posted on November 7, 2000 04:29:47 PM new
I only sold on eBay for two months. Then, due to circumstances beyond my control, I quit selling. I just didn't have the time or environment needed to concentrate on selling. I have to say, I don't miss the trips to the post office, but I miss the money. I don't miss relisting auctions over and over, but I miss the thrill of seeing bids on my auctions. Six of one, half dozen of the other. I enjoyed selling, but I have less stress now. Working full time and selling on eBay is too much, at least for me. Now, instead of coming home after work and sitting at the computer for hours, I'm working out at the gym and visiting my mom at the nursing home. Instead of spending my weekends in front of the computer listing auctions, I'm doing things with my daughter and grandson. All in all, it was the best choice FOR ME. We all have to decide for ourselves.
posted on November 7, 2000 06:12:56 PM new
In regard to the category issue, as an eBay buyer for the past 11 months, I have never searched for an item I am looking for by category. I always use the keyword search and I usually always view the sellers other auctions, whether they sell new (wholesale) stuff or collectible/antique/garage sale items.
When searching through categories, it takes w-a-y to long to find something that interests you. Perhaps my method is the exception rather than the rule, but that has always been how I shop online auction.
My friends who shop the auctions said they shop the same way as me by word searches.
posted on November 7, 2000 06:19:28 PM new
I agree that ebay is a hard way to support a family~maybe it can work for a thrifty single person or certainly as in my case, the lower of two incomes.
For me, it has been a way to transition away from a dull professional career to something involving the new economy~if nothing else, my little business will improve my resume.
For me, it has never been bad and seems to be picking up quite a bit~so I am here and happy.
posted on November 7, 2000 06:24:13 PM new
Thank you brie49.
That's what I thought. I think you could list a fine antique in Toys-Beanbag-Plush or whatever and it would sell fine, be seen by plenty, etc because keyword search is the way.
Category is way over-rated.
Imabrit, please answer my previous questions when you get the chance. If your sales have dropped that much, there must be reasons you're not telling us about.
I'm not trying to be mean or underhanded, just curious.
posted on November 7, 2000 06:44:35 PM new
When Maui Moods was in a physical location, I had all that was needed for a small boutique to run smoothly. Im thankful I kept it all. Been thinking about taking BACK to a physical location, but do clearance on ebay. Thrift shops are making a killing selling stuff to ebay sellers, lol. Im kicking it around. I dont think I could go to work for someone else, now that I have been a business owner myself. Too bullheaded on how I want to do things. So...just might do that and wean myself from ebay as full time.
Good luck imabrit. Im pondering the same thing, although I wont leave ebay for good. Just...expand,lol.
posted on November 7, 2000 06:45:02 PM new
Loosecannon
I can assure you there are thousands of new users that have no idea how search works, OR, simply search in the main category they are interested in.
Of course most seasoned buyers know how to search the entire site, but many of the new users do not. I've read hundreds of posts over the past 3 yrs that back this up.
You might very well be able to list a "fine antique in Toys-Beanbag-Plush or whatever and it would sell fine,", but you might also be surprised at how much more that item may have fetched if placed in the correct category.
At least once a week I have to explain to someone how they can narrow their search down by country only, or by sellers who will ship Internationally.
These people aren't slow, the site is just so damn big now that it takes some folks a while to figure it all out. Also, some of these users only browse eBay once a week, and don't have endless hours to spend reading up on all the various tutorials.
Same reason why some folks don't read the sellers TOS, they just get online, blast past all the important "stuff", & start bidding.
posted on November 7, 2000 07:25:13 PM new
I think there are still a lot of buyers who peruse the ending today or going-going-gone sections..even if they also use the search feature. Not everyone has a specific thing in mind when they come on ebay.
posted on November 7, 2000 07:37:11 PM new
Sales are down. In fact, they've flatlined. My income has gone down by about 25% over the past coupla months, and that's pretty significant considering I've got some big expenses.
What is really killing my business, though, is the unnatural amount of deadbeat bidders. Yesterday I sent out over 30 NPB alerts, and I dread the upcoming round of credit requests. It's been like this for weeks. If the people who bid would just PAY I'd be fine, but really I'm disillusioned by all the games-playing that's going on. Among those bidders who do pay, the incidence of PITA customers is also on the rise. As far as prices, it's rare when I get more than one bid on an item, and most of the stuff sells at "give-away" prices.
