Are you selling LEGO on eBay?

[Jeff Mack]

Ed and I know that most of you look on eBay for good LEGO deals, but one thing we don't read all that much about is what all of you are doing as far as selling on eBay. We would like to know more about how much some of you sell. Do you have an eBay store? Do you sell anything on eBay? Do you plan to start soon?

[Rich B]

I sell here and there, but typically just small stuff like the Minecraft sets, or old used sets that I've built that no longer fit into my collection, and I no longer want. I haven't sold any big sets ever though. I find it too hard to part with them, even the ones I have multiple copies of. I just have the fear of getting rid of valuable EOL'ed sealed sets now when they might be worth even more later down the road. Then again those sets could drop in value and I could lose out big, but that's a risk I'm willing to take, for now at least. I'm a part time seller, and slowly becoming a big time hoarder.

[Hansolo55]

I don't have an ebay "store", but I've been selling a large lot of second hand vintage Lego Star Wars sets since October. Had 110 sets at the beginning and down to about 30-40 sets left. Bought a huge lot from a local collector for $4500, and by the end I'm easily doubling my money minimum! And I'd be making a lot more if I wasn't keeping about 25% of them for my collection. I haven't really sold anything much on ebay besides odds and ends before this, but it's growing on me and now I'm looking for more to sell! Fees aren't exactly awesome but I'm happy with my profits so far. I'd say besides this lot I'm selling I would consider myself a part time seller and full time hoarder as well LOL!

[Huskers1236]

I have sold many things on ebay, but with the ever increasing fees that they, and paypal will charge, I have even gotten to the point that I will put stuff on craigslist at the same time to increase my views. Since auction style listings are free for me(not sure if it's because i'm a power seller), I start listings at the lowest I am comfortable taking, and let them go from there. Selling was a lot easier when I was into sports cards, because shipping was a non issue. Now boxing stuff up and figuring out how much stuff will cost to send makes me less urgent to put stuff on ebay because of the hassle. Non-paying auction winners is also a hassle. You can't even leave negative feedback for auction winners anymore if they don't pay, which really is a pain, since it doesn't seem to do any good to file a non-paying bidder claim outside of getting your fees back. I don't love ebay, but it's probably the best place currently to sell lego if you don't want to have a store on Bricklink.

[Arcanum777]

I have sold a couple of sets on Ebay but they have both been ones that I have found on the local Craigslist and were way undervalued. I turned them over on Ebay and doubled up on one and more than tripled up on the other. That is the only way to really do it on there if you aren't selling in bulk. The combined fees take a big chunk out of your profits unless the margin is really high. That said, when my two year crop of EOLs comes due I will be looking at Ebay for sales. The exposure you get is just too irresistible compared to sticking with the local market

[Teeird]

Well Jeff, I'm glad you asked! I've actually just put up my first listings on Ebay yesterday! I'm so stoked about it. Check em out if you can. I'm planning to sell a whole lot more.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FREE-SHIPPING-LEGO-LOT-of-x5-Minifigure-Series-7-Galaxy-Patrol-Space-Marine-8831-/150984669897?pt=Building_Toys_US&hash=item2327633ac9

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FREE-SHIPPING-LEGO-Star-Wars-Minifigure-C-3PO-R2-D2-DROID-ESCAPE-9490-NEW-/150984672034?pt=Building_Toys_US&hash=item2327634322

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FREE-SHIPPING-LEGO-Star-Wars-SANDTROOPER-STORMTROOPER-Minifigure-x2-9490-NEW-/150984665950?pt=Building_Toys_US&hash=item2327632b5e

[Furbs]

I sell a reasonable amount on eBay. I normally look around for bargains and then sell them, e.***. Argos three for two deals is normally a good way of getting high price sets for about an average 30% discount then resell them on eBay for retail price once the offer ends. Also car boot sales are a good place for cheap lego, I once bought a bucket of assorted lego, was mainly bionicle, but found almost complete sets of lego space sets, Star Wars sets, all sorts, bought for

[Jeff Mack]

I am beginning to wonder if many of the buyers here will ever sell their sets :)

[Rich B]

I am beginning to wonder if many of the buyers here will ever sell their sets

Buying is so much more fun than selling ;)

[comicblast]

I like the pressure of bidding. Though sometimes I wish I hadn't bid so much, it is almost always worth it in the end!!!

[azalon]

I have a couple of Ebay stores, although I should consolidate to a single store soon. Ebay fees are just something to work around. If there's a set that--after fees--doesn't return what I want to get from it, I either just hold onto it a few more months or list it at a higher rate that what is listed. Usually toward the end of every year I'll look through my inventory of sets and see which have increased in the latest sales and list them. October always seems a good target, but events usually delay until sometime in November. /shrug The funny thing to me is that from last Nov/Dec, I moved a little over 100 sets via Ebay. But I can't see hardly any new empty spaces to put new sets. The space needed for Lego sets is just enormous! But Ebay is still the best way to move product. And I did have quite a few zero feedback buyers, but no NPB's at all. Two or three mutually cancelled transactions, but mostly due to buyer error. It would probably be a much better business model for me to list sets once they hit a the ROI magic number, but for one I'm pretty busy. Secondly, it's hard to sell something that you think will be worth more 1-2 months from now. So at times it seems better off not to sell and just hold until the need arises. As for buying from Ebay, I used to buy sets from Ebay but I just know that sooner or later I'll wind up reselling a set that someone picked out the figs and resold it. Just can't take that chance.

