posted on September 18, 2008 07:31:46 PM new
is that why Ebay wants us to shape up and specify shipping time,handling time,return policy,free shipping,no negging your customer and no gourging on shipping fee?
Whipping individual sellers selling from A to Z in line is like herding cats!
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Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
[ edited by hwahwa on Sep 18, 2008 07:32 PM ]
posted on September 18, 2008 09:35:22 PM new
Amazon has its faults..but their payment system is a PLUS. Lately with eBay..it is "the check is in the mail" routine from buyers. Without the risk of negs..they are taking their sweet time to pay. Amazon...you buy...it's paid for then and there.
Been on it for years...had problems ... I still barely touch the surface with what you can do on Amazon. Between auctions...adding your items...images etc. For the past 3 years it has been just the convenience of listing UPCs and ISBNs....
posted on September 18, 2008 11:02:13 PM new
"In contrast, eBay is really just a Web site that brings buyers and sellers together. Overhead costs are lower, but eBay has less say in how well customers are treated by merchants."
In reading the article the above paragraph jumped out at me; is this not what we are all complaining about with EBay...that they are getting too involved between Buyer & Seller?
posted on September 19, 2008 06:03:55 AM new
I used to have a ZSHOP with a pro merchant account years ago.
Having a pro merchant account allows me to sell books on marketplace without paying 99 cents fee,but I still have to pay 15% to AMZN .
I could count on my fingers how many orders I received in my ZSHOP in a year ,less than 10 orders and most of them came around Xmas,by then the items are no longer available as I have sold them somewhere else!
AMZN then has its priority ranking set up in such a way a Zshop received no visibility while marketplace received most .
I also found the AMZN item format is set up to facilitate selling media items (books),you can only display one picture and it has to be of a certain size and there is no such thing as 'self hosting' like Ebay.
Ebay is still a good place to buy and sell antiques and collectibles!
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Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
posted on September 19, 2008 12:59:26 PM new
I have sold hundreds of items per month on Amazon. You are able to add your own photos...upon approval. You can also create your own items. The shipping CAN NOT be adjusted so you have to be careful on their SET amounts. Heavy items usually turn into a "negative" gain. As for the "range" of items...Amazons catalog is HUGE. Toys - hardware - electronics - household - music (old LPs & 45s) - let alone their regular books. I have close to 5,000 items on there. Their search is not the best unless you are familiar with it. If you have a seller you want to search just HARDWARE, you pull up their store front and type in HARDWARE or any other category you want. Those items will be displayed. I have never dealt with the AUCTION side of their site. I simply enter UPC or ISBN and move on. No listing fee and each enter takes about 1 minute(or less) to do - you ndon't have to worry about photo - shipping - description - SHIPPING TIME - REFUND POLICY - ALLOWED WORDING etc.
posted on September 19, 2008 04:13:48 PM new
what about items which have no isbn or upc number?
I look at some ivory carvings last night,whoever added those items on AMZN left and the pictures are still there with no price and no further description,of course there is no ISBN or UPC number and a little note from AMZN said I can list mine as long as it is identical.
How can two pieces of ivory carving be identical?
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Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
posted on September 19, 2008 06:19:04 PM new
Definitely not perfect. That is one of Amazons biggest problems and they DON'T BEND on it. I have seen items added...then they "approve" a different photo from another seller...or even description changes. You "share" these for each item which can lead to major problems of buyers dissappointed with their purchase(not as shown , etc.)Amazon just steps back and says OH WELL...refund them and red flags you.
Bottomline...your solely owned website is gonna be the one with the least headaches. Just a matter of getting the buyers to visit it.
As for NO ISBN or UPC...they have 1,000s of books dated before 1971(when ISBN originated)...you list by description (title - author - copyright - publisher etc). As for NON-media, like your Ivory, it is easier to create a new item from scratch, then to mess with someones other description.
As for identical items....I have come across several under different sellers...one key thing to watch for is the RANKING number...the lower it is the better it sells on Amazon.
posted on September 19, 2008 08:32:31 PM new
Umfortunately,I see no way of adding my ivory carving without paying 39.99?
I see you have books starting one penny,I thought AMZN get rid of that one penny book business?
I have my own website,it is much better than messing with AMZN ,but I do sell books on AMZN and some old VHS movies.
But then if AMZN has the traffic.I would like to approach them on some European brand name products.