Imabrit, I've enjoyed your posts and I hope you still find time to visit here. Good luck!
posted on November 7, 2000 07:38:39 PM new
LOOSECANNON
Quite a few times I remember you telling us here that you were selling very high amounts per month (very high to me anyway) like $12,000.00, $17,000.00 a month or whatever it was at the time.
Yes I was doing those number but in the last 6 months it has dropped to around 10,000
Sometimes better sometimes not.It still makes good money but not what I need.
I can sell 5000 a month with no problem and have a decent side income with my regular job.
I can do this at night when my family is in bed as they like lots of sleep and I do not, without interfering with family stuff. Plus Beth does not work but home schools so
She will have some time to pack etc.
It's gone that far South for you? My sales continue to be OK and I believe they will continue to be OK. I don't buy into the gloom and doom feelings, that ebay and it's many customers/buyers are going down. I just sold two very expensive items to a newbie! Brand new to eBay, he has money, and he's spending that money like crazy. Perhaps you should diversify. Try new and different items.
I still get many new bidders some who like to spend money.My idea is too use the money to invest in more inventory and build it up and if the market changes I can change right with it.
Do you overcharge for shipping?
No I only charge actual cost and sometimes I loose money on the shipping but that's okay as I do that intentionally lot of items get shipped priority but buyers understand why and I get no complaints and lots of repeat bidders. Plus I will combine shipping or even hold items till next payment etc.
How's your feedback? Do you have a lot of negs and neutrals?
Feedback 3600 feedback's of which 2600 are unique 2 negs none in the last 18 months
10 neutrals got my first neutral in over 18 months the other day and it reads as a positive.
I don't understand the category thing. I think someone explained that a few posts back
I used featured items a lot so category is important too me and I search by category and
Word search actually use category more as I want to see what others have featured.
I am not doom and gloom about ebaY but I have to face reality.I think I am starting to get bored with sitting here all day in front of a computer and I am sick of the down times and not being able to list.
In the last 24hrs I have had about 60 items ended with approx. 50 to 55 with bids and the
Bids are decent too so the money is still there.
On the diversification I look for new items all the time and most items are one of a kind
Not to be seen again so that helps a lot.But I sell in about 5 or 6 different categories.
I have access to much more material but none of seems to do that well on ebaY than it does in other venues.
Do I have a web site yes and it generates a few hundred a month not a lot but better than nothing.
I sell a few items on Yahoo too but nothing like ebaY.
I also have a rib that keeps popping out and hitting me in the shoulder blade which does not help either.
I am still buying new items and off to meet another ebaY seller in the a.m. to do some trading.
posted on November 7, 2000 07:54:52 PM new
Thanks for explaining Adrian. Sounds like you're doing everything right and that you're a fine seller.
However, I see you're still selling pretty well ($10,000.00 a month ain't exactly chump change to most of us) so it's not as bad as all that. I do understand if it's not as high as you need it to be or would like it to be though.
But I don't see any gloom and doom here like some of you would like to predict. If someone can't sell on ebay, they're either trying to sell the wrong merchandise, have too high of reserves or starting bids, too high shipping or something else. The buyers are there, waiting to buy what they are looking for.
posted on November 7, 2000 08:05:09 PM new
Yes the bidders are there and they will buy but not at the prices I have seen last year.
I can still do okay but there are only so many items I can list,if I could double it then there would not be a problem but I cannot.
The bidding is only part of the problem for an entire week last month I got refunds on listing fees because people could not bid or use search.
10,000 is not chump change that is correct but I need enough to pay my bills the business bills and also for stock.
My stock can cost me between 6 and 13,000 or more a month.I use that to build up inventory and then have a wider selection of sales.
I think it boils down to boredom,i'm bored
with it.
The new job if I get it is Pool sales,the Co that put ours in.
Hours are great you make appointments around the time you spend in the store and sell in the homes.
Only work 2 Sats a month 9-2 other time in the office is 3 or 4 days a week either
8.30 to 1.00 or 1.00 to 5.00 then sales calls as needed.
Money and commission is good and its an established co.
