It pays to do your homework.

OK, part of the fun of being a Treasure Hunter and ebay seller is finding something in your closet, or friend's attic, that makes your heart skip. "Surely THIS will be a great ebay item!" you think, convinced and secure that your found treasure will be a big hit with buyers.

Now don't get me wrong, a lot of the success I have had as a Seller is based on my "GUT" instincts...I pick something up , examine it, not knowing it's origins or value, and a little voice says"That's a good one", so I ask for it or buy it. Then I research it  as thoroughly as I can before listing it. Because I have about 8 boxes of "That's a good one" in my spare room, ebay duds that I was so certain would help me buy a Cadillac, the "That's a good one" boxes just waiting for a garage sale day or a final trip to my local charity!

Learn as much as you can, so that you are armed with that knowledge when you slink through your Saturday yard sales & Flea Markets. If you spend time on ebay looking up "vintage Widgets of the 19th century", then by gosh when you spot a flawless 19th century widget on a yard sale table for 25 cents, you will know it is worth investing your $ and time into, for reselling on ebay. But if you just go on your gut, every widget, whether really 19th century or cheap, new imitation, will make you say "That's a good one" and before you know it, your spouse is hollering at you to "get rid of this junk!"...and the'yre right!

I recently taught myself a lesson about not being thorough with my research before posting a listing on ebay.

I had found a cute, small doll dressed in Swiss Alps style clothing. She was a mere 5 inches or so, with hard plastic painted face, cloth clothes that were glued onto her, legs that didn't bend but arms that were wired on with elastic, so they moved. Protruding from her back was a small metal post which did not move.

I took her home and held her in my hand, waiting for her to "speak " so I could figure out how to list her. I determined the body was made of composition, a hard pressed plastic; she looked to be from the 1950's, and was either Swiss or German; the peg in her back must be to set her on some kind of display board or stand. I looked for German & Swiss dolls online and, having not found any similar, left it at that and listed her as a Vintage Composition Swiss Alps Heidi German Doll. I got lazy and listed a front picture only, not a second one fo the back with the peg.

The doll had very few lookers through the week, and I had a nagging feeling that I was missing something in the listing. She finally sold for $6.99. I packed her up & shipped her off.

About a week later, I received the following feedback from the buyer:

"This cutie is a key wind dancing celluloid doll. Arrived safely and dances!"

My mouth fell open and my heart was full of regret, not that Bell-e-acres knew just exactly was the doll was, but that I never took the time to really discover her abilities, and never got to see her dance. FIRST of all, a celulloid doll??? That makes her much older than 1950's, more likely 1930-40's. Second, she DANCES??? The post on her back was for a key, winding her arms no doubt so that when released, she would dance accross the table. Incredible! See what I missed, because I didn't follow through? Naturally, I went back to ebay and did a search of key wind celluloid dolls and found some...And now, I know what to look for when I see dolls at yard sales!

So you see, it pays to do your homework before you list on ebay. It increases your knowledge, and your wallet!!!!

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Happy researching, and happier selling to you!