Ebay Fly Sales?

[jcstikfish 0]

Does anyone out there in FTF world sell their flys on Ebay? I see thats lots of tiers do. Is it profitable? Is it a hassle? How often do you make a sale? What type of flies sell best? How do you calculate your price?

 

Curious,

 

 

~James

[critter 0]

I am curious as well.

 

-Critter

[Steeldrifter 0]

99.9% of the flies that sell on ebay go for such a low price it's not even worth the time it takes to tie them. I know some guys will say they make a decent living on it but they must be the exception rather than the norm.

 

 

[Michigan Trout Guy 0]

I have heard the same. I was kinda on an ebay craze for a while there, and when I found fly tying, it was only natural that I wanted to know about it. However, from what I've heard, ebay has been loosing business, their listing prices have been going up, and the sale prices have been going down.

 

I hate to bear bad news, but one other thing, this is just what I've heard. If you're really curious I'd say what the heck, you'll never know unless you try right? Try tyin up one or two dozen flies and then log on to ebay and see what kind of price every one else is putting on them. List them for a similar price and see how they do. Good luck.

 

Cheers,

MTG

[critter 0]

You see, the reason this ebay idea indulged me originally is because I like to tie flies, but I have all the flies that I need for bass, pike, sunfish, steelhead, and trout. And just when I started gaining real pride in my end products too. The kicker is I am still not fast, so I think that I would NOT be good in the "Production Fly Tying" department and tying those "purdy" Atlantic Salmon flies would be expensive and well, lets face it, there are not many uses for that fly here in Minnesota.

 

-Critter

[flyfishingboys 0]

If you go to Ebays advanced search you have the option of doing a search for "completed auctions only", this would give you an idea of what is selling, for how much and how many sold. I have been bitten in the past by the ebay bug and have gotten some great deals (from the stand point of a buyer not a seller) and have received some pretty crappy stuff too.

 

[Michigan Trout Guy 0]

Yeah, I was selling quite a bit a couple months ago, and I got to talking to some ebay vets. A lot of them thought there was a real problem with people sending crappy stuff and a lot of high bidders not paying. In fact, I had someone win a group of comic books I was selling, and they never paid. I sent them numerous emails and also notified ebay that they did not pay. I ended up having to re-list the books and sold them for half the original ending auction price.

 

A lot of the vets thought that was one of the big problems with ebay, the fact that they do not aggressively pursue non-paying high bidders or sellers who false advertise. From what I have heard, ebay is a good place to be a buyer and a bad place to be a seller right now.

 

But that is all hearsay. I also got a lot more money than I expected for a couple things. I would check out the closed auctions search and see what kinds of prices the flies have been going for. If you ask me, it's worth a shot to try selling a dozen or two. Why not? Even if you don't make a ton of money on them, I still think it's fun.

[green weenie 0]

Those are some great questions! Before I posted I took a look at some of the flies on e-bay. There were 64 auctions for the Adams Dry fly. The starting bids ran between $6.00 and 7.00 per dozen. Very seldom do they receive more than one bid. That is some pretty stiff competion for a fairly expensive fly to tie. Hackle tip wings, two hackles and a two tone tail gobble up a lot of feathers. Years ago, about 1985, I tied an order of 80 doz. Adams and got 9.50/doz.. I know I would not sell and Adams for .50 each. I think a lot of the flies on e-bay are being sold by some distributors of foreign imports. But, I'm sure there are some great American tiers like yourself trying to make a few dollars. If you decide to try selling some, it might be to your advantage to pick a fly that not too many others are trying to sell

[Michigan Trout Guy 0]

That's some good advice green weenie. Find a product that they won't see 50 listings of, and just go bid on the newest auction. (not my most eloquent post, but you get it)

[Guest]

I know I've put a few fly auctions up on ebay. Most of the time they were used flies that I didn't feel like cutting apart. Some were orders that guys never paid up on. Most would go for about 75% of my normal asking price, sometimes as low as 50% of it. I know I never made much on it. But I did on selling tackle though. Most of the time I made my money back on it, if not more. Just depends on what you're selling. But I've seen WAY too many fly sellers with auctions unbid on.

[blackdog1101 0]

QUOTE (critter @ Apr 7 2005, 02:50 PM)

lets face it, there are not many uses for that fly here in Minnesota.

Critter, I am in MN too, on the Western side of Lake Minnetonka. Have you considered tying flies to donate to TU for a banquet or fund raiser? I am currently tying a box of flies to donate to the Hiawatha chapter (Rochester). I have also tied framed streamer flies and donated them to be raffled for stream habitat work in WI. I'd guess that even Ducks Unlimited or Pheasants Forever would be glad to have a donation of framed flies.

[critter 0]

good point. I have tied some normal flies, just recently in fact that I donated to the Twin Cities TU. I've also tied at both the NW Sports show and the Greatwaters expo where I was able to give the flies to the anyone who walked by. That was a lot of fun. They just "light up" when you do that. I suppose I could venture lightly into the realm of flies for display and see how that goes.

 

-Critter

[blackdog1101 0]

QUOTE (critter @ Apr 8 2005, 09:31 AM)

I've also tied at both the NW Sports show and the Greatwaters expo where I was able to give the flies to the anyone who walked by.

Hey, I was at the GW Expo too. We may have met. I was there Friday afternoon/evening.

 

BTW, I bought a GREAT midge saddle from that feather vendor. Not sure how many lifetimes I'll need to live to use all the feathers, but it sure is nice.