My Top Ten Rookie Reseller Mistakes
My Top Ten Rookie Reseller Mistakes
The wide, wonderful world of collecting vintage glass requires building a wide, wonderful information highway through your brain if you hope to recognize even half of everything you can come across while out in the wild. And just like Mama always said, "No one knows everything." The more time you spend around vintage and antique glassware, the more familiar you will become, thus making it easier for you to identify makers and patterns. But to get you started, I have written this blog post about my top ten rookie reseller mistakes that you can avoid. Procrastination is not on this list, but perhaps it should be.
1. Not Doing Your Research
Not knowing your stuff can be a costly mistake for a reseller to make. The ability to simply take picture and upload it to Google yields many different sources that resemble your item makes identification a breeze... usually. After you know what it is, you just need to know what it sells for. And that's where #2 comes in.
2. Not Checking Price Comps. from eBay
Knowing what to call a particular item is only half the battle. You're also going to want to know how much it's worth! You may think all sets of vintage water goblets have standard set price, but you'd be wrong. Many similar sets by different brands may have values that are relatively the same, but nearly as often as finding sets of the same value, you may find that one piece of previously unnoticed buried vintage treasure just sitting there on the shelf, but if you're not one to check values and price comps, it's possible you may miss it all together! And remember, you should be check the SOLD/Complete Listings not the for sale listings because we want to know what someone alread y paid for this.
The glasses above share many common characteristics, but it is their differences you should be paying attention to. The set on the left are by Anthropologie from their retired "Galleria" line. They're quite lovely and a color combo that you don't see that often. This set of seven sells for $45 plus shipping. The set on the right is made by Moser Glass and the set of four sold for $549 plus shipping! A rookie mistake would be to say that you know what the glasses on the left are worth so you'll just assume the ones on the right share a similar value per glass so you list the Moser glasses for around $30 plus shipping. You know that giddy feeling you get when you sell something quickly after listing it? Imagine the sick feeling you'll get when you realize this was the reason for your quick sale...
3. Not Including an Accurate and Detailed Description with Your Listings.
Now suppose a buyer is looking for a set of the Moser glasses on the right in the last photo. You happen to have a set but your title and description don't actually say that's what they are. Instead you have the valuable set listed as "Vintage Lime Green Stemware Wine Glasses with Amber Stem Set of Four" and you're selling them for $500 for the set. It's unlikely you will find a buyer willing to pay that price for a generic set which is what your title says you're selling. If it says Moser Glass set, your listing will be shown to buyers who are looking for that type of glassware and likely are aware of what it costs.
4. Not Using Clear, Well-Lit Pictures in Listings
This doesn't mean that you need to rush out and buy a fancy and expensive new camera to take pictures of your items. Taking the pictures outside in natural lighting against a white or black solid background will make an enormous and noticeable pictures. I use an iPhone 11, outdoors, on a clear and sunny day, to take my pictures and I have always been happy with the results. I also recently started using FotoFuze to edit out the background in my listings, and I love the professional look and feel it gives to my items.
5. Not Paying Enough Attention to Condition
The condition of antique and vintage glassware and other items is extremely important and can actually cut the value in half in some instances! This is important both when buying and selling to make sure the asking prices are fair!
6. Old Does Not Mean Valuable
This is especially true when the item is badly damaged but can also be related to a low demand for the particular item. Either way age does not automatically not worth more. Something you come across may well be worth the higher asking prices, but there must be someone who wants it bad enough to pay the price. If there is no interest or no buyers, then you just have something very valuable that no one wants or at least no wants it that bad. And once again, condition is everything when it comes to determining the value of an item.
7. Not Being Aware of Reproductions
Many different types of items have been reproduced, especially well-known valuable antiques. Keeping up with which ones are making their way through the markets will help when making purchases. Purchasing a reproduction piece at an antique price can often be a costly mistake.
8. Not Packaging Fragile Items Correctly
Have you ever ordered something online and been so excited and anxious waiting for it arrive, only for the day to finally come and when you open the box it is broken or damaged in some other way? I know-- that's the worst, right? And with antiques or other collectibles, it's even worse because many it's not as simple as just sending out a replacement since some items will be truly rare finds!
9. Being Afraid to Cross-Post
Some people, buyers and sellers alike, seem to frown at those who choose to cross-post their items. Cross-posting refers to the practice of a seller posting the same items across multiple platforms. For example, let's say I have a vintage glassware set I want to sell. I can post it to my etsy shop and will sell, but I if I was to post it to more than one selling platform, it will definitely reach more potential buyers and it will sell in less time. As long as you can stay on top of it and delete items from the other platforms as they sell, you shouldn't run into any problems. And- it just makes good business sense!
10. Not Using Social Media as FREE Marketing
Social Media is a highly underutilized source of FREE marketing and advertising for you. Hashtags make it super simple for you to reach your targeted audience and easy for buyers to find exactly what they want from your shop! If it seems overwhelming at first, choose just one social media platform to start with and try to post on a regular basis. Some things you can share on your social media pages include new items, sales or discounts, customer reviews, exclusive behind-the-scenes looks at your business, and dream finds. Ask open ended questions and encourage readers to leave their own answers in the comments section and to like and share your posts, as well as to follow your page, and of course to visit your shop!
Hopefully, you haven't already made any of these rookie mistakes yourself. If you have, don't stress it, it happens to the best of us. And if you haven't- good!! I hope you'll be back next week for another exciting and informative vintage blog post from TheVintageVixenShop! Next month starts our annual Christmas sale and that means all ornaments and decor will be 30% off for the entire month of November! In addition to saving a little money, you will also be eligible for FREE SHIPPING with every purchase from TheVintageVixenShop! And for even more vintage Christmas ornaments and decorations, please visit my new Christmas shop, aVixenChristmasShop! Use the buttons below to shop to find more from TheVintageVixenShop or aVixenChristmasShop.
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