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| | | Author: | Siouxzn  | | Posted: | Jul 17, 2023 16:57 | | Subject: | Selling my entire lego collection. Need help | | Viewed: | 206 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
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| Hi..Thank you in advance for the help. I am asking this for a few reasons..
I am not saying this to gain sympathy.. just want to explain why my head cannot
absorb the complexity of looking up all this info myself.
My husband is losing his battle with cancer. But we are still hopeful and fighting
it.
We are also losing out financially becuase of it all, so I am wanting to sell
my LEGO collection. I have been collecting for almost 50 years and have a huge
amount that are in the box. Some are actually pretty valuable at this point.
I never thought I would sell them (that certainly wasnt my intent) but it honestly
means nothing to me now. I just want to be able to suport my husband and try
to get through this.
That said.. I have been uploading the boxed sets (slowly) to my closed store
and trying to find the cheapest US price and then beating it by a small margin.
my goal.. to sell as many as I can but still be able to have a good amount of
funds
OK.. that out of the way.. I have no problem with the stocking of the store but
I am scratchin my head for how to state my shipping terms and what would be best..
Like I said.. all the ones I am uploading are still in the box and some are UCS
and quite large.
How do I offer the best shipping options and make it easy on myself as well..AND
protecting myself from scams etc.
I am based in Washington state (US)
I have a UPS store I can walk to
Post office within a few miles of house
I dont have a ton of packing materials nor do I want to stock up on them.
I really dont have the energy to put a ton of effort into this.. I can barely
keep my head afloat as it is.
How would you lovely people that are pros at this set up a boxed set only store??
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| | | | | Author: | Stuart9 | | Posted: | Jul 17, 2023 17:08 | | Subject: | Re: Selling my entire lego collection. Need help | | Viewed: | 61 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
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| I hope someone has the right advice to offer, my thoughts are with you and your
husband, my wife and I are all too aware of some of the issues you are facing.
Stay strong.
Stuart
In Shipping, Siouxzn writes:
| | Hi..Thank you in advance for the help. I am asking this for a few reasons..
I am not saying this to gain sympathy.. just want to explain why my head cannot
absorb the complexity of looking up all this info myself.
My husband is losing his battle with cancer. But we are still hopeful and fighting
it.
We are also losing out financially becuase of it all, so I am wanting to sell
my LEGO collection. I have been collecting for almost 50 years and have a huge
amount that are in the box. Some are actually pretty valuable at this point.
I never thought I would sell them (that certainly wasnt my intent) but it honestly
means nothing to me now. I just want to be able to suport my husband and try
to get through this.
That said.. I have been uploading the boxed sets (slowly) to my closed store
and trying to find the cheapest US price and then beating it by a small margin.
my goal.. to sell as many as I can but still be able to have a good amount of
funds
OK.. that out of the way.. I have no problem with the stocking of the store but
I am scratchin my head for how to state my shipping terms and what would be best..
Like I said.. all the ones I am uploading are still in the box and some are UCS
and quite large.
How do I offer the best shipping options and make it easy on myself as well..AND
protecting myself from scams etc.
I am based in Washington state (US)
I have a UPS store I can walk to
Post office within a few miles of house
I dont have a ton of packing materials nor do I want to stock up on them.
I really dont have the energy to put a ton of effort into this.. I can barely
keep my head afloat as it is.
How would you lovely people that are pros at this set up a boxed set only store??
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| | | | | | | Author: | Siouxzn | | Posted: | Jul 17, 2023 19:24 | | Subject: | Re: Selling my entire lego collection. Need help | | Viewed: | 37 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
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| thank you
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| | | | | Author: | klausunion | | Posted: | Jul 17, 2023 17:45 | | Subject: | Re: Selling my entire lego collection. Need help | | Viewed: | 67 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
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| I'm very sorry to hear what you and your husband are going through.
I sell mostly boxed sets. As far as setting up the shipping, it's difficult
because one size definitely does not fit all. The shipping cost for a particular
size/weight is different depending on where you're shipping to. I do not
have my store setup with instant checkout, so that I can charge the exact price
of shipping. Each order is invoiced separately after I figure that out. If
that sounds like to much, you can try to bake the shipping cost into the cost
of the set, and just offer free shipping, which might make things a bit easier.
