FROM: Vinylmation 360 Published Mondays

Selling Vinylmations on eBay

Is there gold in them thar vinyls? Well, maybe not gold, but potentially a few extra bucks you can earn on the side by selling your surplus vinyls (or vinyls you buy in bulk) on eBay. Kelly Firth explains how to get started and how to do it right.

- by Kelly Firth, May 1, 2011

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An important note regarding Muppets Series 2 vinyls purchases at local Disney Stores: If you bought a Muppets Series 2 blind box or case from your neighborhood Disney Store lately, check your receipt(s). The price is $11.95 per vinyl (confirmed on the Disney Parks blog), but initially they rang up at $12.95. You can take your receipt back to your store and get refunded the difference. I have already done this at my store with no problems, and the figures now ring up at $11.95.

Two weeks ago, I discussed some helpful tips for buying Vinylmation figures on eBay. Today, we'll focus on how to sell Vinylmations there.

I've mentioned in previous columns that I have never sold a vinyl or anything else on eBay, although I have bought quite a few vinyls from eBay sellers. So, I write this column from a buyer's perspective, and as a buyer, I look for certain things in seller listings, and I judge sellers based on 'buyer-friendly' criteria.

But before we delve into that, let's cover the basics.

Getting Started as a Vinylmation Seller

Obviously, to sell on eBay, you need to have an account there. You'll also need a (verified) PayPal account, since Paypal is the preferred (and in most cases, only) method of payment for eBay transactions.

If you're new to eBay, buy a few things first and successfully complete those transactions before you start selling. You'll do much better as a new seller if you've built up some positive feedback. Everyone started on eBay with no feedback, but nowadays may people hesitate dealing with sellers who haven't 'proven' themselves through the feedback system.

Once you are ready to sell, read eBay's selling tips, such as the Sell-Your-Item Checklist. Make sure you know the fees that sellers must pay eBay for listing and selling items. These fees range from basic (and required) insertion and final value fee to optional fees for adding special features to your listings.

After you have read everything that eBay has posted about selling, understand if/when you need to charge sales tax, and so forth, it's time to take a picture (or pictures) of your vinyl and begin the listing process.

Selling Your First Vinylmation

When taking a picture, use a good quality camera and decent lighting that clearly shows what the buyer will be receiving. If the listing will include the artist card, show that, too. Personally, I prefer to buy from sellers who provide multiple pictures of their vinyls, showing the figures from every angle. This helps me ensure that what I am buying is free of defects. Note in your item description whether the box and/or foil comes with the vinyl (in the case of 3" listings), and whether the vinyl is still sealed in the box (in the case of 9", 9"/3" combo sets, or other LE vinyl sets and releases in special packaging).

Your next decision is whether to sell your vinyl auction, the Buy-It-Now (BIN) feature, some combo of the two, and/or 'Best Offer.' The easiest way to sell is to set up an auction with the lowest possible starting price, choose the auction length, and then let the auction take its course. The risk is that the auction might end with a final price well below retail.

If, however, you want to ensure that your vinyl won't sell for below a certain amount, you can set a reserve price on the auction. In that case, your vinyl won't sell unless the bids exceed your reserve. Buyers aren't told your reserve price, and often they make multiple 'nibble' bids to edge up the price until they hit your reserve. Setting a reserve will cost you an additional fee of $2.00 if the amount is under $200, or a fee equal to 1% of the reserve value if it's over $200.

To avoid these fees and the hassle of reserve prices, you can always just set the starting bid for your auction at the minimal amount you'll accept for the vinyl.

From what I have seen over the last two years, many BIN listings for vinyls are usually listed at a higher price than what they are actually worth, and thus a lot of them do not sell. If you want to list something as a BIN, make sure the price is reasonable, or add on the Best Offer option. That way, if you get no takers on the BIN price, someone might make you an offer close to it that you would want to accept.

The BIN involves higher fee rates (particularly the final value fee) than a regular auction listing, so be aware of that before you list your item for sale. Generally speaking, if you have a Chaser, Variant, or retired vinyl to sell, you are better off listing them as auctions and letting buyers bid them up to a profitable amount for you, rather than trying to guess what they might sell for.

