posted on June 24, 2003 05:59:15 PM new
Hotcupoftea: I have been watching a seller with the user id webarker. All of his (her?) auctions start for .95 and he seems to do quite well. I don't know how long he's been at it. All of the auctions end on Saturday. Very few of his items sell at or near .95 and it's not unusual to see his items go over $100.
posted on June 24, 2003 06:06:09 PM new
Kiara, I am skeptical of Fluffy's claims of her profits. Too much she has said in posts, plus looking at her closed auctions, indicates to me she puts in a lot of hours for not much moola. I don't see her sustaining her current business model over the next few years.
Kiara, you are correct. I should not say stuff I read on other boards because I don't want to spread misinformation. It must be that the seller changed their id, and that fueled some speculation.
Auctionace, I took a look at jayandmarie. I never looked at their auctions before since I rarely buy a cd. Wow, what an incredible volume. It makes my head hurt just thinking of the hours they put in on their business.
posted on June 24, 2003 06:12:17 PM new
Cherishedclutter, it looks to me like the seller you mentioned is an estate liquidator. They buy entire estates, storage bins, warehouses and so on, and put up everyting, no matter what it is, for just a bit of money. I've purchased in the past from a Canadian estate liquidator with some success. You have to know how to search their listings, the way their employees consistently misspell words for example, to find the good stuff. I stopped buying from the Canadian seller because he started bringing in the reproductions and forgeries made in Third World Asian countries in order to sustain his volume of auctions. This was about a year ago. He is still trying to sell the same stuff, relisting over and over and over with no bids.
posted on June 25, 2003 07:42:46 AM new
The idea was not to get peoples Suppliers. Just a general idea what might be good to look for.
I can tell you bootleggers have killed the CD and DVD stuff.
If you read the story about [email protected] aparently they work 7 days a week 15 hours a day for about $100,000. Not really worth the effort.
Jay goes from Used CD store to Used CD store throught LA collecting this stuff.
posted on June 25, 2003 07:53:09 AM newKiara, I am skeptical of Fluffy's claims of her profits.
Well, good!
Too much she has said in posts, plus looking at her closed auctions, indicates to me she puts in a lot of hours for not much moola.
Certainly not enough moola by my standards as I'm currently drawing only $52,000 a year (I gave up a $125,000/year tech job for this...what was I thinking), but refinements to the process are starting to pay off. Just spent $800 on a Windows laptop that will save me at least two hours a day....hours in which I can be selling more.
You don't know which seller IDs are mine. You've demonstrated that repeatedly in the past. The jewelry segment is clogged these days with sellers starting their goods at 1 cent. Used to be I was the only one.
As far as Jay and Marie go, I very much doubt they've filed for bankruptcy. They're sitting on some very expensive real estate in Southern California, their costs are cut to the bare minimum and Jay has proven time and again he knows how to purchase CDs to turn a profit on them. I wonder why you would spread such a scurrilous rumor about them...
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posted on June 25, 2003 11:24:10 AM new
Howardform, regarding onecentcd, you are correct. I had not really thought about their business model much, but I guess there is a news story in the LA Times that confirms the numbers you quoted, that the husband and wife team put in at least 169 man hours each week on their business, for a total of 8736 man hours a year (approximately), which means they make about $11.50 per man hour. Ouch. That is dismal. That is what I mean about high volume sellers, it is a lot of work for very little return.
Too many eBay sellers confuse gross revenue and number of items sold with being successful.
You have to think beyond just finding a profitable item(s) to sell on eBay. When you put the work into this business, and the years go by, at the end of it you need to have a business that has value or your hard work is meaningless. With eBay, you need to think outside the box as to how to grow a business that will have value. If you are a shop, hopefully you end up owning the building, have accrued inventory, have placed profits into investment accounts and have built up a customer base with customer goodwill. But when you are selling on eBay, you need to think of how to make the time you spend selling evolve into something of substance and value, or at the end of it all you are left with either nothing or a big pile of debt.
