A n00b question...

[reallyrs]

I am planning to go to the bottle show in Washington state this weekend, to try to sell this

http://s850.photobucket.com/albums/ab64/looketdis/

bottle. How does it all work? Can anyone give me any advice? Is there any kind of material I should take with me or anything like that? All information will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Rich

 

[blobbottlebob]

Hey Rich,
Walk into the show with a bottle box in hand and the blob sticking out of the top. That should draw some attention to you. Actually, you might want to ask around at tables if anyone knows who the right person to talk is. Go to a table where someone is selling some of those early mineral waters. I also think that it is smart not to just sell it to the first person you talk to. If its a good offer, thank them, tell them that its one of your favorite bottles (and you are not sure you can part with it). However, you are seriously considering their offer. Then get some more opinions.

One odd note, I'm not sure that this will sell as high so far from home. There probably are national collectors of pontilled sodas but my guess is Cleveland collectors would want it the most. I could be wrong, I often am.

 

[epackage]

e-bay it, a million more eyes get to see it and bidding could get pretty wild, I know someones looking for that beauty for sure....The same people who are gonna want it at the show are also gonna want it if you put it on e-bay...IMHO
Jim

 

[reallyrs]

But I have never sold anything on ebay, and have no history or good feedback. Won't that keep the "Real Buyers" away? I do have a friend who has sold and bought some stuff on ebay and has good feedback, should I ask him to post it up for me?
Blobtopbob, I agree with your theory about a Cleveland area collector... I tried to email the president of I think it was the Ohio bottle club, but have received no response. Maybe I should go back to their website and try putting up some kind of listing, I guess.
Thank you all for your advice.

Rich

 

[coboltmoon]

Know about what you have. Come up with a price you want to sell it for and be happy. If you’re selling it to a dealer keep in mind they have to resell for a profit.

Bouncing from dealer to dealer looking for the highest price without knowing what you want probably won’t be very productive. If you get a good offer take it, they don’t last forever.

 

[blobbottlebob]

Hey Reallyrs,
I think you can list something good for your first item. Admit that it's your first auction, that you are a little nervous, but then show in your listing that it is a legitimate item. The fear that people have will be that you found a picture on the internet and are posting a sale (with no item) just to screw somebody. So, show lots of pictures. Have one in there where you are holding it. Offer to take pictures from any angle for prospective buyers . . .

You could also use your friend. That probably works. Or you could wait a month or two, sell a bunch of other stuff first and build up some feedback.

As to Coboltmoon's suggestions. I think it does help to know what you will take or not take. The tricky thing is - what is it worth? The market's answer is what someone is willing to pay. That's hard to figure on a rare bottle where there are few other examples to compare it to. People here were suggesting in the $600 range. That could be correct. If someone offers you $150, you can feel confident that it is likely too low. As far as shopping around for offers - I still think its a good idea. You may get your best offer the first person that you meet - but it would blind luck if that happens. I think shopping it around will help. The right buyer will pay more. However, I also think that you should be polite to the people that make offers and tell them that you appreciate it. Also, don't be afraid to make counter offers. But if you do, and they accept, I think its sold.

Here's a quick example where shopping around helped. My dive buddy just found an early and rare fishing reel. The first person he talked to offered him $400. The second offered him $450. The first raised his offer but then a third person (who was an expert on antique reels) came in and offered $1,500 (suggesting that the amount might even be too low). He took that third offer. However, if he takes the first -as generous as it seemed, he would have been out some serious cash.

 

[cc6pack]

Rich

What I'm about to say is just my way of doing business. If you ask me what I'd give for the bottle and I give you a reasonable price that's it. Most dealers will ask what you want for the bottle first before giving you a price. It's just the way it's done. Now back to my price, once I give you one, and you walk away that's it, if you come back the price will drop, usually by a substantial amount, especially if I see you shopping the bottle around. Like it was mentioned earlier, have a price you want for the bottle before offering it to someone. If you are close haggle with the person. Don't get mad at any offers just say no thanks and walk on. Also some may want to offer trades, be very careful with this method. Good luck with your bottle.


On the ebay thing using someones else's ID is usually not a good idea. There are just too many things that can go wrong, all the fees, packing, insurance, PayPal if there's a problem, your buddy is on the hook for the total amount if there is. You will also need a lot better pics that you have shown here. I'm not trying to be an A-hole, just being brutality honest.

 

[GuntherHess]

If you have no experience with ebay and you want to sell at auction you should deal with one of the professional bottle auction companies like Hecklers, Glass Works, etc.
They consistantly realize good prices and include most of the serious bottle collectors as customers. Just my opinion.

 

[blobbottlebob]

Not a bad idea Guntherhess. I guess it seems hard to hook up with them if you've never done it before.

This is to cc6pack,
Please do not be offended because I am honestly not trying to be offensive. My question is - haven't you ever tried to sell something where you didn't know the value? It's hard to figure out what to take until you learn more about it. Even if you made a legit and reasonable offer, why would you punish someone for checking around? Sure, if you sense that someone is yanking your chain, there is no need to be nice to them. But if someoone is honestly trying to figure out the value, why be petty and undercut your offer just because he shopped it? Once I had someone try to sell me a common local bottle in an unusual color. What was the vlaue? Who knows? In the regular color it was $5-10. I offered forty and I thought it was worth every penny. He shopped around and came back. I was happy to buy it for forty and did so. I saw some of the other people he asked and I knew one of them. I asked him what he offered and he said $20. To tell you the truth, I'm glad he didn't offer $50!

 

[GuntherHess]

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