|
How
do I become a consignment seller?
There
are a number of ways that this can be done, but the most common is for you
to collect items for sale from clients, deal with the whole listing and
selling process, then pay the proceeds of the sale over to the client,
minus the agreed fee for the your services. If the item does not sell it
is either returned to the client or donated to charity. It is easy to have
a minimum price item ($25 to $50 is the lowest)
One of the greatest advantages of consignment selling is that you do not
have to buy items up front so there is no risk of losing money on items
that do not sell.
The 3 major approaches to
consignment selling include:
-
Home based business
operation:
If proper zoning requirements are followed, it can be easy to run (and
deduct) a home business. It is easy to run small ads in your local paper
to find the type of items that you want to sell. I do stress that you use
caution if you are in situations that involve you going into someone's
home to purchase items (THINK SAFETY!) You can use the eBay Trading
Assistant Program to help clients find you.
-
Mobil Service
working with bigger businesses:
Big businesses often need to liquidate items that are no longer being used
or that are past a "depreciated date". It is amazing that many large
businesses actually store unused items in warehouses and write off the
storage fees on their taxes. Many companies that use high end servers,
laptops and audio-visual equipment often upgrade every year BUT for tax
purposes they keep the item for 3 to 5 years even though they aren't using
it. At the end of the depreciation time the items can be sold.
Even smaller businesses can use this type of service because
-
Operating in an
existing retail store or
"drop-off" location where customers leave items at the store, rather than
the seller collecting the items.
If you have sold a
few items on eBay you will know that there is a lot involved in the selling
process. For many sellers the process seems easy because they enjoy doing
it, but if you stand back and add up all the time involved in a typical
sale, you could find that each item takes an hour or more to sell, and
sometimes two to three hours.
An hour or more to
sell an item may seem unrealistically long, but consider every part of the
selling process step-by-step. You could spend 5 minutes or an hour on
each of the following tasks. Its kinda hard to judge.
-
researching prices
-
taking pictures
-
cropping, resizing
and editing pictures
-
writing a
description
-
listing the item
-
answering questions
by email
-
corresponding with
the buyer
-
collecting and
verifying payment
-
packing the item
-
shipping the item
If you look at the
process in detail, it is easy to see that each item can take up to 30
minutes (or more) to complete. So how you really want to look at this is
"how much do you want to make for 30 minutes work?" $6 .... $20
.... $50 ... more....
Yes, I am talking PER item here!
Most households could easily find ten or more items that are no longer of
any use to them, and would raise a few hundred dollars in total if sold on
eBay. However, many people are either too busy, do not enjoy working on
computers, or simply cannot be bothered to sell their own property - these
are the potential customers for consignment sellers. Other common clients
are businesses with slow-moving stock, particularly those with limited space
to display their stock, such as car and antique dealers.
There are no
requirements to become a consignment seller - you simply start doing it.
Many consignment sellers start by selling items for friends and family and
their business grows by word-of-mouth - this is an ideal way to begin
because you gradually learn how to deal with clients and an increasing
volume of sales. There are a number of issues to consider with consignment
selling that are not an issue when you sell your own items, such as:
-
Having an agreement
in place between you and your clients. A contract should detail the fees
that apply, what happens if items do not sell, what happens if the high
bidder does not pay for the item or their payment is reclaimed from you,
and when and how you will pass the sale proceeds on to the client.
-
Communicating with
clients and managing their expectations. You need to explain to customers
that auctions are unlikely to succeed if the starting price is high, and
there is a risk of having to sell at a low price.
-
Providing great
customer service to your clients as well as your buyers. You will want
your clients to come back to you again and again, so it will help your
business if you list their items quickly, provide links to auctions
running on their behalf, and pay their balance over quickly, using a
method of their choice.
Consignment selling
presents a whole new set of challenges over and above normal selling, partly
because you have clients to deal with as well as buyers, and partly because
your sales volume will be higher.
How much should I charge?
There are wide
variations in how much consignment sellers charge, and whether listing
and other fees are included in the price. A typical range is 20% to 40%
of the final selling price, including fees, and a minimum predicted sale
value is often stipulated (it can take just as much work to sell a
low-value item as a high-value item). A flat rate is easy for clients to
understand, but means you must be sure you can cover listing, final
value, and payment fees. Charging a lower rate with fees on top presents
less risk for you, but may lead to client confusion and dissatisfaction.
