Ebay VS other places to sell figures

[Petezilla]

The topic title says it all. I'm looking for a safe (!) alternative to ebay to sell some of my stuff. Ebay isn't anymore what it once was. At least here in Germany, where I reside. For example I have a SHMA Goji + Kong + MechaG set of 3 online right now with international shipping since like 6 weeks and it got less than 30 views in total. WTF...?! I got several other items and sets, too, but I don't want to waste €€ for listing them without selling or ending up selling them for super low prices, because obviously few people are even watching ebay anymore.

So are there any other good places to sell Godzilla figures besides ebay? Like FB groups with reliable (!) users? I want to make room, but it obviously doesn't work via ebay that good anymore, especially when your in Europe instead of the US...

[canofhumdingers]

Have you tried Mercari? That seems to be a place people use in lieu of eBay. Etsy and Facebook groups too. I’ve personally not used any of those but I know people who have.

I just cleared out some of my collection a few days ago. I used to sell on eBay but this time I decided to try selling to a local collectibles store. I’m fortunate to have a really great vintage toy store about an hour away so I took my stuff there. I felt like the owner gave me a fair price. I’m sure I could have made more selling it on eBay, but I would have had to photograph, list, sell, and ship each item individually which would have taken literal days of my free time. By taking it to the local store I was able to sell it all in one fell swoop without any of the headaches or risks of eBay. Plus I helped support an awesome local business. To me the convenience was worth making a little less off it.

[Legion1979]

You could join my FB page, "The Godzilla Collectors Group". Over 5k members. Only snag might be your location considering shipping prices.

[InfiniteHollywood]

These are all decent suggestions but basically the answer to your question is no. There is nowhere that is comparable to the “EBay of old” where you could easily list items, sell them at decent prices and have them seen by hundreds of not thousands of interested parties.

It’s really sad actually.

[Petezilla]

Have you tried Mercari? [...]

I have never heard of that, but I'll have a look at it!

I decided to try selling to a local collectibles store. I’m fortunate to have a really great vintage toy store about an hour away so I took my stuff there. [...]
By taking it to the local store I was able to sell it all in one fell swoop without any of the headaches or risks of eBay. Plus I helped support an awesome local business. To me the convenience was worth making a little less off it.

I'd actually consider doing that, too, but here in good old Germany you could count the number of such store sites with just the fingers of one hand. Plus, they're miles upon miles away from me. No option, unfortunately...

You could join my FB page, "The Godzilla Collectors Group". Over 5k members. Only snag might be your location considering shipping prices.

Thanks. I just send you a membership request for your group. If I'm lucky some folks from Europe or even Germany are dwelling there, too...

These are all decent suggestions but basically the answer to your question is no. There is nowhere that is comparable to the “EBay of old” where you could easily list items, sell them at decent prices and have them seen by hundreds of not thousands of interested parties.

It’s really sad actually.

It's beyond sad. Ebay as a whole is no fun to use anymore and I got a whole lot of my stuff from there back when I started collecting. Especially their prices and fees went through the roof in recent years, which obviously scared further folks away from them. Well at least it looks like it here where I live...

[Legion1979]

Membership approved, Petezilla. Hopefully you'll find a buyer for your stuff.

[Petezilla]

Thank you, my friend ~

[canofhumdingers]

Yeah eBay is a shell of its former self. The massive fee increases and the new tax laws in the US (you now have to report anything over $600 in annual sales for federal income tax, previously it was $20,000) have absolutely decimated the site.

It’s really a shame because, as you point out, there really aren’t any true comparable alternatives.

Good luck with Facebook. I know tons of people who use that as their primary source for second hand sales now. Heck my wife buys, sells, and gives away stuff on FB all the time. Even local businesses post things for sale on FB around here.

[Legion1979]

Another issue with ebay is trying to buy anything from Japan. Does anyone know the reason why Japanese sellers want truly outrageous prices for everything? They're asking for hundreds if not thousands for many items that absolutely aren't worth that, such a Bandais.

[canofhumdingers]

I dunno, I see sellers from everywhere (not just Japan) list stuff for outrageous prices. I’ve never figured out the reason for it other than maybe they’re hoping someone is dumb enough to pay it? But I see plenty of Japanese sellers selling at fair prices too. So who knows?

[Creature22]

I think they’re bot/scam sellers. A lot of those auctions are actually Buyee auctions from Yahoo Japan/Mercari/etc, which these people relist on eBay at ridiculous prices and then purchase from Japan if you are fooled into thinking the item is theirs and pay them. I filter by domestic sellers only when I use eBay as a result, or just use Buyee.

And yeah, selling is a real chore. The tax part in particular, not to mention how much you lose in fees. Dealing with entitled buyers and people who refuse to pay after winning auctions has become an increasing problem as well.

[Legion1979]

You're probably right.

All I know is that around 2010/11 it was ridiculously easy to find affordable 1980s/90s Bandai Ultramonster figures on ebay, both from Japanese and American sellers. Now anything even remotely desirable (especially if it's an older figure with a tag) is way outside the realm of affordability.

Same with much older vintage. Things that were reasonable 15 years ago are now going for nutty prices, into the thousands for things that are pretty common

[canofhumdingers]

But are they actually selling for those prices or are you just looking at listings? I see tons of nutty listing prices but rarely see stuff actually sell for significantly higher than market prices.

And of course, stuff IS going to cost more now than 15 years ago. But It shouldn’t be exponentially more like some of these listings are.

[Legion1979]

Oh nothing is selling. But the prices are infuriating regardless.

[MoK 13]

Hazawa-Gumi are ridicules on eBay