About this trading assistant thing...

So, I guess I should post something on here that's actually informative, rather than just silly little advertisements for me...

Here's a few rules for anybody who's thinking about approaching me for selling things...

1) If it came in a box marked 'collectible' it's generally not...
Danbury mint, star trek & star wars figurines, etc... Are NOT investments. They are valuable for about one year, then the price drops and doesn't come back up for 25 to 30. Yes, I realize that Star Wars stuff is about 25 to 30 years old now. The problem is that everybody who bought it, put it up, and there are well over 5 million of the darned things floating around... With a few notable exceptions, it ain't worth my time to list...

2) I don't care what the collectors book says...
I am getting a little tired of explaining to people that even though the collectors book says that your baseball card is worth 500 bucks, the truth of the matter is that I can look over auctions on eBay for the last 30 days and tell you it's actually selling for about $75. And then, only if you're extremely lucky. Please, No amount of whining and/or self-righteous indignation on your part is going to change that. This comes under the collectible that really isn't... Yes it is collectible, but... If a company put out 500,000 of the things and everybody who bought them kept them, they're just not as rare as you think...

3) Don't bring me a catalog of supposedly wholesale stuff...
There are several supposed "wholesalers" out there who sell their catalogs to people for about $50 a pop, telling these people that they'll be able to sell this crap on eBay forever 100% profit, and you can have it drop-shipped from China too.... I am getting tired of setting people in front of a computer and showing them that their ever-so-valuable items are selling for 99 cents, and only about 1 in 20 listings are selling at all... So, no, I'm not going to be the trading assistant for these items because I'm here to make money, and this ain't gonna do it.

4) Don't bring me cheap Chinese knock-offs of watches, or purses, or anything else for that matter...
Along the same lines as #3... There are websites who auction of lots of watches with supposed retail values of 100 to 400 bucks each. Again, you have to pay $50 for the right to bid on these auctions... And the only person making any cash is the guy charging you $50. The watches themselves sell for 99 cents to 9.99, and only about 1 in 20 sell... So again, no amount of whining or indignation is going to convince me to sell this crap... I'm also very good at spotting fake purses. I have to be. If I list them, I will get kicked off eBay.

5) In reference to #3 or #4, there isn't a get rich scheme on the planet that holds water after a little market research. If someone tries to sell you a membership to a wholesale club or auction site... Remember, there isn't a legitimate wholesaler who works by making you pay for the dubious priveledge to see their stock... Also, if you type in wholesaler on internet search engines... None of those companies that show up are actually wholesalers... And I don't know of a single wholesaler who works that way...

6) Please don't bring me your handmade jewelry to sell.
I'm sorry, but every bored housewife with access to a Hobby Lobby or Michaels MJ Designs seems to have picked up a piece of fishing line and a few beads and declared herself a jeweler. At any point in time, there are well over 10,000 pieces of homemade jewelry on eBay, and unless you've got something really unique, (and lets face it, there are only so many ways to but a bead on a string) you're wasting your time. . . I'm sure your work is lovely, but there are so many of these pieces of homemade jewelry on eBay, that the majority sells for under 9.99. You're not going to make a profit, and I'm not going to make a profit, and we're all wasting out time.

Most of this jewelry is an impulse buy. People see it, want it, buy it. You can sell them off of a card table at the local crafts fair, or you may be able to convince a local boutique to stock them, but you're not gonna convince me to list them on eBay.

7) If you're in love with something, please don't ask me to sell it. Face it ladies, you may have paid $300 for a Dooney & Bourke purse, but you've since carried it around for a year and the inside is stained, the edges are scuffed, and no, I'm not going to be able to get more than 20 or 30 dollars for it.

8) Ebay is an auction. Which means that it will start at $9.99 and people bid up. Yes, it may sell for $9.99. But it is entirely possible that it will sell for 100.00 or even 2000.00. Trust me, if it's worth 500.00, people will bid it up to that. If nobody wants to give you 500.00, then it isn't worth 500.00, no matter what you say.

Well, I guess that's it for today.

Bet you can't guess who I had to talk to today, and about what... Just venting a little...

Now I really must get back to listing...