Other considerations that cannot be number crunched are just as critically important, and that is: 1)are you happy, and 2)do you have leisure time to do the things in life which give you passion. For example, if you are selling a widget, and you personally don't like the widget, and over time you gain contempt for your customers for having such poor and shallow taste as to spend their money on this widget, and selling this widget makes you uphappy, testy, grumpy and miserable, then what is the point? And if it takes you 7 days a week to sell the widget, meaning you have no time to go play golf, or take a road trip, or have friends over for a party, and your life is spent in front of the computer, packaging and shipping, then what is the point?
posted on June 25, 2003 12:32:54 PM new
fluffy, an owner's draw is not a number for meaningful or relevant statistical analysis. For example, I can transfer $500,000 from one of my asset accounts into my business account, then write myself a check for $500,000 and tell everyone I took $500,000 out of my bueiness this year. Does that $500,000 equate to profitability? Nope. Or I can write myself an owner's draw check of $20,000 a month, draw down on inventory, draw down on cash surplus, and not reinvest back into the business. I tell everyone I am taking $20,000 a month out of my business. Does this sum equate to profitablity? Nope.
The best method for maintaining numbers for analysis is to keep books, recording each and every transaction when it occurs, plus recording the monthly journal entries for amortized expenses and such. Then you know with just a few keyboard clicks if you are profitable, and you can watch your average cost of sale in relation to your average sale price.
posted on June 25, 2003 12:49:27 PM new
hotcupoftea: Oh, thank you so much for the lecture.
Now go find something pointy and sit on it.
(Sorry about that, "pointy"!)
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posted on June 25, 2003 01:43:31 PM new
there is a high volume seller of jewelry from CA who starts all her auctions at one penny,but her shipping is 5.00 with no insurance.
is she making money??i hope so.
as for ebay sellers who sell books for 99 cents,they can do better on amzn,no listing fee ,pay 15% commish and 99 cents transaction fee when book is sold.they make some money on shipping as amzn credits them with shipping fee of 2.24 on the average.
better yet,some list these books at one penny and just let amzn gets their 15% of one penny.
99 cents transaction fee come out of the shipping rebate of 2.24.
which leaves them with 1.25 to pay for stamp and an envelope and keep 30 cents for a cup of coffee.
(i should add that these books cost them almost nothing-some work for printing companies which print paperbacks and they sell the defective copies,some buy in bulk and made their money on the good ones and could not care if they have to give these books away to save storage,or they are given these books to read free or they just want to rid these books)
[ edited by stopwhining on Jun 25, 2003 01:54 PM ]
posted on June 25, 2003 03:25:24 PM new
kiara: I like what I'm doing, too. I get to use a lot of skills that were wasted in the tech world.
I have no idea what anyone else considers a life well-lived, but I don't really give a damn as I learned early on that the only opinion that counts is mine.
My current biggest dilemma is choosing between an Alaskan cruise in September or a roundtrip Hawaii cruise in February. Think I'm gonna go for the Alaska trip on Crystal Harmony. It's short enough (12 days) that I can just leave auctions running while I'm gone. Beautiful ship, gorgeous itinerary (I've done it before) and of the five cruise lines I've been on, Crystal beats 'em all hands-down.
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posted on June 25, 2003 03:45:33 PM new
there we go,cruises which promise we can eat up to 12 meals a day .
i would say most ebay sellers like what they are doing and are enthused about what they sell.
there has been long heated discussiion on various boards why people sell books at one penny,i think these people crave quality emails from amzn-you get 3 emails when an item is sold-(1) you have a marketplace buyer
(2) sale of item so and so has ended.
(2) money is on the way,please ship NOW.
better than spams
posted on June 25, 2003 03:48:17 PM new
"You have to think beyond just finding a profitable item(s) to sell on eBay. When you put the work into this business, and the years go by, at the end of it you need to have a business that has value or your hard work is meaningless."
Balderdash!
When the engineer works 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, for 40 years for Raytheon, when he retires will he have a business that has value? NOT.
Put in the time to sell your products and if the icome is satisfactory don't worry about having a business to sell at the end of it. Just retire and enjoy.
posted on June 25, 2003 06:58:43 PM new
Sounds good, fluffy! I do agree with many things hotcupoftea says but all situations don't work the same. I wish it was that easy. If sales were steady day by day her plan may work but in real life those things don't happen nor do they happen on the internet unless you have a widget everyone desires.
I don't have hopes of owning the building I'm in as it's a cash cow for the landlord and he will pass it on to his son. But today I had pleasant customers that spent money. None of them smelled and none of them whined. I had quiet times so I could even eat my sandwich in peace.
I got home and sat on my back porch in the sun and I looked at my beautiful yard with all the trees and flowers and birds and I thought..... Yup, all my hard work with my shop, ebay and my website pays for this and I am happy.
I don't work for others because I found it takes a certain amount of a**kissing to get ahead and I refuse to do it. My business would do better if I kissed up to a few leaders and their associates in this city but I refuse to do that also.
posted on June 25, 2003 07:20:09 PM new
capotasto, at the end of 40 years, the engineer has a retirement fund, a retirement health plan, a mortgage free home, savings and a membership in the local golf club. Those things combined are a heck of lot of value.
