INTERNET CONSIGNMENT
SERVICE
Want to sell things on online auctions?
I can handle it or show you how!
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MY AUCTIONS & STORE
Uncommon Finds |
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Here are the
Frequently Asked Questions
you'll need answers to if you bid on any of my auctions
Take a
look around your home, in your garage, and in your shed. I would venture to say you have
several
things just sitting around collecting dust. Why not
liquidate and turn those unused, unwanted dust catchers into CASH?
You may very well have enough money just sitting around your place to go on vacation
or buy things you really love and want!
[Business
owners -- are there any items in your inventory which, once they sell, you would
never reorder? Or any items no longer in use which are cluttering up your
shop's storage area?
Click here if you are a
retail or wholesale merchant … I offer a special Internet Consignment Service
for store inventory.]
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Why bother having a
yard sale? The weather might not
cooperate! (And you’ll only get a few dozen potential customers after all
that hard work.) |
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Why lug all of it down
to a consignment store? Resale
shops will
take 60% of your money and keep marking down the price too! |
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Why give away all your
valuables? Charity is a great
thing, but you could at least sell some of it and donate the rest. |
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Why spend a fortune on
classified ads in the newspaper?
You’ll go broke ... and who knows what kind of weirdo's might show up at
your house! Plus you’ll have to spend time with your ear in the telephone
and waste your valuable time on no-shows. See other
drawbacks here. |
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Ahhh, but on the Internet, millions upon millions of potential buyers all
over the world will see what you have for sale.
As
of December 2012,
eBay alone has over
112
million active users
… and every single person who looks at your
auction got there by looking for specific search terms. These are serious
buyers on a mission! eBay is now the 9th most visited site on the
entire Internet. I'll put your items in front of this vast eBay
audience AND other marketplaces. |
Through my
Internet Consignment Service, I handle the sale of a wide variety of items
consignors want to expose to a worldwide audience. To date I’ve sold many thousands
of dollars of merchandise on the Internet for local residents and businesses,
primarily through online auctions! Some examples of items that have been
consigned and sold are: art, antiques, electronic equipment, collectibles,
sculptures, vintage sheet music … and just about everything else of my own
ranging from software to clothing to a unicycle and everything in between.
I don't specialize in selling any one thing in particular
– I just specialize in selling! You’ll benefit from the expertise
that comes from over 12 years of online selling experience and more than 27 years
of marketing experience, including in-depth studies and practice of the psychology of
selling.
I offer a
full range of services including taking and optimizing digital photographs of
the item, composing dynamic ad copy, obtaining a professional appraisal to determine
current market value of your item, managing the auctions from start to finish which
includes handling inquiries, collection of payment from the buyer, packing and
shipping, etc. Since I know how to present merchandise in the most appealing way
that shouts "BUY ME!", many times there are bidding wars and the price keeps getting
driven higher and higher ... I've lost count of how many times I've been excited
and shocked with the final selling price people have paid!
Why would you want to use
this
Internet Consignment Service?
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 Maybe you don't have a digital camera,
scanner, or special photo editing software ...
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Maybe you don't
know the in's and out's and secrets of selling on auctions and other online
marketplaces ...
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Maybe you don't know how to pack and ship
items or where to get supplies ...
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Maybe you don't know which protective
measures can be taken to protect yourself from being defrauded by unscrupulous
buyers ...
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Maybe you have no idea how to handle
customers, currency, and shipments to other countries …
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Maybe you have fun finding items, but
don't have as much fun selling them ...
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Maybe you want to get rid of that gift
Aunt Martha gave you that you never liked and you don't want her to know you’re
selling it ...
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Even so, you might be able to
do the auctions yourself, but …
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 Is this what you want
to do with your spare time?
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Do you have
expertise in this colossal
competitive field ?
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Do you have an
established reputation rating
and customer comments
of praise on auction sites which assures buyers it's safe to send you
money?
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How will you handle
currency and special shipping requirements for
customers from other countries of the world?
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Do you have the
tools
necessary to set up and maintain a continually successful, visually appealing
auction booth (i.e. advanced knowledge of HTML language, etc.)?
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Do you have access to
other Internet sources to
offer the items to a worldwide market?
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(If you REALLY have your heart set on doing this yourself,
click here
to find out how.)