I had 16 of 20 items sell tonight and made about 400 profit after expenses on all not a bad night.If I could do that every night then I can pay bills and buy more items to sell.
I was selling more expensive items last year with a very high profit but that item seems to have died.
Though the TV prog is going into is interested in having one of these items possibly as it rare and unique with a good story behind it too
But its hard finding a good supply of these,so I can run out from time to time though.
posted on November 7, 2000 08:56:35 PM new I think it boils down to boredom, i'm bored with it.
Other than financial considerations, I think boredom is one of most important reasons to make a change.
The problem with having to be concerned with a steady cash flow from eBay is that you're forced into a certain regular listing routine.
I'm a part timer. When sales are slow, I reduce or stop listing completely and spend my time instead with looking for new inventory, writing descriptions, researching different product lines, etc. I enjoy the change of routine.
posted on November 8, 2000 06:52:29 AM new
Imabrit: Hope you let us know how your job interview turns out. Glad to hear you are still doing 7k - 10k a month. Should be a nice "Hobby" income for you. Hope you have time to post on AW once in a while as your posts are always interesting to read. Thanks and Good Luck.
posted on November 8, 2000 07:29:03 AM new
We have a B&M shop. Business is up after being down for the past year. What I'm hearing is that people are tired of not getting what was advertised in an auction. Especially the glass, porcelain, pottery, etc. auctions. They are going back to "hands-on" purchasing.
I don't think internet buying is a fad. I do thing that it is levelling out. There will be a mix of B&M and internet buying.
I will disagree about category searching. I search in antiques and books mainly. I use categories because very rarely am I searching for a specific item. It's like shopping in an antique store, I'll know it should be part of my collection when I see it.
posted on November 8, 2000 07:53:56 AM new
reddeer~ you are right, timing is everything on ebay. My biggest problem is that I usually sell one of a kind items, not repeats so I want to maximize my profits. But there seems to be no rhyme or reason for bidding.
I did have a set of plates that I broke up and sold indivually. Their sales figures bear out your observation of timing. The plates sold as high as $72 and as low as $9.99 (starting bid) Go figure. Who the heck knows why.
I just sold a beautiful espresso set at opening bid. I am beating my head against the wall because my opening bid was what I paid for it.(STUPID STUPID STUPID) Next week it could go for three times that! I almost hope the buyer is a deadbeat.
posted on November 8, 2000 08:04:57 AM new
Lucy~ I can tell you I have been very disappointed on more than one occasion. I usually buy big ticket stuff and had to jump through a lot of hoops AND make a lot of threats of mail fraud etc to get my money back. With all those problems only two sellers cheerfully refunded my money. Everyone else made it a major league hassle.
Those two sellers are on my favorites bookmark. The others are on my ever expanding list of* Never, ever do business with again*.
As a seller I have probably 40% of my feedback which is repeat business. That tells me that I am doing something right for people to buy from me again & again. In 3 years I have had two refunds. One my error the other buyer's remorse.
I can see how an upsurge in B&M antiques would occur after the ebay sales and service that I have gotten. If the seller won't refund your money you are SOL. Not everyone is feisty enough to get tough with these misleading sellers. They just go away & never come back.
Read Faith Popcorn's book EVEolution for more insights into this topic. I highly recommend it.
posted on November 8, 2000 08:28:47 AM new
I've been disappointed also, and I don't purchase big ticket, or breakable items from the internet. Those items I prefer to see and handle for myself before I lay out money. I believe that most sellers are honest, but their description of an item and my description might differ completely.
And I see too many people who are "hobby sellers" or "I'm just cleaning out my excess stuff at home." (Must be a lot of empty houses by now!!) There has been much talk of the quick buck to be made, just put it up on ebay, collect your money, and viola, you are a dealer.
Too much to wade through, too much stuff that should be in garage sales.
Ebay is evolving into something besides what it started as. The whole internet is moving at a pace faster than most of us can keep up with or even know what it will be tomorrow. It's exciting, and it's scarey.
The face of B&M and ecommerce changes on a daily basis.
posted on November 8, 2000 08:34:56 AM newDejavu ..... As I stated on the other thread to you, if buyers want 100% protection they need do nothing more than use their CC to purchase online items. If the deal goes south, dispute the charges with your CC.
