eBay sees some Disney items attracting no bids and going unsold, while others have hundreds of bidders and often fetch thousands of pounds and frequently exceed sellers' best expectations.
A short glance at the highest finishing prices over the last sixty days or thereabouts reveals a median price of around two to three hundred pounds (or American or other country equivalent) for many early and unusual or unique Disney collectibles, primarily tin toys, original artwork for Disney films and printed publications, clocks and watches and even lighters.
Recent high and middle ground prices on eBay (prices shown in UK currency equivalent regardless of selling location):
- WALTER E. DISNEY oversized signed Mickey Mouse - £3379.26
- WALTER E. DISNEY rare signed 1941 BAMBI book - £1169.74
- Disney Store Display Original Mean Donald Duck Figurine - £879.13
- Rare Disney Mickey Mouse Emerson Tube Radio #411 1933 - £779.31
- WALTER E. DISNEY inscribed signed 8 x 10 photo - £727.84
- MARX DISNEY MICKEY MOUSE DRIVER TIN WIND UP CAR & BOX - £701.33
- WALTER E. DISNEY, twice signed check, 1952 - £675.85
WHAT THOSE LISTINGS TELL US
* There are no prizes for spotting the highest prices went to items signed by Walt Disney. Walt Disney signatures are hugely collectable and growing more valuable the longer it is since Disney died in 1966. Once in private hands, that's where most really rare Disney signed collectibles generally stay, until perhaps the current owner dies or gives up collecting. So the more signatures finding their way into private hands, the lower supply becomes and the higher prices will go. Authentic Walt Disney signatures are much rarer than most people realise, because often staff at the Disney corporation were allowed to sign for Walt Disney and taught to copy his signature to a point that even confuses the world's top autograph experts. Look at what one of the world's top experts on Disneyana and Walt Disney signed collectibles, Phil Sears (http://www.phil-sears.com/disney.htm) has to say:
"I am not an autograph dealer who claims to know everything about every famous person who ever lived. In fact, I am constantly seeing bad Disney signatures being offered in reputable dealer catalogs and in major auctions. Every dealer offers a guarantee of authenticity - but what good is that if you hang a bad signature on your wall with a fancy authenticity certificate." Visit his site for more advice and information about the Disney signature and for specialist consultation to help prove your items' authenticity (calculate costs before sending details and do not send the originals until asked. Always insure items sent through the post to be valued).
* Bear in mind spelling varies for essential words between the UK and USA sites. That common monetary instrument, for example, is spelled 'check' in the USA, known as 'cheque' in the UK. So it follows that Americans collecting these precious bits of paper could miss your listing for 'WALT DISNEY SIGNED CHEQUE', as might UK enthusiasts miss a USA listing for 'WALT DISNEY SIGNED CHECK'. So describe the item as: 'WALT DISNEY SIGNED CHECK / CHEQUE', and it will respond to anyone searching eBay titles for 'check' and 'cheque'. Notice there is a gap between those important words and the oblique symbol ( / ), this being so search engines will locate 'check' and 'cheque' in their system but not that new word - check/cheque - that you might otherwise create.
* Notice how effectively UPPER CASE letters are used to highlight specific words in some of those titles, notably to make important words stand out from their counterparts using just lower case or ALL CAPITALS WHICH ARE VERY BORING AND CONFUSING AND ARE PRETTY DIFFICULT TO READ AND REALLY SHOULD BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS. Used sparingly the odd few words CAPITALISED in the title can be very effective.
* You must always list the collectable by type in your title, but twice is a waste of precious space. Notice how in one listing the word 'Lighter' is mentioned twice, wasting seven precious characters (eight with an extra gap between words), while another omits the word, making their listing oblivious to people searching eBay for 'lighter'. Here they are:
- Mickey Mouse Barcroft Zippo Lighter RARE Disney Lighter - £389.91
- 1977 Disney Gold Mickey Mouse zippo Ultra Rare !! - £250.94 (Fetched £139 less than its counterpart, almost certainly partly due to that important word missing)
Avril Harper is an eBay PowerSeller and author of BANK BIG PROFITS SELLING VINTAGE TOPOGRAPHICAL VIEW POSTCARDS ON EBAY which you can read about at: www.sellpostcardsonebay.com and MAKE MONEY TEARING UP OLD BOOKS AND MAGAZINES AND SELLING THEM ON EBAY which you can read about at: www.magstoriches.com.
She has produced a free guide - 103 POWERSELLER TIPS - which you can download with REGULAR FREE EBAY PROFIT REPORTS at www.powersellerprofitreports.com.
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