This Internet
Consignment Service is the best chance you’ve got to get the highest dollar for
your items. For those faced with an estate sale, it’s an excellent
choice to get maximum exposure and return for your loved one’s valued
belongings.
I welcome
you to try this service. If you’re unsure of how it will work out for you, let’s
try just one item and take it from there. I think you'll be very happy with the
results and will want to let me handle more. It’s totally up to you. My policy
is one of strict honesty -- and you can be assured that my integrity to you, my
customers, and myself are of the highest degree! Most of all, I appreciate your
trust and your patronage. Check my more than 1,250 combined positive customer
feedback ratings on
eBay and
Yahoo auctions! Other references can be provided
upon request.
So why
wait another moment?
Contact me with the items you’d
like to sell, and I will go to work for you. I do the work, and you get the
best possible opportunity for a good sale price for your merchandise. What could
be easier?
"One Man's Trash Is
Another Man's Treasure!"
ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What does consignment mean?
Having a
third party sell merchandise and remit proceeds of the sale to the owner after
the sale of the merchandise.
How much do you charge for
your Internet Consignment Service?
I charge a
$59 setup and market analysis fee (see below) per listing, which will be subtracted from my commission if the item sells. Commission
fees are a progressive commission on the final sale of the item, which will never be more than
40%. The commission percentage depends upon the level
of service you’d like me to perform as well as the value of what you have for
sale. (Obviously if your item sells for $2,000 I will not take $700 as a 40% commission, that’s just too much.)
We will negotiate the percentage based on our tailored arrangement.
Either I or the buyer will pay for all shipping costs,
but I ask you to pay for
fees which are charged by the marketplaces (auction sites, etc.) and payment collection service (PayPal
primarily), which are minimal.
Why do you charge commission
AND a setup fee?
The setup
fee covers the time and energy to collect research on your item such as
conducting a market
analysis (and in many cases the extra work in obtaining an independent appraisal), supply and demand, background details, and so forth. It also covers the
time to take multiple photographs, photo editing, ad design and layout work,
HTML coding, and other
tasks related to just getting the auction running and getting your product
online. These projects are quite time-intensive.
The
commission covers the time and energy spent on advertising your item in numerous
marketplaces in order to give it as much worldwide exposure as possible. There
is also a tremendous amount of time involved in managing your auction and
listings, answering the many questions potential customers pose, negotiations, arranging
for and collecting payment (sometimes much more complicated than it may seem),
packing & shipping, bookkeeping, taxes, fraud protection, etc. Since the more money you make the more money I make, you can
be sure I will work hard to find the highest-paying buyer.
Keep in mind too that for more than 12 years I have built a
solid business reputation evidenced by more than 1,250 public feedback ratings
(100% positive) and comments placed
by my eBay and Yahoo customers ... buyers know it's safe to do business with me
and that I will work hard to maintain my prized reputation.
Who sets the selling price?
I do, but
I like to get input from you as to the retail price paid, etc. The contract will
also specify what minimum target profit you prefer. If an independent appraisal
is required, I will base the selling price on the appraised value and we'll try
to get close. Since this is a third party service and
I'll handle the entire submission process, there is an additional fee for such
appraisals. Please see this page for details. This
fee is minimal and is offset by the higher sales price we are likely to achieve
with an official, expert valuation.
How do you know how much to
charge?
Selling
online has taught me how to get the most for my consignors while
providing my customers with the greatest value! Part of what I have learned over
the years is that conducting a market analysis is vital to setting the right
price. For some items (i.e. rare or unusual collectibles, vintage items, art,
etc.) obtaining an independent professional appraisal is necessary and
advantageous. For example, a client of mine decided she would accept a
$1,200 minimum for an original oil on canvas painting she hired me to consign
for her. I strongly urged her to let me obtain an appraisal, and to our shock it
turned out to be worth over $11,000! If she tried to list the painting
on eBay without hiring me for my services, she would have thrown away
almost $10,000 because she would not have known how to price it or even where to
get it appraised at a reasonable price. The company I use provides an official
certificate that can be shown in the auction listing to let shoppers know how
valuable the piece is. Their network of more than 120 appraisers are authorities on every imaginable category of items.
What
if I'm apprehensive about paying the required $59 setup and appraisal fee?
