Bidding on eBay Antiques

By C. M. - August 31st 2017.

For the past three years I have been making a habit of buying antiques off of eBay and I have learned a number of things both about bidding on eBay and about myself.

• The bidding can sometimes get crazy.
• I really need to avoid anything where the bidding goes crazy, and so I have learned to set a maximum amount I am willing to bid.
• While there is a wide variety of antiques and collectibles to choose from on eBay, I generally prefer to stick to the older items that are in really good condition.
• I have learned that I need to set a limit for how many antiques / $$$ I am willing to spend in a given year. This way I don't end up spending a ridiculous amount on antiques each year.
• I also restrict myself to buying antiques at one time of the year, typically July to September. If I manage to get my purchases done by the end of August, that is a good thing.
• It is wise to restrict yourself and set limits.
• Always check to make sure they actually deliver to Canada. Some Americans refuse to ship to Canada.
• The shipping price might be more if they are shipping from the USA to Canada, so confirm the price.
• When possible, try to bid on products that are already in Canada. Makes the whole shipping thing easier.
• Plus I prefer to spend my dollars on Canadians when possible. Keeps the wealth in Canada.
• Sometimes you can get a sweet deal because nobody else bids on a particular item.
• Check out the option to Buy Now. Sometimes you can get pretty good deals there too.
• If making an offer for a Buy Now item I will sometimes bid $5 or $10 less than they are asking.
• If the seller suddenly ups the price of shipping "for no good reason" and it is suddenly a different price that what the courier quoted, something is fishy and you should cancel your order/payment.
• Watch Lists are handy for tracking the bids of multiple items that are similar so you can see how high the bidding goes and decide if you even want to bid at all.
• Never bid on something you don't actually want. I haven't made this mistake yet thankfully.
• Never bid on something until after you confirmed they do ship to Canada and the cost of shipping to Canada.
• You can always change your mind and refuse to pay. The item will go to the next highest bidder.

One of these days I am going to teach my mother how to sell her old records on eBay - the old records she never listens to that is. Some of them she does actually listen to regularly. At which point I should mention my parents also has numerous other antiques in the barn she could sell too.

If she learned how to do that it would give her a new hobby to do in her old age. ;)

Plus it would help to get rid of "old junk" and clutter that is in the shed, garage, barn, basement, attic and so forth. Some of it she will no doubt keep for sentimental reasons, but others... why not sell it?

And the same goes to you, the readers, do you have old stuff you don't really need you could sell?

I know I have a few things I do not need. Various books, comic books, a stamp collection, a coin collection... I imagine some of them could fetch a pretty penny.

One of these days I should sell such things. Just as soon as I find the time.