Selling TFs isn't fun

[Omega Metro]

Yep, even as a buyer, people tend to not reply and if they do, they are quick to abandon communication half way through a transaction leaving you hanging.

It is terrible.

I tried to sell some ducks once for $10 each. No response in over a month. Relisted them as FREE, and they went within 30 minutes.

[UltraMarginal]

Interesting thread!

It really depends on what I'm selling as to how much of a pain it is, it's true that the forum is a great place to sell things but like has been said above, so many people here already have everything, or most of what they are after that's not new. Trying to move a double I picked up in a case from BBTS 2 years ago is nigh impossible. I've donated a few of that type of thing to the giving tree at Christmas. At least then I know it's going somewhere useful and productive rather than languishing in my wardrobe.

eBay is a pain in the arse, having to set up the postage calculator for each item, you literally need to have it boxed ready to go so you know it's weight and shipping dimensions. and I've had those details change between one listing and the next so you can't just change the picture and description in a template, you need to check everything. very time consuming.

[MayzaPrime]

Having bought some figures from you I can guarantee that they are going to a good home.

I totally agree that it is painful trying to sell parts of your collection. I recently tried to sell some stuff on eBay and I am now going through a dispute because some moron decided not to pay. Now I won't accept bids from ppl with feedback of 0. It sucks cause I know i once had 0 feedback.

[sideswipes brother]

The only painful thing about selling my items is the long wait at the post office. Sooooooo many peoples still paying bills in person... Its called the internet people!!

[UltraMarginal]

I've been think about this a bit lately too. I have some figures that I really dont want anymore, but as we are saying, I dont think selling is the answer. Plus they're not really worth that much.
I was going to suggest this to one of the mods, but I'd be interested to hear other thoughts/opinions.

So my wife is part of this online thing where people offer stuff for free. Ranges from things like bundles of clothes kids have outgrown, old toys, bikes, books (novels), old tools, DVDs, CDs, etc. Someone even offered a car. Its all a bit of a pay-it-forward type thing. Way less hassle than selling, better than chucking it away, and most stuff gets taken.

I was wondering if something like this would work here for TF toys. Of course it would have to moderated and there would have to be a set of rules. And maybe only open to Deluxe and above members - to make sure they are going to good homes.

Obviously no-one is going to give away a G1 Overlord, but there seems to be plenty of cheaper figures (looking at you, movielines), junkers, loose weapons, paperwork, etc that are sitting around in boxes that probably arent worth the time and hassle to sell.
Plus think of all that good karma you'll get!

Anyway, like I said, just a thought.

You can already pretty much do that, just make your own sales thread in the sales section, normal sales rules would apply for expressions of interest, you could specify local pick up only or shipping could be covered by the receiver, or if you're feeling extremely charitable, you could cover it yourself

it's not a bad idea to have a separate thread area for something like that, something for Mods to consider.

The only painful thing about selling my items is the long wait at the post office. Sooooooo many peoples still paying bills in person... Its called the internet people!!

The post office has competitions where you can win $10K for paying a bill in person. that's probably driving some of that que. I don't get it they must get a cut of the bill value or something.

[jazzcomp]

Some older people are paranoid and afraid of getting their bank details hacked and do not pay online.

[ChlorHex]

I agree completely with what's been mentioned...
I hate selling toys these days... It used to be a fun and passionate thing for me in the past but these days it's a pain.
I'm mostly selling at a loss as I'm trying to free up some room for newer purchases (much fewer these days and mostly 3P stuff).
Absolutely hate selling on eBay as they suck up the little "profit" of a couple of bucks made (if any!) and PayPal will take what's left leaving you with a nice fat negative balance most times.

So these days I'd rather chop up the toys I don't want and use them for parts in my customs
Not going to put in effort to lose money or to make a measly 5 to 10 bucks

[Facepunches]

Not having ever sold figures...but full well knowing you want your figs to go to a new home...maybe there is a way to set up occassional local meet ups...with people going into happy to spend some money...and if it fails, of to the opshop etc. I am sure the very figures you get rid of some one might be collecting (even the movie ones). But then you dont want to undermine usual sales. I agree though, if you are selling due to difficult circumstances, no matter the method - selling is never gonna be easy. It also depends on how 'free' you want to make your ducks... as the addage goes.