Personally, I have a scale. When I get an order (or request for quote), I'm
able to weight/measure everything out and use pirateship for the shipping labels
and postage. It gives you UPS and USPS options.
As far as packaging materials. You say you don't want to stock up, but if
you've been collecting that long, your collection must be huge, and if you're
going to list a bunch of sets for low prices, you're going to need a bunch
of boxes. Reuse old amazon boxes/etc. where you can, but I think you would need
to get a bunch of different sized boxes to accommodate your different orders.
Bubble wrap, packing tape, shipping labels, printer ink, a scale. If you have
a very valuable set, selling just that one would give you the funds to stock
up on this stuff.
Also, one thing to keep in mind, if you're turning a profit, the government
wants their piece.
Paypal will send a tax form if you exceed 600 in sales. You'll owe federal
taxes on any profit. You may want to reach out to a tax person to figure out
what records you'll need to keep.
I guess one alternative to selling this way is to find a buyer for all of it.
Although, I don't know that you'd make as much. It would certainly
save you time and energy.
Good luck.
In Shipping, Siouxzn writes:
| | Hi..Thank you in advance for the help. I am asking this for a few reasons..
I am not saying this to gain sympathy.. just want to explain why my head cannot
absorb the complexity of looking up all this info myself.
My husband is losing his battle with cancer. But we are still hopeful and fighting
it.
We are also losing out financially becuase of it all, so I am wanting to sell
my LEGO collection. I have been collecting for almost 50 years and have a huge
amount that are in the box. Some are actually pretty valuable at this point.
I never thought I would sell them (that certainly wasnt my intent) but it honestly
means nothing to me now. I just want to be able to suport my husband and try
to get through this.
That said.. I have been uploading the boxed sets (slowly) to my closed store
and trying to find the cheapest US price and then beating it by a small margin.
my goal.. to sell as many as I can but still be able to have a good amount of
funds
OK.. that out of the way.. I have no problem with the stocking of the store but
I am scratchin my head for how to state my shipping terms and what would be best..
Like I said.. all the ones I am uploading are still in the box and some are UCS
and quite large.
How do I offer the best shipping options and make it easy on myself as well..AND
protecting myself from scams etc.
I am based in Washington state (US)
I have a UPS store I can walk to
Post office within a few miles of house
I dont have a ton of packing materials nor do I want to stock up on them.
I really dont have the energy to put a ton of effort into this.. I can barely
keep my head afloat as it is.
How would you lovely people that are pros at this set up a boxed set only store??
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| | | | | | | Author: | Siouxzn | | Posted: | Jul 17, 2023 19:30 | | Subject: | Re: Selling my entire lego collection. Need help | | Viewed: | 34 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
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| Thank you for your reply! I appreciate it.
| | I do not have my store setup with instant checkout, so that I can charge the exact price
of shipping. Each order is invoiced separately after I figure that out. If
that sounds like to much, you can try to bake the shipping cost into the cost
of the set, and just offer free shipping, which might make things a bit easier.
Personally, I have a scale. When I get an order (or request for quote), I'm
able to weight/measure everything out and use pirateship for the shipping labels
and postage. It gives you UPS and USPS options.
|
I dont know about adding the price into it, but could I use something that is
"actual shipping cost added" and then let the UPS store deal with the
packing and shipping? Sorry if this sounds stupid
| | I guess one alternative to selling this way is to find a buyer for all of it.
Although, I don't know that you'd make as much. It would certainly
save you time and energy.
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It is an option, but I know that selling in one lump would probably mean a pretty
big loss. I guess I am trying to stretch it as much as I can
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | klausunion | | Posted: | Jul 17, 2023 20:44 | | Subject: | Re: Selling my entire lego collection. Need help | | Viewed: | 48 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
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| In Shipping, Siouxzn writes:
| | Thank you for your reply! I appreciate it.
| | I do not have my store setup with instant checkout, so that I can charge the exact price
of shipping. Each order is invoiced separately after I figure that out. If
that sounds like to much, you can try to bake the shipping cost into the cost
of the set, and just offer free shipping, which might make things a bit easier.
