Let's Knit Magazine - Your knitting, your style

Hi
Times are hard as my partner and I are both self employed-two man band.Due to the credit crunch we have had to resort to selling stuff on ebay.My knitting stuff and his army stuff.I have a daisy maker,still intact that was originally given free in Woman’s Own,though I bought it from a charity shop for my partner to make adornments for my knitted slipper socks.It never got used because I taught him to crochet instead.My query is what title to list it as and under what category(maybe knitting accessories or collectables)Any ideas anyone?If any of you are close to tears with our hard luck story don’t worry good news is we have 4 days work this week which is best we’ve had for too long to remember so things are looking up.Best of luck to anyone in the same boat and hope things will start to pick up for you too.

CRIKEY.......I have just been pottering in my den and found an old basket that belonged to my Gran that my uncle brought back from Egypt in 195?. And guess what was inside???????????????.

OOer spooky possums!!!!!!

This was the first thread I clicked onto two min ago!!!!!!

My mum kept the basket and daisy maker and, as I am a hoarder , well   !!!!!!!!! I would think the best thing for you to do is look on e.bay and see where things are posted and what sort of prices they are going for.

GOOD LUCK.

Hi Gill
You always seem to be the first to respond to my posts.My partner just said you got email is it Gill?I said I can always bank on Gill to help out.
Isn’t it always the way with those spooky coincidences?I am always getting things like that happening to me.
Cheers for your advice.The ebay thing is his thing but he always frets on categories so I said I’d ask the forum,best place to get a good answer.
Anyway now he is engrossed on sewing eyes on a dog hand puppet I have knitted for his grandson.Think a handmade present we have both made together far better than plastic toys.I knitted him his first Christmas tree ornament Christmas just gone and he spent all day playing with it ignoring all his expensive presents(I mean the grandson not my partner!).Is it bad to say I was chuffed to buttons?
Ta again.Waggel

waggel - 02 June 2008 09:25 PM

Hi Gill
You always seem to be the first to respond to my posts.My partner just said you got email is it Gill?I said I can always bank on Gill to help out.
Isn’t it always the way with those spooky coincidences?I am always getting things like that happening to me.
Cheers for your advice.The ebay thing is his thing but he always frets on categories so I said I’d ask the forum,best place to get a good answer.
Anyway now he is engrossed on sewing eyes on a dog hand puppet I have knitted for his grandson.Think a handmade present we have both made together far better than plastic toys.I knitted him his first Christmas tree ornament Christmas just gone and he spent all day playing with it ignoring all his expensive presents(I mean the grandson not my partner!).Is it bad to say I was chuffed to buttons?
Ta again.Waggel

Hello again
You can be chuffed to little mint balls as my mum used to say!!!! Or anything else you fancy...we are (almost) all grownups as I tell “HWN” when he is have a spat about me posting and knitting instead of going to bed before midnight
I find that the grandkids much prefer the knitted bits.n.bobs. to any expensive toys.
Plastic breaks anyway but as my boys are hooligans they get plastic untill they learn better playing manners.

No2(DAUGHTER) says “but its plastic, mother” so I tell her I am not spending a fortune on fancy toys that cost a bomb to see them left in the garden all night in pouring rain.

There is a website for selling stuff but cant remember where but sit tight ....someone will know..............

Hi, I would post it under the title that is has on the box, and put it in accessories catagory, are there any on Ebay already, you can get an idea of how to describe it, but vintage things tend to sell well, I tried to buy a vintage ‘honeypot’ wool holder and they all went for ‘silly’ (well to me anyway!) prices, so you might do well, x Janet

janick123 - 02 June 2008 10:07 PM

Hi, I would post it under the title that is has on the box, and put it in accessories catagory, are there any on Ebay already, you can get an idea of how to describe it, but vintage things tend to sell well, I tried to buy a vintage ‘honeypot’ wool holder and they all went for ‘silly’ (well to me anyway!) prices, so you might do well, x Janet

ooooo....guess what i have got in my den?????????????????????????????????  

And when you get them posted on ebay, let us know so we can mooch on over and have a browse!

gill1946 - 02 June 2008 10:12 PM

janick123 - 02 June 2008 10:07 PM

Hi, I would post it under the title that is has on the box, and put it in accessories catagory, are there any on Ebay already, you can get an idea of how to describe it, but vintage things tend to sell well, I tried to buy a vintage ‘honeypot’ wool holder and they all went for ‘silly’ (well to me anyway!) prices, so you might do well, x Janet

ooooo....guess what i have got in my den?????????????????????????????????  

Well I might have known lol

I thought I would join in - I’m in my lunch break and desperately need a knitting break from my intense morning.

I have had quite a lot of experience of selling of ebay. I find it a bit of an unknown at times. The most ridiculous or unlikely things can sell for quite a lot, whilst really nice stuff, like my knitted bits and bobs, sell for peanuts, which is quite frustrating and annoying when they have taken a long time to create. Hence why I don’t sell my knitted cakes on ebay anymore.

The main thing is to have a look at how other similar items are posted, check the ‘popular’ ones and see which categories they are in and use this as a guide for your items. Make sure you include as many key words in your title as possible, as searches are based on the words in the title. If you haven’t included the right words, it may not get looked at.

Make sure you put the right amount for postage - weigh your items with packaging (I just use my kitchen scales) and check on royal mail price finder on the web. It tells you exactly how much a parcel will cost. I always add an extra 75p-£1.00 onto my actual postage price, to cover packaging etc, which seems quite acceptable. I once underestimated postage and had to pay quite a lot more - this just comes out of your pocket. I would recommend putting postal costs for UK and tell people to email you for overseas postage.

Be really clear about how people should pay and what your timescales are. some people win items then take weeks to pay - not good if you need the money.

Paypal fees can be quite high, and are related to the final selling price of the item, but there are pros and cons of paypal, and it saves having to go to the bank to bank cheques, and wait for 5 days to clear etc.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your auctions.

Yes very good advice, I used to sell quite a lot when we had a good clear out and sold all sorts of things, sometimes it pays to start with a good starting price, say £2.99 instead of 99p, as if you only get one bid at least you make something !! Postage too, there is nothing more annoying than feeling ripped off with postage, cover the post and packing obviously, but don’t overdo the profit, it just puts people off, AND always make sure you describe it as well as you can and accurately, or you will have someone coming back saying it wasn’t as described ! x Janet

best of luck!