I recall you mentioned selling on AMZN last year and you dont have a pro merchant account,where do you find time to relist 5000 items every 60 days?
Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
[ edited by hwahwa on Sep 19, 2008 08:35 PM ]
posted on September 20, 2008 10:26:22 AM new
I get it but as a seller of 1 of a kind unique collectibles- I do not have a friend in Amazon-- or do I? Can I sell a Mod Atomic lamp on Amazon? or can I sell unused vintage greeting cards? or vintage linen napkins? Shabby painted Picture frames? When Amazon makes a marketplace for me and my goods- Look out eBay!!!
--until then eBay is where my buyers are so I stick around because I still think it is cheaper than a brick and morter Antique Shop and I can move merchandise faster-
I do wish someone with some capital to invest would pair up with some techie's and some marketing and some operations and some customer service (for sellers) and make a new marketplace for someone like me- Make it a marketplace where the buyers would be confident of the sellers merchandise- Make it a marketplace that is visibly branded nationally - cross promoted- and attract customers- like eBay has-
A fair marketplace where sellers had boundaries and buyers were protected fairly for we all know that without buyer confidence we have no buyers. And Bad sellers were dealt with -- Personally rather than electronically so that sellers who simply need educated on policy can receive it with a warning (not by reducing their listing visibility) rather than just eliminated-- Maybe a 3 strike you are out- wouldn't that be wonderful- A marketplace that grew out of the input of both buyers and sellers- all sellers-
Maybe a few marketplaces with different standards for different types sellers- And a search engine that connected them all together-
--Enough of my little dreaming here- Gotta go back to work--
posted on September 20, 2008 10:47:48 AM newMake it a marketplace that is visibly branded nationally - cross promoted- and attract customers- like eBay has-
Reality check: eBay typically spends upwards of $250 MILLION per quarter for marketing.
Meaning: promotions, advertisements, affiliate program, mailings to buyers, PPC, etc.
That's two hundred fifty million dollars.
That is why your dream is likely to remain just that. As the philosopher Jagger once said, "You can't always get what you want."
fLufF
--
If you're spending $7500 a month on maid service, why only $1700 on jewelry?
[ edited by fluffythewondercat on Sep 20, 2008 10:48 AM ]
posted on September 20, 2008 11:34:55 AM new
That type of Marketplace is my dream too but given the fact that EBay has deep pockets ( and they get the money from thee & me) I can't see it happening.
posted on September 20, 2008 11:49:22 AM new
Poor people often dream rich people will spend some of their wealth on them ,either spend $1000 so they can make $1,or make it charity,give them free goods and free service.
Unfortunately rich people dont become rich by losing money or giving their money away for nothing !
There is this thing called ROI-return on investment and there is this loathsome dept called Corporate Finance which crunch numbers and figure how long does it take for a project to breakeven and when will it start showing positive cashflow.
And they usually have more than one project competing for the same source of fund,so the most attractive projects win and by most attractive,I mean the most profitable.
Setting up a venue where sellers can sell items under 5,10 dollars is not a viable project given the startup cost of hiring IT workers,advertising,customer service and buying IT equipments.
BTW,Amzn is not cheap,that 15% commish and 99 cents transaction fee is higher than either Ebay or Yahoo.
For books,I know there are wholesalers and large discount retailers selling on AMZN and it is hard to compete against them.
Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
[ edited by hwahwa on Sep 20, 2008 12:04 PM ]
posted on September 20, 2008 12:49:25 PM new
hwahwa...
Hi...I have always had the PRO MERCHANT account. Most of the remaining 1¢ items are Harlequin Romance(acquired at 0¢)..mainly on there for the "feedback padding". As for your IVORY CARVING...try to list it under the CREATE A PRODUCT DETAIL PAGE(everything else category). I was able to complete that title, but like I said, I have the pro merchant account. That account pays for itself if you sell more then 40 items a month, the MORE you sell the less per item that fee is for each. (99¢ is waived). In 2007 I was able to sell between 15K-20K...which was a nice little addition to other sites. I usually try to list there first due to the ease of listing/fees. Items can always come off and be sold on ebay if needed.
As for the 15%....well a simple ebay store item is about 10% fvf plus 4% paypal...so each company has the deep pockets.
posted on September 20, 2008 03:34:06 PM new
you have to have your own pro merchant account to creat a product page.
I did that years ago and netted less than 10 orders in a year but I did sell a set of books by Joseph Campbell -Mythology of the world for good money!
