For several years I sold multiple corkscrews on ebay. It worked well for me. I would typically list 20 - 30 items a
couple of times a month. I would start at a low price regardless of the piece, typically £4.99, roughly $7.50 & with no
reserve. I would list for a 10 day duration, starting the auctions on a Thursday night at around 7:00 p.m. GMT,
which would mean the auctions would end on a Sunday evening in the UK, early evening across Europe & late
afternoon in the States - times where I though a larger audience would see them on the final day. I would time the
listings so they finished precisely 1 minute after each other. I used large cropped pictures of each piece & I would
keep taking photographs until I was happy with the quality. I would show off a good piece, such as a Thomason with
maybe 8 -10 photographs. My postage cost was as low as possible & I would offer multiple postage discount too.
Some repeat buyers I offered repeat free postage to. I offered a no quibble money back guarantee.
Over the years I've spent hours listing corkscrews on ebay. I believe it's worth the effort to do it well but there is no
guarantee how the items will sell, all you are doing is giving yourself more of a chance of getting a higher return.
Many times I've spent ages listing a piece on ebay to see it sell for say, £50, when the next day, the same piece
sells on ebay with a dark, distant unclear photograph & a description of "old corkscrew" for £100. It can drive you
mad!
As you would expect ebay has changed over the years. Some changes good, some bad & some ridiculous. In an
attempt to stamp out scammers the site now is very anonymous, where previously it was very transparent. It used to
be interesting to see who was bidding on particular pieces - you can't see now. You can however see who has won
if you've bid yourself on the same item, just as long as the auction wasn't categorised as private.
One last thing for sellers. When ebay bought Paypal they soon added both buyer & seller protection. A good idea!
However, sellers be aware, if you don't register the parcel you don't have a leg to stand on if the parcel doesn't
arrive. Prior to the change the vast majority of my parcels were mailed using standard mail via Royal Mail without a
hitch. When Paypal made the changes, three parcels I sent to France (twice) & Italy apparently didn't arrive.
Despite sending Paypal a proof of postage the payment was refunded to the three buyers directly from my Paypal
account & I lost the corkscrews too. Pretty hard to take. Probably the biggest reason for me not continuing to sell
regularly on ebay was the thought of having to register every single parcel & standing at the Post Office window for
ages while they processed my 20+ parcels.
I hope you find my ebay ramblings interesting. I don't claim to be an expert but I know the working pretty well. If you
decide to buy or sell I hope you have fun & enjoy yourself.
Below your direct links to corkscrews on Ebay UK, US & France.
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