[Fcbarcelona101]

I don't usually sell that much on Ebay, but I assume that once I start selling some of the sets I bought I will be more active. As of now I prefer to sell on Amazon.

[pickleboy]

I sell on ebay. I don't just sell LEGO sets but they are my biggest seller. I sell all sorts of toys. I started selling toys etc around 6 months ago as a hobby but have been making enough to set up a LLC and get an "ebay store" I am currently building my own website using Google Wallet as my payment processor. (It's super easy.) I don't prescribe to the buy and hold theory that a lot of people here do. I prescribe to the sell it quick and flip as many sets/toys as I can. (I try and get rid of a set when I can make 25% after fees etc.) I have the entire process pretty stream lined. (I bought boxes in bulk so they were cheap. I got packing materials like bubble wrap at the recycling center.) I do one click shipping and the mail man picks up the boxes daily. When I list a set, I take the pictures, then pack it up so when it sells, I just click the button, print a label and slap it on the box and done. The entire process takes about 5-7 mins from listing to handling the deal, packing and out the door. It's all about streamlining the process and making it as easy as possible for myself. While ebay has a ton of traffic, it is expensive. I am currently investigating how to eliminate some of my selling costs. I.E. Fees... I am about to start trying some other auction websites to see what kind of results I can get there. Although I almost never list items as auctions I almost always list as buy in now. I seem to sell more items this way, even if they do take a bit more on the final value fee I tend to get much higher prices. Has anyone ever tried selling on other auction websites? How did you do?

[pickleboy]

I don't usually sell that much on Ebay, but I assume that once I start selling some of the sets I bought I will be more active. As of now I prefer to sell on Amazon.

I have never sold anything on Amazon b/c their fees are just crazy. What do you like about it? I am sure I missing out by not selling there.

[comicblast]

You use Google Wallet.... Is it for money transfering or is it to list things to sell? If they have lower fees than Paypal or eBay, I might consider it.

[pickleboy]

How about a Facebook store? I've been seeing more and more of those lately. Does anyone have any experience with these?

[pickleboy]

Google Wallet can be used for so many things. You can send invoices. You can list products to embed in your website. They even have the ability to give you a card reader so you can take credit card payments on your smart phone or tablet. There are also no fees unless you sell something. (There might be for the card reader...i haven't checked the pricing on that.) I like it b/c I don't have to worry about protecting the credit card info of my customers. Google handles all that. That isn't a risk i want to assume. Google checkout fees... http://checkout.google.com/seller/fees.html Paypal has a similar service but they charge monthly fees and I am not sure the service is much better. Someone else might have a better idea than I do.

[comicblast]

Google Wallet can be used for so many things. You can send invoices. You can list products to embed in your website. They even have the ability to give you a card reader so you can take credit card payments on your smart phone or tablet. There are also no fees unless you sell something. (There might be for the card reader...i haven't checked the pricing on that.)

I like it b/c I don't have to worry about protecting the credit card info of my customers. Google handles all that. That isn't a risk i want to assume.

What are the percentage fees? if they are more than like 8% then I think eBay is better because there are more people looking at it.

[pickleboy]

I am not sure you can compare google wallet to ebay. Google wallet is better used if you want to start your own store/business/website and not use someone else to handle the selling like ebay does.

[azalon]

I have never sold anything on Amazon b/c their fees are just crazy. What do you like about it? I am sure I missing out by not selling there.

I'm also curious about selling on Amazon. I know their fees are pretty high, but it seems that if a set is selling for $100 on Ebay, it could be $110-120 on Amazon. So just list it a tad higher to make up the difference and it would open the door to more buyers.

I'd love to hear from anyone with Amazon selling experience.

[Dunamis]

I have been selling on Amazon for several years, originally with books, but now more with Legos. Even though the fees are higher than Ebay I think it gets a good deal more exposure than Ebay. I think many buyers assume the Amazon price will be the lowest around so they don't price-shop an item. I also sell Lego on Ebay, often listing items on both sites. I have had more success with minifigures on Amazon, but that may just be me.

[Grolim]

Have just listed my first items on Ebay for sale. A bit harder for me as I need to factor in international shipping costs, plus I think potential buyers may be a bit put off buying from outside the US. Just a few items that I can source in my own country that seem in short supply in the US. I do most of my selling via our local online auction site.

[pickleboy]

I have been selling on Amazon for several years, originally with books, but now more with Legos. Even though the fees are higher than Ebay I think it gets a good deal more exposure than Ebay. I think many buyers assume the Amazon price will be the lowest around so they don't price-shop an item. I also sell Lego on Ebay, often listing items on both sites. I have had more success with minifigures on Amazon, but that may just be me.

Thanks for the feedback!

How long does an item list for when you list it on Amazon? Ebay kills people with fees on items that don't even sell and that really adds up.

[Ed Mack]

Have just listed my first items on Ebay for sale. A bit harder for me as I need to factor in international shipping costs, plus I think potential buyers may be a bit put off buying from outside the US. Just a few items that I can source in my own country that seem in short supply in the US. I do most of my selling via our local online auction site.

I bought my first UCS X-Wing from down under. It was a good experience, just customs delayed the shipping slightly. A good price translates into sales in any country.

[hxckid88]

I sold on amazon for years with no issue. I was not into selling legos just other items mainly video games. I had 3 negative feedbacks in one week and even with explanation they yanked me. Mind that one person complained and gave neg feedback because they did not like the game....lol. Amazon was so dumb to not see how rediculous this was. There fees suck too. Ebay is getting bad. I recently discovered bricklink and think that may be the best selling site for now.