For a person in business, whether eBay or elsewhere, if you don't have anything to show for it when the song is over, then what is the point?
You can read on all of the boards about the sellers who live from hand-to-mouth. They are putting inventory on their credit cards. They are refinancing their homes to pay the credit cards. They are filling up their rooms with stuff they can't sell that has no value. They don't even have the basic six months of living expenses sitting in a liquid account for ready access. They put in years of selling on eBay and at the end of it their mortgage is higher, they have truckloads of crud to cart off to the thrift shop, they gained 50 plus pounds from being sedentary and the doctor says their arteries are clogged. They worked like dogs for five years and have nothing to show for it when they fold it up. That is my point. Sellers need to think outside the box, that it takes more than finding a market niche, because when it is all over you want to have something to show for all of those years.
Kiara, I understand what you are saying. Sh*t happens. And when it hits you, then hits you again, then hits you yet again, well then it takes a lot of strength and fortitude just to hang on and you are in long-term survival mode. I've always used those times as lessons in survival, figured out what to do to prepare for the future calamaties.
posted on June 25, 2003 07:26:10 PM new
kiara, I think you do just fine. Your income sources are diversified. Your business gives you pleasure and passion. At the end of the day your home and garden gives you more pleasure. Your life appears to be balanced. And by the time you are ready for the nursing home, you will own the building in which your business resides, whether this one or another. You have lots of years yet to reach your goals. And when they come to cart you off to the nursing home, I bet there will be one heck of an estate sale.
posted on June 25, 2003 07:26:18 PM newat the end of 40 years, the engineer has a retirement fund, a retirement health plan, a mortgage free home, savings and a membership in the local golf club. Those things combined are a heck of lot of value.
How much more condescending can you get?
I made the maximum contribution to my retirement plan last year....100% eBay earnings.
Our house will be paid for in 12 years, before either of us retire. 50% eBay earnings.
My savings are 100% funded by eBay earnings. And it's nobody's business how much I have squirrelled away.
Golf? Who needs it?
Do you really think eBay sellers are so lacking in basic common sense that they don't think of these things?
/boggle/
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posted on June 25, 2003 07:39:25 PM new
fluffy, I sure did not make that post to your name. I believe posters on this board actually have discussions and the thought of you does not enter their mind even once.
All I've said on this thread regarding your business model is that I don't care for it, that you are open to aggressive competition, and in the long-term your current business model will not be able to sustain itself. You respond with how much money you take out. I say that number is totally irrelevant for any meaningful analysis. You are the one on this specific board constantly griping and moaning about your customers and other problems. Gosh, one would get the impression that you are constantly being irritated and are unhappy with your life.
posted on June 25, 2003 08:02:35 PM new
No, I will never own any building unless I win the lottery. I am looking at this realistically and it will not happen because of the type of business I have chosen to do.
Nor will there be an estate sale. I am selling everything I own on ebay.
I have this planned. As I sell off my stuff I will get older and older. I am saving my sparkly jewels for the last so the packages will be small enough to fit in my walker. After I wheel the last one to the post office I will take my thin little tired body back home and lie down on my bed in my empty house and then they can take me away.
posted on June 25, 2003 08:13:59 PM new
What kind of stuff sells profitably? just about anything that MEN collect!
I sat all day at a rural farm auction...MAN o MAN can those MEN spend money!
I have sold alot of things for my consignors...some of them being old, rural farm boys themselves ( the consignors that is..hehe!). They bring me the best old Advertising, toys, old phonographs, tools....you name it..any "toy" you think some big chief somewhere might like to see sitting in his office...and KA-CHING!
Hey Hotcupo', while I know you are here...... I wanted to thank you for some advice you gave to another poster a while back... you suggestedto them that instead of buying "cheap" things to re-sell, they should try to buy higher end items...I did that today ( along with my precious "cheap" stuff too). I am normally partial to all things cottage-y from the 1920s - 40s..... but today I bought an old Edison Home phonograph with 2 horns...I didn't pay too much for it, but it is not something I usually consider buying. I know I will easily make $300 -$400.00 on it. BOY were those good ole boys surprised to see me carting it away!!
posted on June 25, 2003 08:31:19 PM new
Stuff that's really hard to find and YOU have it and NO ONE else does. Bingo! And if you have mutiples of it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,yehaAAAAA!!!!!
posted on June 25, 2003 08:38:19 PM new
And it sells for $250.00 and UP everytime. relist,relist,relist,,,,,,same pic, same story......relist, relist. that's the reeeeeeal secret of e bay......
posted on June 26, 2003 12:29:24 PM new
Well, homies, I'm off to the Great Mall (only in America, eh?) to do some air-conditioned mallwalking and enjoy my day off.
