St Mary the Virgin and All Saints Church, Potters Bar - eBay charity auction
Amount raised so far: £255.
Have you looked around your house recently or perhaps in your Attic and found items you wish to get rid of but that you feel are too good to give to the local jumble sale or car boot? Perhaps even items you wish to sell but are looking for that 'specialised market' e.g. football programmes, classic car spares, jewellery etc.
Then consider them for the St Mary's eBay auction...
eBay is like an internet version of a dutch-auction. It works by others bidding on your item, over a fixed period of time - and you can watch this process yourselves from the comfort of your own home. If the item sells, you will need to arrange delivery or collection (depending on size) but remember if the sale is unsuccessful you get to keep the item yourself - nothing lost! If the item you wish to sell is valuable you can put a reserve price on it (so that it will not be sold unless it reaches that or above).
Ideas of categories are: antiques & art, books (including comics & magazines), crafts, DVDs, jewellery and watches, musical instruments, stamps, sports memorabilia, toys and games etc, etc.
To List an item
All you need to do is:
- Decide what percentage of the sale price you wish to donate to St. Mary's: 10% - 100%, minimum £5 per item.
- Take a good digital photo of the item.
- Write an honest description of the item including its condition (honesty is important as St Mary's will get feedback ratings dependent on buyer experience).
- Work out the rough cost for postage and packing of the item (round it up to cover eventualities).
- Then send the above details to Lisa Brett and we will list the item for you.
If you do not have a digital camera yourself, then please contact Lisa who will be able to photograph the item for you but you will need to provide descriptions for her to add to the computer.
Values
If you have a computer, logon and have a look at the ebay website - you will be amazed at what people sell ... and buy!
To get an idea of an item's value, go to www.ebay.co.uk, click on advanced search on the top left of the screen. Then enter the item details and check the Completed listings only box before clicking the search button.
Selling Fees
Please note that this is the important bit ... There is an unfortunately complicated fee structure on ebay that has two or three components.
- Listing fee: ranges from 15p for < £1 starting price to £2 for £100 starting (or reserve) price - this includes one photo - more photos and highlighting are extra!
- Final Value fee: this is around 5.25% of the selling price.
The church would require the listing fees to be paid up-front please as it cannot afford to pay these for all items listed. N.B. Listing fees are payable whether item is sold or not. (The final value fee can be subtracted from any monies made at the end of the auction).
After a Sale
- You will need to post the item promptly, appropriately packaged particularly if fragile.
- After payment has been received you will receive your money minus seller's fees and donation to St Mary's Church & Hall Restoration Fund.
If you have any questions on how ebay works or would like further information then please contact Lisa, or check www.ebay.co.uk.