Personally, I have a scale. When I get an order (or request for quote), I'm
able to weight/measure everything out and use pirateship for the shipping labels
and postage. It gives you UPS and USPS options.
|
I dont know about adding the price into it, but could I use something that is
"actual shipping cost added" and then let the UPS store deal with the
packing and shipping? Sorry if this sounds stupid
|
I've never tried this, but I imagine it would be significantly more expensive
to have UPS do packing and shipping.
| |
| | I guess one alternative to selling this way is to find a buyer for all of it.
Although, I don't know that you'd make as much. It would certainly
save you time and energy.
|
It is an option, but I know that selling in one lump would probably mean a pretty
big loss. I guess I am trying to stretch it as much as I can
|
If you're trying to stretch it, I would suggest not listing the sets at the
lowest price. Even at an average price, the sets will sell (if in good condition).
It may just take a little longer.
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| | | | | Author: | Carissamiss | | Posted: | Jul 17, 2023 17:49 | | Subject: | Re: Selling my entire lego collection. Need help | | Viewed: | 58 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
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| Hi there,
First of all, I’m sorry to read that your husband has cancer, and that times
are so tough for you both right now.
Secondly, are you sure that Bricklink is the right platform for quick sales with
minimal time investment? While I (obviously) love this website and enjoy having
a little shop, it’s not for everyone and it takes a lot of hard work.
Have you considered an auction - a real one, not EBay? There’s a website I buy
from sometimes where they put on auctions of all types - from the contents of
a theatre or office building, to an elderly couple downsizing, to a charity auction.
Anything and everything. They come to your house, take photos, list the items
online. When the auction is over the winners pick up, you let the company take
care of it. It’s over in 14 days or less, according to their slogan.
I’ve seen Lego sets go for much higher than Bricklink prices when there’s a bidding
war.
The company I like operates in both Canada and the US, but I’m guessing there
are more like them around.
Something to think about. Bricklink is awesome as a long term selling platform.
It doesn’t sound like you have months to wait for the sets to sell.
Best of luck and take care,
Carissa
In Shipping, Siouxzn writes:
| | Hi..Thank you in advance for the help. I am asking this for a few reasons..
I am not saying this to gain sympathy.. just want to explain why my head cannot
absorb the complexity of looking up all this info myself.
My husband is losing his battle with cancer. But we are still hopeful and fighting…
How would you lovely people that are pros at this set up a boxed set only store??
|
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| | | | | | | Author: | Siouxzn | | Posted: | Jul 17, 2023 19:27 | | Subject: | Re: Selling my entire lego collection. Need help | | Viewed: | 34 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
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| | | Secondly, are you sure that Bricklink is the right platform for quick sales with
minimal time investment? While I (obviously) love this website and enjoy having
a little shop, it’s not for everyone and it takes a lot of hard work.
Have you considered an auction - a real one, not EBay? There’s a website I buy
from sometimes where they put on auctions of all types - from the contents of
a theatre or office building, to an elderly couple downsizing, to a charity auction.
Anything and everything. They come to your house, take photos, list the items
online. When the auction is over the winners pick up, you let the company take
care of it. It’s over in 14 days or less, according to their slogan.
I’ve seen Lego sets go for much higher than Bricklink prices when there’s a bidding
war.
|
Thank you for your reply. I haven't thought of this approach and will think
about it a bit!
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| | | | | Author: | legoman77 | | Posted: | Jul 17, 2023 20:34 | | Subject: | Re: Selling my entire lego collection. Need help | | Viewed: | 43 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
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| In Shipping, Siouxzn writes:
| | Hi..Thank you in advance for the help. I am asking this for a few reasons..
I am not saying this to gain sympathy.. just want to explain why my head cannot
absorb the complexity of looking up all this info myself.
My husband is losing his battle with cancer. But we are still hopeful and fighting
it.
We are also losing out financially becuase of it all, so I am wanting to sell
my LEGO collection. I have been collecting for almost 50 years and have a huge
amount that are in the box. Some are actually pretty valuable at this point.
