Auction or fixed price for selling??? Tis the question..

[meinvw]

Have a friend with an attic full of old toys and he is wanting me to sell them for him. I do a lot of ebay and usually try and find what something is worth then post it into forums and see what happens, if no sale then move to the auction format. Have had quite a few items that i just cannot find the values online or auctions that have ended. So guess I am asking here what do you guys do for items your not sure of? Put them up for bidding or just think of a price and list them.
He has a wide variety of items he wants to sell, his wife is a Mego fan and he is, well, like me its a cool toy and I want it so should be a variety of stuff they want to sell. He is more Sci-Fi and has an amazing collection of Star Wars, Star Trek, Dr Who collectibles along with a fetish for the Beatles. She is more the Female figures from the 70's and action like Bionic man/Woman and super heros. Other than Lees are there other price guides to look up what they have? I know every one wants a deal, I looked at some of their collection a few years back and was like i want this, and this, and this, and this.....But they are in a finacial bind and need the cash more than me salivating over a find and putting it in a box for my enjoyment so....

basically want them to get a decent price for what they have and not feel to bad about having to sell them. Any thoughts on price guides or how to list?

[Mikey]

I would try and sell the stuff here first before going to ebay.

Selling it here you might take a little hit on price because collectors know what things are worth but the advantage is no ebay headaches.

You probably could even sell some Beatles stuff here --- We do have a few Beatle collectors.

As to you first question about selling on ebay .....

I would say make a list of everything and post it on the Museum for people to help you with values .....

[clemso]

If your not sure of value, your best bet is to put them all on ebay individually at 0.99 cents starting bid, no reserve. This is the best way to get fair market value, imho.

Clem

[MIB41]

If he has Megos he's selling, I would get a list of what they are, in what condition (loose, boxed, incomplete, etc.), and post them back here for input. I think you'll get a good consensus on most of it. On the Star Wars stuff I'm not sure where to go on that. There is SO MUCH of that, it really depends on what it is. If it's the original figures from '77 maybe they have something there, depending on condition, etc, etc. But whatever the line, I would definitely go through the process of getting a comprehensive list of all of it. When it comes to needing the money, you don't want them to give away something for $50.00, they could have got $400 for. You know what I mean?

[rche]

even a group shot of example items can get you an idea of what things sell for.
Folks around here are amazingly candid about what they think things should sell for.

I know I would be interested in seeing what Doctor Who is there

as for ebay - as long as your descriptions are good, and your pictures are clear - that is a great indicator of worth. However, you have to deal with their commissions and buyers that may take advantage of the lax seller protection there.

Really, I would say you have a captive audience around here. Shoot a couple of sample pics, post 'em in the marketplace and see what kind of interest you have.

[Brad]

I agree with what Clem said. We use both formats on eBay depending on what we are selling. I am listing a ton of Mopar magazines little by little and those are in our store at a fixed price (BIN) and I will do the same with some comic books I bought on eBay that were not what the seller claimed they were (I wanted 70's vintage just to read again) Hopefully I can recoup my money. I may try here first with the comics as it looks like some members here collect them.

Anything Mego I would agree with MIB41. Try selling them here first. Between the fees and weirdos if I can avoid eBay I will and Mego stuff seems to sell well and quickly here.

Our vintage toys, motorcycle parts, etc. we usually sell on auction because who knows what some of the stuff will bring so it's hard to attach a firm price to it.

[meinvw]

Thanks all, he will be bringing a truck load over next week and I can see what he has. I would rather avoid ebay for the issues mentioned above but was wonering about some of the stuff that no info is available on. I am a newbie to this site and do not want to just jump in with a ton of whats it worth threads and tick you guys off. Guess there are not a lot of guides for this other than what they sold for on ebay or the knoledge from you guys here.
I cannot wait for him to bring them over, even if none make it into my storage will be fun just handling them!!! Will keep you all posted, or being from the south guess Y'all will work!

[ScottA]

If you have troubles let me know and I'll drive over from Alabama and help out.

[vulcan2074]

One way to get the attention your looking for if you list on ebay is to start a thread in Auction Watch.
Sammy

[MegoMark71]

Um yeah like Scott said im also real close, just north in North Carolina. I can swing down.
I do know there are several awesome members here who would love seeing a pictures and helping. And no matter how obscure an item is there is someone here who can tell you about it.