A question I often receive is, “Can I make money on eBay by selling old and vintage magazines?” The short answer is, “Yes.” But to do so, you have to take the time to conduct the ‘right’ eBay market research.
Now, I’m writing a whole eBay tutorial on selling magazines because there are a zillion old magazines floating around this big world.
And there is real money to be made by selling them on eBay even if you’re not an ‘expert’ in the magazine market.
Every time I go to an auction, flea market, or garage sale there’s bound to be a stack of magazines sitting around somewhere.
Most recently, I bought out an estate. And included was a big pile of old KISS magazines! Rock on!
So, I’m going to chronicle my journey with Gene and the boys. This in-depth eBay tutorial should give you a good jump-start in your learning how to make money on eBay by selling old and vintage magazines.
eBay profits come from eBay market research
Truth be told, many of my students eventually grow tired of hearing me harp on eBay research. But it is the #1 reason folks flame out over time. Meaning, they start out gung-ho! They fire up WorthPoint (the best research list tool on the planet!) and list items after they know the selling stats.
But, after some time the research isn’t exciting anymore so they stop. And that’s when their sales start to decline.
Me? After all these years I still LOVE the research! It’s a new adventure every day! Plus, I know that’s how to make money on eBay and selling on eBay has been my livelihood for over 24 years!
Let’s look at listing the KISS magazine lot I just ‘inherited’ as part of an estate buy…
Sorting through a pile of magazines can be very time consuming.
But it can also be very rewarding when you run across a valuable issue that could turn into money.
The first step is to do a simple search for the name of the magazine using eBay. I was never really a KISS girl and, so, was unfamiliar with the magazine, I knew I had to rely on market research to bring in the bucks.
The title is “Superstar Facts & Pix” This particular issue is dedicated to KISS. Although when I search for all those words, I am not having much luck so let’s try “Superstar Facts Magazine”
Immediately I notice I need to adjust the search. Notice above on the WorthPoint side bar “Refine Search.” I picked: Show only items with Images and Search by title only.
***IMPORTANT TAKE AWAY***
You have to remember that when we search for multiple words, other eBay sellers would need to have ALL of those words in their title so this is why it’s important not to search for too many words in one search.
The second title in this magazine is “KISS And The Other Wildmen of Metal”. I ran a search using ‘KISS Wildmen Metal’ and ‘Kiss Wildmen’, but with no luck.
My motto? When all else fails go back to the basics. Then I searched simply ‘KISS Magazine‘.
Nice odds with a great opportunity for us to learn more about KISS magazines!
The market research shows that some magazines are worth listing as a single vs. listing in a box lot.
Not too shabby!
I do have other types of KISS magazines so now my decision is, will I make more money by listing one by one vs ‘box-lotting’ them together? To help with this decision I researched the titles of the other magazines to see if any of those sold well on their own.
Too bad I didn’t have a load of the Marvel Comics editions because those sell very well on their own.
Ka-ching!
How to make money on eBay means using the “right” keywords
To be thorough with my marketplace research, I used the keyword phrase “KISS Magazine Lot” just to see how many people listed using these words and WOW!!!
This is a good example of comparing the searches on how people add words to the titles. Not everyone added the word “autograph” even though the highest price with the word “autographed” was the best seller. This is expected with a signed copy so don’t forget to add the most relevant terms in your search and in your item listing titles.
Other types of keyword searches I did were:
- KISS Cover Photo
- KISS Mag
- KISS Poster Insert
- KISS 1986
- KISS Booklet
The final keyword searches I did were the titles of each magazine. What I discovered is that the box lots commanded the highest price and had the best sell-through ratio. Individually, the magazine that fetched the highest price was $48.00 and the lowest sold for $1.98.
Bottom line? I will make the most money by offering the KISS magazines as a lot. Further, KISS items sell well so I have high hopes!
Extra eBay market research exciting!
Before I had started to create my listing, just for fun I did one more research using WorthPoint. I searched only one word – KISS.
I found the highest priced item sold on eBay for $14,999.00. It was a signed guitar!
This is yet another reason why I love researching because I always learn about “other” stuff to look for to sell on eBay.
But for now, let the bidding begin on this KISS Box Lot of magazines, eBay item # 391332313101
***NOTE: Follow-up report***
Shortly after listing this lot I had someone contact me asking if one of the issues had the full-size poster inside.
Unfortunately, this issue did not which made me realize I had better check all of the issues for the posters! Sure enough some had the posters but some did not.
Bummer!
I should’ve had this information up-front as I did not pay attention to the important part of the “posters” that may be included. Obviously, this will affect the sale.
I had started that auction at $99.99 which ended with no bids. I did add the missing poster information to the description and have dropped the price to $49.99 and relisted it as an auction. eBay item #391342997516. We will see how it goes.
Keep in mind these things happen.
Sometimes we can miss important details which is something I did this time. I was in such a hurry to get them sorted and listed that I never paid attention to the “inserts” inside each magazine. This type of detail can, indeed, affect the price value.
But, I’m rolling the dice again! This time, I’m running a 10 day auction that will be ending the day after Christmas.
Check back to view the results!
