NO buyer's fees when I sell for you! This is an absolute killer to high bids. Bidders do not want to pay an EXTRA 22.5% that some auctions charge. They either won't bid or they bid much less.
Many folks that now consign to me on a regular basis have tried selling stuff on their own. By comparing their own results to mine for similar items, they realized they would be getting the same (after my fee!) or even more by consigning to me. Thousands of bidders trust the old Captain and would rather pay a few doubloons more for my items than take a chance on a new seller. It is a simple matter to check out my past results on eBay - Just do a search of completed auctions for seller Capt.John.
"Buy it Now or make an offer". This is an option that I have used with good luck. You tell me what your buy it now price is and I will list the item that way. I also need to know what the least amount you will take so I can reply to offers. This is a more expensive and time consuming process than a regular auction so I will charge you $10 if the item doesn't sell. If it does sell, normal fees apply (around $1 + 35%). Note, I charge MORE for this option and so does eBay. But this is cheap insurance if you want to list a high value item but are worried about it going too cheap in the normal format (99 cent minimum no reserve). If it doesn't sell, I can try again with a lower asking price or run in a regular no holds barred format.
Pay Pal now accepted from bidders. When you compare, look at how many hits & bids I get versus the typical auction in the same price range. I have detailed results below. Bottom line is I get far more hits than the exact same thing listed by somebody else. This equates to more bids and a higher ending price. Often times I will get more than if you listed the item yourself, even after my fee!
My standard consignment rules follow:
My fees for selling on consignment vary from 14%-35%. For low cost items (under $100), I charge 35% (plus $1) - the fee goes down as the value goes up.
Fee schedule per item PLUS eBay fees for "extras" like 10 day auction or Buy it Now. Normally not used.
first $100 35% + $1
$100-$499 30% + $35
$500-$999 25% + $155
over $1000 17% + $280
over $10,000 14% (still waiting for the first one of these!)
So something that sells for $500 in a no-frills auction, I get $156 and
you get $344. But if it only sells for $5, I get $2.75, you get $2.25. (I try to avoid this result!)
If
you have some real beauties here is one last example - a lure that sells for
$4000 I get a fee of $790, you get $3210. If it only goes for 99 cents,
you end up oweing me money!
So I do try to group things so they bring at least $25.
Saves you money and saves me time.
I sell reels and lures for other folks all the time on eBay. Lots of references available (see below). Many dealers use me to dispose of their excess inventory. Most do not have the time or expertise to do this themselves. My high feedback rating (over 30,000) insures that all bidders feel comfortable bidding on my items. eBay is where you get your best price for rare and common stuff alike. Not as much fun as selling at a show but if you want the most cash, this is the way to go.
If you have some lures or reels that you want to sell for top dollar, consider sending em to me. For my fee I :
1. Do all the work
2. Take pictures, edit them, upload them to server. Many say mine are the
best pictures on eBay.
3. Write up the eBay description and post it at the best times.
4. Let you know which eBay auctions are yours
5. Pay eBay selling fee and any Pay Pal fees (you pay listing fees as these
can vary a lot depending what you want)
6. Answer bidder questions via email
7. Send out notices to high bidders
8. Take care of all shipping and any claims.
9. Worry about bad checks, deadbeat bidders (arrrgh!), feedback, returned
items, etc.
10. Send you your share of the high bids, usually within 14 days of close of
auction. Normally I send this the next day but do wait for payment first on
high cost items.
11. Leave feedback for successful bidders.
I NEVER use reserves so you do take the RISK that your item will sell for less than you want. Check my results and you will see this rarely happens - in fact some folks accuse me of getting too much! My feedback (please check Capt.John feedback and see how happy the buyers are) rating is over 8200. This is almost entirely from reel & lure sales and all the buyers are happy and keep coming back to bid in my sales. They are willing to bid a little higher with me because they know I will treat them right.
