How to sell on eBay - The Guide - An Antique Books Guide

How To Sell

eBay is a topic that I have written several posts on already but I thought that a brief little post was needed regarding tips on selling.
I have even written a similar article as this but I realized recently that this advice can be relevant for any item to be sold on eBay and so might be of use to more people.

I have over 900 feedback on eBay and have gained experience along the way so you can (mostly!) trust what I write.

Here is a top ten for selling on eBay:

1. Make sure the item you are selling is well photographed!
Photography is key on eBay, with some items selling for half of what they should just because they are poorly photographed.
If you don't have any white walls to take the photo against try the bath or for larger items against the largest wall in your home.
Make sure the photo is bright with the lights on and a lamp if needed.

Show areas of detail or interest and an overall photo.

2. Title!
The title is how people will locate your listing so include all the key words you can think of relating to your item.
If it's a make put that first or if it's antique then put the year or period too.
Material and colour can be useful in the search too.

3. Subtitle if valuable
If your item is particularly valuable or you are setting a high start price (£50+) then you might want to put a subtitle.
This is searchable like the listing title so put a useful description here.

4. Fill in all categories
On the eBay listing page try to fill in as many categories as you can - buyers can search and sort by categories so you want your item as visible as possible.

5. Choose the best photo for the cover photo
This might not always be the overall shot - sometimes a pretty detail, a brand label or a descriptive image can be more useful.
This is especially true if the item isn't in the best of condition - show the best bit on the cover photo so buyers click on your listing.

6. Describe accurately and sell your item
No one else is going to sell your item for you so you need to make sure you do.
Describe as accurately as possible with material, age, colour and dimensions (H, W, L).
The more accurate you are the more likely a buyer will trust your listing.
Also describe the item and sell it's best points.
EG: 'The plate has an especially pretty design with lovely pink flowers and gilt detailing. It is of very fine quality and ideal for a collector due to it's excellent condition'.

7. Set a reasonable price
Don't start too low or too high.
This bit is important as people will rarely bother to click on your listing if the price is too high.
See what else is for sale on eBay and set the price accordingly.
Sometimes undercutting by a few pounds can help and in cases of valuable or collected items a low starting price is ideal if you know they sell well eg Coins
Often auction is the way forward as Buy I Now requires you to know the exact value of your item - you don't want to undersell!

8. Set a wise listing time
Schedule the time at a cost of 6p - it's worth it especially if you are listing a few things.
Times around 7-8 o'clock often work best with buyers.

9. Duration
Always choose the longest possible
This means more exposure for your item. Remember that people looking for your item may not necessarily be browsing every day for it so by giving ten days for example you offer a better chance for the buyer to see your listing.

10. Proof read
Make sure your listing is accurate, honest and without error.
You don't want negative feedback from an angry seller!

And there we have it!
Sorry for the lack of photos but this one was just useful information this time.

I hope this guide helps and let me know if you have any queries by emailing me at vaugc002@gmail.com
A like, comment, share or =1 is always appreciated too!

An Antique Books Guide - The Folio Society

The Folio Society is one of the best known modern day publishing houses and quite rightly so.
They offer a nearly unparalleled quality in all of their books, printing classic in facsimile form or with new, bold covers.

Sold with slip cases, these books are often larger than standard editions and always carry a high presentation value.

The value of these books is quite varied from some of Tolkien's books which in the correct edition can fetch several hundred to many more common title which are sadly worth under £5 - a fraction of what they would have cost when published.

Below are a range of books and aspects of books published by the Folio Society.

Gilt Detailing:

Expensive but popular, gilt detailing makes a book that little bit more visually attractive

Photo covers

Some Folio Society books have unique photo-style covers with representations of paintings or pictures that wrap around the front and back boards.

Slipcase

The slipcase is almost always plain and hides what the book will actually look like.

Facsimile

Here is one of the Folio Society's facsimile books, by which I mean a modern replica of an older edition.

