Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd's Ebay

Subject: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd'sEbay
From: GUEST,Lin
Date: 27 Sep 15 - 03:05 AM

I am looking for someone who is in USA and has an Ebay account already set up, to help me sell folk CD's and folk LPs on Ebay.

I am on the West Coast in California. I have about 18-20 folk CDs, a mixture of folk, bluegrass, Celtic and a few non-folk CDs too (but majority are folk) with the exception of one or two.
One of the Celtic ones is actually a 3-CD set so would ask a higher price for that one.

I do not have a digital camera (so of course you would have to have a digital camera) and I do not have a car. I would have the problem of getting CDs mailed out in a timely manner to a buyer as I have to take the buses to the post office. To get to the nearest bus stop is a 20 minute walk and bus only runs about once an hour. If I miss the bus back due to a long line in post office, I would have to stand out there in the hot weather (no bus shelter) to wait for the bus and then walk home after bus stop is uphill.

So it would be just too hard on me to try and get CDs or LPs mailed out to people in a timely manner who have won them.

I am therefore, looking for someone in USA (doesn't have to be California) that I can mail the CD's to (maybe 5 at a time) when I can get to the post office, and if you already have an Ebay acct. you could put them up on Ebay to sell with a photo of CD cover and list the songs in your description under the Folk CD category. There is a Folk CD genre on Ebay so that would be the best place I would want them listed under.

Since I would be providing the CDs and mail them to you, (I could also mail you the envelopes) would 50/50 be fair? I could first try to see what they might be worth, there are a few obscure ones in the bunch.
So if the CD sells for $10.00 you would get $5.00 and I would get $5.00, (which you could mail to me.) I do not have Paypal.

I don't have anyone I know to help me. None of my friends live near me and none have Ebay accts. and four friends (all in different areas don't drive freeways.) or not tech. minded to be able to do this.
Yeah, we're all getting older....

I wanted to start out with selling the CDs first and then get the LPs ready to sell (which are also folk -some obscure)

Like I said there is a Folk CD and Folk LP genre on Ebay.

There is a record shop about 20 miles from me and they only give you 50 cents or a dollar for a CD or LP (sometimes just 25 cents.)
For me it is 3 buses each way to even get there so not worth taking your CDs & LPs there unless you live in the area or have a car.

So....if anyone is interested who already has an EBay acct. and knows about selling on EBay, please let me know.

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd'sEbay
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Sep 15 - 03:21 AM

Where are you in California, Lin?

It sounds like it could be fun for somebody who has the time to do that sort of thing, but I have more money than time nowadays.

-Joe in Applegate, CA-

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd'sEbay
From: GUEST,Lin
Date: 27 Sep 15 - 03:32 AM

Hi Joe:

I am in Southern, California near the Inland Empire area.

Thanks Joe, always good to hear from you.

Lin

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd'sEbay
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Sep 15 - 04:07 AM

Hi, Lin -
Shipping things twice could get costly, so I'm thinking it might be best to work with somebody who's close to you.
I have fond memories of taking my family to the "trolley farm" at Perris in the Inland Empire when we lived in Torrance in the 1970s. Guess I should go back sometime. I love trolley museums, and that one was particularly good even in the 1970s.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd'sEbay
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Sep 15 - 04:20 AM

Dear Lin,

The US mail will provide free mailing packages.
They are a flat rate postage.

Your own mail delivery person can take the order and sell stamps or you can do it on line.

When you have a completed order, you can schedule a pickup.

You may opperate using your home for an office and need to go to the main post office. I know of someone in rural Bakersfield (very similar to Inland Empire) that does this.


www.tools.usps.com/go/ScheduleAPickupAction!input.action

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd'sEbay
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 27 Sep 15 - 08:24 AM

So if the CD sells for $10.00

Sorry to be a killjoy, but I very much doubt that you'll get $10 for a used CD, unless it's something quite rare.

I'm not in the US, but here in the UK you can get most things for about £2 ($3) if you look around. And with most stuff available online, fewer and fewer people are interested.

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd'sEbay
From: maeve
Date: 27 Sep 15 - 08:50 AM

Lin, have you already researched your cd and lp album titles for sold prices on eBay? That may be a good place to help you analyze realistic pricing and shipping costs. You may find you need to consider other options.

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd'sEbay
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 15 - 12:59 PM

The trouble with this plan is the shipping. LPs are heavy, so shipping them twice is going to add up and you'll end up breaking even at best. A 13" x 13" x 5" box (typical of what might be needed to ship LPs) weighing 10 pounds (they are heavy) would cost $25.40 standard post. You could fudge and say they were media (books are heavy, and the post office might buy it, but packages sent book rate are not exempt from inspection and can be opened) would cost $7.22 (calculating a shipping price from my home to a zip code on the west coast). You might be able to manage a Priority flat rate large box (12 x 12 x 5) but it would be a tight fit and that would come out $15.80 if you paid online, $17.80 if you pay at the post office.

