Sell Windmill and Lighthouse Collectibles on eBay

‘Themed’ collectibles are perfect for growing a niche business on eBay and, not only will you become an expert in your chosen niche but, by choosing a really tight niche, like windmill or lighthouse collectibles, you’ll also encounter few rival sellers and therefore be able to purchase goods at low prices at auction and boot sales. You’ll also never run out of product ideas for your tiny collectibles niche.

That’s because themed collectibles, like windmills and lighthouses, feature on postage stamps, prints, postcards, vintage photographs, small models, craftworking materials, knitting patterns with motifs, and so on.

Just consider the benefits of selling themed collectibles, not just windmills and lighthouses, to see why every one of us should specialise in at least one high profit theme.

* Specialising helps you grow knowledge fast about your specific subject which allows you to buy with confidence in expectation of good resale profits. Specialising gets you noticed on eBay and helps you grow a regular database of repeat buyers, both on and off eBay.

* You can brand your eBay business with ID and shop name that match your specific niche, where something like ‘windmills4u’ is your eBay ID and ‘The Windmills Shop’ is your shop name. Branding, using important product words helps your listings rank high in search engines on and off eBay.

* Specialising provides excellent arbitrage opportunities on eBay where you can purchase products inexpensively from less knowledgeable sellers who price their products too low or make listing mistakes, or who don’t even recognise their item is valuable. You buy those items inexpensively and relist them with correct descriptions and closer to their real market value.

* Most themes cover hundreds or thousands of different product types, certainly representing too many individual products for any home based business operator to stock and sell. So it’s usually best to focus on a handful of product types, preferably smaller items that are easier and inexpensive to post and which need little storage space. I’ve sold both subjects myself, as small collectibles, and found the biggest sellers with highest profit margins were paintings and postcards, prints and small ornaments.

** Windmill and Lighthouse Specific Tips **

* Both themes cover pretty much similar collecting sub-categories and what you learn about windmills will benefit you selling lighthouse related items.

* Highest prices go to original artworks, usually oil paintings, featuring either subject, as well as ornate antique ornaments such as a lighthouse shaped clock that recently fetched over £1,000 on eBay.

* Postcards and prints of specific topographical locations add double interest and extra value to whatever you’re selling and can generate heavy bidding and high prices from collectors of windmills or lighthouses and others interested purely in their topographical location. As an example, a few weeks ago I listed a small photograph of a windmill in North Yorkshire and faced heavy bidding from windmill enthusiasts and collectors of North Yorkshire topographical views. For obvious reasons you should consider listing in two categories, one representing the subject, the other the topographical area.

* Both themes feature on hand made models both antique and modern, especially rare or limited edition. Hand made and hand painted items generally score higher prices than mass market creations, so look for named artists on models and boxes and prefer boxed over similar items available without their original packaging.

* Don’t shy at promoting real life windmills and lighthouses, notably as a commission seller on behalf of current owners. Find likely properties from advertisements in up market newspapers and magazines or via top of the tree estate agents specialising in historical and country properties. Most estate agents market the traditional way, via advertisements and ‘for sale’ signs; online marketing rarely extends beyond a simple web page inviting interested parties to call in or phone for more information about properties for sale. Very few estate agents market on eBay, most lack knowledge or technical ability, virtually all might be good candidates for your trading assistant venture.

So there you have it, literally thousands of collecting themes to choose from and potentially hundreds of eager buyers for your products each month.