What Sells on eBay??

Bryan Schmidt, BJS Enterprises

 

 

With a few exceptions, eBay is a buyers’ market.  With a few exceptions, eBay is not where to obtain the highest possible retail price for an item. However, eBay is an excellent market for obtaining a quick sale, and if the item is in demand, often for very close to retail. 

 

People buy on eBay for several basic reasons:

 

-         They can get it cheaper

-         They can’t get it locally

-         They can get a higher-quality item on eBay for the same price or

-         They enjoy the auction format

 

Price is determined by several factors:  demand, scarcity, and quality (condition).  Price guides help in comparisons only – do not rely on price guides to predict a sale price.  Something is worth only what you can obtain for it right now.  Many price guides are based on sales in shops where the seller waits for weeks, months, or longer to find a buyer to pay the asking price.  eBay is short-term – auctions run for only 7-10 days.

 

Condition is critical.  In a worldwide market, even scarce items are offered frequently.  An item in average or worn condition will very likely be competing with the same item in near-mint condition.  The final price of a high-quality item may be 2-10 times the final price of the same item having lower quality, if it sells at all.  To get a high final price, multiple bidders are needed – a near-mint collectible attracts more bidders.

 

Marked or positively identified items are generally essential. Bidders are searching for items to bid on by keyword, that is, the brand name, pattern name, age, etc. If these are unknown, they can't be included in the title or description, and they will not be found, or they may be found by only one or two buyers and sell for too little. If there are no marks, expertise or first-hand knowledge is helpful (something more specific than "so-and-so had this, so it must be old").

 

Finally, identification of some items requires an expert.  Collectors will pay high prices for genuine antiques (more than 100 years old), but many such pieces don’t have marks indicating who made them and when.  Also, many marks were duplicated by later craftsman, making identification even more difficult.  Items represented as very old are tempting but best left to experienced collectors.  

A word on identification: BJS Enterprises has been selling collectibles on eBay for over 8 years and has extensive in-house expertise and other resources. However, we cannot possibly be an expert on everything, and we do not offer formal appraisal services. We do our best to research items offered for sale, to obtain the best possible price, but consignors are ultimately responsible for knowing the provenance and history of the items they provide for consignment.

 

So what do people collect and why?  More pertinently, what will they pay more for?  The following list is a snapshot of some items that consistently sell on eBay, sometimes for premium prices.  Most are things people collect, but others are things that will sell if offered at a bargain price. 

 

Here are some common themes in the list:

• Something that was the “first” of its kind, a product or book that later became very popular or famous.  First editions of books and rookie cards fall into this category.
• Something that is part of a larger grouping that can rarely be bought as a group; pieces of china in a particular pattern are an example of this case.
• Something popular that rarely survived use (boys toys and household consumables, for example).
• Something associated with an important event (ticket stubs) or famous person (Sinatra recordings). 

 

 Except for very old items (100 years+) or established collectibles (baseball cards and some depression glass), if it was cheap when made, it will still be cheap in comparison to other items from the same period.  More expensive items have always been made better and in lower quantities (meaning they are both more attractive and harder to find). Also, items made to be collectible generally do not hold their price over time. Many such items were issued in the 1980s through today - they tend to spike in price when issued but the prices soon fall, never to recover. Collector plates are a good example of "valuables" that have not retained even their original purchase value. 

Large Items: BJS Enterprises generally does not handle items that cannot be shipped via UPS. Exceptions are made for exceptionally valuable furniture, appliances, and machine tools. We have also handled the occasional car. However, usually the selling fees for these items, when accepted for consignement, must be paid in advance.

 

 

Pottery

 

Roseville – very consistent seller at high prices but also very hard to find at bargain prices

Arts & Crafts Pottery – Weller, Rookwood, Teco, Grueby, Van Briggle, and other high-end potteries; matte glazes with craft-inspired shapes sell best; even harder to find at bargain prices

Hull cookie jars (esp. Red Riding Hood, pat. Pending on bottom) – sell for $300-600 in near-mint condition; Puss'n'Boots is also very popular

Other art pottery:  McCoy, Shawnee, Hull (Bowknot), and Haeger also sell; Hull is generally best - the others depend on the piece

 

 

Glassware

 

Hand-blown bottles (pre-1900, look for hand-applied top and pontil mark on bottom)

Carnival glass (be careful – the same types were made in 1920 and 1960; one will sell for 100s, the other for 10s); glass marked “IG” is only 40 years old at most

Glass insulators

Fenton Art glass (hobnail milk glass, opalescent, pieces with crimped or ruffled rims, etc.)
Depression glassware, especially:

-         Fragile pieces with handles

-         Unusual pieces in popular sets (hard to summarize – see any depression glass guide)

-         Acid-etched pieces (not machine-etched)

-         Pink and blue seem to be the most popular colors; popular patterns include Candlewick, Cabbage Rose, and Miss America

Art glass – Tiffany, Handel, Lalique, Webb, Heisy, Lotton, etc.

 

 

China

 

Fine makers, such as Wedgewood, Haviland, Royal Daulton, Limoges, Bing & Grondahl, Meissen

Oriental import pieces, the fancier and more gilt the better:  Nippon, Chinese Rose Medallion, Dragonware, etc.

Rare, fragile pieces, such as gravy boats, pitchers, handled trays, tureens, covered serving dishes, creamers, buillon cups, etc.