How do I promote my consignment selling business?
There are
numerous ways to grow your business. Since consignment sellers normally
have local clients, advertising in local newspapers and shops is likely
to be appropriate, as well as distributing fliers door-to-door. eBay's
"Trading Assistants" program provides a directory of consignment
sellers, searchable by area, specialist categories and feedback - to
qualify for listing you need a feedback rating of 100 or more, 97%+ of
which is positive, and sold at least ten items in the last 90 days. If
you are an eBay PowerSeller as well as a Trading Assistant, you can take
part in their "Co-op Advertising" program under which eBay will
reimburse 25% of your qualifying local advertising. Online advertising
and offering a physical store or drop-off point can also play a part.
What type of items should I tell people to bring in for me to sell on
eBay?
One of the best ways of becoming a "Niche
Seller" is by selling what you know a lot about. What I mean is, if you
know a lot about pocket knifes or if you enjoy clothing, then sell the
type of items you know something about. It makes it easier to write the
ads if you know the language. For example, I sell postage stamps on eBay.
I have a reputation for knowing how to grade stamps correctly and I know
stamp lingo (like scott#, gum, hinging, etc...) because stamp collectors
want to deal with someone that knows what they are selling. You can really
tell if the person selling the item knows their stuff by the wording of
their ad.
If I had to pick three simple items that are
normally overlooked and worth more when it comes time to sell them, I
would have to say.
-
Handbags (Purses)
-
Video Games
-
Watches
As for a little list of items to look out for (you know the one that the
prices REALLY surprise you) Here's the tips.....
Old fishing lures, old redline hotwheels, old trains, fountain pens, old
marbles....
the list goes on and on.
Here is a list of the more common items that people have around their home
or business that they might want to sell.
Add
this page to your Favorites
| Antiques
|
| |
Dolls
Clocks and pocket watches
Lamps
Furniture |
 |
| Art |
| |
Original Comic Art |
|
|
| Business & Industrial |
| |
Laboratory equipment (microscopes, oscilloscopes, signal
generators) |
|
|
| Cameras & Photo |
| |
Camcorders
Darkroom equipment
Digital and Film Cameras
Lenses |
|
|
| Clothing |
| |
Wedding Dresses and formal attire
Designer garments, purses, shoes, scarves and belts
Designer maternity wear |
|
|
| Computers & Networking
|
| |
Computers (PCs, laptops, Macintosh, etc.)
PDAs
Flat panel monitors
Inkjet printers
Routers
UPS backup batteries
Popular software (Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, etc.)
Older computers are worth more in parts. There is normally a demand on
eBay for older computer parts like memory, hard drives, etc... |
|
|
| Consumer Electronics |
| |
Audio components (receivers, tuners, amps, speakers, CD
players,
turntables, etc.)
Video components (TVs, DVD players, TiVo, etc.)
Portable players (DVD and mp3 players) |
|
|
| Home & Garden
|
| |
Bathroom fixtures and faucets
Electronic toothbrushes
High-end cookware and utensils
China, crystal, and dinnerware
Glassware and barware
Small
appliances (blenders, bread machines, espresso makers,
microwave ovens, etc.)
Chainsaws, table saws
High-end vacuum cleaners |
|
|
| Jewelry & Watches
|
| |
Diamond jewelry
Pearl jewelry
Pocket watches
Rings
Designer wrist watches |
|
|
| Musical Instruments
|
| |
Accordions, guitars, violins, clarinets, saxophones,
synthesizers etc.
Studio equipment (mics, mixers, power amps, speakers, etc.) |
|
|
| |
| Sporting Goods |
| |
Camping and outdoor gear (backpacks, tents, sleeping bags) in
excellent condition
Binoculars and telescopes
High-end bicycles
Golf clubs and bags by name brands
Scuba gear
Skis and snowboards in new condition |
|
|
| Toys & Hobbies
|
| |
Teddy bears
Model trains |
|
|
| Travel |
| |
High-end luggage
Steamer trunks |
|
|
| Vehicles Parts and Accessories |
| |
Audio components
GPS Units
Radar Detectors
Parts for vintage and luxury cars
Performance tires |
|
|
| Video Games
|
| |
Game consoles (Playstation 2, Xbox, etc.) |
|
