Friday, September 7, 2007
What to Sell on eBay - Mens Blazers and Sport Coats
Mens blazers and sport coats are a wardrobe essential. Men wear them to work, for business casual days at work, out on the town, or even casually with jeans. A new designer blazer or sport coat can cost up to $400 or more. There is a huge market for blazers on eBay since buyers can find these items so inexpensively. Selling mens blazers and sport coats is easy, fast, and profitable once you know what to look for and use a few simple tricks.
As with all types of clothing on eBay, you will want to stick with designer brands. Tried and true brands that have been around for years, such as Ralph Lauren, Burberry, and Hickey Freeman always do well. You can count on these types of blazers selling in the range of $25 - $60, even used. (I routinely find them at thrift stores for $4-$5.) I have sold some Ralph Lauren blazers for over $100. Used blazers do incredibly well if you find the right size, color, style, and fabric combinations. See a complete list of my top selling brands of mens blazers at the eBay Coach VIP Library.
As for fabrics, you will want to select wool, wool and cashmere blend, camel hair, and silk and wool blends. Make sure that the jacket has a full lining on the inside. You will see some blazers with a half lining – avoid those as they are usually low quality. Also, turn the blazer inside out and inspect the lining to make sure there are no rips or stains.
You will notice that solid color blazers and sport coats are typically seen in 3 colors: black, navy blue, and camel. These are the colors I look for when shopping at thrift stores and garage sales. I have sold some plaid styles, but I have a short cut for selling the solid colored blazers. It is just easier to sell the same type of item over and over again because you can use the same pictures. And we all know that preparing the item, photographing the item, and editing photos can be time consuming.
I have created my own library of stock photos to use for many items that I routinely sell on eBay. In the mens blazer category, I have photos for black, navy blue, and camel blazers in both single and double breasted styles with different button styles – black, gold tone crested buttons, or neutral colored buttons. These pretty much all look the same so you can just use the same photos over and over again.
Now for the good news! You can use these photos, too. Ok, wait – why would you want to use my photos? I have acquired this collection of photos over several years of selling the same styles and colors of blazers and sport coats on eBay. My photos, like the ones shown in this blog post, are taken with the blazers on a mannequin and with a contrasting tie. (Yes, I took these actual photos.) I have done all the work for you. Fitting the blazer to the mannequin, cropping and editing the photo, offering several color and style selections, and adding a handsome tie. So all you have to do is pick up mens blazers when you are out shopping, come home, write up your listing, choose a photo, and wait for the money to come in. Well, you'll have to ship the item when it sells - but think of all the time you will save using stock photos.
You can access this collection of photos at the eBay Coach VIP Library. Membership is $5.95 a month, however, think of all the time you will save in the future! Visit the library to see a wealth of information in addition to a large selection of stock photos in many categories.
Be sure to listen to my podcast for more information about selling mens blazers including what sizes to look for, how to measure blazers for your listings, and other key information.
Happy selling!
Suzanne Wells
The eBay Coach
Thank you Thank you! As always, VERY helpful. Something else to look for in my upcoming SA trips!
ReplyDeleteeryn =)
I just found your blog through WAHM.com and want to thank you for such a great explanation of what to look for in men's sport coats. I just dabble in Ebaying but have been thinking I should spend more time finding the right items and really working it more like a business.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to learning more!
wow that is an awesome, so there would be no time consuming pics to take just take your lead of what to buy for..
ReplyDeletewell that is so awesome