Question for the group: Selling multiple copies, same kit

Please try

to sell your kits it is a new site for buying selling and trading. right now it is free We also host the photos of the kits for you thanks John

Doug wrote:

I think he was asking for advice, not to have you jump on his topic and spam for your site.

I'm not sure what you mean by selling the kits together. I wouldn't try to sell the kits as a lot, just be sure to list any known problems with them. The customers can then decide if they want to buy one or more of the kits.

Doesn't matter if I was plugging the site or not I am just giving him a venue to sell the models. Besides it is free If I was charging for the service it would be spam.

Dan wrote:

Is it just me or are a very small number of people on this forum getting all bent out of shape whenever someone wants to sell or trade anything here? Why? Selling, trading and supplying sources has been going on here since the group was founded. If you don't like it don't open it. Why is that so hard for some people to figure out.

Please killfile me now as I am going to post some FS items soon.

Tom

there have been a few over eager sellers. you may have missed a few tom. i just kf them.

its not the fs or fa post that people are bitching about, its those who post multiple posts with one auction in each rather than a single post with all the auctions listed

I'm guessing that putting the one incomplete kit together with a complete kit of the same type would do nicely for most bidders. If their are additional copies of that same kit, than maybe list them individually or together using Ebay's Dutch auction feature.

WmB

That was my understanding of the beef. Just put the links in one post and maybe call out in the msg header the total number of listings or kits. I tended to keep an eye out for sellers with multiple listings so I could work out an arrangement on combining the shipping costs - ahead of time of course, not after I won. ;-)

I used to be a power buyer on ebay once upon a time - that's code speak for "you ought to see the unbuilt stash" rotting under my roof. ;-) Dwindling amounts of space and money cured me of that pleasure - haven't bid on any kits in several years. I hear it's a real wild west show even more so than before with rising ebay fees and shipping costs prompting some sellers to take "padding" to a whole new level.

Good luck to honest buyers and sellers alike.

WmB

Having sold on kits on a well known auction site I suggest that you list them either individually or as 2 lots of 2. It would help if you could just run an eye over all the boxes and at least try to sort the parts. If you use the instruction sheet you can get an idea if anything major is missing. Also you can check to see that, for example, that all the right hand doors don't end up in one box. Partly completed kits have sold before, but like all auctions its a gamble.

Sounds like the way I build.

Actually a builder would be more interested in an incomplete kit that a collector. I just lost out on an incomplete Thomas Flyer that I wanted just for the leftover parts.

As others suggest below, you might want to make sure what's in the box and whether a complete model is possible. You might also find parts from other kits in the boxes if the builder had plans to use those on a model. That bunching them might work too. I've had mixed results with my attempts at that.

I hope I helped a little.

Bill Banaszak, MFE

You tell him Tom this forum has been a great trading place for years

snipped-for-privacy@netscape.com wrote:

Your point regarding padding is why we started modelersswapmeet for modelers by modelers when we do charge the price will be about .15 per kit to sell that is it. No final value fees ect,ect. Ebay has become a real wild west and their prices are showing that fact. cheers John

Thanks to all who responded to my question. Whenever I photograph the parts for an auction, I always try to match them up. Sometimes there's a parts list, sometimes not. If all the parts are still attached to the trees, it's easy. Otherwise I try to match the disconnected parts to the trees.

With some of these cannibalized kits, it's tough, especially if the original owner began assembly. I'll probably make my best guess as I go through them. If I can find a complete kit, I'll sell it by itself. If I have several incomplete kits of the same model, I'll probably sell them together for those who are looking for parts.

It's gonna be interesting when I get to the end of this. I'll probably have a big box or two of odds 'n' ends, including a box of original spray paints. (I haven't tried any yet to see if they still have any pressure in the can.) I'll probably sell the left overs with no reserve but the shipping will be costly as it's a lot of stuff. The donor just tossed everything into boxes and handed them to me. I have no idea what all is in there!

Thanks again!

Doug

Doug, I feel for you as I have done such a chore for a friend who used to sell on E-bay. He wanted to make note of everything missing, painted or assembled for his buyers. Fortunately I've had enough experience with models to do reasonably well at it. I also got to look at a lot of kits that I'd never bought myself nor seen on the stores' shelves. I couldn't afford them but I got to fondle them. :)

Bill Banaszak, MFE