J. K. Sott

June 15, 2009

Per Mr. North's request I give you my strategy of buying and selling stuff. This is by no means exhaustive. I've done this for so long that it's become intuitive and sometimes difficult to describe. These are general points I follow.

My world view leads me to this perspective about stuff:

Everything is junk or soon will be. I can't take it with me. When I'm gone, I'll have more important things to think about then what stuff I owned I this life.

We're not talking about family heirlooms or photos here but just stuff in general. Stuff people think they have to have and will pay good money for. Stuff that I really don't need.

What stuff to sell and what stuff sells

Seems like a redundant question? Let me explain.

Most people have an interest in things and/or activities. Whatever we are most interested in, is what we will know most about. This is where we start to find those things to sell.

My interests and activities are varied. Just a few of them are, Ham Radio, motorcycles and firearms… It's a guy thing. This is where I started years ago. This is the stuff I sell.

Then the question arises, do these things sell? How to find out? One way is to check Ebay. We can do an advanced search for the item/s. By checking the "Completed listings" box we can see if any of our related items show up and how much they sold for. This gives us an idea of demand.

Craig's List does not track items that sell so it's a trial and error process there.

Calling a store or business that sells these items and asking questions like "how many do you have in stock?", "is it a big/fast selling item?", "do you have any used items and if so, for how much?" can give you an idea. It is a good idea not to give yourself away, so couch your questions to come across as a buyer not an information seeker.

On line stores are usually of no real help, you need to talk to people to get good information on what sells.

Word of mouth is another means of finding out what sells. Listen to people, co-workers, friends and people at specialty stores that deal in your stuff.

I was at an electronics surplus store one day and I struck up a conversation with a guy who was looking at used test equipment. He was in the market for a Tektronix oscilloscope. I just happen to have one like he was looking for. I picked it up from work for free, it was going in the dumpster. I cleaned and repaired it. The electronics surplus store wanted $400 for that model, I sold it to him for $200. We were both very happy.

Not all of our interests or activities will produce stuff that sells. We have to study the used stuff market. For me, it's kind of a quest or search for treasure.

Search for related items to your interests. You might find more stuff to sell while learning something in the process.

At a ham radio swap meet I attend regularly, one vendor had a lot of cool stuff. I was picking through it making a stack of stuff to buy. One item was a vintage metal project box about 7"x9"x12". In it I found two old telephone handsets. I almost tossed them, then I saw they were made by Western Electric. These were old hand sets with what they call a split cup mouth piece. I didn't know much about vintage telephones or what they were worth but having seen some other vintage Western Electric gear go for good money I decided to keep them in my stack of stuff. I bought the whole stack for $70. When I got home I did a search on the web for these hand sets. I found that they were the E1 sets made for the first cradle type telephones, the old Western Electric 102. Before this, all phones were the candle stick type. I sold the hand sets on eBay for $160. I learned a lot about vintage telephones in the process.

Most of the other items were sold too. The metal project box that held the two hand sets, I built a vacuum tube shortwave receiver in it. Now how cool is that?

Where to find stuff

Most people have accumulated stuff during their life. Go through your own stuff and see what you have. Take an inventory, then ask yourself if you need all this stuff. A good way to assess need is to remember the last time you used an item.

After about a year I do a mental evaluation of my stuff. Will I use it within the next year or not? If not, I must decide if it's worth selling, giving away or throwing away.

Then there are other places to find things to sell; swap meets of various kinds, flea markets, local/farm auctions, even second hand stores. I personally don't recommend garage/yard sales. It takes too much time and fuel but if you're good at it, by all means go for it.

Also on line. The 'ol www. is a good place to find things. Many sites and discussion groups of a certain interest have classified adds. I've bought a lot of radio related items from such sites that I sold elsewhere.

