Paintball

[spanky1205]

I have sold a couple of things on the forums but not alot. I have noticed that some people have much better luck selling on the forums than others. I was hopping to maybe get a few pointers for myself and others. So my question to your guys/gals is what would you consider to by the perfect B/S/T tread?

If you know of a thread you like maybe post a link, if it is not against the rules.

The only thing I have to offer is a comment about pictures. I do not even wasted time looking at threads with blurry pictures.

[TrojanMan]

It's easy to sell stuff on a forum.

It's not always easy to get the price you want.




Subject line should contain most of the following: "*manufacturer* *model* *color* *condition* *price*"

Price up front, price up front, price up front (this can be a little high - listing the price as shipped is more desirable)

Picture, as good of a quality as you can manage without making it too huge or too small. If you have a lot of pictures, put up one and either link or thumbnail link to the others. If you link by text, give a description such as:

More pictures:
Left side of body
bore of barrel

and so on. Nobody wants to scan through 8 pictures before they find the shot they're looking for.

Next you want a short statement of what comes with it.
It is highly recommended that you take the picture(s) as-sold. Nobody wants to do the brainwork to figure out

k this iz old pic so what u see here dosnt give you teh best idea. no barrel, no reg and u get a different tank plus im gonna swap out internals x, y and z for i, j and k...

Which brings me to another point - if we can't read it, we don't care.

If the ownership lineage is important or if there are special details about the marker, you list that information next.

Lastly, discuss payment and shipping options. Something like yay:

Payment accepted: Check, MO, PayPal
Shipping from zip: 12345
Trades considered: Palmer's anything, 'mags in good condition, nice pumps
*not looking for partial trades, not looking to part out*

[doglb]

I think it all depends what you have to offer, the price and condition.
I have also noticed trends...one week everyone might be in the market for a PGP, the next not!

A good description, nice clear pics, and goodfeedback always helps.

[JOESPUD27]

TM has great suggestions.

Also, just try and answer as many questions ahead of time as possible.

Be easy and open with communication.

Jay

[Rayodder]

Cheap, cheap, cheap.....

Price is huge motivator, what you want for something is different than what other will be willing to pay for it. If you have something that is worth collecting makes sure it is in a collectible condition, make sure it has all the original parts! often than not people price a custom or signature gun has mismatch match frame or missing barrel at a premium and expect people to pay for, than they get all upset when it doesn't sell or people offers a realistic price.

never go in with the attitude of buying/selling guns as an investment, Very often people knows the history of a gun that is being offered up for sale. so jacking up the price and try sell it on same forum few weeks or months is just not the smartest idea.

The new price list is being put together as we speak, refer to the list and price your items accordingly, or look around on all the classified board and see what prices other people are asking, keep in mind any upgrades you may have added on doesn't not increase the value at all if any, you are better off stripping it off and sell it separately.

Ultimately if the gun is just sitting there doing nothing, it is better off having 1/2 what you paid for in your pocket than having it sitting there taking up space.

[99GenX]

This is coming from somebody that has sold hundreds of item via various methods online -

You want five key items to be present in your post -

Clear informative title
Clear informative description
Clear and professional picture
Clear informative business terms
Honesty (throughout the entire thread)

You also want two key computer applications to help you do the above -

Spell checker
Grammar checker

Your primary objective (other than selling the item at hand) should be to make sure your viewers time is respected; if they care enough to view your thread, then they deserve an easy read that is clear and without any gray areas.

- - - - - - - - - -

I would consider my general B/S/T format professional, inviting, and highly successful. With a properly constructed thread, you generally have more success in selling. It also shows that you mean business and that you have a good understanding of what you are selling; you are also going to be less suspect to lowballs.

Here is one of my current threads as an example of what I would consider a near-perfect B/S/T thread:

Red 2005 Alien Interceptor : WAS Equalizer, '06 Upgrades, Empire Inline, etc. - F/S/T

Title - Tells what is inside, a small description, and what I want to do (for sale or trade).

Introduction - A revamp of the item at hand and a general thanks for your time.

Body and description - Factory specs for those that know little of the item, personal specs that describe any specifics, additional gear available (I offer discounts for items when purchasing markers, just something I do), a clear and professional picture (absolutely necessary), a small video (I have these about half of the time), and an in depth description of the marker.

Outro - Wait till the end to do all of your business talk. Listing the price and acceptable trades at the end of your ad forces them to scroll through a highly professional looking thread which will likely increase their interest (don't scare viewers away at the start of a thread by a high price). This is your marker, you make the demands, just don't come across as a stiff or immature child. Too many rules makes you seem like you may have a mightier than thou complex; no rules such as "|)0 /\/0T T4l|< L1|<3 T|-|15 1/\/ /\/\Y T|-|R34|)" (translated to 'do not talk like this in my thread'); it should be assumed that you only deal with mature individuals due to the over all mood portrayed in your initial post.

Finale - Reassure viewers that you appreciate their time; without it, your marker isn't going anywhere. I generally leave my name at the bottom of all threads for a personal feel as well; if an interested individual can refer to me by my first name, they will feel closer.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hope this helps. This sums up my general approach behind creating threads and online trading, and has been very successful for me.

[sparky]

Try to sell your items in a fourm that has the same interest in what you are trying to sell. You'll have better luck for example, selling a PGP in at MCB then listing it in a fourm dedicated to Shockers. You'll likely to get a fair market value that way.

List your item in a few different fourms that you are a member of too, as in don't put all of your marbles in one bag (fourm). You'll reach a wider audiance that way, meaning more potenial buyers.

And be straight out front with everyone. If your not going to around for a few days, let people know or they might spend their dollar elsewhere. Remember it takes 2 to make a deal, a transaction is not a one way street. Both parties must end up happy.

Keep your thread simple. Remember KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid. Honestly some of the best advice I've ever received.

[Cunha]

Posted in a forum that wants what your selling.

Competative prices, if there are more than 1 of what you are selling for sale at that time, you must be the cheapest or the best condition. Mostly its best to sell something that no one else is selling.

Be easy to talk to so people asking questions get responses right away, that means they can give you their money instead of someone else.

Decent photos are pretty important.

I usually go over fancy pants posts pretty quickly, people with complex formatting and a bunch of rules..stuff like that usually bothers me, strait forward threads, pictures with numbers and descriptions work best for me when purchasing.

Getting lucky is important too i think.

[af895]

Excellent photos help and one tip I can give on that: TURN THE FLASH OFF! Use your camera in macro mode and steady yourself against something - even a chair - taking a bunch of photos using ambient light or simply a well positioned lamp. Take a look for photos I've posted on the forum and you'll see what kind of results you can get this way.

A pet peev of mine: people trying to sell above market value.

Mass-market goods have NO "special" value above and beyond the sticker price. Even a Palmer Pursuit marker is "mass-produced." You can't sell a Blazer for $5,000 because "it was breathed on by Glenn Palmer."

My rule of thumb: you get NOTHING extra for having "accessories." Extra barrel, extra grips, extra ASA blah blah blah... you don't get to increase the price of a marker more than the base price of the marker. When I sold my Blazer, I parted out the second barrel, Stabilizers etc. Nobody would offer more than the price of just the marker so why would I be stubborn about it? I sold everything to separate buyers and got far more back than I would have trying to package everything together.

After you've got an interested buyer, I would suggest not shipping without a tracking number as things get lost without one at an exponentially higher rate.

[Cunha]

Yeah, generally you get the shaft trying to sell complete packages. I recently completely disassembled a gun and got what I wanted out of it, id have lost at least 100 dollars if I sold it another way.

Decent photos, Outside works very well. You dont even need a good camera.