Do you ever wonder why your huge lot of name brand clothing isn't going as high as it should? That maybe you should sell them individually as outfits, but you aren't sure which ones and if it would really bring you more profit. Here are some important things to consider when making your decision.

Attracting The Buyers

If you have a group of clothes that is not name brand, you can usually make more money by selling it in a lot. The key is to include at least two items that ARE name brand, so that you can include them in your title.

For instance, if you were to add the brands Gymboree and Baby Gap, your title would look something like this?..

"Gap Gymboree +12pc. Girls 6-12 Lot!"

That would be more appealing than the next example, because most people are attracted to the name brands.

"Dresses Shoes Hats 12pc Baby Girl 6-12 Lot"

Also keep in mind that since there is so much on eBay, it is rare that someone will have time to scroll through all the listings. They will do searches instead, and probably look for the name brands first if they are searching for lots.

A Picture Says A Thousand Words

Bad pictures will affect the bids on your auctions in a devastating way. We've all seen those big lots of clothes that have only one or two pictures of everything folded on a table. That just doesn't tell bidders anything about the clothes except how many pieces there are, so they will quickly move to the next one.

As long as you crop your pictures and shrink them in size, you can put a lot of pictures in an auction. You don't need to take a lot of detailed pictures, but one or two outfits neatly arranged together in one picture shows the bidder most of what she needs to see. Especially if the bidder is planning to spend a lot of money, she wants to know exactly what she is getting. Good pictures are a very important part of success....don't skip over this step!!

The Psychological Number

Numbers have a strange effect on people. The majority of stores have adopted the pricing structure of $4.99 versus $5.00 just because it looks like less money even though it's just a 1-cent difference. That is a great example of how we think. In the same way, the number of items in your auction title will make a difference. For instance, the number 7 has been proven to bring more response than the number 6 - strange, but true. Numbers that end in 7, 1, 9, and double digits such as 22, 44 are also good to use.

But Other Sellers Are Getting High Bids For Their Lots!

You see others selling in lots that do awesome, but do you really know how much they paid for the clothes? Maybe it's not such an awesome price after all, and each piece is in reality going for pennies on the dollar compared to what they could get individually.

Watch out for this trap.

Be sure to take into account what you have paid for each outfit and what you might expect to get out of a lot. Do you want to settle for $9 per outfit, even though your ending total might be close to $100? Or would you rather get $16-$17 by selling them individually and make close to $200 in the end?

Alot also depends on the time of year, and the timing within the current season. At the beginning of the season, people buy big lots of one Gymboree line for example, especially because they can save so much on shipping. Towards the end, they have most of what they need and are looking for those last few outfits or missing pieces. To buy the whole lot for one piece is not practical for them, they don't have the money ~ and don't want to "pay" for things they don't want.

But I'm Not Getting Any Bids!

Don't be concerned about lack of bids on your lot - many, many times I have seen auctions explode on the last day because bidders were waiting to get that good deal. They bid against each other and wa-lah, the price goes way high.

Popular Items = Sell Individually

I highly recommend that if you have several outfits that are high profit items, sell them individually. I have been astonished time and time again at the prices people are willing to pay for an outfit. When the bidding is done, take time to add up the totals and you will probably be surprised and pleased with the amount you got instead of selling them all together.