Locate Missing Pieces from Popular Collectibles and Resell Them on eBay

Here's a great business opportunity where amazing profits are possible for anyone with patience, a keen eye and a few basic research skills.

On Antiques Roadshow last week, experts pointed to an 18th century cup being worth £400 and the matching saucer about £200, which if offered together would double in value and be worth about £1,200, maybe more. 

Another example, honey and mustard pots with lids can fetch more than three times their lidless counterparts. To illustrate, a Clarice Cliff honeypot with lid sold recently in Durham for £900, while at the same auction the identical honeypot, without lid, fetched just £200. 

The same goes for most items originally sold in pairs, such as bookends; pictures and paintings without frames; Staffordshire and other mantle ornaments; matching necklace and earrings; stamps, postcards and cigarette cards, originally sold in sets but parted company over the decades.

Invariably, items without their original partners sell for a tiny fraction of their value as part of a complete set. 

The truth is, few such items are truly unique. Find a solitary bookend, for example, or a lonely Staffordshire Flatback in one location, there'll almost certainly be a partner available somewhere, most likely on eBay.  So it's no surprise to learn that many eBayers work exclusively at locating individual items to complete part sets which are usually resold later on eBay at up to four times their combined individual values.

*  Go to www.google.com, click on 'Images', key in the partner item you need and you're bound to find lots of buying possibilities often from firms specialising in replacement bits and pieces.  You can do the search on Google's normal search engine, but using the 'Image' feature you'll also get to study items and check colours, patterns, condition.  For example, I have a set of six dog plates. One got damaged, so I keyed the broken plate number and description into Google's 'Images' search engine and found plenty to choose from.  Actually it was on eBay, but no matter, I found it, and my set is complete once more.

*  Place 'wanted ads' in eBay's 'Want It Now' category. You’ll find it under 'Specialty Sites' top left of eBay's home pages.  You may find several pieces available which means you can also place 'Want It Now' notices for partner pieces to form even more complete sets.  Do not list them all at once on eBay. Keep some for second chance offers or list several weeks apart to avoid saturating your own market.

These are things I have seen recently which could be easily partnered.

*  Bonzo Dog, a cartoon character from the 1920s and 30s, was created in thousands of different products, as prints and postcards, condiments sets, cups and saucers. On eBay and at flea markets, also auctions, you'll often find a solitary salt cellar, a pepper pot, or mustard pot.  They are not that rare and can be bought individually at about £5 each, even on eBay.  Offer salt cellar and pepper pot together and you'll easily make £20 (see item number 6261414897 available right now from sukipom), probably a lot more.  Add mustard pot and try and for the four pieces (five if you include the mustard pot lid) expect to make £70.   I know that because I bought the set just last week.  Right now there are two lonely Bonzo pepper pots on eBay at 99p and £4.99 and currently no bids.  No salt cellars today but they are actually much more common than their pepper counterparts, so buy the pepper alternative while you can and wait for salt to come later.  If those pepper pots are unsold at end of auction, I'll buy them myself. 

*  Condiments sets are among the most popular collectibles on eBay and so many high demand designs can easily be found in separate or complete condition at boot sales, flea markets, jumble sales.  At auction look out for tea trays lots packed with part and complete sets, such as one I bought recently containing ten complete sets, including Bonzo Dog, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and worth about £10 to £100 each.  I paid £48 for the lot. 

These are some of the most popular, high price salt and pepper designs:  Disney Characters, Robertsons Golly, Clarice Cliff, Avon, Moorcroft, Coalport.  Some subjects are eternally popular and fetch high prices, regardless of designer or material: dogs, frogs, pigs, owls, famous people (Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton, Laurel and Hardy), Batman and Robin.

Take a look at these recent eBay realisations.

*  Silver Salt and Pepper Set - Owls £411.00

*  Robertsons Golly Golliwog Salt and Pepper Shakers £63.80

*  Moorcroft Acorn Shaped Salt and Pepper Pots  £62.02

*  Coalport Snowman Limited Edition Salt and Pepper Set £44.99

Avril Harper is a triple eBay PowerSeller and author of BANK BIG PROFITS SELLING VINTAGE TOPOGRAPHICAL VIEW POSTCARDS ON EBAY which you can read about at: http://www.sellpostcardsonebay.com and MAKE MONEY TEARING UP OLD BOOKS AND MAGAZINES AND SELLING THEM ON EBAY which you can read about at: http://www.magstoriches.com