Becoming a Better Vinylmation Seller

Follow these tips for a stress-free and profit-rich eBay experience:

• Type your listing's title and the item description in a word processor, then run it through spell check before you put it on eBay. Sounds simple enough, but you would be surprised how many sellers make spelling errors in their listings. Everyone hits an occasional wrong key when typing (I know I do!), but you don't want to make your listing hard to find because of a misspelling!
• Create your OWN item descriptions and take your OWN pictures. Don't use stock photos, and don't steal auction descriptions and pictures from other sellers. Basic common sense, right? Well, you would be surprised how many sellers engage in both behaviors. If you see another seller using your listings (especially your pictures) without your permission, report it to eBay.
• Always leave your buyers positive feedback if they have earned it. Make a note in your auctions asking buyers to contact you before leaving neutral or negative feedback so you can be aware of a problem and do your best to address it (for example, refunding part of their money, accepting a return of the vinyl, etc.). If the buyer has a reasonable problem, remember the old motto "The customer is always right" and do your best to make them happy.
• In the case of a transaction gone wrong, keep in mind that sellers can no longer leave negative feedback for buyers, but they can dispute negative feedback left for them.
• Take advantage of eBay's shipping assistance. You can pre-pay for shipping and print out labels from home, which is especially helpful when you are mailing items to multiple buyers. Shipping is one of the main areas where sellers seem to run into trouble, so here are some shipping-specific tips:
• • Keep your shipping and handling fees at or barely above the actual cost. You have some leeway to cover the cost of bubble wrap, tape, gas to the Post Office, etc., but buyers will flee en masse from inflated shipping prices. Use common sense. In other words, don't charge John Q Buyer 5 bucks to ship a 3" vinyl Parcel Post. Around $10-$12 is common for the 9" vinyls.
  • Offer your buyers shipping options. For example, let them choose between First Class, Priority Mail, and Parcel Post. That way they can choose whether saving a little money is preferable to a faster delivery time.
  • Offer combined shipping discounts, such as 'add a second vinyl for only 50 cents or a dollar more', or 'ship 3 vinyls for the price of one'. This will help draw attention to your listings, and give you an advantage over sellers who don't offer discounts. With so many sellers listing the same vinyls, any advantage helps. If at all possible, offer free shipping.
  • Always include delivery confirmation. This will help protect you from a buyer claiming he never received something, when in fact he did. It also helps the buyer because he can see when the item was mailed and get an idea of when to expect it, or track it if it somehow gets lost.
  • If the item you're listing is expected to bring in a large amount of money, require insurance of a set amount and say so in your shipping and item descriptions. That covers the buyer (and you) in the event that the package is lost or damaged in the mail.
  • Package the vinyl(s) you are selling carefully! If using a bubble envelope, you can send the 3" boxes collapsed to reduce costs (specify this in your listing, though!), but you still need to bubble wrap each figure to protect it. Envelopes get cut, smashed, etc., so the extra padding is a must.
    If you are selling a case of vinyls, don't just wrap the sealed case with brown paper, as likely it will get damaged in transit. Also, never just slap a shipping label on a sealed case! That not only provides the case no protection, it also increases the likelihood of it getting stolen from someone's doorstep after delivery. Put a case in a box that fits it, and include some kind of padding, such as bubble wrap.
  • Mail the vinyl(s) out in a timely fashion. Once payment is cleared, mail it the very next day that the Post Office, UPS, etc. is open, if possible. This isn't required by eBay, but it will win you return customers and positive feedback. Before I even consider buying anything, I check auctions and BINs to see how long the seller says it usually takes to ship the item. Faster is better.
  • If something happens that prevents you from mailing out a buyer's purchase (illness, car trouble, family emergency, etc.), let them know! Most people are understanding, as long as they know what is going on.
• Communicate with your buyer! Not just when a problem arises, but always. Send them a message through eBay and let them know when you will mail their vinyl(s), and message them again when you have a tracking number. If you use eBay to print a label, the confirmation number automatically shows up on the buyer's "Items Won" page, but sending a note with the number will win you high marks for communication.

That's my take on selling Vinylmation on eBay.

Use common sense and common courtesy, follow the rules (and tax laws), and you'll be on your way to earning some extra spending money.

Have you ever sold vinyls there before? If so, share your selling tips in the comments section below!

Mark Your Calendars

Friday, May 6
Villains Series 1 scheduled for release at D-Street WDW and D-Street DLR. The DLR store is scheduled to open at 8am. 3" blind boxed series. Limited Release. Retail price: Likely $9.95 (the retail price at the Disney Store).

On the last Sunday of every month, I'll devote this column to your questions and my answers. You can leave questions here as comments or else send them directly to me.

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