posted on August 25, 2003 07:56:27 PM new
The last time I saw a report on the average price for an item sold on ebay, it was around $18. Down a few bucks from a $21 average. That was over a year ago, so I don't know if there is more current data available. This average price has been dropping for quite some time. What that means is either one of two things. 1) People are flooding ebay with cheaper merchandise, or 2) that prices are down across the board. I tend to think it's more that prices are down across the board. If someone can find the recent data, I would bet that the average price has now dropped another $2 or so. Just like everything else, ebay will go in cycles. Perhaps not everything at the same time, but each category will likely have prices flucuations according to market conditions. If you're particular category is slow, take time off. It should rebound sometime. Hopefully sooner, than later.
posted on August 25, 2003 08:04:35 PM new
> Sorry but to me they are scum
They're not scum, its just a different business model. Sellers who charge high shipping and handling pay less to eBay. And aren't you paying enough fees as it is?
posted on August 25, 2003 08:10:23 PM new
Watermelons sell real good in July. Pumpkins sell real good in October.
Now you might sell a few pumpkins in July if you have them. You might
sell quite a few in July if the price is right or the market turns your way.
Same with Watermelons in Oct.
posted on August 25, 2003 08:20:09 PM new
If you insertion fees are higher than your fvf, that means your items are selling for $6 or less. I'm not surprised your business is not doing well. How about looking for another line of items to sell? The only difference between now and a few years ago was it used to cost 25 cents to list instead of 30, and it was 5% FVF instead of 5.25% - Those are not significant amounts of money, a $10 item will now cost you 7.5 cents more to sell.
I think the problem lies with what you are selling. My guess is beanie babies, because a few years ago they would sell very well, and probably most closed with a bid. These days, you can pick them up for a quarter at a garage sale, so why would anyone bid on them on ebay? Even if you are not selling beanies, that goes to show you that what was popular even 2 years ago is worthless today. You need to evolve with the trends, and if you can't, I guess you complain here and go away.
2003 has been the BEST year I've ever had on ebay, and I took most of the summer off too.
posted on August 25, 2003 08:30:01 PM new
I read enough here that I take everones advice,,,expand,,,,Expand yer minds,,,,I do's....I just bought another X Ryder truck to rent out......to swapmeeters....when the goin' get's tough, the tough get goin'....Be it e bay, er' any other way,,,matters not. Some posted the warnings,,I heeded them........Put yer money in stock that MAKES more money......E bay ain't the only way. This board has expanded my mind beyond even MY wildest dreams......listen to the Heartbeat..........Dillion said it,,,the times they are a changin',,,my sig file says it ALL.........
Maybe you are "one" of those sellers??? There is one here at Vendio.
If so, then what is wrong being honest in your selling methods ??
Do you and others that do this, feel that it is okay to cheat ebay while the rest of us pay our fair share ??
ebay gave you the buyer, as with any business, you have to spend money to make money, so you should get the buyer for 1/2 the cost, when I pay full price for my buyer ???
Dang, New I was doing something wrong. Thanks for the tip.
[ edited by wrightsracing on Aug 25, 2003 08:43 PM ]
posted on August 25, 2003 08:40:26 PM new
I didn't start selling till last year so I guess I missed the best years on ebay...but I think I do pretty good now so I would have been doing the happy dance back then lol. My advise to you Dbest is try taking 40 bucks out of the bank and go yard sale'n this weekend. Buy stuff that you can't just walk into Walmarts and find.Old toys ,Collectible stuff like old Jewelry,glass figurines...you'd be amazed at what you might find.I paid .20 for a old war metal it sold for over 300.00.That clock I asked for help on...cost me 10 bucks sold for almost 300.00.Had a bar owner sell me promos at his yard sale..50 beer/liquor shirts ,50 keyrings,10 Hats and 20 or more martini glasses for 25.00.....He threw in a disco ball for my daughter for free So there are deals to be found,and money to be made.You just have to get up at the crack of dawn to find them.
posted on August 25, 2003 09:10:10 PM new
I'm happy to see that I'm not the only cheerleader here.
Toasted is an example of a newer seller who does very well for herself. dbest is trying to tell people like her not to sell on ebay just because he is a whiner and a failure. He has been whining here for ages.