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Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
[ edited by hwahwa on Sep 20, 2008 04:28 PM ]
“Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got,
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn’t you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they’re always glad you came….”
These words from Gary Portnoy’s and Judy Hart Angelo’s theme song for Cheers are especially cogent as the antiques and collectibles industry enters the final three months of 2008. Many in the trade, especially those buying and selling on eBay, are rapidly coming to the conclusion that no one knows their name or cares.
The antiques and collectibles business is a personal business. Its strength rests on face-to-face, one-on-one relationships, relationships that have been badly bruised at best and more likely shattered and broken, the result of consolidation, Big Box mentality, globalization, and technology.
Restoring face-to-face, one-on-one relationships is the greatest challenge facing the antiques and collectibles trade. We are individuals, human beings. Our humanity is critical. We are not statistics and pawns. While our lack of organization makes it difficult to speak with a common voice, we think, believe, grieve, and bleed as a community, our love of antiques and collectibles is the glue that makes us one.
We cannot return to the old ways. Technological advances, globalization, and eBay make this impossible. Survival requires change. We know this. We are capable and adaptable. Antiques and collectibles always will have a future.
There is good news. A new wave of entrepreneurs, more seasoned and cautious than those of ten years ago, have reviewed the changes of the past fifteen years, identified their flaws and faults as well as their positive aspects, and now are developing new playing fields designed to give back the trade its sense of community.
EBay arrived on the scene less than fifteen years ago. We, the members of the antiques and collectibles community, gave it life. Without our support, eBay may have failed or, at the very least, its growth would have been slower.
How were we rewarded? During eBay’s first ten years, the antiques and collectibles platforms received strong support. Admittedly, there was a cavalier attitude within eBay that what was good for eBay was good for the antiques and collectibles business. The eBay techies were in control. EBay required its employees to buy and/or sell actively on its site. However, it did not dictate what they bought and sold. While a few bought and sold antiques and collectibles, the vast majority did not.
EBay created two divisions, one for antiques and toys and one for collectibles. Advisory groups were formed for key collecting categories within them. Annual conferences, attended by representatives from the trade and eBay personnel, were held. Key members felt optimistic that they could play a role in making eBay a viable partner in our community. It did not happen. EBay’s internal promotion policy of moving employees every nine to fifteen months destroyed any hope of establishing long-term relationships. Members of the trade had to re-educate eBay employees on an annual basis. Promises were forgotten the moment an employee moved to another division.
As other eBay divisions, e.g., automotive, computers and electronics, clothing, tickets, etc., began to generate more income than the antiques and collectibles divisions, and eBay acquired companies, e.g., PayPal and Skype, its interest in antiques and collectibles waned. EBay eliminated its division structure more than two years ago and hope of influencing eBay’s internal policy from the outside vanished.
For the past year, I have received e-mails and letters from readers who are eBay buyers and sellers asking me to comment on one change or another, e.g., eBay no longer allowing buyers to accept cash, a money order, or a cashier’s check. Among the most recent was an e-mail from Steve, a WHATCHA GOT? (my nationally syndicated antiques and collectibles call-in radio show; see harryrinker.com) Internet listener, asking my opinion on eBay’s new shipping charge rules, a pet peeve of mine. I chose to remain silent. UNTIL NOW!
EBay finally added the proverbial straw, the one that broke my back and not that of the camel, to the pile. I pay for my eBay purchases using a personal check. It is one method I use to check my buying habit. (God, I love puns. I hope you do as well.) Now eBay has announced that it will no longer allow sellers to accept personal checks. I AM OUT OF THERE!!!
I am finished with eBay. I have close to 1,300 positive feedbacks as a buyer. I never sold a single object on eBay. I am a good customer. But, I will be damned to hell if I am going to allow eBay to dictate how I should pay for my purchases. My checks are good, none bounced. I am taking my business elsewhere.
[Author’s Note: I did not make the above decision lightly. In the past, I served as a spokesperson for eBay’s Collectibles Division and spoke at three eBay Live! conventions. This past summer I worked as a spokesperson for eBay Canada. Given the above, I doubt if eBay will come knocking on my door again. So be it. It is time to take a stand.]
As the 1990s ended, the antiques and collectibles community saw eBay as the 900 pound gorilla that no one could kill. EBay was king of the hill and destined to remain there for decades. A few quiet voices, I was one of them, cried out “this too shall pass,” but no one heard or believed us. We hoped to live long enough to see it happen.
