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The holidays are just around the corner, and as we all know, Christmas gets pushed earlier and earlier by the retail stores. But all this early celebration can also mean earlier sales for you. As an online seller, how can you take advantage of the upcoming buying-mania and boost your own profits?
Just like with any good comedian, timing is important. Right now, the big buzz on the eBay boards and other auction sites is Halloween. So if you have old (or new!) Halloween costumes lying around, or clothes that would work well as a Halloween costume, break them out! I have had a child's size pair of black cowboy boots kicking up dust balls in my closet for years now. I'm going to finally list them, shining them up and billing them as part of a boy's cowboy costume.
Personally, I think Halloween is great holiday. It allows people to bust out of their daily mold and try on a new persona. True Halloween-ophiles will also pay dearly to make a big splash at a party; just look at some recent high-end costume sales on eBay:
- An Ozzy Osbourne-worn stage costume got bid up to $2,574 - and the reserve was still not met. (Note to self: dig out anything Ozzy- and/or Osbourne-like as these are likely to be hot sellers this year! Anyone handy with sewing skulls onto long black t-shirts?)
- A movie style Spider-Man costume got bid up to $599
- An unusual costume, an "optical illusion" of a gorilla holding a man in a cage, went for $750. This was listed with the little "Jack-o'-lantern" icon which sellers can select from eBay's seller page builder.
Other big sellers this year appear to be Spiderman, Superman, Star Wars, Cinderella, medieval outfits, Southern Belle, and Xena, Warrior Princess.
Incidentally, do you know where that pesky "Costumes" category is located on eBay? Not under clothing, as you might think. It's found in Everything Else:Gifts and Occasions:Costumes:Child/Adult.
Costume ideas that are popular every year are vampires, witches, and Hollywood icons like Marilyn Monroe. A "Marilyn Monroe Estate"-brand "7 Year Itch Dress" recently sold on eBay for $101. (Movies & Television:Memorabilia:Movie:Wardrobe; Collectibles:Vintage Clothing, Accessories:Clothing (Pre-1980):Costumes, Masks).
There are other hot Halloween gewgaws and collectibles as well. Among some recent high-end auctions: vintage "Great Halloween Candy Container" for $788; a Halloween Celluloid Witch Black Cat Pumpkin for $875; a Halloween Nodder for $611.
"Vintage holiday stuff are great sellers," affirms Phil Davies of TIAS.com http://www.tias.com. "If you've got a papier mache Halloween pumpkin, postcards for Halloween, then push them," he says. "There's tons of stuff out there for those specific niches."
Davies recommends that online sellers take advantage of the various promotional tools on their site to capitalize on the upcoming holidays: "You've got Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Christmas, plus the Jewish holidays all coming up. All our dealers are set up with email newsletters. Lots of dealers doing well on our system are really taking advantage of that."
As for eBay's holiday promotion plans, Kevin Pursglove says that while it's a bit premature to discuss them, they will soon make a formal announcement about it.*
But some sellers are ready to jump right into the Christmas whirl. One says she listed a couple holiday dresses now because, "They're so pretty, I just couldn't wait." She points out that some people have their children's Christmas pictures taken in early October. Another says she's found that her holiday items usually do best in October and November.
While several sellers are already reporting having good luck selling Christmas outfits such as festive vests, others say they think the optimal time is at the beginning of November. "That leaves time for the auctions to run, collect payment, and get them out on time. After the first week of December, it drops off because of the time it takes to complete transactions."
Whatever your timing, good luck with your own holiday sales this year. I hope to finance most of my holiday purchases with my own auctions, so personally, I plan to be listing soon!
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