As much as some sellers hate the Billpoint fees, it's the safest way to pay on eBay.
Unless you have faith in PayPal, which I don't.
Yes, timing is everything. I could post scores of examples. Just last week I sold a bank that ended at $375+, the same bank the week earlier ended at $200+, and it was in better condition than mine. The strange part was that seller had listed it 2 weeks earlier & it ended at $430, but the high bidder must have welched on the deal? The seller relisted it & the second time out it fizzled at less than half the original amount?
Go figure?
Both of these banks were listed in the same category, with pretty much the same title.
This is one of the main reasons why I never start items for what I paid for them, nor do I start them at $1. Some weeks the bidders just aren't there, & even though I may have paid chump change for the item, I'd rather relist in a couple weeks & get what I know the item deserves.
Let's face it, compared to 2 yrs ago the seller to buyer ratio isn't near the same. Neither are the number of categories, or the number of items in the categories. Todays eBay is a much larger & much harder market to sell in. I can't imagine that any of the long time sellers didn't expect this? 5 yrs from now it will that much larger again.
There was a time when I was the main seller of a certain Art collectible with almost no competition whatsoever. I sold everything I listed & they went for prices that were out of this world. Today there are several RL Art Galleries that sell these items & the buyers now have 20 times more of a selection than they did in the past. The trick is that now I have to buy my items much lower than in the past & if I can keep my purchase cost down I can still compete with these dealers as I don't have the store overhead that they do.
I may never get rich selling on eBay, but it allows me to spend more time with my family, which in the long run has been well worth it.
posted on November 8, 2000 09:42:22 AM new
reddeer~ as for CC's I have to agree with you 100%. I wish everyone would accept Billpoint although I know that that would also be open to buyer abuse.
My current dilemma stems from the fact that the seller only offered paypal (I have no confidence in them either). Because the item was to be a gift I didn't want a record on my CC.
Yep, everyone and their brother sells on ebay. One must separate the wheat from the chaff.
posted on November 8, 2000 09:55:23 AM new
Well I just read Imabrits Reply as to how far down his sales have gone down he says he
says he is they have droped to $10,000 somtimes more monthly !!!
My confusion is this imabrit are you saying you found a sales job that on a Commission bases will garentee you more then $10,000 monthly ???
also im not sure I fallow his problem with $10,000 a month here is there anyone replying here who on say 25% or 30% of that monthly if they lived reasonable withn means.
personally two and a half months of sales at this ammount in auction sales me and my wife both could leave our full time employment and every $1 after that would be gravy with out our lifes being run like robots on someone elses time.
yes I can under stand you have a familly I myself have a family of 6 I support and live in NY where everything but the common cold is taxed to the fullest.
Your projecting $120,000 in sales for the year or better is there anyone that shares my confusion ???
WWW.dman-n-company.com
posted on November 8, 2000 10:04:53 AM new
Yep, I've had a couple disappointments in my buying on ebay. But there are only a couple sellers that I would buy from consistently. I think that most buyers are like me, too lazy to keep track of the bad sellers. And a bad seller can disappear easily, only to have his/her place immediately taken by another. I don't have time to keep lists of bad sellers.
I can't imagine even buying common, everyday items from ebay auctions. Usually with postage added in, the cost is more than in a shop.
How many ebay sellers are at the garage sales and public auctions now? Seems like there are more sellers everyday and the competition is driving up the cost of the buying for sellers. But with so many sellers, so much stuff, the supply for the buyers is driving the cost to buy down.
The law of supply and demand. May be a saturation point that is close to being reached.
posted on November 8, 2000 10:05:24 AM new
I think those sales numbers are before expenses. Seems like he spends close to 10-13K a month on inventory.
If he indeed nets 10K per month, then he's got nothing to be complaining about IMO.
My sister likes to complain about the taxes her husband the Dr. has to pay each year.
Life must be hard living in a mansion & sipping pina coladas by the pool side.
posted on November 8, 2000 10:32:12 AM new
I dont know still comfused here since if I invested money on inventory of 10K to 13K
for resale my return good business sense tell me would be 1 1/2 X to 3X
this means if I made 10K is before cost only sells less then half This inventory so I couldnt and wouldnt invest an other 10K or so in inventory only restock the % that sold.
