My 365 Day Ebay Challenge Day 134 - The World Cup Effect

As I wrote in my last blog post, I recently purchased a set of four 1980's vintage Airfix kits, one of which is pictured above.

I have already listed all four kits and they are selling well - details of the auctions which are due to end next Sunday 20th June can be found at the bottom of this post.

Last Sunday evening I had a number of auctions ending and managed to dispose of a good chunk of the remaining model kits and one job lot of vintage French post cards for reasonable money.

Now another topical Ebay tip.... In my last post I wrote about the importance of auction timings whether you are buying or selling.

This is even more important during the World Cup. I have armed myself with a World Cup fixture list, courtesy of the Radio Times, to ensure that none of my auctions end during an England match (or indeed any of the other major matches). As most of the items I am currently selling are male oriented, I risk losing a large number of potential bidders if my auctions end when the football is on telly.

Conversely, as I am not mad on football myself, I might take the opportunity of checking the auction listings whilst England are playing for any potential bargains I can pick up.

Auction details....

Airfix Westland Whirlwind

Airfix Gloster Meteor III

Airfix BAE Harrier GR.3

Airfix Bristol Blenheim

My 365 Day Ebay Challenge Day 125 - New Stock and an Ebay Tip

Today I have successfully managed to win an auction for four 1980's issue Airfix aircraft model kits for a total cost of £ 13.49 including the sellers' postage and packaging fees.

These Airfix kits have the "map top box" design on the lid. For those of you, probably the majority, who have no idea what I'm twittering on about, please have a look at this example on my sister blog about vintage model kits.

A quick tip which is relevant whether you are buying or selling on Ebay...

I managed to win the auction today because the seller had listed the item with an auction expiry time which fell around 4.30 pm. At this time on a Saturday afternoon the large majority of people have more pressing things to do than check whether they have been outbid on Ebay.

I placed a bid on the item earlier today and lo and behold managed to win as it would appear none of the other bidders were watching.

The tip is, if you are selling, think about the time and day your auctions will end.

If your auction ends during working hours on a weekday, the number of potential bidders will be greatly reduced. I usually try to make my auctions end in the evenings between about 7.30 pm and 10.30 pm. I also try and have auctions ending on Sundays as many people are busy on Saturdays.

Conversely, if you are buying on Ebay, keep an eye out for auctions which are ending during the working day, very late in the evening or very early in the morning as you may pick up a bargain.

I will post up pictures of the model kits once I receive them.

My 365 Day Ebay Challenge Day 124 - End of May Report

Here are the "scores on the doors" after the first four months of My 365 Day Ebay Challenge .

Sales to date (net of postage and Ebay fees)

Total - £ 173.01

Stock

345 vintage postcards - cost price £ 20.70

(I actually got around to counting them properly this time which explains the slight increase in value over last month!)

Various model kits/militaria - cost price approx £ 15.00

Airfix box set - cost price £ 3.99

Total - £ 39.69

Based on the above, the initial £ 100 stake is now worth £ 212.70

Steady progress given the little amount of time I have to spare due to work commitments.

This Sunday (6th June) there is another free listing day on Ebay. Once more I am planning to take advantage and get several lots listed up. I am thinking of selling the remaining vintage postcards in several fair sized lots to clear them.

This may not necessarily be the way to get the highest price but it will enable me to reinvest in stock which is easier/quicker to turn around such as model kits. I have identified several lots of model kits which I will be bidding on over the next few days. If I am successful in winning any of the auctions I will keep you posted.