Friday, August 12, 2011

The Contest Continues: Burbank Sports Cards Pickups

I had to take advantage of the brilliant singles selection at Burbank Sports Cards when I was down in Pasadena last week. Be sure to enter in the post below for a chance to win three hobby packs of Topps Lineage! The winner will be announced tonight.

Here's a Lincecum rookie, a nice green chrome Heritage refractor, and some sportflics. There's also a Deacon Jones and a Sam Bradford rookie.
Here are some Rams hits I picked up:
Laurinaitis is one of the best MLB's in the league, and most Upper Deck Heroes autos are a bargain no matter the sport.

Here's my first Sam Bradford hit.

Deacon Jones is the best pass rusher of all time, but unfortunately he played before sacks were recorded.


Aeneas Williams is one of my favorite players and these Topps Chrome Pro Bowl relics are pretty rare.

Here's a beauty I picked up, a 1948 Kenny Washington. Washington reintegrated the NFL after WWII when racial barriers were lifted on pro football. Washington joined the Rams two years before his UCLA teammate Jackie Robinson broke out with the Dodgers. Washington could have been as great as Robinson, but NFL teams passed on him until he was 28 and suffered serious injuries in the Pacific Coast Professional Football League. It's a shame that Washington's story isn't more well known.

For three entries into the final drawing:
I need to start selling some cards on eBay, so it would really help me out if you could leave a comment linking me to a guide or giving me some advice on starting out as a seller on eBay. Thanks!







19 comments:

  1. As a semi-unsuccessful seller on eBay, I can't give a whole lot of advice. I guess from a buyer's standpoint, I'd say be honest, and don't gouge any body on shipping costs. Set a price that you are willing to take and stick to it. Do a little research, look at the ended items similar to yours. Be careful that you don't end up spending whatever you'd make on an item in seller's fees and/or shipping supplies. Hope this helps, good luck. And thanks again for a neat little contest.

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  2. I've never bought or sold anything on Ebay, but if I did, one thing I would look for would be a seller who knew what he was doing and didn't charge a ton for shipping.

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  3. my advice would be to don't do it. What a pain in the ........ well, it's not something I'll be doing again soon.
    And be prepared to pay a LOT in fees. Unless you plan to go all in big time, it doesn't pay to be a part time seller on feebay.

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  4. It IS a lot more work than it should be, but if you are going to do it, I find that the least stressful thing to do is list cheaply and be happy with whatever you get for the cards. If you look at it as a way to liquidate your stuff and get a little cash on the side, it's great, but to make big bucks and an 'awesome' successful seller takes a lot of work.

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  5. Yeah, I'm not trying to make the big bucks, but I'm not sure how else to sell the higher-end cards.

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  6. I haven't sold on eBay in quite some time. I used to do all kinds of business on there, selling off old stuff I didn't want anymore (never did it as a business though). I still do a good bit of buying though, and here are my thoughts:
    1) most important, you need to look at the fees involved and decide if you're really going to get what you want selling through eBay. It seems like eBay's best for high-quality hits and vintage, so if you're selling just average stuff (including common-level hits), you might be in the wrong environment. You should consider Check Out My Cards (vintage, hits and inserts) or Sportlots (low-level inserts and base cards 1980+) - I use them for "normal" card purchases and I think the overall cost is less. Again look at their fees. You may even be better off setting up at one of the better local shows - you've gone, so you know which ones are busy.

    2) If you sell, have a HQ scan, a descriptive title that avoids annoying things like !!! and $$$, and mention only what's important.

    3) Give a professional listing, but don't use anything but normal text. Avoid the templates and font size changes.

    4) Don't pay for any extras (icons, featured, etc)

    5) Time your listings to end in the evening (Sunday is either the best or the worst, dunno)

    6) Ship fast, and include an invoice or something to tell who you are.

    7) Don't forget PayPal - fees et al.

    That's all I can think of. It used to be fun and easy selling on eBay but these days it can be a lot of work for very little return, especially with all the fees.

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  7. And see this:
    http://reviews.ebay.com/28-Tips-for-Successfully-Selling-Sports-Cards-on-Ebay_W0QQugidZ10000000002588590

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  8. Offer combined shipping. Buyers will be more inclined to buy multiple cards.

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  9. Reasonable shipping is important. I used to sell on EBay but haven't used it in years. Best of luck with your auctions!0

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  10. I would say don't do it. COMC is soo much easier for selling cards. Ebay will nickel and dime you for everything. Insertion fees, fees if your item sells and the even take a cut of the shipping charges.

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  11. Make sure you use key words in your title. I sold a lot of finest blue refractors and like a total moron forgot to put "finest" in the title. And specify what your combined shipping rules are. Good luck!

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  12. I have done a little bit of selling. I recomend Buy it Now as an option since a lot of people like instant auction wins and go with free shipping, you can add your costs into the price and it will attract more buyers.

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  13. Lots of good advice above. I sold a few dozen cards on eBay and have had pretty good luck. I have a lot of fun listing cards for a penny with free shipping and seeing the watchers pile up. However, I'd never do this for a highend card. For highend, do lots of research. Check what others are selling for, search the completed listings, and start at a fair price. I usually go a bit below whatever the lowest fair price is.

    And strike while the iron's hot. If some player is having a crazy great week, that's the week to sell. Cash in on Bryce Harper fever, for example. Sunday evenings are indeed good days to list and end. Along with that, timing is important, and listing things during the baseball off-season seems to get less attention on the bay.

    Hope some of this helps. Oh, and once you start selling, eBay will cut you lots of breaks on free listings and such, but they will always take a bite out of whatever sells.

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  14. My advice for selling on eBay would be to carefully consider your shipping costs and supplies. A lot of profit can be lost by miscalculating shipping costs. Hope that helps. I generally don't offer free shipping unless I'm selling something of significant value (over $50) or so. Even then I am leery since eBay takes their fees, as does PayPal.

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  15. I've heard COMC is better, but for what it's worth, I'd only go with high-end items or in-demand players.

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  16. Probably, dont charge a ton for shipping. Do combined shipping for multiple purchases. Make sure you package your cards well before you send them off. That is the best advice that I can give you.

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  17. I haven't sold cards, but have sold other stuff. As most are saying, shipping is key. I've bought several cards where I'm certain people have paid more in postage than I paid for the auction, so don't start an item at 1 cent with free shipping unless you're willing let it go with a negative profit, or you're certain it'll get high enough to cover shipping.

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  18. Like everyone else said, do research. Start all your auctions at $.99, but at the same time, don't be heartbroken if a card only goes for that much. Also beware of anyone with a 0 feedback. I know we all have to start somewhere, but in the last month, I had three bidders with a goose egg for their feedback rating and all three of them never paid. But as long as you ship quickly and make sure everything is in its proper place, you'll do just fine.

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  19. Also, if something doesn't sell, keep the "unsold item" listing up on your selling page. Every few weeks ebay does "One Cent Listing Fees" and that way, it's easier to throw up a ton of listings in one evening, and for just a penny, there's little risk if it doesn't sell for the second time.

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