I have never sold anything on eBay.  So you might ask, what makes YOU an authority on the subject?  My authority comes from being on the receiving end of a lot of well-intentioned, but ignorant, sellers of Precious Moments who don't have a clue as to what is really important to serious Precious Moments collectors.  There seems to be some universal truth that the most important thing you can say about a Precious Moment piece is that it came from a "smoke-free home".  I am here to tell you that there are far more important things that can be said that will make profound differences in customer interest and what you receive for your item.  The main categories of interest to real collectors are:  Title, Type, Production Number, Production Mark, Production Status, Limited Editions, Packaging, Prices, and Presentation.

TITLE - If I am looking for a specific PM piece, I enter the Precious Moments title for a search.  It is the fastest way to find something when you know exactly what you're looking for.  If the piece I'm looking for does not have the PM title in the eBay title or description, I possibly might never find it, short of visually scanning hundreds of entries for a familiar picture.  Don't say "Girl Ice Skater"; give the title name, "Dropping in for Christmas".  The title is printed on the bottom of each PM piece.  There are a few exceptions to this when the piece is extremely small and part of a set, or on some of the very earliest pieces made.  In that case, you need a pictorial guide to identify the piece, such as "The Official Precious Moments Collector's Guide to Figurines" (2nd ed).

TYPE - Don't assume all Precious Moments are figurines.  The vast majority are, but there are numreous variations such as:  ornaments, plates, bells, picture frames, thimbles, candle climbers, music boxes, dolls, etc.  Many of these use the same titles as the figurines and have the same basic design.  It might make all the difference in the world to a buyer to know, for example,  that a certain piece is an ornament, not a figurine, and is identical except for a hook and string, which sometimes is not visible in the picture.

PRODUCTION NUMBER - This is the most important item you can list.  Even though two pieces may have the same name and look similar (as in figurine and ornament), the definitive item to determine which piece you are talking about is the production number.  It is listed on the bottom of each piece.  (Again, a few of the very earliest pieces were not numbered and would need to be determined by a photo guide, as above).  It may be a three-, four-, five-, six-, or even a seven-digit number.  The three-  and four-digit nubers are accompanied by a prefix, such as BC for birthday club, and C and PM for members-only pieces.  The earliest regular production pieces often were 4-digit with an E prefix.  If you have a piece with a prefix other than E, it is best to consult a guide source.

PRODUCTION MARK - This is the next most important information you can list, yet is largely ignored in most listings.  The marks are incused into the base of each piece.  It is important because it tells you the year the piece was made, and serious collectors like to find the "first mark" of a certain piece, showing that it was in essence the first edition of a particular piece.  A good guide will tell you the initial year of production for each piece and which mark was in effect that year.  If your research shows that you have a "first mark" piece, or even a very old piece, you should definately make heavy mention of that in your description.  The marks and the years they were issued are listed below; you can get a visual impression from a good guidebook, or go to preciousmoments.com.

No mark - Early 1981 and prior

Triangle - Late 1981

Hourglass - 1982

Fish - 1983

Cross - 1984

Dove - 1985

Olive Branch - 1986

Cedar Tree - 1987

Flower - 1988

Bow & Arrow - 1989

Flame - 1990

Vessel - 1991

G-Clef - 1992

Butterfly - 1993

Trumpet - 1994

Ship - 1995

Heart - 1996

Sword - 1997

Eyeglasses - 1998

Star - 1999

Egg - 2000

Sandal - 2001

Cross in Heart - 2002

Crown - 2003

Three-Petal Flower - 2004

Bread - 2005

House - 2006

Unmarked - May have been produced in error in any year of production.  If your research shows your piece was not made in 1981 or earlier, yet it has no mark, it could be an error that should be advertised to your benefit.  The only exception would be those pieces made exclusively for the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, MO.  All of the initial year's production for each piece was unmarked. 

There seems to be a universal importance attached to the copyright date printed on the base, if you were to look at most listings; yet the copyright date is of little importance.  The copyright date shows when Sam Butcher, the artist, was issued a copyright on the original artwork, which may have been years before the first piece of that description was issued.  In general the copyright date is usually the year of, or the year before, the first piece was issued.  To say that a piece was issued in 1979 because of a copyright date is misleading to the buyer, expecially when the production mark shows that the piece was made years later. 

PRODUCTION STATUS - A piece currently made is considered in Open status.  If a piece is in Suspended status, production was "temporarily" stopped.  There are a few cases where a suspended piece resumed production, but usually that is not the case.  Retired pieces are fewer in number than suspendeds, and have been "honored" by permanent production cancellation.  The production status can be determined by a good guidebook.  So many pieces now have been retired or suspended that it doesn't have the cache it once did; however, it may still be advantageous to mention a retired or suspended status.

LIMITED EDITIONS - There are numerous varieties of limited editions available.  They may be annuals (dated), special member pieces for the Collector's Club or Birthday Club, Special Event pieces, Chapel pieces issued only at the PM Chapel in Missouri, special pieces issued for charities such as Easter Seals.  A good guidebook will help you determine the exact nature of the limited edition.  In general, because of lower production, they can deserve higher prices if the buyer is adequately informed of their status.

PACKAGING - In general, this means "with or without box".  Prices you receive can be heavily influenced by whether or not the original box is included.  If you have the box, it is imperative that you advertise it.  If you have any of the other paperwork that originally came with the piece, such as the hang tag or advertising, that is a plus, though not as much as the box.  A lot of advertising has stated "Mint in Box", which is good; but a clean piece with all the paperwork and no chips or cracks, even if previously displayed, is practically as good in my opinion.   

PRICES - Though the quidebooks are pretty good about the technical details of the pieces, they are woefully inadequate when it comes to determining a price.  They are notoriously generous, compared to actual prices bid in the eBay "real world".  It is not that they are out of date, their prices were completely irrelevant even when initially published.  The best way to guesstimate the approximate value is to do a completed listing search by title and production number.

PRESENTATION - This includes a lot of things that are not specific to Precious Moments, but to eBay in general.  For instance, get a really good, close-up picture of the piece, multiple views are a plus, and a shot of the bottom with the title, production mark and number.  That will show a lot of class!  Put as much into the eBay title line as possible, such as PM title, production # and mark, status, etc.  Try to think of a unique reason this piece would mean something to the buyer, not just "this would look great in your collection".  You might even relate a story of why Sam Butcher created it, which can be found in the guides. 

I hope this will help you help yourself to higher bids from collectors that appreciate a seller who knows what he has and takes pains to inform you of it.  I don't know how many hundreds of emails I've sent to sellers asking for the production mark and if it has a box.  That is information that could easily have been presented in the description, but a lot prospective buyers won't bother to pursue the details, assuming the seller should have said something if it had made a difference in the value.  Who knows how many more bids you might have gotten if you had verified that piece was a "first mark"?  Now get out there, clean up your act, make more money, and save all us buyers a lot of aggravation!