You may talk quietly amongst yourselves.
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posted on June 26, 2003 01:04:27 PM newat the end of 40 years, the engineer has a retirement fund, a retirement health plan, a mortgage free home, savings and a membership in the local golf club. Those things combined are a heck of lot of value.
Ya, that's fine in theory except the engineer is just a mere employee and he's lucky if he has a retirement fund by the time he gets there.
Look at the people that planned through Enron, World.com and the stock market in general just to watch it all collapse from things they had no control over.
posted on June 26, 2003 02:44:27 PM new
inot, if the weather is pleasant, rural farm auctions are a blast. You are correct, the men bid like crazy against each other for the weird rusty stuff. I could entertain you all day with stories from some of the auctions I've attended over the past 5 years. Nuts, attending a farm auction is better than going to a movie.
My favorite farm auction of all time was for this man who branched out to doing other things with his farm during his retirement years. One thing he did was refill bullets, and had a brick outbuilding just for that activity. Another thing he did was restore old military things, like huge Civil War canons, military clothing, military vehicles and so on. Another thing he did was fix real old sewing machines. When he died, there was the farm house and about 12 different farm buildings. The estate was so huge, there were three different teams of auctioneers going at once. Each outbuilding was jammed to the rafters with stuff, like old sewing machines and their parts, gun collections, boxes of clothing and equipment from the Civil War. One building had these Civil War canons, and the auction drew these millionaire military collectors who flew in from other states, who bid in a frenzy against each other for the canons, and they sold for over $100,000 each. The heirs of the estate fired off each and every one of the canons so that the bidders knew that they worked. They took the canons out to a nearby field, and all of the auctions halted while the attendees milled about, and the canons were fired off one-by-one. I am not a military buff, but I was still pretty impressed that I was standing there on such a pretty day and got to see a real Civil War canon being fired.
I didn't want to go home empty handed that day, so I bid on some military jackets and overcoats, sold them on eBay and made hundreds of dollars of profits on each, due I believe to the coats having special patches and such on them. Military stuff is out of my area of expertise, but that specific farm auction did not have any antique glass or porcelain. Oh yes, I remember one more thing about that auction. I bid on a floor lamp for my own home, made out of mahogany, and while I was standing in line to pay for my winning bids someone came up and offered me $400 more than I paid for it because the lamp was a such and such. Since I had not purchased the lamp to resell, and only bid on it because it was pretty, I took my profit and sold the lamp to the fellow.
Regarding what you said about paying more to make more, when done with knowledge and expertise it will give you higher profits with fewer sales. For example, I attend the large antique shows, the shows with 2000 to 3000 vendors. I spend about $5000 to $10,000. Without fail I graduple that cost to sales of minimally four times as much, some via listings on eBay, some via direct sales to my customer base, and some via sales through my home.
posted on June 26, 2003 03:25:53 PM new
inot, there is one other thing I should mention about rural farm auctions for readers of this thread. It is my experience that on the farm estates, the females of the family and the female friends of the family haul off any glass and porcelain of value, and any other female type of house pretties of value, such as quilts and French lace. Whereas the males of the family don't go out into the outbuildings and cart off truckloads of fire wood, bales of barbed wire, and parts for the antique John Deere tractors, thus the outbuildings are crammed with undiscovered treasures. Attending a farm auction is a fun outing. If you are a male, and know the values of old stuff contained in old barns and outbuildings, then farm auctions are a bonanza for buying stuff. Just be sure to drive your Ford long bed pickup to the auction, not your itty bitty compact.
posted on June 26, 2003 03:37:36 PM new
kiara: Your post made me smile You have described me perfectly. I started out buying things to sell on Ebay but after a few estate sales I took a look around my way overcrowded home and decided I was going at this wrong. I collected everything (really) over the last 50 years and now I am trying to sell it so when it is my time to go my kids won't be faced with that.
You have described me perfectly. I started out buying things to sell on Ebay but after a few estate sales I took a look around my way overcrowded home and decided I was going at this wrong. I collected everything (really) over the last 50 years and now I am trying to sell it so when it is my time to go my kids won't be faced with that.