There are a few groups on facebook for buying & selling.

 

OK, thanks for that.

 

Since it looks like there is no realistic international alternative to e-bay, that is where I need to go to sell some stuff.
Can anyone give me advice on the pitfalls to be wary of?
It's been quite some time since I sold anything (at least ten years), so I'm a bit rusty.....

 

Buy your boxes in advance. 16x8x8 inches will suffice. Weigh the package. Make sure you use the actual postage costs instead of an arbitrary number you come up with, as it'll most likely be higher and put people off. You can do a buy it now (takes much longer to sell) or a buy it now with a best offer (a bit quicker). 7 day auction is your best bet. Don't forget you lose 13-14% between ebay and paypal fees, not to mention the boxes. The postage fee doesn't really account for those. Start the auction at a good time, on a good day, when all your buyers are awake and are able to bid. Take into account the local time in the countries you ship to. Go into your settings and feel free to restrict buyers from as many countries as you like - which ones is up to you. Some are more "fishy" than others lol. Make sure the listing is visible internationally. Send with a tracked method unless the buyer seems trustworthy. Sometimes the measurement and weight units are messed up and the wrong shipping price is displayed as a result - be mindful of that. Always proofread. Include as many pics as possible. Make it look like the model is in the box. Show all papers etc. Don't start the auction with too low of a starting price cause sometimes you barely get any bidders and a model you paid $100 for will go for $25, and it hurts. That's about all I can think of. Oh ship only to the address specified by Paypal!

 

Not sure if you get it in Italy but I only list when there is a £1 or £3 maximum fees offer, otherwise you'll lose so much of your models value in fees!

 

Except he lives in Ireland

 

Is there really no local alternative to eBay? Here in the Netherlands we do have one (owned by eBay, completely free) and I only sell on that site to avoid the 13% fee.

 

Yeah, there are several rather parochial sites.
I had to look them up since I didn't know about them beforehand.
Like all such sites, the reach is minimal compared to e-bay.
Which has significant bricks and mortar presence in Ireland.
Unless it come to paying taxes......

 

Have you heard of parcel2go John?

https://www.parcel2go.com/

Lots of choices, Very good prices, Drop off's, collections from your door etc.

PM me if you have anything Porsche wise I might like matey.

 

Have you heard of parcel2go John?

https://www.parcel2go.com/

Lots of choices, Very good prices, Drop off's, collections from your door etc.

PM me if you have anything Porsche wise I might like matey.

Will do Dave.
I clicked on the link, and when I select Ireland it states that it uses An Post.
Apart from anything else, An Post don't offer decent insurance cover outside of Europe.
And as has been all too well documented, parcels are not always treated with the care they should.

 

There is another site I sometimes use John. Ipost.

http://www.ipostparcels.com/

They offer international postage etc.

 

There is another site I sometimes use John. Ipost.

http://www.ipostparcels.com/

They offer international postage etc.

Thanks Dave, I will check them out.

 

My guide to selling on eBay (I wrote this for someone asking in the UK a few months ago)

Whenever I sell, I only do buy it now. I do this because I get the price I want. Bare in mind, if you ask too much you'll just get watchers & no takers. Too cheap & you're selling yourself short. I have it so that the buyer MUST have a PayPal account with a card on file.

I don't do any auctions anymore as it saves the hassle from non paying bidders.

You have to sell globally, otherwise you're only selling to a small market.

List the item with a proper heading & fill out all of the boxes they have, such as colour, make of car, etc etc.
List the condition of the model properly so they know what they are getting, for example if it's missing a mirror - show that & tell them the condition of the model.
Always take a lot of nice clear pics from different angles etc, show the box & it's condition too. PHOTOGRAPH THE MODEL CODE ON THE BOX too for the listing.

I only use Royal Mail to send, all is good up to 2KG - Special Delivery for UK (next day & costs £11) insured up to £500 & has the best tracking possible.
For the rest of the world, EU is about £16 - 20 depending on the value (int tracked & signed for, can be insured for up to £250)
USA etc is about £25 - 30 by the same service. The ebay drop down list will fill itself out once you put in the EU & non EU prices.

Non EU countries require a customs declaration sticker (a CN22, which you get from the Post Office) You will have to put your full name & address on as the sender, otherwise they won't take it.
UK & EU just need your postcode & door number.

