I have some old watercolours that I tried to sell on ebay without much luck. They are all in Victorian frames, medium size but the frames are a bit of a problem. I put the pictures in the frames and very amateurishly put some cardboard at the back and secured them with Duct Tape so the backs look awful, also I painted the gold leaf in a cream colour to match my front room. Now i want to sell them as I have replaced them with modern canvases. I am now wondering, would I be able to sell them better without the frames? At least they would be easier to post ...
I'd take them out of the frames. I'm selling some art prints at the moment, and unframed are doing much better than when I've tried to sell framed in the past. If you described the frame on eBay as well as you have done on here, people might well have been put off! :-)
I don't buy on e-bay smurf, but I am more inclined to buy original paintings i.e. watercolours without the frames if they are stacked to one side in a shop. I always feel that I have a bargain and you have a choice of how you want them to look.