There is more to a door knob than you think.!
Recently a client from The Villages (Florida retirement community) brought me a few boxes of hardware made by the Baldwin company, located in Reading PA.
History shows the original company was founded in 1946 by Severin Fayerman. If you are interested in the history, take a look at the Baldwin Hardware website and read The Baldwin Story.
eBay is a terrific choice for people like my Villages’ friend who can’t return products to the place of purchase.
She’d bought all the hardware (doorknobs, hinges, etc.) for the building of a new house but the deal fell through and the house was not built. Since she could no longer return the items due to being long past the deadline, she might have been stuck with the doorknobs, hinges, and such.
Instead of losing money in this situation, she contacted me to sell her Baldwin items on consignment.
eBay is the perfect solution to liquidate items such as these.
Depending on demand, the top sale price may or may not be received. Nonetheless, my client feels that even if she makes “some” of her money back it’s better than none of it at all.
It’s all about the Terapeak research!
In every consignment article I write, I always talk about Terapeak. You’ll get used to it. LOL
But, seriously, I never, ever list an eBay item or agree to take an item on consignment until I’ve first looked it up on my beloved Terapeak.
I love learning about products and interesting items. Half the fun of selling on eBay is the education you receive while researching products. Of course, the other half is turning the items into cash!
My research has shown that the Baldwin Egg Door knob with a nickel finish has only a 7.7% sell-through rate.
Now, that seems low but we have to examine several other factors before listing.
A low sell-through rate can indicate several things but in this situation it means the seller had prices very high and there are actually different model numbers. So even though the average sell-through rate is only 7.7% on eBay, it does not mean it will be that way for our items.
One item that we have the most quantity of is: Egg Knob #95425.150.PASS. This knob is considered the ” Premium Hall and Closet” knob and is dated 2000. 100% solid core forged brass. It is non-locking and the box reads; easy installation. We have a total of 11 boxes and the weight of one box is a bit over 3 pounds. (eBay item # 400996706751 ) – UPDATE (11/5/2015) – we sold a few of these $30.00 and $27.00 however I have discovered that several of them are damaged inside the box showing a few “nicks”. I am going to sort them out and relist using proper descriptions on each. This will avoid any return issues. Relisted – ( eBay item # 401022930684 )
Classic Knob 95405.150 PASS,, Premium Hall and Closet with satin Nickel Finish – eBay item #401022919234.
Luxury Entry Handle Set is called Logan by Baldwin and it comes with an Egg Knob. It has:
- Entrance Function
- Single Cylinder
- Satin Nickel
- Adjustable Backset
On this item, I decided to list it as an auction since there were several already listed as a ‘buy-it-now’ but they were not selling that well at a high price. My auction started at $24.99 and I used calculated shipping. ( eBay item # 400996773197 ) – SOLD $76.00.
I have three handle sets “Premium Bed and Bath” called Wave Lever handles. These are dated 2006 and are also new in the box. Research shows a 34% sell through rate which is pretty darned good! I feel confident to list these as a BIN (buy-it-now) $32.00 with Make an offer and I hope to sell them for no less than $24.00 each (eBay item # 400996836264 ) SOLD – Best offer accepted at $20.00 and $22.00 x 2 each.
Deadbolt locks have an average price of $36.86. We have four of them to sell on eBay. I decided to create one listing with a quantity of 4. Buyers can purchase one or more until the four are sold. This is a nice strategy because you only pay for one listing and can still have several quantities. This is a topic I talk about during the eBay workshops I present with the USPS. Listed $49.99 with free shipping. ( eBay Item # 391265653663 ) One SOLD $35.00 and three are still listed.
Next I have 3 egg knobs that are called “Premium Dummy Trim” Bed and Bath. These are also in the Satin Nickel style like the others. These are not such great sellers so I will list them at $19.99 with $5.00 shipping and we will see how it goes. ( eBay Item # 391265720431 ) – SOLD two at $19.99 each. One left, relisted #401022893639.
The last set of three items are the Premium Bed and Bath egg Knobs. Model # 95425.050.PRIV. These are very good sellers on eBay with an average price of about $57.00. I decided to list mine for $57.50 plus $6.00 shipping. (eBay item # 400997454994 ) SOLD one $40.00 and the other two were sold and returned. They do have nicks in them so I will be re-listing them. (eBay item # 391312707745.
Last but not least is a Premium Hall and Closet Wave Lever handle. Surprisingly these are not big sellers. I listed it a few pennies lower than others as a BIN with make an offer and created a flat price of $28.99 and $12.00 for shipping. This will make it more desirable to those further from Florida. (eBay Item #400997469081 ) SOLD $23.00 and the person that bought this one also combined shipping with one of the other items.
I do have one more listing from this client that has nothing to do with Baldwin but I wanted to place it on the same page because I have no other items from her and that is a set of “Towle Stainless Steel” silverware. We have 5 pieces to a set of 8. Lovely set with Gold trim on the handles. Researching these many people list them 5 sets at a time. I decided to list them altogether as an auction and roll the dice. (eBay Item # 391265829861) – NO SALE – Relisted eBay item # 391312632617 )
Note: I would be happy to list your items on eBay. Just visit my Consignment page for more information and contact me when you are ready to get started making money on ebay!
