How to Be a Committed Collector
Decide what you want to collect., Don't trust everything on an online auctioning/shopping website., Go on a site like Ebay and compare the reviews about the seller with the prices., See if the seller has other social media accounts., Look for...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Decide what you want to collect.
Don't try to start collecting Pokémon cards now- they've been in print for years.
Try something small- Grass 1 Series Minecraft figurines are the perfect kind of thing to collect.
There are a lot out there, but not so many that you can't possibly "catch 'em all". -
Step 2: Don't trust everything on an online auctioning/shopping website.
Check the reviews for each individual seller, and definitely look at what people are saying about the site itself.
Ebay and Craigslist are fine, but many other sites are scams.
Research any site and seller very carefully. , The closer to 100% good reviews they have, the more you should trust them.
Most sellers with high prices have fewer good reviews.
Very established sellers tend to have low to mid-range prices and lots of good reviews. , Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the like are all even more ways to get an insight on who the seller is and if you should trust them or not.
If a seller has a YouTube channel, this channel will most likely be them showing off their collection.
This will give you a better idea about if clicking that "Bid Now" button is as good a decision as you thought. , There is no rule against "sniping"
so feel free to do it. "Sniping" or "eBay Sniping" means that you place your bid in the last seconds of the auction so that no one has enough time to respond to your bid.
Sometimes, eBay will even have a "Buy Now" button where you will definitely get the item that would have been bid on. , The whole point of being a collector is to have an extensive knowledge of your item, and to have every single one.
You can set up a Google Alert with certain keywords, and Google will update you with the latest news about that topic in your Gmail. , Within the first 24 hours of people having the knowledge that a certain card or figurine is going out of stock, sellers are going to skyrocket their prices, because they know that committed collectors will pay almost anything to get every single one in the set.
Once something is said to be going out of stock, quickly go onto eBay or some other site and try to get the item. , Go for something a little higher, maybe a few more cents, but offer something the other sellers don't offer, such as free shipping. , It's basic math- rarer items sell for more.
If you have 2 rare items and want to sell one, feel free to make your price higher. , Simply open them up, and see what you get.
If it is something you don't have, add it to your collection.
If not, then sell it on eBay.
Sometimes buyers want you to also sell the packaging in with it.
If a majority of people ask you this, then add no more than a dollar to the overall cost, unless you really want to keep the box. -
Step 3: Go on a site like Ebay and compare the reviews about the seller with the prices.
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Step 4: See if the seller has other social media accounts.
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Step 5: Look for last-minute deals.
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Step 6: Know when new sets of things are coming out.
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Step 7: If a certain card or figurine is going to go or is out of stock
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Step 8: act fast.
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Step 9: When selling your doubles
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Step 10: see what other people on the site you are selling it on are trying to pay for it.
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Step 11: Know if the item you want to sell is very rare.
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Step 12: Don't bother selling unopened blind boxes.
Detailed Guide
Don't try to start collecting Pokémon cards now- they've been in print for years.
Try something small- Grass 1 Series Minecraft figurines are the perfect kind of thing to collect.
There are a lot out there, but not so many that you can't possibly "catch 'em all".
Check the reviews for each individual seller, and definitely look at what people are saying about the site itself.
Ebay and Craigslist are fine, but many other sites are scams.
Research any site and seller very carefully. , The closer to 100% good reviews they have, the more you should trust them.
Most sellers with high prices have fewer good reviews.
Very established sellers tend to have low to mid-range prices and lots of good reviews. , Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the like are all even more ways to get an insight on who the seller is and if you should trust them or not.
If a seller has a YouTube channel, this channel will most likely be them showing off their collection.
This will give you a better idea about if clicking that "Bid Now" button is as good a decision as you thought. , There is no rule against "sniping"
so feel free to do it. "Sniping" or "eBay Sniping" means that you place your bid in the last seconds of the auction so that no one has enough time to respond to your bid.
Sometimes, eBay will even have a "Buy Now" button where you will definitely get the item that would have been bid on. , The whole point of being a collector is to have an extensive knowledge of your item, and to have every single one.
You can set up a Google Alert with certain keywords, and Google will update you with the latest news about that topic in your Gmail. , Within the first 24 hours of people having the knowledge that a certain card or figurine is going out of stock, sellers are going to skyrocket their prices, because they know that committed collectors will pay almost anything to get every single one in the set.
Once something is said to be going out of stock, quickly go onto eBay or some other site and try to get the item. , Go for something a little higher, maybe a few more cents, but offer something the other sellers don't offer, such as free shipping. , It's basic math- rarer items sell for more.
If you have 2 rare items and want to sell one, feel free to make your price higher. , Simply open them up, and see what you get.
If it is something you don't have, add it to your collection.
If not, then sell it on eBay.
Sometimes buyers want you to also sell the packaging in with it.
If a majority of people ask you this, then add no more than a dollar to the overall cost, unless you really want to keep the box.
About the Author
Charles Young
Writer and educator with a focus on practical DIY projects knowledge.
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