We are blessed to have many true experts selling antique quilts and vintage textiles on eBay.  Since many of us never rise to the expert level, we just need to move products for ourselves and others at drop-off stores and the like.  Here is a quick and easy template for writing an ad for a quilt that will minimize questions and state "the facts, ma'am, just the facts"!

One of the dangers in selling this way, is that a true treasure may get past you and you'll never know it, but it also increases the odds of the HUNT for the knowledgeable eBayer Buyer.

Every quilt will not have every element, but these are the things buyers seem to care about.  Buyers just want to know the truth, positive or negative.

• TITLE:  _______________________  QUILT (Is it ANTIQUE or VINTAGE  (There is lots of disagreement about the use of these terms, but commonly we consider ANTIQUE to be before 1940 and VINTAGE to be before 1975.)
  
• From:  (Where did it come from - What is the known history)
  Circa: (If you know by family history or circumstance how old it is, state a range.  If you got it at a rummage sale or antique store, say so.)
• Pattern Name: (Nine Patch / Grandma's Flower Garden / Dresden Plate are common ones, if you don't know and it is pieced with small pieces, PATCHWORK or SCRAP are usually safe and accurate words to use.)
• Piecing: (If you pull gently between the connected pieces, you may be able to tell if it is pieced by machine or hand.  If you can't decide, then say you aren't sure if it is hand or machine pieced.)
• Quilting: (You should be able to tell just by looking if it was quilted by a machine or by hand.  Machine stitches are always connected one right after the other.  Hand stitches always go down, leave a space (no matter how tiny the space may be, and then come back up)
• Fabric:  (Is it common cotton, do you remember this fabric from your childhood, if so, that is a clue as to the age of the fabric.)
• Stitches per inch: (Hold a ruler up next to the quilted stitches and count them, even if you have to use a magnifying glass.  Show a picture of this.)
• Colors: (What are the dominant colors?  Or is it multicolor?  Solids?  Prints?  Geometrics?)
• Overall Dimensions: (Length and Width in inches)
• Block Dimensions:  (Length and Width in inches)

• Smallest Piece Dimensions: (Length and Width in inches)
• Binding: (The extreme outside edge or hem, what color and size is it?  Is it frayed or worn?) 

  

• Border: (Area inside the binding is the border, what color and width is it?)
• Sashing: (Area inside the border but between the blocks, what color and width is it?)
• Batting: (Layer between the quilt top and the backing is sometimes called the fill or padding.  It can be polyester in newer quilts, a flannel blanket, a muslin sheet, or real cotton which could still have seeds in it which can be felt with a bit of experience.)
• Backing:  (What is the backing made of, often unrefined, unbleached muslin or other cotton, sometimes a cotton print.  Is it all one piece of fabric, or is it pieced (sewn) together from several pieces.)
• Condition: (Is there any odor? Has it ever been washed? Are there stains from use or from storage?  Are there holes?  Is it extremely ragged and worn -- then maybe it qualifies as a CUTTER and crafters may want it.  Buyers just want the truth.)
• Actual weight: (Sometimes the weight alone can help the buyer know what it is made of) 
• Shipping Weight: (Texiles can be deceptively heavy and surprisingly expensive to ship.  Don't short-change yourself here.)

ABOVE ALL ELSE, USE GREAT PICTURES THAT CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS FOR THE BUYER WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO ANSWER.