Selling Stones, Driftwood etc online

*niptuckfan*

Hi all.

On a recent walk with my dog i had picked up a couple of bits of interesting looking driftwood not sure what for just liked it, anyway after a wee nosey on Ebay it seems there is a market for this kind of stuff and i see seller selling various driftwood, pebbles and sea worn glass - for wedding centre pieces/craft projects.

I am thinking of giving this a go and will start collecting and see if i have any nice pieces - just wondered if anyone has any knowledge/tips or if they are a buyer of such items

marieukxx

*niptuckfan* wrote: »

Hi all.

On a recent walk with my dog i had picked up a couple of bits of interesting looking driftwood not sure what for just liked it, anyway after a wee nosey on Ebay it seems there is a market for this kind of stuff and i see seller selling various driftwood, pebbles and sea worn glass - for wedding centre pieces/craft projects.

I am thinking of giving this a go and will start collecting and see if i have any nice pieces - just wondered if anyone has any knowledge/tips or if they are a buyer of such items

The wood is a big big seller. I am a fish keeper and we all go crazy for it. You can sell it on fish selling groups on facebook plus Tropical Fish Forums classified sections too. We love it for our tanks, the nice big bits are best.

RubyMurray

Marie is right, I'm a fish keeper too and we can't get enough of driftwood, it's not cheap to buy either! Bonsai growers also like to use it. If you're lucky enough to have access to it then definitely collect as much as you can to sell.

BlueCrayon

For sea pottery and glass pay the extra and get international site visibility on eBay, I do this with some collectables I sell and it makes a big difference to the price. When I was in the US I saw a lot of sea glass and pottery on sale and they just love it. The people I was talking to buy it from the UK a lot.

When targeting the US make sure you end at a time good for people at work, Sunday evening UK time is good. Make sure you avoid big US holidays as you want people home and able to bid. You could also try selling it on Etsy.

Do some research into what your selling so your more informed about what it is, where it came from and what defines a quality piece. This will help you list it better.

Good luck.

stormbreaker

This a very interesting thread. Does the wood have to be treated in any way for fish keepers?

RubyMurray

Driftwood is usually soaked for a while - anything from days to weeks, depending on the wood, then it's boiled for a while. After that I usually soak it again with a tap water conditioner like Stress Coat added to the water. The Tropical Fish Forums that Marie mentioned have lots of advice, some people have their own way of doing things.

Oh I must add, I have spent a FORTUNE on aquarium bits and bobs on Ebay over the years so if you can get your hands on driftwood, nice stones, pieces of slate, stones with holes in (for weighing plants down or tying on pieces of veg), you could easily make a few bob.