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Author Topic: WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!  (Read 2838 times)

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Offline lovesbabysquirmy

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WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!
« on: March 06, 2015, 07:16:11 AM »
In expectation of some upcoming bills this spring, I started selling off my ponies.  It has not gone well so far.  :(  I need help.

So I had this lot of ponies up for sale on Kijiji:

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Okay, pretend that UK Gusty, Swirly Whirly's bib, Sleepy Pie's purse, and the blue sea pony shell and High Tide (the yellow adult Sea Pony) are not included - YES I know I need to update my photo!  Hence why I took the listing down.

Anyway... I need help with pricing.  I have been trying to sell them off singly or in smaller lots for about a year now.  Very few sales.
I put this lot up for $260 or best offer... STILL NOTHING!

An Arena member offered me $200 but I feel that is way too low, especially when I know they are very likely going to be inventory and re-sold in their online store.  These were my collection ponies over the past 7 years, I traded with a lot of friends and participated in a number of swaps to get them all, and I want them to be adopted by another collector who will appreciate them. 

Yes, I know people can do what they want with their ponies, but it really gets under my skin when you build a rapport, sell something or trade and then the pony" isn't good enough" and they immediately upgrade.

Of course... now I really really need the money and I want to raise the price but I don't know how to market these stupid ponies! 

In my wildest dreams, I would be happy to get $300 in the end - four boxes of MLP take up a LOT of space I don't have! 
« Last Edit: March 06, 2015, 07:18:49 AM by lovesbabysquirmy »
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Offline emery

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Re: WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2015, 07:45:23 AM »
If your big lot is not selling I would recommend several smaller lots with updated pictures. I know it's nice to get the money in one lump some but not everyone has $260 to shell out at one time so smaller lots at lower prices may be a better way to do it. With a lot that big if you want it to go all to one person most likely it's going to be someone who resells so you may have to "not care" who buys them if you need the money bad enough. Plus with any big lot for a collector they are usually just buying to get certain ponies and the rest will be sold or traded of the ones they don't need or already have.

I would do some smaller lots in the $50-$100 each range as that is a little more affordable for people. You might try on FB if you have any local swap groups (like Kijiji, but just local buy/sell/trade on FB). I don't know if you have more pictures with your listing but photos are a big thing, people want to SEE what they are buying and you can't really tell which ponies or the condition of all the ones piled in the back. The year 3 sea ponies that you still have might be good to separate out or eBay.
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Offline Skeen

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Re: WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2015, 08:03:17 AM »
As emery said, it's hard to tell what all is in that picture.  If I'm being asked to spend $260 plus shipping, I need to know exactly what I'm getting. 

Offline ponycake

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Re: WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2015, 08:12:38 AM »
Big lots are just that way unfortunately. The bigger the lot the lower the price per pony you're going to get. I agree, I immediately thought you'll have to cut it down into a few smaller lots to get it done for a price you'e happy with.

I wish this was in the US cause I need adult seaponies and their shells! Good luck.
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Offline Sebby6

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Re: WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!
« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2015, 08:27:22 AM »
Only collectors spend that kinda money on ponies. And I don't know how many of us are on kijiji. I would definitely advertise elsewhere too.
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Offline lunar_scythe

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Re: WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!
« Reply #5 on: March 06, 2015, 11:51:44 AM »
Part of it may be the angle of the picture, too.  Maybe when you update the picture, try laying a sheet over the floor so they are all flat, and take the picture from above? from the angle, its hard to count the number of ponies in there haha!
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Offline CoonhoundBetty

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Re: WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!
« Reply #6 on: March 06, 2015, 01:02:38 PM »
Is that the only picture you had in your ad?