Character mugs, such as English Toby mugs

Other china that sells, but not for a lot, includes Jewel Tea, Flow Blue patterns, and Staffordshire

 

 

Publications

 

Pre-1900 Atlases, maps, and histories

Most pre-1800 books

First editions (often difficult to identify!)

Very Early issues (from first year or two) of popular magazines (Nat’l Geographic, Time,

    Playboy, SI, etc)

 

 

Decorative figurines (NOTE: don't expect book value!)

 

Hummels and Goebels

Dept 56

Other collector figurines, including Precious Moments, Lladro, etc.

Japanese figurines, especially those from "occupied Japan"

Art Deco sells, sometimes for a lot (but not always)

Some Bossons chalkware heads are very popular

Collector plates (will sell, but not for a lot); pop icons sell the best - Honeymooners, Lucy, Wizard of Oz; dogs, horses, and cats are somewhat popular; Lena Liu is a popular floral artist; the market for Rockwell plates is dismal

Franklin Mint (silver, pewter items only)

 

Entertainment memorabilia, recordings, etc.

 

Elvis (1950s early 60s, 45s with picture sleeves are best)

Beatles (1960s 45s, 1960s Beatles toys)

Frank Sinatra (78s)

Early jazz and blues 78s on original independent labels (usually minority-owned)

Old lobby movie posters

 

 

Toys - Most Vintage toys through the 1960s in exc condition will sell

 

Robots and other Japanese tin toys can sell for very high prices

Red Ryder items (cap guns, cowboy play sets)

Erector sets

Breyer horses sell well, but they must be mint

Marbles

Trains (lionel, Marklin)

Tin wind-up toys (Marx, Structo)

Early legos (early 1970s)

Star wars 6-inch action figures (1977-89)

Star Trek (1970s and “Playmate” items)

1970s "Mego" figures, such as character/TV action figures (in original box - loose figures have much lower value)

Barbie Dolls (1960s, marked “Japan”)

GI Joe

Red-line Hotwheels and accessories

Die-cast through the late 1960s (Tootsie toy, Matchbox, Marklin)

Victorian cast iron toys (very scarce - reproductions abound!)

Pressed steel cars and trucks through the late 1960s (Tonka, Wyandotte, NyLint, Buddy L, etc)

Plastic model kits

–        Unbuilt cars up to early 1980s

–        Built cars up to early 1970s

–        Monsters from 1960s, unbuilt or not

Beanie Babies -- most have lost collector interest, but the early versions, before 1996, still sell, but not for the prices seen 5-7 years ago

Boys’ toys in good condition – not many mint Stingray bikes out there

Board games (through 1960s)

 

 

Trading Cards

 

Magic the Gathering

1950s and 1960s Baseball

1950s and 1960s other sports (not as good as baseball)

Wacky Packages (late 60s, early 70s)

1950s and 1960s non-sports (TV, comics, etc.)

Late 1970s Star Wars

 

 

Jewelry

 

Southwestern turquoise and silver items (coral and dark green turquoise is popular)

Designer costume jewelry:  Nolan Miller, Florenza, Coro, Boucher, Eisenberg, Judy Lee, Kramer, Lisner, Sarah Coventry, Trifari, etc

1920s-1940s bakelite, especially red and butterscotch

 

 

Comic Books

 

1970s and earlier – avoid copies with brittle/crumbling pages

Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Incredible Hulk, X-Men, etc. – stick to the main superheroes

1960s Golden key – be careful:  some issues very valuable, other issues nearly worthless; look at the reprint order page for clues to whether the copy is a first issue or not

 

 

Sports Memorabilia

 

Almost anything with Mickey Mantle on it (gloves, bats, game memorabilia, but not books/comics)

Other Superstar items (Willie Mays, Lou Gehrig, Joe Dimaggio, etc.)

Old (pre-depression) sporting goods:  balls, gloves, bats, rule books, etc

Championship team/game memorabilia: fan packs, programs, etc

Ticket stubs from milestone games (Superbowls, record-breakers, title clinchers, etc)

Autographs (best if authenticated)

Some promotional items

Dale Earnhardt Elite/Gold collector die-cast cars (#’ed to 500)

 

 

Tools

 

Vintage tools

Industrial-quality tools

Specialized tools (e.g., for watch repair)

Machinists tools (micrometers, gauges, etc) and toolboxes

Air and power tools (high-quality), Milwaukee and DeWalt, not Craftsman

 

 

 

 

Electrical Appliances

 

Pre-WWI fans sell for amazing prices but are impossible to find; later fans with brass blades also do very well

Very early light bulbs

Early tube radios (1920s and 1930s)

Early transistor radios (late 1950s)

Early IBM and Apple computers (remember the Apple Lisa?)

 

 

Other Hobby Collectibles

 

Stamps

Coins

Postcards

These abound on eBay, so common pieces do not sell well - they must have some rarity.

Consumer Goods, Small Appliances, Etc.

 

Farberware rotisseries, coffee pots, etc.

High-quality small appliances, e.g., Krups espresso makers

Police scanners

High-quality audio components, for both auto and house

PC peripherals

 

Other Items

 

Sterling silver sells well, unless monogrammed

Silverplate is usually disappointing, although attractive name-brand (Wallace, Rogers) flatware sets in their original box can bring good money

Musical instruments

Artwork (if authenticated)