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Before you start amassing Beanie Babies, antique china or baseball cards, ask yourself a few questions. First, do you have an interest in what you're collecting? Basically, would you be perfectly happy if none of it sold and you had to look at it all the time? For example, I collect books. I have also been known to sell some of them through ebay...however, when I don't sell a book, I am not bummed, feeling like I lost out, or like I wasted my money. I simply love books and like feeling like I live in a library...so unsold books just hang around, awaiting another opportunity to be sold or given to a friend. I have a friend who has collected Beanie Babies (and got my daughter hooked!)for a long time. She likes them, thinks they're cute or whatever, and has them in a nice display case in her home. Occassionally, someone will offer to buy one or two for some extraordinary amount of money that she can't pass up, so she'll sell, and then invest the take in the stock market.
So, how do you get started? Well, determine what it is you're interested in, whether it's furniture or the Beatles or Beanie Babies and then do your homework! Get a couple of books and current magazines about your items. Find out what people are buying, what you need to look for, whether there are special markings, tags, dates etc. Read up on condition...what conditions are acceptable and garnish the most money. How do you restore or clean your items, or should you? In some cases cleaning or restoration is the worst thing you can do. Go online and search out the discussion lists, the auction ads and the chat rooms of people who buy and sell what you want to collect. See what people are buying and bidding on. What are the hard to find items...you may just find one at the next garage sale you go to.
Okay so you've done your homework, and you're ready to buy and sell. Well, when you sell, particularly on an online auction, let me say that your honesty and candor will be rewarded. There are many people tempted by the quick buck, and it can be tempting to deceive your potential customers...even by not disclosing if an item needs cleaning. Let me tell you that you will ruin your chance of future sales if you deceive people about your item's condition or status. People will flame you, post negative feedback, report you to consumer watchdogs and more...as well they should, and as you should do if you get ripped-off. So always be pleasant, answer questions to the best of your ability, post pictures of your item and if you don't know the answer to a question, say so. That person may not bid, but someone else probably will, and you won't have tarnished your reputation. Remember, just because you will probably never meet the person, it doesn't mean you shouldn't adhere to the highest customer service standards.
On the flipside, when you are buying through online auctions, it is buyer beware. Ask questions, if there is no photo available ask for one, or move on if the item requires it. Look at the feedback other customers have posted. Look at the seller's other auctions, do they have a lot of the same thing? Are they posting "scam-like" or "get rich quick" ads? If so, be warned and decide if you can find the item elsewhere or through another auction. It is easy to become jaded thinking of all of these things, but remember too that most auctions are posted by regular people like you and me who are either trying to clear out their closets in the middle of winter, who have a genuine interest in the items they are selling. Buyer beware, but don't be cynical!
If you do get scammed, notify the auction site as well as local law enforcement officials in the seller's jurisdiction. You may also want to alert:
Federal Trade Commission
(877) 382-4357 or write FTC,
Consumer Response Center,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20580
National Fraud Information Center
Write NFIC, PO Box 65868,
Washington, D.C. 20035
United States Postal Inspection Service
(800) 372-8347
Your state attorney general
So, finally should you invest in collectibles? Sure, if you like what your collecting. Can you expect a better return on your investment than say the stock market? Well, Kiplinger's figured this one out. "In 1929, a beautiful Chippendale highboy sold at auction for $44,000. If that same chest of drawers came on the market today, it would probably sell for well over $3 million. But think about this: even at such a fabulous price, the highboy would have earned just 7% a year, a return that was easily exceeded by the 10% average return on quality stocks over the last 60 years." Now, it's up to you to determine if you would rather buy and hold a Chippendale or a Beanie Baby for the long term, or Microsoft.Sign up for our free eNewsletter Dollar Stretcher Tips.
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