In lieu of a camera, when you load known items at eBay you can enter the ISBN and it will give you a stock image, but then you need to make clear that this is a stock image and describe your cover PRECISELY naming any flaws, faded areas, etc. And people like to see the item (the CD, the LP) in a photo, so you'd also have to describe that. I'm telling you this if you wanted to try listing them yourself and not go through another party. eBay has a learning curve, but there are Dummy books out there and eBay offers help.

An experienced seller could do it, but the biggest amount of work goes into the photograph, the description, and the packing for sale, so though you own the items, a 50/50 split isn't going to be acceptable to anyone who does this as a regular business. They're doing all of the work, and eBay and PayPal take a cut off the top before the final amount is calculated. If you sell a CD for $10, and the buyer pays the shipping, you're still going to end up making only about $8 per CD. There is no way you can ship all of these things to someone and take out the original shipping then split the remainder from the sale and make any money.

I would suggest that you MIGHT sell it as a lot, in one fell swoop. Borrow someone's camera or have a friend with a smart phone take photos of everything laid out in batches, front and back, and they can email or upload the photos to your computer. You can post up to 12 photos in an eBay sale without cost. If this is your first sale at eBay people are going to steer clear from the new account, figuring that you don't know what you're doing or that you're someone starting over after being kicked out. So you need someone established to set up the sale, and trust that you're describing everything right. You send them the descriptions, the photos, they do the listing, and when it sells, you ship promptly.

It isn't easy, and eBay isn't really a way to make any money on those items. You're probably better off taking the box to your local used book store that sells all of this and asking for an offer. Seriously. The eBay way is going to be a waste of everyone's time.

Sorry about that.

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd'sEbay
From: maeve
Date: 27 Sep 15 - 01:19 PM

Lin, your local craigslist lists LPs and CDs for sale. You might consider if that would be a good fit for your needs. There is also at least one person there buying albums.

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd'sEbay
From: GUEST,Lin
Date: 27 Sep 15 - 04:11 PM

Thanks everyone for your response.

To Maeve: I want to stay away from Craigslist. In my area there have been too many crimes committed when people meet the people they are selling stuff to. Since I don't have a car, I cannot lug a lot of LP's & CD's on the bus to meet someone in a public place and I don't want them coming to where I live.

I probably could take the CDs to a public place (maybe a café) but not the LP's as they are too heavy unless you are only taking a few.

Regarding Craigslist, I'm referring to people who have actually been accosted (spelling?) and done harm to the person at their home. Paranoid? Maybe, but the authorities (from article I read in the paper) say to try and avoid having people show up at your house that you do not know, from Craigslist.

I am sure most Craigslist sales go forward without any problem but in my area there have been a lot of problems from Craigslist transactions.

For some reason Craigslist seems to be the most problematic for crimes towards people selling things. Not sure why that is.

I do not really know my neighbors enough to ask them to come over and most people around here keep to themselves, are working or just gone a lot.
Thank you just the same Maeve.

To Guest Acme:

You mentioned about an experienced seller which would probably be the best route but I was going to take into account the shipping costs which the buyer pays. If it is an experienced seller I would think he /she could take photos pretty quickly of a CD cover.
Yes, they are doing the work to do this, ship items but they would not have made any money if they did not have the item (CD or LP) that I had provided in the first place. As I mentioned some of the CDs/LPs are obscure and not mainstream folk. In other words they are not Joan Baez, Dylan, Peter, Paul & Mary, etc. but some titles (especially the LPs) are more on the obscure/rarer side.

I guess you might be right that "It won't be easy" but also wanted to ask you, how am I supposed to lug LPs on buses and why would I take them to a book store???
They are not books. The book store around here (and there are very few) DO NOT SELL CDS OR LPS. They sell BOOKS only.

If you reread my post, I indicated that I do not have a car. It is a 20 minute walk to the closest bus stop and there would be more then one bus to get to a record store as I would have to transfer to another bus route. Three buses one way and waiting time between each bus to even get to a record store. It would take several hours just to get there with all the bus transfers!

When I get groceries I take the bus there and take a taxi home one way but the grocery store is not far. Just one bus to get there.

There are no record shops nearby or book stores nearby at all.

I do not have anyone to drive me around so I take buses.
None of my friends live near me and they do not drive freeways anymore.   

I will probably have to give up as it sounds all too complicated to sell on EBay unless you have someone who "lives near you" and willing to help you out. (as Joe offer suggested) Sadly, I do not have anyone I know personally who can help.   

I will probably have to throw the CD's & LPs in a bag where they come out and pick up your items such as Goodwill Thrift stores. I won't be doing this right away so maybe I will hear from someone in my area on this post who can help.

Thanks for all your suggestions though. I have a very limited income and was just hoping to make a little money.......and also know that there must be some people looking for more obscure folk LPs out there. Oh well.. it was just a thought.

Thank you.

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd'sEbay
From: maeve
Date: 27 Sep 15 - 04:36 PM

Lin- I'm sorry there are no easy answers for you. If you were to list your LPs and CDs here perhaps someone here from your general area can help. I understand about CL. In some areas it's just not safe.

Don't give up! Sometimes these questions just take a little longer to find the best solution.

