So I just got into Lego as a hobby. I bought a 7965 MF factory sealed for $99 at my local WM. I noticed it's selling for upwards of $200 on eBay. I know you guys don't want to give away your trade secrets but I'd appreciate a little coaching on how to go about selling. Also talk me down off the cliff if you think i should hold the MF.

I have experience selling various odds and ends on eBay.

My plan would be to take the money i made and reinvest and rinse and repeat. :)

If there is a particular article or thread that would be informative, please share.

Do you have an Ebay acct?  If so I would list it there.  Take good, well lit pictures of the box.  Make sure you highlight any box imperfections.  Most buyers don't care about the box condition as long as it is still sealed and doesn't have major damage.  Do not list the box as mint, just new and sealed.  It likely has shelf wear and the last thing you want is a buyer trying to open a case against you because of box condition (it happens). 

 

Make sure you have a good shipping box.  24X16X4 or larger will fit it nicely.  You can wrap the set in bubble wrap or plastic to protect against the box getting wet.  Fill the voids with something light.  I save the air pillows I get from Amazon and reuse those but you could use plastic shopping bags if needed. 

 

The set weighs about 6 pound plus shipping materials.  I just shipped one that weighed in at 6pounds 4 ounces total.  FedEx home delivery with signature confirmation was around 18 dollars from MN to TX.

 

Pricing is up to you.  These move pretty fast between 200 and 220 with shipping included on Ebay.  If you want to hold out for more that is your decision. 

 

Good luck, have fun.

Remember, ebay/paypal will take their cut, and overestimate shipping, supplies etc. Your 100% profit most likely will only be $50 when all said and done

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If there is a particular article or thread that would be informative, please share.

Just go under the forums tab and use the search function. It is very good. There is a wealth of information there on every topic you can think of. Selling on eBay, selling on Amazon, selling on Bricklink. Maybe give Brick Classifieds a try.

In addition to searching these forums for lego specific selling advice, I also suggest googling ebay seller best practices as well.

Also - find some ebay lego sellers that have great listings and mode your listings after them.

Good luck!

Thanks for your help everyone. Nice community here.

Another question. How long can I expect it to take a desired items such as MF NISB to sell? No guarantees, I understand, but assuming it's reasonably priced is it days, weeks or months before products moves on eBay?

Another question. How long can I expect it to take a desired items such as MF NISB to sell? No guarantees, I understand, but assuming it's reasonably priced is it days, weeks or months before products moves on eBay?

 

You can almost completely control how fast it sells via how you list it.

 

If listed as a 3-day auction with free shipping, a $1 starting bid, and no reserve, then you are practically guaranteed it will sell in three days. The only reasons I could see it not selling are either a buyer flaking out or a site outage.

 

If you are listing as BIN it is harder to predict. As long as you are logged in using a generally positive feedback eBay account, and you have the absolute lowest BIN price (including shipping) on eBay, I would expect an aggressively priced 7965 to sell within a day (it looks like about 10 sets per day are currently selling).

 

If you aren't the lowest price BIN (including shipping) then I wouldn't expect it to sell at all, unless you are logged into eBay using a high reputation account with an established clientele who are wiling to pay a premium for purchasing from that account.

Edited January 10, 201511 yr by Spanky

Thank you for the helpful information, Spanky. Is it unwise to do an auction with no reserve?

Thank you for the helpful information, Spanky. Is it unwise to do an auction with no reserve?

 

"Unwise" is hard to judge, but it is definitely risky.

 

I feel safer doing NR auctions on items that are in demand and have moderate sales volume. Buyers are always looking for a deal and will tend to bid your item to market price (or higher). I wouldn't do a NR auction for items that have overly low sales volume (due to risk that the "whale" buyer won't step up) or overly high sales volume (due to risk it can be overlooked).

 

The last few #7965 auctions that I see ended at $192.50, $219.30, $224.20, and $206.35 (including shipping).  This is a set I would be willing to sell at a NR auction (other brickpickers may disagree).

 

Alternately, a set posted at a BIN of $190-$195 with free shipping looks like it would sell within a few hours (current lowest price shipped is $195).

Edited January 10, 201511 yr by Spanky

start your auction at the price you want to sell ... include shipping and list it as free shipping ... if you want to list it now ide list it as $219.99 and let it ride ... youre not in a hurry are you?