The eBay online marketplace offers a rich source of material for fishing enthusiasts, including collectible lures, new and used fishing tackle, rods and reels, classic fishing prints and posters and more! On any given day, more than 25,000 fishing-related items are listed on eBay, including over 10,000 vintage items. To help get you started, we offer these tips from fishing enthusiasts who have bought and sold items on eBay.

Online Seller 99 Cents and Up "NO ONE HAS SOLD MORE OLD FISHING TACKLE on eBay than me," says John Kolbeck, a.k.a. "Captain John." The Stevens Point, Wisc., fishing enthusiast estimates he spends 60 to 70 hours a week online, tending to his many listings on eBay. "In the last three years I've sold 10,000 lots," says Kolbeck, "at prices ranging from 99 cents to over $2,000." A lot can consist of a tackle box full of flies and lures or a single and valuable lure such as the Pflueger luminous crystal minnow lure that Kolbeck sold for over $2,000. Kolbeck doesn't put a "reserve" or minimum price on his eBay items as some    Lures, both new and vintage collectible ones, are popular items on eBay. sellers do, and typically starts his lots at 99 cents. "I don't like to bid on reserve items myself," says Kolbeck, "because even if I'm the winning bidder I won't get the item if the minimum price hasn't been met. It's just a waste of my time." Kolbeck, who is both a dealer and a collector, doesn't go to as many fishing shows as he used to because of eBay's popularity among fishing enthusiasts. "Everybody who collects lures looks at eBay," he says. The ability to reach buyers in other parts of the world is another powerful draw. Kolbeck estimates that 10 percent of his sales are to overseas buyers. As a seller and a buyer on eBay, Kolbeck recommends checking a seller's feedback (click on the "view feedback" link under the seller's name on the listing). The user feedback lists every comment previous buyers have sent in, essentially rating the seller. Kolbeck himself offers lots of advice to would-be buyers in the form of links in his eBay listings. "Captain John ought to run an eBay boot camp," comments one buyer. How to Find It Here are helpful tips for finding fishing items and memorabilia on eBay If you know exactly what you want, enter a couple of words in the SEARCH box found at the top of the eBay page on your computer screen. Try to think of different words that may be used to describe an item. For example, waders might also be described as clothing. Use specific words instead of general ones. Entering the words "freshwater lures" instead of simply "lures" in the search box will result in more specific items. Use punctuation only when absolutely required. For example, prints: trout (unnecessary colon) will be less successful than trout prints. Try adding or deleting the letter "s" to expand your search. If searching for "fishing reels" doesn't get enough matches, try "fishing reel." Search both titles and descriptions of items to get more matches. Simply check the box labeled "search titles and descriptions" under the search box at the top of most eBay pages. Go to eBay's help section for tips on more advanced searching techniques.

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