amounted to 55% of what I knew he would get, whereas two ‘biggies’ offered c45%.

 

He might have been taking lower profit, but I doubt it. What he didn’t have was a premises, staff, packing costs etc.

 

In the end, we each make an individual choice.

[hayfield]

4 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Hmmm ....... somewhere around 50% of what they can sell for is more like it. That cuts the final sale 50% buy-in, 20% VAT, and 30% divided between business running costs and profits.

 

Re-sellers with no/few overheads, typically no shop and no staff other than themselves, will sometimes give more than 50%, and places with high overheads, shop, staff etc. a bit less than 50%.
 

If you are being offered 33% of what they can sell for, I suggest you try elsewhere.

 

My experience of eBay is that all the buyers and sellers are people, so about 95% of them are within some sort of range of “normality”, while about 5% are as strange/mad as a bucket of badgers, and that the lower the price an item sells for the more likely it is that one of the mad people has secured it, and will create so many trivial difficulties that you end up wishing you’d dug a hole and buried the item instead of trying to sell it.

 

 

 

Kevin

 

Firstly the word value was used and for job lots quite often they knock down what they pay for the better items to compensate for the harder to sell items, rule of thumb is about a third, however depending on the dealer and make up of the lot you may get more

[Silly Moo]

There are quite a few model railway selling groups on Facebook. I have bought quite a few items that way, the prices are higher than what you as a seller would get from retailers but lower for the buyer than new prices. Most of the groups stipulate PayPal as a means of payment. 
 

Another option might be contacting a local model railway club and advertising to their members who could buy directly from your house avoiding having to post things. 

[hayfield]

3 hours ago, rob D2 said:

Rip off fees - don’t PayPal take a %of your postal charges as well ? Or similar ? I’ve noticed some large retail outlets selling stuff for more on eBay than their own website presumably to outsource the eBay fees to the buyer.

 

In terms of selling a collection , I stand by 1/3 - I was getting offered £33 for a £100 loco - of yes , I hear you cry, that’s because they will sell it at £80 - er,not this lot. Their second hand prices are pretty much the same as new, can you guess ?

 

 

Rob

 

Most folk who want to sell an item are interested in what ends up in their pocket,

 

A rule of thumb eBay usually will obtain a retail price for your second hand item at worst they will charge you 10%

Said auction house will obtain a wholesale price for the item and their total fees to you and the buyer are 45%

A dealer at worst will give you a third of their value at best 50%

 

OK if you do use PayPal its another 3% but firstly you are still miles ahead with eBay, plus if you are a canny seller and use the Maximum £1 fee offers (which are occurring more frequently) and include postage commission, on a £50 item the fee is 2% on a £100 item its 1%

 

Commission on Post & Packing is a red herring, the buyer pays it !!!

Also you do not have to use PayPal

 

What has the price large retail outlets sell items have to do with eBay's selling fees ?

 

You are more than welcome to dislike eBay, but please be consistent, if eBay fees are a rip off what about the auction house fees which at most could be 45 times higher.

 

Quite simply with eBay you have the option of waiting for reduced fees, try doing that with an auction house or a dealer. As I said in my opening line ;-  Most folk are interested in what ends up in their pocket,

 

[John M Upton]

1 hour ago, hayfield said:

Commission on Post & Packing is a red herring, the buyer pays it !!!

Also you do not have to use PayPal

 

A little clarification needed here.

 

Many buyers are unaware that Ebay take a percentage of whatever you charge for postage/packing.  These are the ones who expect to pay nothing more than the correct exact amount postage of said item will cost by Royal Mail but the seller will only get 90% of that (80% even when PayPal have taken their cut) which means the seller is out of pocket on the postage costs and that is before the cost of packing materials is taken into account.

 

Therefore it is perfectly reasonable to charge a buyer the correct postage cost plus 20 to 25 percent to cover the fees that Ebay (in my opinion illegally) scalp off the top.

[rob D2]

9 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

 

A little clarification needed here.

 

Many buyers are unaware that Ebay take a percentage of whatever you charge for postage/packing.  These are the ones who expect to pay nothing more than the correct exact amount postage of said item will cost by Royal Mail but the seller will only get 90% of that (80% even when PayPal have taken their cut) which means the seller is out of pocket on the postage costs and that is before the cost of packing materials is taken into account.

 

Therefore it is perfectly reasonable to charge a buyer the correct postage cost plus 20 to 25 percent to cover the fees that Ebay (in my opinion illegally) scalp off the top.