If you insist, I will use a high minimum (not a reserve), but I strongly discourage this, as it scares off some bidders. In my experience only about half of these end up getting an opening bid. If your item doesn't get a bid and you use a high minimum, I still charge you $10 PLUS eBay fees and return postage.
I COMBINE low value items to try to keep the average lot price above $40. Anything that gets no bid at 99 cents is FORFEIT. I lose money on any lot that sells for under $5. It also costs me about 30 minutes time per lot. So if nobody is willing to bid 99 cents, the item is not worth me messing with again. If you want to pay return shipping & eBay fees, I will return it if you notify me immediately. Usually not worth it or somebody would have bid.
I can provide references from several happy sellers that have used my service repeatedly.
Just ship items to me via US Postal Service insured and I will take care of the rest. I discourage UPS shipments as they tend to just leave the stuff at doorstep and not even ring the bell. If you use them make sure I have to sign for the package.
Best stuff to sell on eBay:
Just about any wood lure new in box Empty 2-piece cardboard boxes for lures or reels Just about any reel new in box that is 40 years old or more Catalogs from manufactures Old paperwork that came with fishing tackle Old advertising for tackle, counter or window displays can be worth a bundle! Any "rare" lure or reel - even in rough shape these can still bring many bids. (Rare = something worth $500 or more in nice shape) Any lure in nice shape that retails at $25 or more
What NOT to send:
Common "Book of the Month Club" books about fishing, hunting, etc. Newer magazines - (1930s and older OK if in nice shape) Common reels in used condition, Rods - ALWAYS check first before shipping rods. Big heavy tackle boxes full of junk, soft plastic lures, liquids - I will sell EMPTY oilers, jars etc but don't send any liquids
These items will cost you a lot to ship and will bring very little on eBay. You can easily lose money on books or common reels. Old books about fishing are OK, especially First Editions. Reference books for collectors are OK too, even newer ones. Any old manufacturers catalogs are of interest to collectors and often bring high prices. Common old reels rarely bring more than $5 each, even in nice shape. Dirty ones with missing parts or damage should be thrown away. Same goes for most common tackle boxes - they usually cost more to ship than they are worth. If you do not know which ones are common, send a list. Nearly all reels and tackle boxes have writing on them to help identify.
MORE HITS means better prices
In March 2005 I reviewed a bunch of my lure auctions that were about to close to see how many "hits" or times each was viewed by potential bidders. I looked at every one, not just the most popular. Here are my results:
selling for $1-$30: 120 items least number of views 30 most views 249 average number of views 94
selling for $31-$50: 34 items least number of views 69 most views 198 average number of views 138
selling for $51-$100: 22 items least number of views 77 most views 248 average number of views 148
selling for $100-$300: 10 items least number of views 145 most views 373 average number of views 234
More hits means better prices. Now if you go to eBay and look at auctions closing today and check those that have just closed or are about to close you can view the number of hits they received (not all have counters that you can see, but most do). You will note most that are in the SAME price range as mine have far fewer hits.
