"If you list it, they will bid..."

Don't you wish that were always true?

I have enjoyed buying vintage wares for years, ever since my sister-in-law "turned me on" to thrift store shopping. Before her, I would have never dreamed of buying somethig "used" and bringing it into my home. Many years later, I realize that many of the kitchen items, dinnerware and jewelry that I enjoy the most are found treasures, second hand offerings that romanced me and I could not live without.

A few years ago, I tried selling some glasses on ebay. As it turned out, my $4 investment for a set of 6 vintage Anchor Hocking forest green travel glasses made me a nice profit, since they sold for $24. HOOKED! From then on, I amazed my family and delighted my friends at cocktail parties with my stories of treasures found at yard sales. Oh, the buzz you get from retelling the tale of paying a quarter for a piece of Victorian jewelry, and reselling it for a hundred! Stop grimacing, you KNOW what I'm talking about. We all get a little proud of our good finds, don't we?

But after over 700 transactions, my house overflowing with "misses" that I bought and didn't sell on ebay, how and why do I continue this hobby? Because, as a seller,  I learned to find my niche, and went from the shot gun approach to the sniper attack. I specialize more, and I have more fun. You can do the same.

My year-round niche became vintage kitchenware, aprons, cookbooks, dinnerware and barware. I know the most about this genre, and I can spot a good find a mile away. I spend less money on "maybes" and more time learning about this grouping, so that I can be honest and clear in my listings. And it pays off.

During Nov. & Dec., I switch somewhat to the "BEST" of my stash, add in vintage Christmas decorations and some good jewelry finds. Your niche may be much narrower, both in investment price and in knowledge: Perhaps vintage glassware only. Or vintage radios. Or vintage puzzles. The key is to narrow it down to what you know, what you love, and what fires you up inside!

• Be a specialist. Narrow down your purchases and offerings on ebay to a specific genre, say vintage glassware. Your buyers are smart, and loyal, so try not to switch up your offerings too much or you will lose their newfound interest. They will follow your listings week after week, evaluate your feedback, bookmark you as a FAVORITE SELLER and become a repeat buyer. These are great relationships to have. If you switch to vintage wristwatches, you then lose your glassware group's interest and have to work hard to build that same relationship again with the wristwatch folks.

• Be a researcher. Offer your potential buyer not only the product, but the history of the product. Do your research. Give background on manufacturer, time period, usage, anything that ADDS VALUE to your offering. Make sure you research your listing on the Internet and offer as much detail as you can. It adds dollars to yoru final sale and helps the buyer fall in love with your items.

• Be selfish. Buy and list WHAT YOU LOVE. Think you're special? What you love, what you are passionate about is shared by others. If you are a diehard Tiara Glass collector, there are others out there like you. If Westmoreland floats your boat, specialize in it. What you love should be expressed in your listings, so that your passion for the item shows and your buyers CONNECT with you. This authenticates you and your listings will do much better.

• Be true. The worst thing you can do as a person and an ebayer is to be false and phony. DON'T LIE. If you find a cool vintage purse that, upon inspection, was made in China in 2002, don't even think of removing that tag and listing it as a vintage Miami Beach 50's fashion. It discredits you as a person and misleads your buyers. I bought a large, beautiful vintage used Louis Vuitton satchel bag at a yard sale for $1...The guy selling it had no idea what it was, he just wanted this stuff outta there. I looked it over when I got home, very carefully examined it and could not believe my luck!!! Holy moly, a great find! But I had a smidgeon of doubt...How in the world did this guy get this bag? Did he really not know? Is is real or fake? I did hours of research online to try to determine (without paying for someone to authenticate it) if I had a dud or not, because my 600+ pos feedbacks depended on it...I found an obscure website that pointed out this style bag was never made by Vuitton with a cloth lining...and that sealed the bag's doom. Since ebay does not allow listings of fakes, I can't even list it for $9.99 which would be totally worth it for this bag. So in the dead stock in my closet it sits, waiting for Yard Sale day. Maybe I can resell it for $2.

As a successful seller,  I learned to find my niche, and I not only have much more satisfaction for myself, but buyers are thrilled with the offerings... I specialize more, and I have more fun, and I can continue to enjoy buying up great vintage goodies, keeping them for a while and listing them on ebay...So I make more money to go back out there and find more vintage goodies. I found a way to support my habit.

Be a specialist, Find your niche, and Become an expert. You will build buyer confidence and have better auctions.
I did, and you can do the same.

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