Buy postcards in large lots, so you can get them cheaply.
List them individually with a scan of both front and back. That way most questions a collector will ask you will be in the listing. Like "is the card postmarked? How old is the card? Who sent it?" and etc. They will be able to see for themselves.
Start with a relatively high opening bid and then reduce the price of those postcards that don’t get any bids on the first try. I usually go with $9.99 then cut the price to six or seven dollars when I relist them.
Rather than relist them as auctions, use the eBay store format to save money on listing fees, and offer a "best offer" option. This way the collectors can decide for themselves what to pay.
Set a time limit on your relists, so you don’t pay over and over again for cards that are slow sellers. I sometimes move cards off eBay to a free or inexpensive alternative site after a few months have gone by. And of course I reduce the price to $5 or less.
I mail the cards in clear plastic sleeves that give them protection, and are less expensive (lighter weight) to mail than the cardboard mailers many dealers use. The savings in postage is almost enough to pay for the holders, so it’s not expensive. Collectors like them too, to store or display the cards in.
For more information on how to figure out the dates on some postcards, check back to my September 2010 posting Selling Postcards.
Are you a postcard seller?