I never thought I would sell them (that certainly wasnt my intent) but it honestly
means nothing to me now. I just want to be able to suport my husband and try
to get through this.
That said.. I have been uploading the boxed sets (slowly) to my closed store
and trying to find the cheapest US price and then beating it by a small margin.
my goal.. to sell as many as I can but still be able to have a good amount of
funds
OK.. that out of the way.. I have no problem with the stocking of the store but
I am scratchin my head for how to state my shipping terms and what would be best..
Like I said.. all the ones I am uploading are still in the box and some are UCS
and quite large.
How do I offer the best shipping options and make it easy on myself as well..AND
protecting myself from scams etc.
I am based in Washington state (US)
I have a UPS store I can walk to
Post office within a few miles of house
I dont have a ton of packing materials nor do I want to stock up on them.
I really dont have the energy to put a ton of effort into this.. I can barely
keep my head afloat as it is.
How would you lovely people that are pros at this set up a boxed set only store??
|
My thoughts are with you. Some of us old timers know very well the struggle
you are facing and what you are going through. None of us can really say anything
that can help you weather this storm, be we must let you know that we care.
There are no shortcuts to selling. Your pricing ideas seem to be very close
to what I did when I sole 8200 boxed sets 12 years ago. What I can suggest is
put your own pictures in the listing and make sure you described of your set
and the box and the instructions very carefully and mention any defects or shortages.
If you have a lot of sets you will need to get shipping supplies which are not
cheap, but better than having to refund a sale because the post office is careless.
I used U-Line but there may be places cheaper. I am lucky I live close to a
military base that recycles and while selling my Simpsons and some Star Trek
items, actually a few thousand, I got all my packing from the recycle bins because
they are usually filled with packing from military moves and are very clean.
If you go places like Target and Walmart early in the mornings you can usually
pick up a lot of boxes there, also when they stock the greeting cards.
I wish I could offer more advice, just remember if it is a large collection it
will not be easy and very time consuming. Most buyers are good folks but there
are those that will drive you mad. I am retired and I could spend 16 hours a
day for the first 3 months of selling. It is a big job and will take a lot of
time.
Best of luck to you and remember, it can be done. Hopefully, all goes well for
you and your husband and your selling.
John P
Avoid any negative feedback at all costs
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| | | | | | | Author: | Siouxzn | | Posted: | Jul 18, 2023 13:04 | | Subject: | Re: Selling my entire lego collection. Need help | | Viewed: | 39 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
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| In Shipping, legoman77 writes:
| | In Shipping, Siouxzn writes:
| | Hi..Thank you in advance for the help. I am asking this for a few reasons..
I am not saying this to gain sympathy.. just want to explain why my head cannot
absorb the complexity of looking up all this info myself.
My husband is losing his battle with cancer. But we are still hopeful and fighting
it.
We are also losing out financially becuase of it all, so I am wanting to sell
my LEGO collection. I have been collecting for almost 50 years and have a huge
amount that are in the box. Some are actually pretty valuable at this point.
I never thought I would sell them (that certainly wasnt my intent) but it honestly
means nothing to me now. I just want to be able to suport my husband and try
to get through this.
That said.. I have been uploading the boxed sets (slowly) to my closed store
and trying to find the cheapest US price and then beating it by a small margin.
my goal.. to sell as many as I can but still be able to have a good amount of
funds
OK.. that out of the way.. I have no problem with the stocking of the store but
I am scratchin my head for how to state my shipping terms and what would be best..
Like I said.. all the ones I am uploading are still in the box and some are UCS
and quite large.
How do I offer the best shipping options and make it easy on myself as well..AND
protecting myself from scams etc.
I am based in Washington state (US)
I have a UPS store I can walk to
Post office within a few miles of house
I dont have a ton of packing materials nor do I want to stock up on them.
I really dont have the energy to put a ton of effort into this.. I can barely
keep my head afloat as it is.
How would you lovely people that are pros at this set up a boxed set only store??
|
My thoughts are with you. Some of us old timers know very well the struggle
you are facing and what you are going through. None of us can really say anything
that can help you weather this storm, be we must let you know that we care.