It looks like some are stuck in a rut and don't know how to adapt and change with the times so they blame it all on ebay and the economy.
ebay was never the Promised Land, they were always just a venue and ebay does not owe you a living forever.
posted on August 25, 2003 09:18:19 PM new
OK - I have to put my two cents worth in too...I missed the "golden days" of eBay when all you had to do is throw something out there and you got bids and made lots of $$..I have found you have to WORK and work some more to turn a dollar.
I work very hard - much longer than a regular job - but hey! it's MY business and I don't mind the work. Sometimes I get nearly burned out and think it may be time to join the corporate rat race again or start substitute teaching (YIKES)...
Then i read my feedback (ok i know most of it is crapola but i read it anyway)and I find this gem:
"Praise : "Neglus" is perhaps the best seller on eBay - just a quality seller and person"
Just the day brightener I need today when my sales are sluggish...I am here for the long haul. I know that business is cylical - I have good nights like last night followed by stinky ones like tonight. But as long as I like what I am doing, make some money at it and am willing and able to put the time in to make it work then I will continue to sell on eBay.
No use mourning the "good old days"...get over it!
posted on August 25, 2003 09:22:03 PM new
I think Stonecold summed it up best. Pay attention to the seasons and what you list. Just common sense. I don't claim to be a big seller of high end items, I'm like most of the others who post here. Maybe average 20 - 30 auctions a week. I've been selling on Ebay since 1998 and I made power seller for the first time in February of this year. I can honestly say, 2003 has been my best year yet. Sure, sales slowed down when the rug rats got out of school and people started going on vacation. It happens every year. Guess what? It's gonna be the same next summer. And yes, I sell antiques and collectibles. And that catagory is having the same peaks and dips it did 5 years ago. The economy has nothing to do with the average auction in the collectibles or pottery catagories. Collectors are still willing to pay good prices for quality merchandise and crappy prices for crap. If a seller does his/her homework and research, they can make a decent profit on Ebay even today.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
posted on August 25, 2003 09:24:15 PM new
There are many threads on the board that cover all the points you bring up (scum, honesty, fair share, etc). You can search for it here, no point in rehashing, and giving myself a headache : http://web.archive.org/web/19991013082649/http://imagehost.auctionwatch.com/
By the way, here is what one of my buyers told me yesterday (8/24/2003):
"Your item had good, concise information about the [widget] and your shipping cost was better than other sellers. Thanks for the quick shipment."
posted on August 25, 2003 09:42:37 PM new
I think that some people were spoiled by the early days of ebay. In the early days if I needed extra cash I would buy as few action figures from the local toy store, throw them on ebay and get double what I had paid KayBee Toys for them.I could go hit the loval indoor swap meet with $50 and 7 days of ebay listings later - it was $200. Those were fun days. Now I have to actually work to make that money, but I still do it. I may sell in different genres from one to month to the next and I spend many a night scouring the internet for new ideas, new suppliers, and new venues. It's not as easy as it once was, but it is still just as fun.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
Men Are Like Grapes. If You Stomp on Them and Keep Them in the Dark Long Enough, They Might Turn Into Something That You Would Take to Dinner
posted on August 25, 2003 09:59:28 PM new
Sun, isnt "your selling method" called fee avoidance and bascially against the rules?
Listing at .01 cents and then charging a whopping 20.00 for a 3.85 item to ship is very deceptive. (And yes, that happened to me as a newbie. Christened dead-on the money you could say.)
Should sellers make something for their packaging and handling? Absolutely! But their entire profit margin on the shipping? I dont happen to agree with that.
If retailers or catalogue sellers did that; you can bet a fuss would be stirred with some consumer agency or something or other.
posted on August 26, 2003 04:53:39 AM new
Sun: I know its been discussed before. I dont need to go find the threads. YOU brought it to the thread, purporting to call it a selling method or business plan. I pointed out its illegal.
You need to go read Ebays policies because you are Full of Sh**. If that is your "PLAN", and you suggest others follow suit - then we should all get buyers by snagging them, huh? And as someone else pointed out, let the 'other' sellers shoulder the burden of paying the fees while your ILLEGAL business plan plows the field.
Nah, I dont think so.