I've even bought items on Ebay that I turned around and sold on Ebay for substantial profit. Bad listings will not generate good sales. The items were listed in the wrong category and had a poor descriptions. Whoever listed them didn't know much about it. Fortunate for me, I did. I don't always do this. Sometimes I send the seller a message and tell them what the item is, what it's worth and they might want to re-list it. Ya reap what ya sow.

Paper classifieds can still work but Craig's List is getting more popular.

I know of two guys who still use the paper classifieds. One buys and sells old vacuum tubes, the other, old motorcycles. They use the local paper classifieds, they put in want adds for theses items because older people still read the paper. Usually they get a call from an old woman who's husband passed away, she doesn't know what to do with his collection of old radios, motorcycles, tools or whatever.

Where to sell stuff

Almost without exception I use Ebay and Craig's list.

Ebay is good for the collectable or niche items. Collectors usually have money to burn so they will bid up an item because they just gotta have it. Nothing I like to see more then a bidding war for one of my items.

Craig's List is your on line garage sale or replacement for your old news paper classifieds. In the last year my family has listed four garage sales where we highlighted a few items such as: Camp trailer, Lego's & potted plants along with the normal garage sale fare. These listings were complete with photos.

Also, I have sold a restored ranch stove (wood burning cook stove), landsailer (sailboat with wheels) and a motorcycle. All items were restored by me and netted a profit on Craig's List.

On rare occasions I have used an on line classified dealing in a niche market.

As I stated above one of my interests is ham radio, Amateur Radio to be precise. My inertest in radios has grown to include all aspect of radio; antique, vintage, military, Amateur, commercial two way and on and on.

I spent two years searching for and accumulating all the parts for a WWII Liaison Aircraft Radio Set that was used in such aircraft as the B-17, B-24 & C-47. At the end, I had more then a complete set with many spare parts. Everything was like new. This set was to be used on the Amateur Radio 160 meter & 80 meter bands. The only thing I couldn't find to make it absolutely complete were the interconnecting cables. After five years I finally gave up trying to get it on the air. I tallied up all the money I had into the set, $500. I then sold the spares on Ebay and made just over $500. I then listed the near complete radio set on QTH.com classifieds(a "niche" ham radio site)for $2000. It sold within a week. The buyer and I were about 600 miles apart. We met half way and he compensated me for my mileage even though I had to use our Suburban to haul all the equipment.

I know these are "guy things" but the principles apply to those items women like to collect: Dolls, plates, china, spoons, colored glass ware, paintings, clothing…etc. Women will pay good money for things that will make a guy shake his head… and vise a versa.

Making a listing

To make a good listing you must know your item. Even if you think you know your item, do a search on the www. to see if you can learn more about it. You just might find something to add to you description that will help sell your item. Be direct and to the point while still giving the potential buyer all the pertinent information. Think about the item from the buyers point of view. If you were them, what would you ask about the item? Put that information in your listing. Height, weight, size, color, condition (does it work?), accessories, manuals, …. Use your spell checker! Use good grammar. These things really help.

How many times on Craig's List have I seen a listing that looks like a third grader wrote it? Too many to count. Poor listings don't sell.

To be sure, I don't claim to have the best grammar. I do try to be clear and to the point. Good, simple english is all that's required.

If you see a listing on Craig's List or Ebay that looks good, ask yourself why. Learn from other peoples success as well as their mistakes.

Then there are photos. Good photos sell! Take time to take good photos. With a decent digital camera and Irfanview free software you can take digital photos you can crop, resize & enhance to get great photos to make a great listing. Again, good photos sell!

Irfanview can be found here http://www.irfanview.com/ It's free!

It is better not to list an item, especially on Ebay, then to list it without a good photo. I cannot emphasize enough about good photos.

Whew! I think that's it.

To summarize:

1. Start with your own interests, what you know.

2. Search what items associated to your interest have good resale. Search related items, branch out.

3. Find sources of stuff to sell.

4. Find good outlets for your stuff.

5. Make good listings. Know your stuff. Take good photos. Do your homework.