To get more interest, I would make the picture look nice--use a flat background (piece of wood, white sheet) and natural light. Small groups, like all the sea ponies and accessories, and then unicorns, or pegasus, etc, get better attention. If you want the best dollar, you're going to have to make it look like it's worth it :)

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Re: WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!
« Reply #7 on: March 06, 2015, 01:13:57 PM »
I think even $200 is pretty generous considering the photo-  you will always get less for big lots, but if you want to get the most that you can, you should photograph each pony, probably the right and left sides, and list any glaring problems (like VDS)


Offline lovesbabysquirmy

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Re: WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!
« Reply #8 on: March 06, 2015, 04:24:24 PM »
*sigh*  I hate taking pictures.  But I guess I will try to take better ones.

This baffles me, considering I bought a lot twice that big for $200 a few years ago and there weren't any pictures!
« Last Edit: March 06, 2015, 04:26:07 PM by lovesbabysquirmy »
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Offline Ringlets

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Re: WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!
« Reply #9 on: March 07, 2015, 05:25:25 AM »
It looks like a great lot :)  People are more cautious now though and a lot of people don't have that much money to spend at once  :awake: . I have to agree what other have suggested : try selling on other sites if possible since you aren't having much joy there, wherever you sell them  definitely list exactly what is included in the lot, including pics and condition of each pony - and  even better break it down into smaller lots. They always sell for more money. I think you could get a very good price for them but you might continue to struggle to get even the amount you asked if you limit the sites you try and sell on or keep them in one giant lot. The shipping cost would be crazy high too and if you do offer them internationally then people in the UK/Europe who might be interested would have to pay a massive fee to import all of those  ....
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Offline bluerose9978

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Re: WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!
« Reply #10 on: March 07, 2015, 07:05:38 AM »
I agree with what is said: Try breaking them down in smaller lots of like ponies or like conditions.

Like put all the ponies in near mint in one lot. All the ponies in bait condition in one lot, etc. I think you'll have better luck. And I would offer them here or FB or somewhere there is more traffic than Kijiji.

Offline lovesbabysquirmy

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Re: WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!
« Reply #11 on: March 07, 2015, 08:19:26 AM »
Most if not all of these ponies have made an appearance in a smaller lot with better pictures at one point.  I guess that's why I am getting super frustrated.  I just don't think there are enough collectors in this area to sell on Kijiji.  I might try Craigslist next.  :( 

I have offered here on the Arena for the better part of a year, also very few sales. 

I do not use FB and never will.  I do not accept Paypal - my husband and I are still furious over something that Paypal did with our bank accounts 7 years ago that isn't even legal.  They are NOT a financial institution, you have no recourse should they decide to empty out an account because of an error.

Ah well - I will try to list in lots of 10 next...  oddly enough I have no luck with selling by the set, but if I randomize the ponies, people get interested...
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Re: WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!
« Reply #12 on: March 07, 2015, 08:42:09 AM »
Oh my goodness I need those sea shells and sea ponies

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Re: WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!
« Reply #13 on: March 07, 2015, 09:34:32 AM »
I feel your pain.  I have sooo many boxes of ponies to sell but, ugh, taking pictures and listing them is such a pain.

I think better pictures and / or smaller lots are the key.  I didn't spot Sea Mist and Whitecap in the picture for the longest time, and those are definitely two you want to jump out at people.

Most people on Craigslist deal in cash, so that is a good place to try your luck.  I think most online collectors are so used to using PayPal that they're reluctant to try anything else.
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Re: WHAT?! My mega-lot isn't selling!
« Reply #14 on: March 07, 2015, 10:08:06 AM »
Hello!

I just wanted to mention, I was the arena member who made the offer and I'm very sorry I offended.  This is not a post to ask you to reconsider in any way.  Whenever I buy/sell/trade, it's *very* important to me that both parties are satisfied with the transaction.  I would never want someone to sell if they were uncomfortable selling to me or if they were unhappy with the price.  I would also never be offended if someone was unhappy with a price I offered.  Sometimes both parties just can't agree on a price; and that's okay.  I'm never upset by that and would never badger a seller into accepting a price if they weren't happy with it.

