Contemporary Indiana Loganberry bowl. No bids at $7.99. Several of these are offered daily on eBay. Everybody who wants one, has one.
Fenton's Blackberry Spray square hat in blue. Seller started at $25, a bit more that it should bring on eBay. Would have been better to start it at $5 and put the reserve at $15 or $20.
Millersburg's Primrose in green. Started at $175 with $225 "Buy It Now." Hard to tell from photo just what the iridescence is like. Seller also stated that one just like it had sold week before for $232. Not convincing. Should have started at $10 to attract bidders with a reserve around $175.
Fenton's Dragon and Lotus spatula footed bowl in amethyst. No bids at start of $45.00. Lots of Dragon and Lotus out there and this one looks less than average in iridescence. In addition, there was no gallery photo, so many people may have missed it. Might be able to sell it by starting at $5 with a reserve under $45.00.
Let's say you have some Carnival Glass you want to sell on eBay. How do you go about it? Your first question to yourself should be, what will sell and what will not. Of the 4,000 pieces of Carnival listed daily on eBay, fewer than half sell. Why is this? Mostly it's because the reserve has been set too high, but also because many pieces are of little interest. It's good to watch eBay for a while to see which kinds of pieces sell and which do not.
If you have a lot of common pieces to offer, eBay may not be much help. If your Carnival is somewhat better, say typically sells between $40 and $70 (check this site for recent price ranges), then you have a good chance of selling it. But don't set your reserve too high unless you are willing to relist them several times.
For better pieces of Carnival, it becomes a question of getting to the most collectors. Bear in mind that not all collectors check eBay each day, so you may have to relist pieces that don't make your reserve.
How to improve your chances of selling Carnival
Start your prices low, at $10 or even $5. Why? For the same reason auctioneers start the bidding at approximately the value, then drop it to a much lower start--which gets people bidding. In the heat of the action, bidders become determined to get the piece, thus running up the bids. If you start your piece at its value (or, heaven forbid, above it), you'll not get much action. A lot of folks like to see other people bidding before they'll jump in.
Don't set too high a reserve. Be realistic. If you paid more than the going price for a piece, you may not be able to make a profit on it.
Include lots of information in the title
"Carnival Glass Bowl" just doesn't cut it. In fact, eBay may warn you that you should include more information. Include the pattern name, shape, color and any other salient information (within the character count limits imposed by eBay). And make sure you include the word "Carnival" in the headline. Most folks search for Carnival glass by asking eBay to find on that word in the title. If it's not there, the item won't be found by most people.
Should you use a subhead (the line of smaller text under the title)?
People who use this eBay feature swear by it, but I've seen a lot of nice glass sell without it. However, if you have an expensive piece and want to expand on its features, it's worth the additional fee.
The description
Damage
Should you increase the type size of the description?
In the above ad, note how the seller paints a colorful verbal picture of the piece being offered. The seller also breaks the text into several paragraphs rather than one long one and points out that there is no damage though there are flaws. An excellent listing.
This is where you should make the piece shine. Include an extensive description of the piece, including pattern, shape, color and size. Describe the beauty of the iridescence. Tell your readers what makes this piece special, but don't invent characteristics it doesn't have--you'll only disappoint the buyer.
Avoid such adjectives as "beautiful, stunning, spectacular, wow" and so on. They're meaningless words to the bidder. Don't use the word "rare" unless it really is and is also desirable. We all find it annoying when someone tries to convince us that a common piece is rare.
You can also skip telling people where you got the piece (unless it came from a famous collector). People really don't care that it came from an estate sale, farm sale, or grandma's attic. When finished, check your description and headline. eBay gives you several opportunities to do this (and also provides a spell checker). Make sure you are saying what you really intend to say and check for typos.
Before you write your description, make sure you check for damage and flaws. These should be completely disclosed and shown in photos. Buyers of Carnival are a picky bunch, and you're likely to be asked to take it back or receive negative feedback if a buyer detects damage you didn't mention.
Probably. eBay allows you to use larger type sizes for the description at no extra cost. In ebay's editing panel, you can select the words you want to change and click on the appropriate icon above. While I don't feel it's crucial that the type be larger than the default, larger type does give more emphasis to the description. You can also change the color and other attributes. I don't recommend a hodge-podge of type faces, sizes and colors. It's just distracting.
Needless to say, photographs are what sell Carnival on eBay. After viewing eBay sales for many years, I've come to the conclusion that showing lots of photos (front, back, closeups), goes a long way toward making the bidder confident in the auction. Kind of a substitute for holding up a piece and viewing it from all angles as you can do at a live auction. Make sure you include a gallery photo. People scrolling through the listings find it annoying when there is no photo. In your ad, eBay charges a fee for each photo (other than the first one), it's very small (15 cents) and easily worth the cost to include half-a-dozen or so photos.
Photo hints
Take many photos and choose the best. Make sure the lighting shows the iridescence to best effect--after all, iridescence is what makes Carnival special. Be sure that the photos fill the frame and are not against a confusing background. If you can, a good choice is to take the photos outdoors, but not in direct sunlight. Experiment a bit. It costs nothing more than a little time to take a bunch of digital photos.
Bringing more attention to your listing
There are several features that eBay provides to help sellers attract attention to their listings so they stand out from all the others--for a slight fee. You can have eBay make the listing title in bold. It costs $1 extra and eBay claims it increases the final price you get by 24%. I'm not sure I believe it. You can also add a purple border, but eBay makes no claim about the effectiveness and it costs $3. You can highlight your listing with a colored band at a cost of $5.00. There are other tools that duplicate the listing at the top of the page, for an additional fee, of course.
Pricing your pieces
This is the area where you'll have to give the most thought. Choose the wrong approach and the item will not sell, wasting your time. The most successful sellers start at a very low price, as mentioned above, to get the bidding started. They set the reserve at the minimum they feel is a fair price for the piece. That's not a guarantee, however, as many pieces do not make the reserve. But you can list it again--the right buyer may just not have seen it. Again, be realistic and check this site to determine your reserve. Interestingly, some of the most successful sellers do not even use a reserve. It's pretty gutsy, but keeps the bidders interested if they know they're only bidding against other bidders, not the seller. Bear in mind that you have to accept the highest bid if you don't state a reserve, whether it's sufficient or not.
Should you use "Buy It Now?"
I don't think this is an eBay tool that makes much sense. True, an occasional piece may sell this way, but in general I think it's counter-productive. Likely, most of the pieces that sell with "Buy It Now" would have done even better had the seller set the start at a low price, then the reserve at the "Buy It Now" level.
Shipping costs
Tip: Some sellers find that including a shipping calculator in the ad gives bidders get a handle on how much it will cost to ship. It seems to help in getting paid faster.
Communication
Be prompt answering questions. After the auction has ended, contact the buyer immediately to let them know you're on top of it. After the buyer has acknowledged receiving the item, leave feedback. It's good for everybody. Be sure to ship the item quickly. Few things annoy buyers more than having to wait weeks for their piece.
Packing
Do your best to avoid breakage. I think the best way to pack glass is to wrap the piece first in several layers of bubble wrap. Use enough so that you think you could drop it to the floor without damage. Then put it in a shipping box with plenty of foam peanuts around it. If the piece is especially fragile or valuable, put that box in another with additional peanuts. If your piece has a lid, do NOT tape it to the base (a good way to ensure damage), but wrap it separately. Remember, postal and shipping services do not treat your packages with care.
Final thought: If you've never set up an eBay ad before
eBay provides a wonderful animated tutorial that covers the mechanics of setting up an ad. It's worth a look if you're new to selling on eBay.