Frist rule in any fincial life even if you work for your self or someone else is to pay yourself frist !!!!!
out of 10K if you pay yourself $3,500 or the month reinvest $3,000 in inventory this leaves $3,500 for fees packageing income taxes and exspansion sales taxes and postage are collected separately from sales not even counted into net or gross sales.
as far as bordom in this yes some of the schedule is ridged and we all fall into a rut but when your investing as much in inventory as 10K there is lots of travel to get this loads of new faces and people everyday your meeting and dealing with.
heck I know many dealers who travel the country and the world not daily but enough yearly that their life can hardly be clssifide as boreing.
No ebay is nver going to give you wealth in the real sense where you can do what you want when you want inless you fet big enough to hire people to do the listing buying colletions and shipping for you.
but it gives you a business with international sales 24/7 from hour 1 and you have to admit that if your just not up to it today you can say this can wait till tommarow with out the threat of loseing all your income.
posted on November 8, 2000 01:21:01 PM new
I enjoy what I do and I find some really interesting items.But the boredom comes from spending many hours scanning,putting items together but as in any job there are good and bad points.
As to the 10,000 thats what I sell not what I clear.
We pay ourselves first every month the 3500 that was mentioned.1500 goes for tax's etc.High amount 1/3 is the rule.
Then out of the remaining 5000 I have ebay fees approx 1500 a month that leaves 3500.Business expenses come out of that and that brings trhe amount down to re-invest to maybe 2500 which is not a lot.
Plus I do not like to float my stock I like to own all free and clear but that is not really realistic.
Sometimes I may only spend 1000 a month on stock another month much more depending on what I find.
But I realise that the more you spend the more you make but its a hard balance.
I have a good idea as to what I am doing but a single item can run 1000 a piece.
But when I go to list and ebaY is down and no one can bid then reserve is not met then I have to start all over again.
Same things happens again and it has and then I go 3 weeks with tying up that money.I go to relist and the site is down or AW is not working and I miss again.
I try not to get too many of such pieces though.
I look at items at auction sites all over the world on a daily basis so I am constantly buying.
Its not like I can wait for the item to come around again as it seldom does.Some of the items I sell are one of a kind and unique.
I did go through a spell where I decided I would ease up on the buying and figured something else would come along a week or so later.Well it did not and I was getting low on inventory.
At one time I could live off 2000 a month but not anymore and we do not waste money either.We have one car,but I pay health insurance which many self-employed do not,plus business insurance which runs 2500 a year which all adds up.
But I do still like it,however I am fed up with the ebaY down time.
I think the ability to buy right there and then is a good one too.I am looking forward to it.
I bought some more items today and there is a great sale coming up that has a number of docs that has the sig's of King
George the II and III that really looks interesting and may do well on ebaY too.
We are not about to go belly up I would not let that happen but until ebaY stabilizes
I think it makes sense to diversify what I do
so if it does all fall flat on its face which I doubt I do not go down with it.
If it picks up and sellers are weeded out then I am right there to get right back in.
As to satisfied customers I never have a problem with people saying its not as described often I get people telling me this is much better than you said it was.
For the first time this year I have a number of high dollar items that sold between 250 and 700 that I am having a hard time getting the buyers to complete.
These are 2 weeks old and still not paid and they are well established bidders with feedback in the hundreds.
One of them told me he had not forgotten,me neither and I would like to be paid a.s.a.p.
Still not able to log in on my comp and my son wants his back so he can look at more trains for sale on ebaY
posted on November 8, 2000 01:41:23 PM new
Adrian~ like you I have some HEFTY expenses. I am a small corp and have a teeny weeny group policy, cost $800 a month for health insurance which isn't worth the paper it is written on.
I cannot remember the last time they paid a claim.
I have huge inventory which we are trying to whittle down but buyers want diversity. One of the more fabulous items I have is an antique desk box with a huge slab of tortoiseshell & silver as the top. Ebay won't let me sell it, regardless of the fact that it is antique.
But I really wish, truly wish, ebay would work on the low life rip off artists because they bring all the good sellers down with them. I have been lamenting this fact for years.
My first year on ebay my sales grossed around 120K cleared about 40k, not enough for a family of three to live comfortably on. My business doesn't feed my family, thank God. It is the gravy.