Exactly. More eloquently explained than I managed .

[Ian_M]

I've nothing much to add to the above, except to emphasize that smaller traders have lower overheads so will offer more.

You can find some of these independent traders in the Facebook groups referred to above. In a small way I also do some trading and would be happy to give a quote.

Ian

 

[hayfield]

8 hours ago, John M Upton said:

 

A little clarification needed here.

 

Many buyers are unaware that Ebay take a percentage of whatever you charge for postage/packing.  These are the ones who expect to pay nothing more than the correct exact amount postage of said item will cost by Royal Mail but the seller will only get 90% of that (80% even when PayPal have taken their cut) which means the seller is out of pocket on the postage costs and that is before the cost of packing materials is taken into account.

 

Therefore it is perfectly reasonable to charge a buyer the correct postage cost plus 20 to 25 percent to cover the fees that Ebay (in my opinion illegally) scalp off the top.

 

John

 

A few years back this was more the case, when making the listing I clearly state I charge for post and packing, listing the service I use. Plus whilst I state it may take up to 2 days to dispatch, I send the items the next working day if not sooner. If its a bit heavy and or a bit large I apologize for the cost and simply explain the reason. Now on the £1 max selling fees postage commission is not charged. If you have a beef about commission on postage play the system.

 

To be quite honest I do not mind a seller charging over the top for postage on auction items, as it reduces the competition. Every Item I bid on I calculate the maximum I would pay for it. I then deduct the cost of postage and I have my maximum bid. Some of my cheapest buys (including the cost of postage) have had the most expensive postage. At the end I look at my total cost for an item. I must admit in the early days I would bulk at postage, not any more.

 

But even paying the max 10% commission plus PP 3% it comes no where near a traditional auctions 45% and that is before their cost for P&P which quite often has a minimum start of £15.

 

Your Paypal fees are incorrect its 3% making the total 13% not 20%, bit if anything I now charge more for P&P than I did before, but I am not into RTR and in competition with box shifters. But at the end of the day I would much rather get 87% of 100% of its value than 100% of either 33% or 55% of its value

 

What some perceive as an issue others see it as an opportunity, I believe in the glass being half full scenario   

[hayfield]

12 minutes ago, ukinfidel said:

I've nothing much to add to the above, except to emphasize that smaller traders have lower overheads so will offer more.

You can find some of these independent traders in the Facebook groups referred to above. In a small way I also do some trading and would be happy to give a quote.

Ian

 

 

Ian

 

I have joined one of these communities, I have not bought a thing. Mostly due to nothing being of interest.

[adb968008]

Agree with most of this, but you do need to report CGT.

 

However, the sizes of most average OO gauge collections of rtr models, and that most model railway items devalue, after all the costs of shipping, listing etc, its probable your reporting a CGT loss than a gain.

 

Even if it was a gain, the amounts are negligible, against the threshold limits.

 

Model railways are not fine wine, rare art or antiques.

Selling it yourself is about reducing the loss.

Sure prices are up 30%, but the scratch, missing part takes 20% away, then the buyer himself will ask for 10% off, after that ebay & PayPal want their 15% and then your posting it (which however your capturing it, is part of the final price)...

 

keep some records is my advice, but unless your sat on a collection of Trix class 124’s in mint condition, my thoughts is much of it will be cost neutral at best, most will be worth less with the odd happy smile.

2000 items is a lot of work, Reckon about 30 minutes per item (testing, photographing, listing and wrapping it). it took me over a year to do that once.. rolling up at the post office with 40 boxes at a time doesnt win many friends either.

 

Reckon on 2% going bad (parcel loss, buyer trying it on etc).

Advise on checking & testing everything, a lot of 1990’s stuff is delicate and bits get lost. Older stuff from the 1980’s is indestructible but super ceded and low value. 2000’s onwards hold value relatively well.

 

Edited September 6, 2020 by adb968008

[micklner]

Look on ebay and see what similar items go for less the mark ups. You will then now how much your collection is actually/roughly worth.  You might have a nice surprise or not as the case maybe.

 

I have sold and bought lots on ebay for good prices (set a realistic minimum price) and have had hardly any problems. Always send items recorded  post, that stops a lot of the false claims/nonsense instantly. If fragile/high value pack well ,and take photos before dispatching.