I did not expect to see the Berlin Wall crumble in my lifetime. The events of 1989 were a shock. I never, even in my wildest dreams, thought eBay would come and go as quickly, in less than fifteen (15) years for our trade. It will. It must. The dice are cast. Opportunity knocks.
The balance of this column is devoted to looking at this opportunity and providing the builders of new playing fields advice on what shape these fields should take. The key is community, narrow rather than all encompassing.
The antiques and collectibles community needs a buy-sell environment that is restricted to its established collecting categories and only to its collecting categories—no used automobiles (not even antique and classic examples; there are other sites), electronics, or used utilitarian items ranging from clothing to tools. Definitely no modern/contemporary collectibles, let them develop their own site. Coins, stamps, and mineral specimens, the Big Three collecting categories of my youth, deserve to be part of our site.
We need multiple buy-sell sites—auction sites for individual sellers, auction sites to support the established auctioneering community, and storefront sites to serve dealers. The individual auction site needs to have a platform that allows the bidding to remain open until the last bidder is finished, perhaps eBay’s greatest weakness. We need cooperation between the sites whereby a common search engine provides the prospective buyer with the full range of possibilities. A satisfied customer is our best customer.
We need all sites to accept a full range of payments from cash to personal check to credit card. The buyer’s penalty, only fools call it a premium, now ingrained within the on-location auction community needs to be avoided at all costs. Shipping and handling charges have to be reasonable, fair to both buyer and seller. Reproductions (exact copies), copycats (stylistic copies), fantasy items, and fakes must be prohibited. New items must be clearly identified and, if possible, also avoided.
Opportunities abound outside the buy-sell sphere. Information sites providing accurate and easily usable information and, most importantly, quality education already are appearing.
The antiques and collectibles trade is experiencing a Field of Dreams moment—if you build it, they will come. EBay has posted an “Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here” for our community. Like Moses and his flock, we need to trek across the desert looking for a promised land. The good news is that we do not have to worry about eBay’s army following us.
Where are you looking and what have you found? Share your thoughts and e-mail me at [email protected].
Rinker Enterprises and Harry L. Rinker are on the Internet. Check out www.harryrinker.com.
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posted on September 20, 2008 06:26:34 PM new
Does anyone here sell at Ruby Lane? How are the results? At one time I had a Ruby Lane Shop, but it just did not seem a like right fit for my items.
posted on September 20, 2008 07:36:34 PM new
I love Harry Rinker! I have one of his books that is wonderful. I did not realise that he was still alive! He did not mention in this article the demographic shift that naturally occurs that is changing the Antique Market at present.
I am in my 60's and although I love all things Victorian I have collected all that I need and am down-sizing like most of my generation.
My daughter is 46 and loves anything 1950's - 60's. Her generation still has some collecting time left as well as disposable income.
My Granddaughter is 22 and for her...bring on the spun plastic orange pole lamps and the teak and Scandinavian decor...minimalist style. Her earning years are just starting and THAT is where the Collectibles market is at present.
Of course there will always be Collectors of any age who specialise in certain old items and are willing to pay the price but try talking demographics to any of the old Antique ( yes, them and their merchandise) Dealers in our area which has seen it's Antique Row downtown gradually close up shop! The ones who have moved with the times are doing well and the others who wait for that certain buyer to walk through the door and be willing to pay $75.00 for a cup & saucer are whining that EBay ruined their business.
At our local Live auction house this week I saw Medalta Gallon Crocks going for $10.00 and five years ago they were $100 and up. The Auction Houses are beside themselves as they are taking in the stuff from the 80-90 year olds but there is no market for it.
Bill....I have a friend who has just given up on EBay and moved to Ruby Lane. She loves it and is doing well.
I am sorry that this was much longer than my usual posts but it is a subject that I am passionate about.
posted on September 20, 2008 07:54:21 PM new
Ebay used to have a special auction called Great collectibles?or Great collection? around the time they bought Buterfield and Butterfield,the whole idea is to invite the antique dealears all over the world to auction their items,they have to guarantee authenticity and full return policy of one year.
The lowest starting bid is like 50 dollars and usually it is a reference book.
Many participated but the results were disappointing as most Ebay bidders prefer to wallow in regular EBAY looking for that diamond in the rough!and the true collectors or their loyal customers did not follow them to bid on internet.
