opinions: best time of year to sell to collectors

[Bumpus Jones]

Whether your an auction house or an individual, are some times of the year better than others for selling? Looking for opinions from both camps...

[thecatspajamas]

I'm somewhere in between (an individual who runs eBay auctions year-round), and would say that I typically see better action (more and higher bids) in the fall run-up to Christmas and in the winter time once the north/northeast starts getting snow regularly. Summer is traditionally worse for me on auctions, with the traditional explanation that fair weather and family vacations tend to draw bidders away from their computers.

[Ladder7]

March, 2004

[JSteele]

I typically see better action (more and higher bids) in the fall run-up to Christmas and in the winter time once the north/northeast starts getting snow regularly.

I would have thought that Christmas would be slow for collecting since it may be harder to justify spending money on cardboard rather than shiny presents for the wife and kids?

"Sorry Timmy, you didn't get a new bike, but take a look at this 100 year old Hughie Jennings card I just got!"

[drc]

Vintage baseball collectors buy year round. No better or worse season. Years back I was a bit surprised to learn that people still actively bought and sold baseball cards online even when the season was over. No off season deals to be found.

[thecatspajamas]

I would have thought that Christmas would be slow for collecting since it may be harder to justify spending money on cardboard rather than shiny presents for the wife and kids?

"Sorry Timmy, you didn't get a new bike, but take a look at this 100 year old Hughie Jennings card I just got!"

Well, it depends on what you're selling (which you didn't specify). Cardboard may be slower, but signed balls, bats, etc tend to sell quickly to Mrs. Collector, presumably to be used as gifts.

And I agree with David as well: if you have something unique, hard to find, or a particularly nice specimen, the time of year won't affect bidding so much. And if you're not running it as an auction, then it won't affect bidding at all ;)

[Scott Garner]

Well, it depends on what you're selling (which you didn't specify). Cardboard may be slower, but signed balls, bats, etc tend to sell quickly to Mrs. Collector, presumably to be used as gifts.

And I agree with David as well: if you have something unique, hard to find, or a particularly nice specimen, the time of year won't affect bidding so much. And if you're not running it as an auction, then it won't affect bidding at all ;)

I agree with Lance.

I would also like to add that from a buyers perspective, mid-late December through early January generally is a time that some of us are at home more with possibly more access to eBay. I'm often am puzzled why I infrequently find anything interesting to buy during this time of the year. Other collector friends on eBay mention the same to me. This seemingly would be a great time to list items to sell. Food for thought for all sellers...

[JayZim13]

I buy, sell and collect. As a seller I only try to sell from End of September thru May and avoid any holiday weekends. I buy all year but especially in the summer months. There are always people on vacation or just not interested as they are in leisure mode and therefore there are usually less bidders.

[Bumpus Jones]

Thanks for everyone's input. I enjoyed reading your responses!

[herkyhawkeye]

Cant speak for sports memorabilia, but my dad sells a wide variety of antiques on ebay and has been since 1999. He usually holds off on selling during the late spring- early fall months although he still sells just not at the same pace. Like everyone said previously, its due to a lot of leisure, but its also during the late spirng-early fall months that the good outdoor shows are staged and so people are less inclined to be watching online. When you got that collectors itch in December, its much easier to use ebay.

[steve B]

Interesting, the responses are totally opposite of what I'd expect.

When I was selling regularly on Ebay December and January were miserable. Hardly any sales at all.

As a buyer, I'm far more active during summer for a couple reasons.
First is that we live in a good sized Victorian house. Which costs a lot to heat :( So I'm largely broke from Nov-March/April.
Second is that my work is seasonal to the summer, so In addition to not having the huge oil bill I also have some income then.

Steve B

[Texxxx]

I have found that I can get good buys around the middle of December on high end cards. That is $3000+ cards. My assumption may be wrong, but in one easy trade the seller just payed for Christmas. I have bought several that time of year over the past 5 years.