Tips for Selling Disney Collectibles on eBay

Disney collectibles are very popular - so much so that many online stores have whole categories with just Disney merchandise. These sections are called Disneyana and are normally separated in post 1968 and pre 1968 categories. Pre 1968 merchandise is normally worth more than the newer items. However, if a newer item is very rare it can be worth more than older items. It all depends on what collectors want. And of course, not all items have value. There are many items out there that have been so mass produced that there is no demand for them.

Newer Disney items’ popularity is normally dependent on the popularity of the movie they’re from. While collectibles based on the main characters are of course popular, serious collectors are often just as interested in lesser known characters. There is a large variety of popular items, both new and old. Animation art (production drawings, etc.), books, records, comics, prints, and lithographs are all popular. And of course, snow globes, vintage watches, games, dolls, figurines, and toys are also popular. Even items from the various theme parks have value - menus, signs, programs, etc. Letters and other pieces with Walt Disney’s signature are also sought after by collectors.

It’s fairly easy to identify the age of Disney collectibles. The characters’ faces and other features looked different on older items. For example, Donald Duck had a pointier bill on older pieces. Minnie and Mickey also had different eyes - they were ovals with black pupils, and a “slice” was removed from each of the pupils.

It’s important to be sure that Disney collectibles are legitimate. There are a large number of rip offs made in China. To be sure that an item is truly valuable, it’s a good idea to have it appraised. Some items are sold with a Certificate of Authenticity to prevent this problem.

For more information about Disney products and their value, check out the sites below.

Disney Exchange

Duckman’s Inside Report

Selling Collectible Toys on eBay - Insider Secrets

Today's post is contributed by Hillary DePiano, an expert in the collectible toys niche.

Here's the top things I've learned from going on 14 years of watching, buying and selling collectible toys.

1.Value can be volatile. On the day after Steve Irwin died, his action figures were selling for thousands on eBay. Even one week later, you were hard pressed to sell one for over $10. Don't assume value will keep going up, sometimes you need to cash out while the getting is good. It's a gamble but you can't rely on the value always staying the same.

2. Little pieces get lost, easy to break parts break. This may seem like a very simple idea but most of the collectible toys that sell for the highest value do because A) they have hard to find little accessories or B) they're easy to break feature isn't broken. In many cases, the little accessories may be worth more than the item itself so consider selling separately (if possible) and highlighting little pieces in the listing as they always increase value. Most collectors are adults looking for that toy they trashed as a kid with all the little details they remember and they will pay extra for those details.

3. Failure to do the research means making less money. You're too lazy to research the names of all those My Little Pony toys so you just dump them in a lot. I buy your lot because I know that three of the ponies are worth more than what you were charging for the entire lot. As you watch me resell the ponies I just bought from you for hundred of dollars more, aren't you glad you saved yourself the time of looking them up first? I sure am! Knowing the lingo of the collectors of your item, finding out what makes your exact item worth more or less than similar items, or simply finding out the history of your item so that you can best list it all adds up to more bids and less pricing mistakes.

Hillary DePiano has been selling collectibles on eBay since 1997. She's the author of several books, fiction and non-fiction, and a collector of several toys including My Little Pony and She-Ra. She regularly blogs about e-commerce, buying and selling online (especially selling on eBay) on TheWhineSeller.com You can also follow Hillary on Twitter here.

Legos and Minifigs are Hot Sellers on eBay

Today's post is provided by Lynn from the eBay Facebook Group.

Lego is a great item to sell on eBay. It’s one of the most popular toys and it’s been around for a long time so there are a lot of Lego bricks out there. Lego is expensive to buy new and there are many enthusiastic Lego collectors.

Always buy Lego when you see it at garage sales, rummage sales and thrift stores. Buy complete sets, opened boxes, mixed lots and Bionicles. Especially buy Lego Technics (the robotics components) because these are very expensive and sought after by enthusiasts. If you’re at garage sales and you spot teenage children around, ask them if they have any Lego they want to sell. A few times this has resulted in a teenage boy going into their house and returning with a large tote of legos. Also, check on Craiglist regularly to see if any Lego is posted for sale.

If you buy a Lego set and want to check if it’s complete, a great site is www.peeron.com. If you enter the item number, it will give the year of manufacture, a complete inventory of all the pieces in the set and sometimes assembly instructions which can be downloaded. If there are just a couple of pieces missing, you might want to think about replacing them. Used Lego sets generally sell for 70% - 90% of the original retail price (although some vintage sets can sell for 200% and up). The electrified train sets, pirates, castle, and Star Wars are especially sought after. If it’s a large set and you don’t want to spend the time doing an inventory, you can just stockpile the pieces to sell later.

Which brings me on to selling mixed bulk lots of Lego. Generally, I like to sell items that don’t require a lot of effort to list and re-sell, but large Lego lots are an exception. If you take the time and effort to pre-sort the lot, your return on investment is going to be many times more than it would have been otherwise. Here are the steps for listing a large lot of Lego:

1) Remove anything that isn’t Lego from the box.This can be easy if we’re talking about a few stray Lincoln logs and Playmobil people. It’s a lot trickier if the previous owner mixed their Mega Blocks in with the Lego. Just remember that almost all Lego pieces are marked “Lego” on them somewhere. If you do this, you can put “100% Lego” in your title. Other good key words are “bulk “ or “large lot”

2) Separate all the minifigure people, assemble them and photograph them separately. Identify the number and kind of minifig (Stars, Knight, Harry Potter etc.) in your eBay title as this helps buyers identify the kinds of blocks which are likely to be in the lot. A good eBay title might be “30+ lbs 100% LEGO Bulk Vintage Lot Star Wars 50 minifigs”. Note that not all of the minifigs would have to be Star Wars in this lot, just some of them.

3) For bulk lots, start the bidding at $9.99. This will guarantee that you get plenty of bidders. You can expect to get around $6 per pound plus $1 for each minifigure, although some minifigures are worth more ($2-$3 for Western, Space and Pirate, and $4 and up for Star Wars). A 30 lbs lot of Lego with 50 minifigures will sell for at least $230. I’ve sold bulk Lego lots for over $450.

Good luck, and keep looking for that hollow gold!

Click here to visit Lynn's store on eBay and check out her selection.

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