[hayfield]

Mick

 

Good advice, especially with postage, items under £20 I still send 1st class with proof of postage, Its up to Royal Mail to unearth thief's.  But make sure the packing is up to Royal Mails standards 

[Crosland]

20 hours ago, John M Upton said:

Therefore it is perfectly reasonable to charge a buyer the correct postage cost plus 20 to 25 percent to cover the fees that Ebay (in my opinion illegally) scalp off the top.

 

The problem before they did this was that unscrupulous sellers charged vastly inflated P&P (on the understanding that bids would be lower) to reduce the amount paid in Ebay fees.

 

[hayfield]

30 minutes ago, Crosland said:

 

The problem before they did this was that unscrupulous sellers charged vastly inflated P&P (on the understanding that bids would be lower) to reduce the amount paid in Ebay fees.

 

 

Derek

 

Where contributors misinform others of eBay charges is all wrong, and as you say it was a few sellers who took advantage of eBay's rates  who messed it up for others

 

eBay charge 10% commission on model railway items sold and the postage  NOT 20-25%. By all means don't use them if you do not like their working practices, but please be accurate with your figures. In the last 3 months my eBay charges have averaged under 6%

 

On weekends like this when there is a £1 max selling fee there is no additional fee charged for postage

 

PayPal charges 3%, but you can ask for payment via cheque etc. PayPal is nothing to do with eBay

 

At most a seller will pay 13% which is a fraction of what traditional auction houses charge, at best (like this weekend ) you will pay a maximum fee of £1+ 3% (for PayPal)

 

As the fees are in the contract a seller accepts, its hardly illegal. and certainly not scalping off the top.

 

eBay is a business, not a charity. which is extremely successful and in the main quite customer friendly. They state up front their charge(s) for selling your item(s). Clearly they can please most of their customers most of the time, but not every customer every time.

Edited September 6, 2020 by hayfield

[Michael Hodgson]

1 hour ago, hayfield said:

PayPal charges 3%, but you can ask for payment via cheque etc. PayPal is nothing to do with eBay

 

 

Ebay used to own Paypal and sellers used to be required to offer Paypal as a means of payment.  Although Ebay sold off Paypal about 5 years ago, not many people noticed, so there is still a widely held belief that you have to offer it.  Most buyers use Paypal because of its convenience and speed, and there's a good chance that fewer potential customers will bid if they notice you don't accept it.  That is more likely to be an issue for business sellers than for private sales of 1-off model railway items. A lot of people no longer even have cheque books, and cheques are a lot slower than online payment because of postal and clearing delays.

 

Ebay now has  an agreement to use a company called AYden instead which is supposed to be phased in gradually starting this year.  Seller fees on funds transfer will apparently be lower than Paypal.  There could be pressure on regulators to investigate potential competition issues with the new service.

Edited September 6, 2020 by Michael Hodgson

[sandwich station]

When I started on Ebay back in 2000, it was payment by cheque or cash and you sent an email from your email account to theirs, not through Ebay.

[hayfield]

Michael

 

Thanks for confirming what I have posted plus adding further info. What folk don't realize PayPal gives buyers peace of mind when buying from people and businesses they don't know which is invaluable to both buyers and sellers, and as said the seller pays

 

eBay also offers both buyers and sellers protection providing you follow their rules, its so easy to diss someone or some company, but in the few disputes I have had (mostly with sellers) over the years eBay has protected me in the past 

[Sir TophamHatt]

On 30/08/2020 at 10:26, Dungrange said:

There is therefore a simple choice between whether you are looking for a hassle free sale (accepting that you won't get as much money) or you take on all the hassles of selling 2000 items individually, but you probably make more money.  The difference in the financial return on these two options is the payment for the hassle.

This is the true choice of advice here.

 

Not sure why people have descended into squabbling about HMRC or PayPal fees and this and that.

It's unlikely (although possible) that HMRC will care too much.

 

The OP has a simple choice to make:

Get less money but get the whole lot shifted.

Get more money but you have the hassle of listing and selling.

[Sir TophamHatt]

On 06/09/2020 at 20:54, Michael Hodgson said:

Ebay now has  an agreement to use a company called AYden instead which is supposed to be phased in gradually starting this year.  Seller fees on funds transfer will apparently be lower than Paypal.  There could be pressure on regulators to investigate potential competition issues with the new service.

Surely there should  have been competition probing before as there was NO alternative?
Now there is, maybe PayPal will lower their fees too?