So, you found a teapot marked 'Japan' at a garage sale, you want to sell it on Ebay and you know nothing else about it, right?

I am not an expert but I do know one or two important things. Here are some very basic tips and hints you might find helpful.

Hundreds of thousands of teapots and tea sets have been exported from Japan. It is no easy task to identify their value without doing some research.

First, here are some tips about condition. 1. Teapots alone often do not sell well unless it is very unique or has rare features. A teapot that is missing a lid, has a chip or crack, missing the handle, badly stained, lots of paint ware or other visible flaws are almost worthless and you'd be wasting your time and money by listing it. There are exceptions. Read on.

You can get an idea of what your competition is by doing a search for similar Completed Items. If you do a search for 'Teapot Japan' you are going to see several hundred listings. Take a look to see if the teapot you have is like any listed. If so, look to see what information the seller gives about it. DO NOT copy their information for your own listing. You are only looking for information. You should not assume that your teapot is exactly the same just by their listing but this will give you a better idea wether or not it's worth anything based on the result of their sale (or no sale).

Let's start with the brown teapot: Start by looking at the bottom. If the unglazed area is a reddish brick color it is almost certainly a pottery called Redware. It is in abundant supply. But some of these teapots also have other features such as gold paint or trim, raised dots (generally indicates a method called Satsuma), raised dragon figures (this is called Dragonware). A plain brown Redware teapot is probably not extremely valuable unless it is Satsuma or Dragonware. There's a handy website that identifies a lot (but not all) of Japanese pottery markings. Just do a search "Japanese pottery markings".

That is a good place to start.

If you have a teapot that also has cups with it, there is another feature you need to look for. If you hold a teacup up to the light and you see a Japanese face, this is called Lithopane (or Lithophane). It is VERY collectible and will fetch you a nice price depending on condition and number of pieces. A complete set (teapot, sugar & creamer, cups & saucers) will start a bidding frenzy that will make your head spin. The same is true for Dragonware although some colors and designs sell better than others. Now, when you have Dragonware AND Lithopane, you're gonna be one happy camper.

Teapots can be marked Japan in many different ways. The word can be embossed on the bottom or stamped on the bottom or have a sticker that says Japan. Each method can help you identify the age and value of the teapot if you do a little research.

It's always a challenge to sell something you don't know anything about. Take advantage of the guides. Go to the library. Look at similar active and completed items. And for the love of God make sure you spell everything correctly in your title! Every shrewd Ebayer knows to search for misspelled words to find a bargain! And one more thing about the title: You get 55 characters to describe your item. Use it all up. Don't put simply BROWN TEAPOT with LID. Put as much information as possible in that title. You want to include any important selling features a potential buyer might search for.

This guide is just meant to be a starting place for the complete novice. It's just a bit of information from someone who has bought and sold hundreds of Japanese items over the years but is not really an expert.

So to sum up, don't sell broken teapots. Do some research. Look at similar items listed. Make a good title. And lastly, Good Luck and Have Fun!