e Beer Cans

If you have the time to sell your beer cans on eBay, you may be surprised at the value of your beer cans!

[I have collected beer cans for over 25 years and sold breweriana on eBay for the past 8 years. My eBay store and user ID is u.s.beerlabels ]

Here are selling tips and tricks the eBay pros use:

You will only need your name, mailing address and e-mail address to register to buy. To sell you will have to provide a credit card and checking account for verification.

[You need to be a registered eBay user to view completed eBay auctions.]

I have set the above eBay search so you are viewing eBay beer can auctions that have ended within the past 30 days. Once you have clicked on the link and entered eBay input the brand name of your beer can in the top left search window and click the grey Search button on the top right to view recent sales of similar beer cans. If your can has sold consistently for a good price, it should do well. If there are no similar cans then the can is either rare or common.

This is the most important step. You will need photos of each can showing the front side, back side, seam, side opposite the seam, view of the top and view of the bottom. Use natural lighting or a fluorescent light (no flash) and take the pictures against a white, grey or black background. DO NOT TAKE PICTURES WITH YOUR DOG OR CAT! Beer can collectors are very serious about the condition of cans and you need to show you have handled the can well and can be trusted.

Don't get caught running around trying to find a box and packing materials once the auction has ended. If you ship via Priority Mail the Post Office will supply free boxes, but often they are out of stock. Get the boxes before the auction. Also be sure to use styrofoam peanuts and do not pack cans in newspaper or wrap in bubble wrap. The newspaper ink can transfer to the cans and the bubblewrap can react with surface of the can. Also be sure to use Delivery Confirmation so you can't be scammed by a dishonest buyer saying they never received the can.

Spend time describing the can in detail. Concentrate on the flaws and describe the can fairly. Don't tell the buyer your life story. Just stick to the facts about the can! Be prepared to answer e-mails questions in a timely manner. Don't disappear for a week while the auction is running.

You will have a choice of how many days (3, 5, 7 or 10 days) to list your eBay auction. 7 days is the normal, but 10 days can work very well too.DO NOT LIST YOUR AUCTION TO RUN OR END DURING A HOLIDAY! eBay traffic slows during holidays and your final auction price will suffer. Also be sure to list your beer cans during the late evening, taking into consideration your time zone and possible buyers time zones. If you live on the East Coast a buyer in California will be 3 hours earlier. You want your auction to end during prime time no matter what time zone the buyer is in. As a general rule, later is better than earlier, and be sure not to end in the morning or afternoon. Personally I've found Sunday nights to be the best.