[STL]

I'm too tempted to go to the op shops, like I've done with a lot of books, but I find myself thinking that the TF toys I want to get rid of are "too good" for that. They're in great shape and surely some TF collector could use them. But maybe I should just accept that getting them to some kids via an op shop
is the better outcome.

My problem is should an unwanted Botcon toy (say 2009 Razorclaw) ended up in an op-shop? It makes me feel guilty.

I'll sell them for ya But I tend to list them for prices I think they will sell reasonably quickly at, I care not for trying to get back what I paid.

That''s what I'm aiming to do too. Don't care about making a buck, even happy to take a loss, just want them to go to a good home and more space for me. Win, win.

I haven't sold too much but i don't find the experience stressful. I did find it time consuming but i also enjoy a making a buyer happy with a package i send - i get a genuine kick out of that.

Time-consuming. That's the biggest thing for me.

For me, i have to be picky with what i can afford and when. I find the extra few dollars of postage usually turns me away from buying items. I also find it hard to ask for a lower price as sales are often reluctant and brought about by hardship. Every deal is different and for the most part i see a lot of great things for sale but i can't buy on a whim so i move on and read another thread.

Yeah, I generally don't like to buy from boards and it's unfortunate for people to have to sell b/c of circumstances.

So my wife is part of this online thing where people offer stuff for free. Ranges from things like bundles of clothes kids have outgrown, old toys, bikes, books (novels), old tools, DVDs, CDs, etc. Someone even offered a car. Its all a bit of a pay-it-forward type thing. Way less hassle than selling, better than chucking it away, and most stuff gets taken.

I was wondering if something like this would work here for TF toys. Of course it would have to moderated and there would have to be a set of rules. And maybe only open to Deluxe and above members - to make sure they are going to good homes.

Anyway, like I said, just a thought.

My problem with this is it's like the charity option. You just wish the toys were going to a home that valued them appropriately.

Having bought some figures from you I can guarantee that they are going to a good home.

And thank you. Those Sweeps were one of the reasons I ended up selling on the boards as opposed to dumping them at charity. It's too wrong to put toys like that in the op shop.

The post office has competitions where you can win $10K for paying a bill in person. that's probably driving some of that que. I don't get it they must get a cut of the bill value or something.

It's generally a fixed rate for franchises and a % for Aus Post owned outlets (yes, they really screw over franchises).

You can't blame ppl for being wary of the internet. You look at the mass hacking that happens online, the amount of corporations that don't even know until post event that they are hacked, its reasonable. I agree you can't go backwards by the same token but if it had not been for TFs, I would be far less electronic friendly than I am today.

The trade off is convenience versus security and one has to outweigh the other for each individual. Enough individuals value it enough, that forces everyone else online. The problem then is to develop good enough security or pass the buck onto someone else for the problems which we tend to do as a society. All part of the wonderful cross-subsidisation that no one ever acknowledges.

So these days I'd rather chop up the toys I don't want and use them for parts in my customs
Not going to put in effort to lose money or to make a measly 5 to 10 bucks

If i were only so talent....

[Zommael]

I've made significant amounts of money from a couple of clearouts, mainly through eBay. I went overboard the time before last and got rid of more than I really wanted to which has left me in the position of having to rebuild, but on the other hand I made more from some of the rarer items I didn't want. The trouble is it's sometimes difficult to know when I'm just tired of something and it needs to be put away and when I genuinely don't want it anymore.

I've found the best way to go through the process is just to bite the bullet, put on a movie or TV to keep it from being too mind-numbingly tedious, and sell away. EBay in the UK at least had quite a few options that made selling a bit easier (such as allowing a similar template for each item), but I've not tried selling anything in Australia so I don't know about that.

It can be worth it but it is hard work.