I have sadly come to the conclusion it is time to let go of most or all of my "herd". I'm not in any big hurry so when do you think would be the best time to sell. Also should I just do arena/ebay for selling or go to a pony meet or two of there are any close. To give an idea I have mostly US with just a few UK in the mix. Most sets are complete and I've got about 200 or so probably more.

I would go to a pony meet, and then whatever doesn't sell there you could sell on E-bay or the arena. ^^

A ponycon would save you a ton of time and effort shipping, and people will be able to see the condition of the ponies in person, but then there's the issue of getting a booth and setting everything up. As for when to sell, perhaps starting mid to late January? Or April when people start getting their tax returns It's hard for me to say, since I buy ponies all year round

Glacia471 wrote:

It's hard for me to say, since I buy ponies all year round

Yea me too. But I know prices fluctuate so o just wanted to see if anyone saw a trend in there somewhere. I can't decide if travel expenses and the price of a booth and tickets would outway the charges ebay and paypal and shipping supplies would take out. I saw the one in 2012 is going to be in Florida and that's a long drive from here so I'd love to hear from someone who has set up at one.

If you are able to go to the fair in Fl, the I suggest there. If not, I would wait for tax refund time. People always seem to buy around then because they have the extra money to do so.

I hope selling is not a hassle for you!

I reckon just work out what you think is a fair price and sell them on here then you avoid fees. I you dont sell them after a month or so put them on ebay : ) The market was down before christmas but I think it will go up mid jan when everyone starts work again : )

Finally did a head count and I've got...drum roll...285. Plus or minus one or two due to my lack of counting skills. I even made out a whole list.

I'd also hold off selling until tax returns start rolling in for people...so maybe next month or so. That's when I'm planning on making some big ticket purchases! Good luck with your sales, I'm really sorry that you have to sell them.

It depends on what you are wanting to do. Are you just wanting to downsize and get ponies to good homes? Do you want to sell super fast? How much does profit factor into it?

People are always selling and people are always buying so things will always move if they are priced right. If you are looking to make crazy profit or something that is usually an eBay fluke but usually things do tend to go for a little more during the holidays so you just missed the late November/early December eBay time.

If you are not in a hurry as you say I would just work on them in batches and sell here. You avoid eBay fees and are not rushed and you know they are going to collectors.

The Fair would be a great place to go and set up a booth if you can swing it. The you don't have to worry about photos, descriptions, shipping, Paypal fees, etc. You just have to clean them up and price them!

I drove to the MLP Fair out east last year (like 2,200 + miles round trip) and I packed as many ponies as I could in my smallish car (Mazda Protege5), had enough room to pick up Freeindeed on the way and then shared a booth with swancrossing18 and her sister at the Fair. I don't have an exact count since I forgot to count my money before the selling started but I made between $550 - $600 even after I bought some ponies which more than covered all of my travel expenses, hotel, food, etc and I had money leftover and got a fun road trip out of the deal!

So you could spend the next 6 or 7 months shipping out ponies one by one, or you could pile them into a van and sell a bunch of them in one day! You will make more in the long run selling at home since of course you don't have to pay for travel expenses like with taking a big trip but you won't get all the money at once then either. Just some things to think about.

I love traveling so I'm thinking about doing a big road trip again, this time I'm gonna rent van or SUV though so I can have a full booth!

Oh no, another collector that's selling
May I ask why? Are you simply not interested in ponies anymore? I think that's what happens to most people, they just lose interest or find better things to do with their time and money.

emery wrote:

I drove to the MLP Fair out east last year (like 2,200 + miles round trip) and I packed as many ponies as I could in my smallish car (Mazda Protege5), had enough room to pick up Freeindeed on the way and then shared a booth with swancrossing18 and her sister at the Fair. I don't have an exact count since I forgot to count my money before the selling started but I made between $550 - $600 even after I bought some ponies which more than covered all of my travel expenses, hotel, food, etc and I had money leftover and got a fun road trip out of the deal!

Ooh, sounds like so much fun!! Can you pick me up too next time? Just a quick detour to Greece?

i have been selling a lot over the last year and a half. i sold my collection via ebay. i have sold probably around 500 ponies just in that time alone.

unfortunately the best time to sell was about 2 or 3 years ago :/

i know people keep saying the market is down... but seriously the market is DOWN!!

ponies that used to sell for $30 are now selling for $8

I do hear the "wait till tax returns come in" suggestion quite a lot and from my experience I dont see a big difference. the only major rise or fall I have seen is before christmas. no one buys ponies before christmas because its usually never a gift. collectors are the only ones who know how to buy for themselves. plus us collectors have to spend $ on other people and travel and such

hope that helps! and i hope you are able ot recover most of what you spent on your collection!
good luck!

I think selling on ebay, but linking here might not be a bad idea, simply because not all pony collectors are part of a community so if they're on ebay I think you have a broader audience of buyers... but that can also backfire and you can get no bid's too so it's hard to say... lots of sellers usually offer here first then move to ebay as a last resort.

gazzy90 wrote:

Oh no, another collector that's selling May I ask why? Are you simply not interested in ponies anymore? I think that's what happens to most people, they just lose interest or find better things to do with their time and money. emery wrote: I drove to the MLP Fair out east last year (like 2,200 + miles round trip) and I packed as many ponies as I could in my smallish car (Mazda Protege5), had enough room to pick up Freeindeed on the way and then shared a booth with swancrossing18 and her sister at the Fair. I don't have an exact count since I forgot to count my money before the selling started but I made between $550 - $600 even after I bought some ponies which more than covered all of my travel expenses, hotel, food, etc and I had money leftover and got a fun road trip out of the deal! Ooh, sounds like so much fun!! Can you pick me up too next time? Just a quick detour to Greece?

And if you are going US to Greece, I am pretty sure Scotlands on the way [lol]...count me in!

On the selling side...after some recent ebay experiences I would completely go with the Arena - especially if you have set prices in mind - that way you wont sell under value and you will deal direct with like minded collectors. However, if its about making your money back, then ebay would be the way to go for the most high end ponies - any rares, hard to finds.

I actually think there isnt a hugely predictable pattern when it comes to selling - you never know who is "in the market"...

Good luck whatever you decide to do I am sure your ponies will find happy homes!

gazzy90 wrote:

Oh no, another collector that's selling May I ask why? Are you simply not interested in ponies anymore? I think that's what happens to most people, they just lose interest or find better things to do with their time and money.

It's not that I've lost interest. I still love having them, even the lovely plasticy smell of there display case. It's just one of those things where it's not just one specific thing. I've got a business I'm considering opening so having the extra money would help, I have a one year old and keep getting horrific mental images of (insert htf pricy pony) with black magic marker across her face or some other horribly disfiguring thing done to them that sometimes kids think up and just don't see the harm in, and just trying to think down there road if something were to happen to me no one in my family has any idea about them or interest in them so I don't know I just worry what would happen to them.

I think what I will probably end up doing is combing the PC Archives and pricing the list I've already made up of all the ones I have. Post it on here and just give it a while, see what sells, and go from there. I figure at least most of the harder to find ponies will sell decent no matter what time of year it is since there will be more people looking for them.