I think this gentleman expects too much from Ebay,Ebay was never an exclusive venue for the blue blood dealers,I recalled when I first read about Ebay in a business magazine,there were 20,000 items on Ebay and I will set my alarm clock and bid on jade carvings,most of them are pretty ordinary jade then.Some prefer ruby ,emerald and saphire only to find out these stones are lab grown and far from perfect,one found that out when he took them to a gemshow and showed them to a dealer .Mind you back then the bidding was fierce,we ended up overpaying for most of our items.
Funny most dealers never complain that the Ebay bidders overpaid for the items.
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Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
posted on September 20, 2008 10:45:05 PM new
Amazon is NOT beating up ebay. Ebay is impaling itself by not taking care of their customers US THE SELLERS! I can & do take care of my own customers’ and they come back Thank you very much! If I treated my customers the way they treat us no one would ever come back. So why do we keep taking this crap?
I have just come off a three day suspension. My first by the way. I had a glitch in 1 listing that showed that I accepted cash and with automatic re-list it bit me. I had 8,000 items going. I am yanked to say the least. After 9 years of taking my money and never having an issue eBay would not even give me the time of day to plead my case. eBay was judge jury and executioner. Yea I made a mistake by not catching the issue but come on this is not the way to treat a good customer. You can sell porn but don’t mention cash gimme a break.
eBay at any time can just pull the plug on our auctions and stores. They didn’t this time I just couldn’t list for three days but next time they could. I am not getting a warm fuzzy feeling here. They can literally put us out of business with a keystroke and there is no recourse. That scares the crap out me. I have invested a lot of time and effort building a well stocked eBay store along with happy customers so I have two words for you eBay and they ain’t “LETS DANCE”
It has been said over and over on this board and NOW I fully agree you better get a back up plan in order. Oh I won’t stop selling on eBay are you kidding. What I am going to do is cut way back and spend more time looking for other venues. Isn’t that what eBay was suppose to be just a venue?
Will the last person out, please shut off the lights.
posted on September 21, 2008 06:18:28 AM new
Take a look at Yahoo shopping,they have a starter plan for under 40 dollars for 40,000 items.
They are raising their price in October for the more upscale plans from 99.xx to 129.xx?
Yahoo is not perfect,staff turnover is high and support is poor,but the store format is nice.
Unless you participate in their pay per click gimmick,you have to drive your own traffic to your store.
But if you have 8000 items,you should be able to stand on your own without Yahoo,most of my traffic comes through Google.
If an item is sold,Yahoo cut is miniscule,so take a look !
Yahoo shopping does not pound you day and night with rules and revised rules and revised format,3 days,10 days suspension,as long as you pay your fee,stay away from selling things which are illegal and ship your products in a timely manner,Yahoo will leave you alone.
Some folks spent 5 figures having professional webdesigners design their stores but you can do it yourself.
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Gulag-a Soviet era concentration camp is now reincarnated as EBAY with 13,000 rules.
posted on September 21, 2008 09:01:21 AM new
ggardener - I had several hundred listings ended in June because I still had "cash" in them (what puzzles me is that I had several hundred more that weren't caught! I searched my store for the word "cash" and they didn't show up, but when I searched "buyer's risk", they did). I ended all those I know about but live in fear that there still may be more "out there" that I don't know about! I am praying (HARD) that some way to edit payment options in the descriptions of my 9000 store listings will show up before January. As you said, we are all a mouse click away from being suspended despite our good intentions and satisfied customer base. The scammers already have it figured out of course and they just keep on scamming.
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posted on September 21, 2008 10:40:52 AM new
Is it just the word "cash" you cannot have in your listings as a payment option?
I have eliminated any mention of checks and money orders in new listings, but still have some in old listings. Is that violation, also? Or just the option of cash?
posted on September 21, 2008 11:09:28 AM new
Merrie - I believe eBay has stated that they will take down listings containing other than approved payment options (ie checks, money orders) in January.
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posted on September 21, 2008 11:48:40 AM new
Thanks neglus, hard to keep track of all these changes especially since they announce then at one time and enforce them in the future.
posted on September 21, 2008 12:14:25 PM new
I'm finding out the hard way that ebay won't let you move anything from your store to FP or auction if you have money order or checks in your listing.
It will let you go so far and then instead of the message that you have successfully completed blah blah, it just hangs up on a weird Welcome to Ebay notice.