Look at it
from this perspective: if you do a little checking, you'll find that to
advertise your item in your local newspaper will cost about that (or more) for just a few
days. There's no guarantee you'll sell the item in those few days, so that money
would be out the window -- especially considering the fact that the classified ad would only reach a few thousand people ...
and out of those few readers who actually look at the classifieds, how many of
them want or need an item like yours? But eBay has over
112 million active users around the world, and
countless more who browse and sign up to bid
when they find something they like. These buyers shop by using specific keywords
to find merchandise. And I use several other marketplaces too to sell your
items, exposing them to millions upon millions of potential buyers. There's just no other way to give your item the kind of exposure it will
get with my Internet Consignment Service! I'm an
experienced marketing professional and know how to get people to buy. The more
people who know about your item, the more people I can draw in to the sale.
With my
help, you’ll still be able to walk away with more money in your pocket than
if you tried selling it some other way. And there’s almost NO investment of your
time! No need to sit out in the hot summer sun with your stuff spread all over
the lawn, no need to fill your car with tons of things to lug to the consignment
store, no need to give away what could earn you some extra “mad” money. No
wasted money on ineffective classified ads and no wasted time dealing with
deadbeat callers. PLUS, this extremely affordable Market Analysis / Appraisal will give you
physical proof of how much your item is worth.
Do you purchase items
up front?
No, I pay
the consignor (you) after the items have sold.
What type of items can I have
you sell for me on consignment?
Pretty
much anything the auction sites allow, other than items I may find
personally objectionable. I have successfully sold a wide variety of items, contact me to
discuss what you have. If I don't feel I can do a good job for you, I'll tell
you up front. Keep in mind that although you can find
just about anything on eBay, not everything sells for high prices on eBay.
Supply and demand and other factors affect whether or not there is a market for
your item and whether or not you can yield a healthy return.
Only shippable goods will be auctioned – items too heavy (more than 65 pounds)
or too large for standard shipment may not be considered. I will only consign
items and equipment that I can personally test.
What is your criteria for
accepting items for auction?
Product(s) must
be in marketable condition. Items with minor flaws or in need of minor repairs
could be accepted at my discretion – if I think there is a market for it. Any
and all flaws must be clearly described and documented. I will only
consign items and equipment that I can personally test to be sure it is
in optimum working order. Due to the
time-intensive nature of consignment service, I can only accept higher-ticket items
... with a market value of at least $200 per item.
How long will the auction
run?
When we
sign the Exclusive Right to Sell Agreement, we will discuss the term of the
contract. Most people find that 30-60 days is a
reasonable amount of time to draw buyers, without incurring too many fees.
There's always the option to continue indefinitely. All
unsold items can be returned to you or I can donate them for you.
How will I be paid?
You have
two options:
1. By
check, mailed to your address
2. By
PayPal
Please
allow sufficient time to receive your payment after the auction closes. The
winners know that they have just over a week to pay for their goods. Sometimes
there is a delay on their part but I stay on top of things and for the most part
can collect payment in anywhere from minutes to several weeks. Ideally, your payment will
be sent to you approximately 21 days after the sale when the buyer’s warranty period expires to make sure
there are no returns. An itemized invoice with all fees will be included for your records.
Do I have to ship the item to
the winning bidder myself?
On most
items, you have
the option to do so or to let me handle everything. The advantage of letting me
do it is that your item(s) will be professionally packaged for safe delivery and
you won't have to spend time or money locating packing materials. I am also
fully experienced in the necessary shipping steps which prevent fraud
protection. However, if
you decide you would rather ship it
yourself, there will be a list of specific guidelines which need to be followed
about packaging, time frame, etc.
What if my item doesn't sell?
In the
event that the item does not sell during the allotted contract time, we
have two options:
1. Extend
the contract with the option to lower your asking price.
2. End the agreement and you’ll be responsible for picking up the item(s) or
paying shipping charges to have it sent back to you. After you send payment to
me for the auction site’s listing fees and your account is cleared, the item(s)
will be returned to you.
Sounds great! What do I have
to do to get started?
Contact me
with information about the item(s) you have for sale. We'll discuss salability
and arrange for inspection. If we decide we can work together,
we’ll fill out the detailed contract and you’ll provide as much descriptive information
and background about the merchandise as possible. Ship your item to me prepaid if
you live out of town. For local customers in St. Augustine Florida, I’ll be
happy to discuss pickup of your item and arrange a meeting in person.
If you
have any questions that are not answered here, please email me.
I'd love to do business with you!
License #47555