What I didn't realize is that people don't see me as a collector and simply as a reseller out to make money off of ponies.  I can tell you, nothing is farther from the truth! :) 

Just a little background on me:

I used to buy/sell/trade ponies in the late 90's while I was just a teenaged squirt in high school.  Being a high school kid, I had no real source of disposable income.  So I had to be very careful with what I bought to make sure I could always make a little extra to have money in the bank so that when something I *really really* wanted came up, I'd be able to buy it.  (Think Princess Accessories ;))  The parents definitely weren't going to finance my pony addiction and part time A&W wasn't going to cut it!

When I resold my extras, or ponies I didn't want, I had to make sure they looked great.  Nothing gave me more pleasure then taking a dingy dirty ratty old pony and spiffing it up into a beauty that other people would have otherwise passed by.

Well, I went to post secondary after high school and had very little time for ponies then.  Once I got my degree and started working, I had zero time for ponies, and actually, zero time for life.  I thought having a high paying stable job would make me happy, and nothing has ever made me more miserable in my entire life.  I more or less lived the next 7 years in a haze of get up, go to work, go home to sleep, rinse and repeat.  It was terrible, and I wouldn't wish the hell of that job on anyone ever.

Last year I moved from Canada to the US to be with my husband.  For the first few months, I wasn't allowed to work, and once I was, I would need to do equivalency exams/studying/"retraining" to transfer my practicing licence to the US and the continue the misery that was my career.  So instead, I settled into the roll of housewife, that my 7 year bachelor husband desperately needed, and I have never been happier or more fulfilled in my life.  If you'd have told my younger teenage self that I'd find self-fulfillment as a stay at home mom, I'd have called you crazy.  Now that I'm here, I can't imagine being anywhere else.

Now I have a LOT more free time. :D  In all the moving, and unpacking, and re-organizing our two households into one, I rediscovered my pony collection and remembered all the fun I'd had with it when I was younger.  But similarly to the late 90's, I no longer have a disposable income of my own.  Our family is comfortable living on my husband's income, but only because we're careful with how we manage our budget.  And there's definitely no room for ponies in it.

If I want to continue to collect, the only way I can do it, is to make very careful lot purchases and resell/trade and extras I have so I can continue to buy/trade for more. :)  Let me tell you, there are no dollar signs in my eyes when I look at ponies.  Any money I make from them goes right back into ponies.  If I wanted the big bucks, I'd go back to my soul sucking career. 

To this day, I STILL love restoring ponies!  I spend hours at the sink cleaning my lots.  Then wrapping their hair, photographing and carefully describing each one to make sure I don't miss any flaws.  It takes a lot of work, effort, and time.  All put in so I can buy more ponies! ;)  But there's a great sense of satisfaction in knowing that I've been able to take a nasty pony and transform it into an item that's now suitable for a collection or for someone to give their children and continue on the love of this toy line that's meant so much to me over the years.

Every so often I'll get an email from my buyers telling me how much they love their new ponies or how they can't believe how gorgeous they are, and nothing makes me happier.  I even saved one email from a man who bought his sister a Peachy for Christmas to replace one she lost in her childhood.  That email almost made me cry.  Who'd have thought I'd get more joy from selling little plastic horses than I did from my "actual" career.

Any ponies that do come my get some of the best care and detail to restoration and, I'd like to think, sometimes end up looking nicer that they do mint in package.  They are well cared for before they move on to their new homes. :)  I often wonder what adventures they've had before they came to me and what fun they'll have once they move on!  Or sometimes you'll see an initial on the bottom of the hoof and wonder who that little girl was and where she is now.

Hopefully this clears up name a bit in that I'm not someone looking at ponies merely as dollar signs and that I am an actual collector who freakin loves these little plastic ponies! :D  Squirmy, I really hope you get what need out of this lot and wish you nothing but the best!  The people here have given a lot of good advice as far as photography and breaking down the lot, so hopefully you'll have a bit more luck! :)  And once again, I never meant to make you uncomfortable, so I do apologize for any problems I may have caused you.

Sincerely,
Melissa


 

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