Maeve

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd'sEbay
From: maeve
Date: 27 Sep 15 - 04:41 PM

Here's another idea, Lin: Call these folks and tell them what you need. Ask them to recommend a reliable person they would trust and who may be interested in working out a sale. http://folkmusiccenter.com/groupindividual-lessons/guitar-lessons/ You don't need to tell them more than you wish to, but they may well be able to help in some way.

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd'sEbay
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 15 - 05:10 PM

Many used book stores sell more than just books. Half Price Books is one of them. Is there a store in your area?

Craig's list is an asylum run by the inmates. eBay used to have a local listing (Kijiji or something like that) but it died out in the U.S. Facebook now has local groups for buying and selling, and someone told me they are better behaved because people don't want to be kicked out of them.

People have different setups for photos on eBay. I don't want anything but the item view - when I shop on eBay I don't want to see someone's ratty livingroom carpet or messy kitchen in the background. I don't want to see a beefy hand holding up the item in question. I have an area set to stage the photos, well lit, with props for positioning. So I'm ready for it, but I use a camera, download them into the computer, choose the best, crop them, and have them ready to upload to eBay. If you're going to list by shooting a quick shot with your phone and doing it all on the phone app, that is different.

I have some boilerplate verbiage about PayPal only, items in photos are actual items for sale, returns only if the item isn't the item described, etc. But I describe in words the item also. Not everyone shops eBay by looking at photos. For those who use assistive devices, my sales (sometimes auctions, but mostly fixed-price sales) are available to more shoppers.

Asking someone who has it already set up but who knows the amount of work that goes in is probably not going to work, so I would suggest finding another way to sell them. It wouldn't be worth it to me to sell a $10 CD (or even several of them, one at a time) to receive a $4 cut from it. This is just the practicality of how it works.

I also sell books as an Amazon seller, and perhaps that is where you should go to price your items and then list them. They also use standard images of items if there is a bar code or ISBN associated. They give an allowance for shipping, and charge .99 plus some other fee per item if you sell fewer than 40 items a month. If you have a credit card or PayPal account you can pay for postage online via USPS, print the label to tape on the parcel, and hand it over to your mail carrier. USPS doesn't allow online payments for anything other than Priority or First Class so it would be a good idea to have a roll of stamps handy and print your own label then affix your own postage. Amazon's allowance doesn't always cover all of the postage, but it tends to average out over time.

Any online selling is going to involve linking your bank account to a credit card or PayPal to receive payments. So unless you have a disposition that can deal with all of the steps involved with online selling, I suggest the local bookstore or offer them as a lot to someone locally for a price you agree on and they can do what they will to sell them. That would be selling at the wholesale, not retail price.

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd's Ebay
From: maeve
Date: 27 Sep 15 - 07:31 PM

Lin, another thought. You could also trade emails with Joe about listing these in the Mudcat Auction. If you listed a few at a time and got some of the priority mailers ahead of time, you might be able to manage from home. Say, offer a small group of LPs that fit in whatever packaging you've gotten. Mix the rare ones in with a few others. A percentage to Mudcat would be gracious, but is not required.

Joe, is this a workable idea as far as the auction is concerned?

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd's Ebay
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 15 - 09:59 PM

That would certainly bring them to the attention of an audience likely to appreciate them. Running a thread calling attention to the auction would be the only advertising required.

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd's Ebay
From: wysiwyg
Date: 28 Sep 15 - 11:23 AM

I love to buy used CDs via Amazon. I'd rather get them thru Mudcat, whether the Cat gets a cut or not. Links to existing threads about the artists featured would be very helpful.

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd's Ebay
From: wysiwyg
Date: 28 Sep 15 - 11:34 AM

A thought-- rare vinyl might be handled this way--

Use Mudcat to find aficionados of particular artists, who might be able to buy them from you-- for you to send to Document records or other re-issuers of items out of print via CD. They'd be making a donation of the material back into the Folk Process. I have a rare item, for example, with field recorded gospel songs. If that were on CD, I'd pay 10-20 ucks for that CD, depending on how many songs I was planning to learn. That's the type of purchase I make several times a year for our Band. I can buy more songs that way, at used prices, but for a must-learn song not available any other way, TBTG the church will reimburse me for a pricey new copy.

Dick Greenhaus, via Camsco, reissued several rare items; I don't know if he's still doing that. I don't know if Caroline Paton/Folk Legacy are anymore, either.

Another Avenue to explore might be donating the vinyl to a radio station that can convert them to digital, for airplay, in exchange for a tax deduction letter. You'd have to research the rarity and value for them probably, to get them interested.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Need someone to sell Folk LP's/Cd's Ebay
From: Anne Lister
Date: 28 Sep 15 - 03:13 PM

Here in the UK there's a company called Music Magpie. You enter the barcode digits of the albums you're wanting to sell and they will quote you a price - folk CDs are actually worth more with them than mainstream releases. They send you a label and the delivery costs included so all you have to do then is get the goods to a location (sometimes a local store) and they collect from there and then in time send a cheque for the monies agreed. Saves all the bother of photos etc via eBay, none of the hassles of Craigslist ...so all you have to do now is see if there's a similar company operating in California!