Here are a few references:
October 2017 - "Hi John, That is an AWESOME report. The market is down a bit from when i bought many of those. But This IS now, that was then. No Complaints here at all. You do an amazing job at this! Do You Mail a check or how do You handle they payments? I will be mailing another box today later or in the am, likely in the am tomorrow. Snow coming tonight and lots of road work to do today in prep. " Andy
January 2016 - "I sent Capt. John a large bunch of mainly lures recently, and it became about 60 consignment lots. He listed and sold them all quickly. I will say that he is smart, ethical and effective. I was pleased with the prices he got and my quick payment - his commission was reasonable (he did a lot of work). Feel secure to "set sail with him"; with others "you may be walkin the plank" - Doug April 2015 - "that is amazing, john - thank you so much. I hope you are pleased as well.this very much exceeded my expectations, best regards, r"
November 2012 - "John, It has been a pure pleasure working with you on my items that you consigned for me. I appreciate your honesty and recognition when there were issues with any of the items. I will happily recommend you should I come across anyone who might benefit from your services. I might have some items in the future, will let you know, look me up if your ever in the Denver area I always like to talk fishing and lure lore............Thanks again........Herb"
May 2012 --"good morning capt.---payment now would be great --it would cover the balance of what i owe the lawyer for daughters divorce to get moving along , they have to have payment up front before they proceed----PS...thanks john , your service has alway been great to me , and a quaility , no worry ,top notch guy to go to when things need to be done--and you can use this as a reference anytime ----you have that dandy day----lou-"
"Oustanding, on these new auctions, and on the completed ones. Completed exceeded my expectations. For these new ones: thanks for the extra tidbits added in some descriptions; for exapmple I didn't realize the one "runt" might be a Tulsa. Thanks Jim Thomas"
"EXTREMELY Happy! All I can say is WOW!! It was very interesting to watch, some things I thought would go for a little more did not, but many things went for an almost unbelievable price!! All in all, very exciting, and very satisfied! Tim Colvin"
" i wouldnt even consider changing sellers or trying to duplicate what you already have by listing on my own. i may get lucky and get a good price for one or two items but i could never get the totals in sales you get overall any other way. not only that but it makes me proud to tell someone when they admire my ranger bass rig that i was able to buy it because i did buisness with the guy who writes the books on old fishing lures." Matt
" received your check today - you are the best ! always some urprises - good and bad - but the overall end result is always excellent . you get good money for stuff we can't give away .thanks for your efforts on our behalf , jim and arlene"
"-John, Looks like you did a great job. Thanks BobK
"Anytime John. Will try to get some more lures to you in the next couple of weeks".-John
"Way to go Cap't. great results, you are amazing - that ugly king bass oreno for more than $ 150.00 - a pleasant surprise ." "will ship another box this week . we are getting low on inventory" . Jim
-John, "Everything looks great! I am thrilled to get the prices you got for me.Thank you for a great job." TIM
"-Thats fine to use me as a reference. Seems like the ol Captain does pretty good blundering by himself. So if you want to use this ole swaps name be my guest. I don't think it will hurt ya none. Yes i always keep afew things up my sleeve, being a Game wardens son for 35 years seems to help when it comes to finding old lures displays and stuff. I will send the next batch around the 7th. Have a good time in Canada." Robin
-"John, those reels look good. I need to dig out somemore of those Pflueger Supremes. I'm putting together another box of lures to send you. Should go out on Monday. You're welcome to use me as a reference." Henry
" Hi John, that would be just fine with me! I will send more stuff tomorrow or Mon. thanks again, Seth."
" I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANKS FOR SELLING MY STUFF ON EBAY. YOU ARE HELPING ME RESTORE MY "37" BUICK." PHIL
" hi capt----just getting arround to email-----holy schmooly-you're the man to go to capt.---had peeked on and off thru the week ,but hadn't kept up-------i will highly recomend you to any of my friend 's ----and by the way , i never really noticed till now---you have the best pictures on ebay--------thank you and you have a dandy day"------lou
"hello john-----just got in from work and wife handed me your check------am very pleased at the professional level everything went---great communtcation--outstanding pictures from the top tradeing assistant on ebay---ebayers do zero in on your site because of your reputation---and the very speedy delivery of check-----thank you -----and you have a dandy day"----------lou
John, "Good work on the lures. Man, I’m shocked---on the good side. Of course some of the “who cares” lures didn’t bring anything and weren’t really worth your time. But, some of the ones that I thought would go cheap brought some crazy high prices I thought, so I guess I really can’t be sure what a “who cares” lure is gonna turn out to be. I think this next batch you have on right now may hit a few home runs, and I know the next box I send you is gonna have some good ones in it. I probably have about 200 more boxed baits ready to go whenever you think I need to ship them, just let me know when you think the time is right. Thanks much,"
thanks,
John A. Kolbeck
3603 Rock Shelf Ln
Round Rock, TX 78681
(218) 464-7887