Often reproduced to the highest quality by the FS, these replicas are quite valuable and extremely attractive.

Inside the book will appear very similar if not exactly like the original text.

High Presentation Value

This book has strong, deluxe binding and colouring to the top of the text block - both symbols of the high production values associated with the Folio Society

Decorative front/ endpapers

Most Folio books will come with unique front/ endpapers which represent the theme or era of the book - again another sign of high value in the production of these books.

 And here are several covers just to show some more variation in the portfolio of the Folio Society

A Folio Society book is going to be one of the nicest copies you can get of said book although perhaps not the most valuable.
Ideal for presents or luxurious reading!

Thanks for viewing and please share, comment etc

Not Worth Much - Why your book may not sell An Antique Books GUIDE

Here is a blog post about those book that disappoint in terms of value for one reason or another along with their value and reason why.

Disbound

Books hat have loose or missing covers/ spine as known as disbound and are worth very little unless very rare.

The below book is an early 1800 copy of the famous Pilgrim's Progress' yet managed less than £5 at auction

Torn page

A book with a torn page is devalued by a surprising amount - take 25% off as a general figure but expect up to a 50% decrease.

If the text or illustration isn't affected then values aren't too badly affected.

The book below, an edition of Grimm's fairy tales made £7.

Surface damage

Never judge a book by it's cover they say yet we still do.

Visually attractive books sell well and so when the covers are damaged it can affect the price quite heavily.

The book below has had some damage to the surface and, whilst a very good copy could reach £150-£200, this copy sold for £75.

Collector's/ Limited edition

Limited editions or collectors editions are a good way to attract buyers when the book is first published. Maybe it is signed or numbered?

Well, unless the author or book are relatively well known then the book may not be worth as much as expected.

The obscure fantasy volume below is a collector's edition yet sold for under £5.

Cheap/ Modern edition

If you have a copy of a well known book but it happens to be a cheap or slightly too modern edition then the book will not sell as well as others.

The book below is a heavily illustrated Fairy Tales book but the edition is just a little too modern for serious collectors and sold for £5.

Facsimile

We might think that a replica of a first edition would be worth a lot for it's interest and obscurity.

Well that's not the case.

Often these are merely novelty books with little value.

A replica of Charles Dicken's 'A Tale of Two Cities' First Edition sold for less than £3.

Popularity

Popularity doesn't always mean sales.

Take the James Bond franchise.

Due to two different first editions being available for each book, invariably one is likely to be worth less than the other.

'The Book Club' edition of Fleming's novels are worth approx £10 with dust jacket whilst the Jonathan Cape edition, published in the same year, can be worth hundreds.

The book below may be popular but isn't rare enough or the right edition to be worth much. Valued at £5.

Old with dust jacket

An old book with a dust jacket still present is quite an impressive thing.

For that one sheet of paper to have lasted 70 years plus is certainly an achievement but sadly this doesn't always equate to value.

In popular books this will mean close to double the value of the book can be achieved due to the dust jacket being present.

Yet with less popular or collected books it makes little difference.

The 1930's book below sold for £2.50

Proof copy

A proof copy is printed before the book is released to the public and is only really meant to private reviewers/ editors.

Invariably these make their way onto the market.

In some cases, such as with The Cuckoo's Calling by J.K Rowling these can be valuable - worth between £400 and £800.

Yet often that is not the case.

The novel below is worth less than £5 even though the author has other books published. It is just not the right time for her books and maybe there will never be a right time for her books.

A film release or series of popular books from an author bring the value of such books right up.

 Large compendiums

These sort of books rarely sell well.
A 1940's record book? A set of 24 Encyclopedia?
Not worth much I'm afraid.
Often the postage makes the value decrease or sometimes it's just such focused books just aren't that interesting to the global book market.

That is all I can think of for the moment although I'm sure there are many other factors that mean a book doesn't sell as well as you might have hoped.

Thanks for reading as ever and please share, comment or +1 if possible!