[ edited by neroter12 on Aug 26, 2003 05:05 AM ]
posted on August 26, 2003 05:17:22 AM new
neuroter12,who are you to decide an item costs 3.85 to ship??do you know the circumstance of the seller ??
as for catalogs and mail order business,they are not in the auction business,neither do they sell everything at one penny starting bid.
i agree with dbest,i have been on ebay for 8 years,i remember the good days when there were only 20,000 items on ebay.
not everyone wants to go to garage sales or auctions or run to someone house and look through their personal items,some items are not found in garage sales.
only time will tell,yes,there are cheerleaders on this board,time will tell,just be patient and see how many of us survive??
another point to bring out is that ebay is getting to be too big,it is frustrating for some and fun for others to go thru many items just to find one which pleases you.
i collect japanese woodblock prints,the original 18th c ones from japan,there are always around 700 listings on ebay,you can still find some authentic originals,but those who sell original will run out of them,and how are they going to replace them??
dont look to the japanese to sell you in bulk ??
some of us have turned to small auction houses which specialise in such prints,they do the research work and their words are good,we pay more but it saves us the time and money to go thru ebay.
ebay is flooded with junks,people are tight with their money so they come to ebay and hope to get a laptop etc cheap and find item not as described and ended up losing money instead.
as for how much your item is worth?it is worth as much as someone is willing to pay you in 7-10 days on ebay,if ebay is the only venue you can sell.
if you think every item you find in garage sale at 5 dollars is worth 50 or 500,we would not be in a deflationary spiral,malibu one bedroom condo would fetch i million dollars and a burger would be 10 dollars with no fries.
-sig file -------The thrill is gone!!
posted on August 26, 2003 07:09:28 AM new
Despite some of the negativity, this is a good post.
I agree with minic.
If I take the time to learn, study, and go on the hunt...I can find fine antique (100 yrs+) at a good price.
Baby Boomers...yes, 1940s, 1950s...of course...they are human also and have nostalgic connections...I don't believe that is bad...
Yes, the summer slows down - prices fall...but also, more knowledgable sellers are now on eBay with fine quality in every area.
At Harvard...in the B-school, they've studied eBay...almost the perfect Keynes economy...supply versus demand.
thanks
posted on August 26, 2003 07:29:53 AM new
i hope harvard MBA also study the great discount mechanism at work.
on ebay you expect to find interesting items,also you cannot expect professional service as in brick and mortar store,the item may not be as described,ask a seller question may be answered on same day or days later,many sellers do not know what they are selling (if they say this is an original hokusai print from an estate,for god's sake,at least remove it from the frame and take a closer look).it could be a xerox copy of the original.
sellers may have a full time job which takes them to timbuktu ,therefore he/she is not available to ship promptly,but have no fear,it will be shipped upon return.
many sellers ship usps,if item is borken,buyer must get ready to line up at the local post office holding a box of broken item.
all these are discounted when a bidder places a bid and you wonder why the price guide means zilch.
-sig file -------The thrill is gone!!
posted on August 26, 2003 07:36:57 AM new
Hi ..... you offer a fine point. We also had a store for 35years - took over from an elderly relative...closed it two years ago.
However, some of my experience showed that a customer would review an item in our B&M store, take it home, review it again to find a flaw they had overlooked...maybe it was one we should have caught...either way - it was refunded. We do the same today on eBay.
At our B&M store (prices ranged from $10...to $6,000, we had items sit for years...years...same items have sold ...even this summer...at greater than our original asking price within 7-days.
On eBay...and there are people as you suggested...but assume a reputable seller... takes close ups of the flaws.
As with any businesses, there are those who take advantage of others...
eBay embodies the true competitive market.
posted on August 26, 2003 08:25:16 AM new
I have to laugh a bit because when I started coming and reading this board over 3 yrs ago, people were bitchin and complaining then. I started selling about 4 yrs ago and have since quit my full time job 3 yrs ago and live better and have more free money then ever.
Like others said...adapt!!! the only constant in life is change...SO CHANGE.
posted on August 26, 2003 08:46:29 AM new
> You need to go read Ebays policies because you are Full of Sh**.
You obviously haven't read the threads because the sellers that charge high shipping and handling have been reported to eBay, and they have replied in e-mail that it is not fee avoidance and the rates are reasonable.
> If that is your "PLAN"
It isn't. Please stop directing your negativity to "me". I'm trying to discuss the idea, not the person.
posted on August 26, 2003 09:38:46 AM new
It is almost impossible to actually "lose" money selling on Ebay if you know anything at all about what you are selling.
Now, how much you actually make and if it is worth it to you on a per hour basis is another matter.
With listings holding steady between 9 and 10 million I don't think that many people have quit listing. And, for every one that quits 10 will take their place.
