eBay hunting bargain antiques

Here is the final part of my guide to buying antiques, vintage and collectables on eBay – Bargain Hunting.

There are thousands of buyers and sellers of antiques, vintage and collectables on eBay every day. With such a vibrant market place you may wionder if it si possible to get a bargain? Well I think it is and I am going to tell you some of the ways to find the pieces that go for less than their current value ….

So here are my three top tips for hunting out a real bargain

1. Get to know your item and categories well

2. Look for mis-spelt items

3. Look at auctions ending “off peak”

1. Get to know your items and categories well

On eBay as with every aspect of Antique buying Knowledge pays off. If you know all about your specialist item and keep track of their normal ending prices you will be able to spot a potential bargain long before the end of the auction and then snap it up by “Sniping” ( see earlier parts of my guide to buying vintage and antique on eBay).

2. Look for mis-spelt items

Think about what you are interested in and look for common mis-spelling and typos. I personally often mis-type porcelain as porcelian for example.  Someone who has correctly listed a brooch will get far fewer hits and lower prices if they spell it broach ( correct alternative spelling). Search on the mis-spellings and you will come across bargains.

3. Auctions ending “off peak”

This is my favourite bargain hunting method and one which pays real dividends. Work out what time of day, week , month and year your items go at the highest prices and the lowest prices. There are huge % differences in the final achieved price at auction. For example anything giftable ending during the run  up to Christmas is going to achieve a high price. Potential Valentines gifts are higher in February etc.

Am I going to tell you when the lowest ending prices happen for Vintage  Jewellery, Victorian Tiles and Glass paperweights?  No Way – I need paying serious money for that information!

Do you have any bargain hunting tips for eBay? If so please do post them here.