By bbotany
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30/11/2022

How to sell my items at the best price

Fifty million items for sale on ebay.fr in France, some twenty-seven million online ads on leboncoin.fr… the French are reselling their items more and more easily, and the the opportunity is expanding. But where to sell, and especially at what price? A bric-a-brac at a few euros obviously does not require the same precautions as a jewel, an old piece of furniture or even a collection of rare pieces.

Common objects, the embarrassment of choice

Books, CDs, DVDs, toys, clothes... Common objects are sold on free ad sites such as leboncoin.fr, rakuten.com, cdiscount.com, fnac.com, rueducommerce.fr, as well as on specialized platforms, such as vinted.fr for clothing or izidore.com for furniture. If you think an item is likely to attract many buyers, try your luck on ebay. The auction mechanism can let you hope to get the best deal. To position yourself at the market price, nothing could be simpler than a small request on leboncoin.fr for example, by choosing the section “Whole France”. In two clicks, all the identical objects available are displayed. All you have to do is adapt this rating to the condition of your object.

Optimize your ads

According to leboncoin.fr, an ad without a photo attracts seven times fewer buyers. So don't deprive yourself of this possibility offered by all sites, and don't just copy/paste images of the same article found on the internet. The presentation of the real object offered for sale is much preferable. To achieve this type of image, a smartphone is enough. Set the item against a neutral background, frame it tight, and take your photos preferably in natural light. Pay attention to the text of your ad and include any useful information likely to reassure potential buyers: “in its original packaging”, “invoice provided”, etc.

Securing transactions

For distance sales, sites that offer a "trusted third party" service secure transactions by collecting payment for the sale, and remitting it to the seller only when the buyer has confirmed receipt of the product. Security for buyers, therefore, but also useful for sellers. By systematically sending the products sold by tracked parcel, or even by registered mail, you can, if necessary, provide the site with proof of receipt by the buyer, and thus be paid. However, this security has a cost: the platform charges a commission of around 10 to 15% of the sale price up to €150 on average, then a decreasing percentage beyond that. Some electronic purses, such as Paypal, offer a comparable service.

Filtering buyers

You may tick the boxes that stipulate that you refuse any commercial canvassing, it is difficult to escape this. Hence the importance of distinguishing real buyers from curious or unscrupulous salespeople. Require a first contact by email by not distributing your phone number. Indicate that you will only respond to emails specifying the buyer's telephone contact. This filtering is 95% effective. To cut short any useless discussion, also stipulate in the advertisement the mode of sale that you choose: hand-delivered only, to be picked up at home or sent possible. If you rigorously follow your ads, add in the text the words “online ad = product still available” which will prevent you from answering a hundred times in a row “yes, the product is still on sale”! But consider deactivating your ad as soon as the transaction is concluded.

What about collections?

How to sell my items at the best price

To sell antiques or collectibles, it is best to have them appraised first. Whether stamps (cnep.fr, yvert.com), coins (numiscorner.com, lefranc.net), bottles (idealwine.com or cavacave.com) or photo equipment (chassimages.com) . And if the ratings give an idea of the value of the items, the state of conservation has a significant impact on the final resale value.

Jewelry, furniture, expertise recommended

There is no official benchmark for grading jewelry. Too many criteria come into play. The expertise of professional jewelers, or even an auctioneer, is recommended if you think you have a valuable piece. Failing this, gold, silver or diamonds can be bought at their official price on bdor.fr, gold.fr, metaux-precieux.fr and valuae.com, with a view to being melted down or reused. The same goes for paintings, an area where fakes and counterfeits are numerous. For furniture, sites like meubliz.com provide access to a catalog of antique and design furniture that provides a price range. But for any piece estimated at more than 100 €, to refine it, it is recommended to resort to the expertise of an antique dealer or an auctioneer. Because depending on the condition, the detail of the style, the quality of the materials used, the patina... the market value can vary from 1 to 10.

Auction, is it for me?

Trinkets, works of art, jewellery, vintage cars... almost anything can be sold at auction via a room or a hotel des sales (directory and calendar on encherespubliques.com). Start by having an expertise carried out by an auctioneer attached to the room of your choice. The cost of this operation will most often be integrated into his commission. But you may have to pay it if you give up the sale. Please note that at the end of the sale, you will have to pay "seller's fees", which can represent up to 20% of the hammer price. You can try to negotiate this amount, as well as the cost of the expertise, a possible certificate of authenticity, etc. A good point: in addition to their expertise in the listing of objects, the auctioneers ensure the legal security of the transaction.

In the auction room or online

Now, it is no longer essential to survey the physical auction houses to take advantage of the auctions. Even among the big names in the sector, such as Drouot, Artcurial, Sotheby's, Christie's, Interencheres or Auction, auctioneers offer their services online. With the added bonus of the legal certainty provided by these professionals. Alongside these auction rooms coexist websites dedicated to auctions. In addition to ebay.fr, catawiki.fr, expertissim.com, and vavabid.be offer sales in a wide variety of fields and for all budgets. On these sites you trade over-the-counter. However, payment can be secured by using an electronic wallet such as Paypal.

Beware of scams

Scammers target both buyers and sellers on classifieds sites. The most frequent pitfalls remain falsified, stolen or NSF checks and bank transfers issued from abroad (internationally, a mandate can be canceled after its issue under certain conditions). To avoid wooden checks, always wait to have confirmation of collection from your banker before sending the object. And to counter the potential risk of an international bank transfer, there is no other solution than to systematically refuse this method of payment.

Advice from Pierre Taugourdeau, legal director of the sales council*

* Council for voluntary sales of furniture at public auction.

Vintage is all the rage

“Are our cupboards home to unknown treasures? Even today, some comics are highly sought after. An extremely rare Tintin at the Soviets can be exchanged for €18,000. Gaston Lagaffe's promotional albums from €2,000 to €4,000, and the first Spirou and Fantasio from €500 to €1,000 each. But beware, the slightest appearance defect divides the price by ten. Old toys are also a niche for collectors and speculators. Toy soldiers, which have become rare in good condition, can be worth up to €10,000 for a complete series, without wear. Small cars are not to be outdone: Dinky Toys, Tekno, Cij… cost between €50 and €1,500 for a sought-after model, in excellent condition and in its original packaging. Early computers can also be expensive: up to $5,000 for an IBM 5010 from the 1970s! The same goes for Atari or Nintendo game consoles from the 80s to 90s, and even for game cartridges, with a price tag of €800 for the first Mario Kart 64 in mint condition. »

A tax for big sales

Income from the occasional sale of second-hand objects “in the context of the management of private assets” is exempt from tax. However, jewellery, works of art or collectibles and antiques are subject to the fixed tax on precious objects, as soon as their value exceeds €5,000 per item. As far as gold is concerned, this tax applies from the first euro. The sale of other goods worth more than €5,000 is subject to the taxation of capital gains on disposal, at the rate of 19%. Furniture, household appliances, cars and motorcycles are however exempt. Each year, before January 31, the platforms must send you and the tax authorities a summary of your sales made the previous year.