ALWAYS USE A TRACKED & INSURED SERVICE LIKE I'VE MENTIONED, NEVER DEAL WITH ANYONE WHO INSISTS ON A NON TRACKED SERVICE, OR WHO TELLS YOU THAT IT ONLY COSTS £8 TO SEND A 1/18 MODEL TO TURKEY ETC, IT DOESN'T!

If you go over 2kg it gets expensive, some things can cost £70 to the US if they weigh 3kg for example.

One thing to note - if you are new, PayPal will hold the funds till the item is delivered, this is because some sellers in the past claimed to have a lot of models, they'd sell them all & take the money & run.

Remember the fees too - ebay take 10% of the whole lot, inc postage, plus PayPal take a percentage too. All in all you'll lose about 13% (you pay ebay at the end of the month)

Always secure any opening parts, I use cling film. Always cover the models display window by card. Use plenty of bubble wrap, packing peanuts etc. I buy all of that from ebay, 100m of 50cm bubble wrap etc, plus a dozen or so rolls of tape a time, sellotape, fragile, brown tape (it just works out cheaper to buy in bulk)
Use decent boxes etc, I get mine locally, but you can always re use ones you have.

Always take a picture of the parcel & keep the tracking number. I always contact my buyer once it has been sent, and offer up the tracking number.
You can't always rely on a buyer to leave feedback, so you may have to chase them up.

Be polite in the listing & invite any questions they may have. Don't be taken in by any scammer stories.

 

Pretty much spot on there, Craig. Fees are 13.4% + 20p all in. Like Guiddy, I always wait for a £1 or £2 final value fee deal to list. Recently I've been getting these at least once a month!

 

I've been getting those offers too. I hate having to agree to them though & starting from scratch.

I remember once getting an invoice from them for over £300

I'd sold a lot that month!

 

I've been getting those offers too. I hate having to agree to them though & starting from scratch.

What do you mean by starting from scratch?

 

You have to write the whole ad out from scratch (I think ?) Whenever I sell, I like to use one of my old listings & just change some bits.

 

I'm sure I've re-listed an item in that offer and it's been fine Craig!

 

Cool, cheers! I'll have to remember that when I sell again.

 

I posted this original thread some years back, and have a question for UK based members.
Has anyone bought anything from Vectis auctions?
Or taken part in one of the auctions?
Home Page

 

Yes, several, maybe ten times. They have a new show on the Yesterday TV channel which started last night.

I'd buy online & sometimes have them sent on to a toy show they'd be at. That way I can take them home from there. I have met a couple of them a few times (they are very nice to speak to & really interested in the hobby) Other times, I'd just have them sent if it was only a few models. It depends on where they have come from, some models I've had have not been out of the box before (still strapped up, like old UT's and AutoArt's etc) I bid online as they are so far away from me, the auctions are fast, really fast sometimes & the prices shoot up a lot too. Most of the time the models always sell for the going rate or more, great if you are keeping them yourself, but hard to sell any on (if that's your thing) unless you ask crazy prices for them like some deluded eBay sellers!
The first time I bought there (about ten years ago) I bought over fifty models, loads of sought after older AutoArt & Minchamps mainly. I kept a lot that I wanted and sold some on. For some lots I only wanted one model out of say, four, so I sold the others on.

Sometimes though, the models (and boxes) are often dusty / need a wipe over where they've been out / there for so long. Also sometimes they've come with wipers snapped off or something, so someone there viewing them has done that since the photos were taken, otherwise they'd mention and show it.
All in all though, they are a decent auction house and sort out any problems without fuss. I will buy there again and always check out their auctions.

 

Would you believe I asked about Vectis because I saw advertisements for the TV show.
I have occasionally come across links to them when searching photos, so I had known about them for some time.
I watched the programme, and did enjoy it.
The best bit was the family of some unfortunate family member who had passed away and they were selling his Star Wars collection.
The interviewer said - I bet you thought he was just wasting his money - or words to that effect.
An original estimate of the value was multiplied by more than 3 times at the end of the auction.

 

Yeah that comment was pretty insensitive! Maybe the family were under the impression that he had wasted his money though ?
Yep, great to see. He had bought well.

They always go low on their estimates. If I bought any of the models for the estimate prices I'd have loads of money spare to buy more lol!