There are no shortcuts to selling. Your pricing ideas seem to be very close
to what I did when I sole 8200 boxed sets 12 years ago. What I can suggest is
put your own pictures in the listing and make sure you described of your set
and the box and the instructions very carefully and mention any defects or shortages.
If you have a lot of sets you will need to get shipping supplies which are not
cheap, but better than having to refund a sale because the post office is careless.
I used U-Line but there may be places cheaper. I am lucky I live close to a
military base that recycles and while selling my Simpsons and some Star Trek
items, actually a few thousand, I got all my packing from the recycle bins because
they are usually filled with packing from military moves and are very clean.
If you go places like Target and Walmart early in the mornings you can usually
pick up a lot of boxes there, also when they stock the greeting cards.
I wish I could offer more advice, just remember if it is a large collection it
will not be easy and very time consuming. Most buyers are good folks but there
are those that will drive you mad. I am retired and I could spend 16 hours a
day for the first 3 months of selling. It is a big job and will take a lot of
time.
Best of luck to you and remember, it can be done. Hopefully, all goes well for
you and your husband and your selling.
John P
Avoid any negative feedback at all costs
|
Thank you John!
Yes I am of agreement that packaging well is a must. These are new sealed kits
so do not want any damage to them. I was just hoping for some miracle method
lol!
That said, I have some freinds that seem very eager to help me so I may take
them up on it, to do it right
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| | | | | Author: | yorbrick | | Posted: | Jul 18, 2023 02:01 | | Subject: | Re: Selling my entire lego collection. Need help | | Viewed: | 65 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
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| How do I offer the best shipping options and make it easy on myself as well..AND
| | protecting myself from scams etc.
I am based in Washington state (US)
I have a UPS store I can walk to
Post office within a few miles of house
I dont have a ton of packing materials nor do I want to stock up on them.
I really dont have the energy to put a ton of effort into this.. I can barely
keep my head afloat as it is.
How would you lovely people that are pros at this set up a boxed set only store??
|
I don't think here is the right place for minimal effort. You really must
ensure things are packaged well especially expensive items. You can minimise
the effort needed at any time by limiting how much you have listed at once. If
you only have one set, the most you need to pack at any time is one set.
It is also not clear if these are used or new/sealed. If used, make sure they
are complete which again takes time.
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| | | | | | | Author: | Siouxzn | | Posted: | Jul 18, 2023 13:05 | | Subject: | Re: Selling my entire lego collection. Need help | | Viewed: | 45 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
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| In Shipping, yorbrick writes:
| | How do I offer the best shipping options and make it easy on myself as well..AND
| | protecting myself from scams etc.
I am based in Washington state (US)
I have a UPS store I can walk to
Post office within a few miles of house
I dont have a ton of packing materials nor do I want to stock up on them.
I really dont have the energy to put a ton of effort into this.. I can barely
keep my head afloat as it is.
How would you lovely people that are pros at this set up a boxed set only store??
|
I don't think here is the right place for minimal effort. You really must
ensure things are packaged well especially expensive items. You can minimise
the effort needed at any time by limiting how much you have listed at once. If
you only have one set, the most you need to pack at any time is one set.
It is also not clear if these are used or new/sealed. If used, make sure they
are complete which again takes time.
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These are new/sealed. I do have tons that are without box, but right now I am
focusing on the sealed ones.
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| | | | | Author: | Adjour | | Posted: | Jul 18, 2023 14:23 | | Subject: | Re: Selling my entire lego collection. Need help | | Viewed: | 60 times | | Topic: | Shipping | |
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| I'll be honest with you, I got away from selling boxed sets because of the
massive pain it is to find boxes to ship the larger ones in.
I'd recommend you sell the larger stuff locally, like on facebook, in person
CASH. Meet at police stations.
The chances of getting scammed or dealing with painful people is high with the
larger stuff. I liquidated my Fathers UCS collection and the amount of tire kickers,
low ballers, non payment, and endless questions made me never want to do it again.
WA has alot I mean ALOT of afols. You can sell the bigger stuff locally, probably
to another collector or a broker, for minimal headache.
Crystal
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USA, Washington
United Kingdom, England
Canada, Ontario
