Selling Old Mushing Equipment: Introduction to the Online Dog Sledding Gear Market

If you have even been online it's almost impossible not to have seen the sites ebay.com, half.com, and many of the other auction sites. You can buy and sell everything from appeals seeds to zebra posters and anything in-between. So why not hop on the band wagon and sell your old mushing equipment instead of letting it gather dust in the garage?

Selling Dog Sledding Gear Online- What to sell

The possibilities of what dog mushing equipment you can sell online are greater than you think. Aside from the obvious items such as harnesses, collars, sleds, and things of that nature there is a much more spectrum of things to sell. Cold weather gear is always in demand and it seems most mushers have no shortage of it. You can even sell items like picket chains, bowls, or even your own mushing friendly invention. Getting out of the sport altogether? You could even sell your dog truck. The possibilities are endless.

Selling Dog Sledding Gear Online- Where to sell

There are many auction and classified sites to sell your gear on. Some of the most popular would be ebay.com, half.com, and sleddogcentral.com. Most auction sites make themselves easy to use. Even for those not so computer savvy mushers. Before signing in and clicking the sell button though, there are a few things you need to do to help you get the most money for your gear.

Selling Dog Sledding Gear Online- Getting gear ready to sell

One of the first steps to take in getting your gear ready to sell is to wash it and clean it up. The reason for doing this is not only for the sheer act of cleaning it before you sell it, but so that it looks as good as new when you photograph for your auction. It's no secret that auctions or ad's with pictures have a much greater selling power than those without. Follow these guidelines and it will help your auction look as professional as possible.

Selling Dog Sledding Gear Online- Pictures

As easy as it may be to "copy and paste" a photo from the manufactures website, don't. Buyers feel much more comfortable about seeing the actual product the will be buying. Since you obviously have the product in your possession, take a few minutes to photograph it. You don't have to own a great camera or be a professional to take good pictures of your gear. All you have to do is make them look like you are a professional. When you are photographing clothes, hats, boots, etc take a picture of the gear on a model as well of just a picture of the gear buy its self. Buyers like when they can see exactly how the clothes fit. The same rule applies when photographing gear for dogs.

Photographing a sled is fairly easy as well. First bring the sled out into some open ground free of clutter. Next, take a step ladder and climb up a few steps so that you are just slightly look down on the sled at an angel. This way you cover many different angels in one shot. If there is any damage to the sleds, photograph that as well just so that the buyers knows exactly what they are buying. Just because its broken doesn't mean the buyer wont mind fixing it.

When photographing other pieces of gear such as tug lines, pickets, bowls and things of that nature try to resist the urge to simply lay them on the carpet and photograph them. Take a minute and get a clean wrinkle free solid color sheet to use as a background.

Selling Dog Sledding Gear Online- Write a description

When writing a description of your gear try to be as detailed as possible. To get an idea on what you should write you can check out the manufactures website for all the specifics on the gear. In addition to the technical information you should also include things like how long you have owned the gear, how often its been used, what condition it is in, and how it worked for you. Likewise you should be honest and include any flaws the gear may have.

Selling Dog Sledding Gear Online- Closing the deal

Ok, you've taken awesome pictures, posted a description that would make Shakespeare jealous, and got a winning bid on your gear. Now what? First you want to get in touch with the winning bidder as soon as possible. Emails work great for this but if you have a phone number for the bidder this is a great personal touch to closing the auction. If you are using a payment website like paypal.com you can even send a professional looking invoice via email.

Be sure to up with your end of the deal by mailing out the gear in a timely manner once the payment has been received. There is nothing more upsetting than to pay for gear and get it weeks later. Negative feedback is not worth waiting that extra day to go to the post office. If the buyer was good and quick to send payment and easy to contact, share this information with the rest of the auction community by posted positive feedback on the buyers profile if they have one. Hopefully if you delivered what you promised they will do the same for you.

Now you are ready to join the online selling community. Remember these tips work well auction websites and classified ad websites alike. So take your time and these few extra steps to make your auction informative and as professional looking as possible and hopefully it will lead to a high winning bid and money in your pocket. Or more likely food in your dogs mouth.