Many many sellers list 10 or 15 items (or less) a week and truly do this as a hobby. They are probably very happy with what they make.
The rest of us work harder and longer but we enjoy what we are doing and I think most of us are smart enough to find a way to make money and not lose it. Ebay is making more for sure, but sales are still good and Ebay is still fun.
When it stops being fun I will quit as well. And, I won't keep coming back here trying to convince everyone else they should quit as well!
As long as items in my category sell I know it is choices I have made in purchasing, listing etc that prevented mine from doing the same. When I have a slow week I take the time to really go through the competition. Listing by listing.
I will always be an Ebay cheerleader (at least as long as I sell there). Because if I am bitter about it then it will show in my emails, in my listings and in my personal life. Why put up with that? If it isn't working for you just give it up and do something else.
[ edited by lindajean on Aug 26, 2003 09:40 AM ]
posted on August 26, 2003 10:10:14 AM new
Hi .......
Lindajean...nicely put.
I enjoy the brief time I have with some of the older items...I hope they fine a nice home with respect.
When the thrill and money isn't there...you are correct... move on...
posted on August 26, 2003 10:19:41 AM new
I think a lot of the reason for sales being down on eBay is an increase in sellers. It is much easier to buy than it is to sell, and it has taken a while for some people to learn how to do it. I have quite a lot of regular buyers, and now a whole lot of them have become sellers also.
Sales will only work if you have more people buying than selling, and I really think the balance has changed over the years. When I went to my post office last week, the man serving me asked if I was selling on auction, and when I told him I was, he said that more and more people were coming in with packages from auction selling, and I live in a very small town, so multiply that by thousands of towns, and you have part of the reason for sales being down, the sales are more spread out, more choice, less competition.
posted on August 26, 2003 11:32:49 AM new
I agree with DBEST on many levels, except the bottom line (pun intended). There is indeed still money to be made on eBay - even for us longtime sellers. I began selling music-related collectibles on eBay in January
1998. In the beginning and for about two years thereafter, almost everything I posted would sell for excellent money. Then eBay really started to take off with the mainstream and corporate America. More sellers and greater competition collided with a downturn in the economy. At that time you also could turn on the TV without some 60 Minutes documentary or the like about this one and that one who were ripped off for this and that on internet auctions. Multiple factors - including eBay's seemingly random and large increases in listing fees - resulted in a cloudy selling environment and many a disillusioned seller. Now for the meat of my post...
SOME of those sellers threw their arms up in the air, gave up and remain bitter about it all to this day. Some sellers - myself NOT included - remain on eBay and work longer hours for less money, and a little more day
to day worry about having quit that real-world day job. But then there are the handful of us that found the truly PERFECT alternative. This may sound like a sales pitch, but indeed it isn't.
I take the exact same product I always sold on eBay, drop it off to a TRADING ASSISTANT once per week, pick up a check for the previous week's sales and brush my hands together as I drive home with a smile on my face.
Since this is all merchandise I once sold on eBay, I provide him with a neat and organized list of item titles and descriptions along with the picture of each item - all in electronic form (either I'll e-mail it to him or save it to a disc). This makes the job of him listing items a breeze for him. He then handles all e-mail, runs the auction, collects the payments, ships the product, the whole nine yards - and I get 85% of the final sale price.
Years of doing eBay on my own and I can guarantee that I would spend at least 15% of gross on expenses such as eBay and Paypal fees, the time and energy to answer e-mails and follow up with feedback, etc, mailing labels and so forth. So, for basically the same amount of money as I used to make, I no longer do any of the work.
The key is to find a trading assistant who is both fairly close to your home or office, one who does not charge for items that don't sell, nor any minimum fee (careful as some will charge like $2 per listing even if it
doesn't sell!) and one who is friendly and energetic. My trading assistant is my age, loves doing eBay and says he's happy about the money he makes by doing this for me. Personally I'd be pulling my hair out if I did all the work and only got the 15% side of things, but he's quite content (and does make a little extra off his handling fee on shipping). It is the perfect scenario for me - the disillusioned former seller, who was unwilling to give up the income eBay generated - albeit more meager as the years go by.
One last thing, isn't this message board aimed at helping each other solve problems with our "collective mind" - brainstorming, idea hunting, whatever you want to call it? There's too little of that and too much rib-jabbing 'round here. But anyway, check out eBay's Trading Assistant listings off the site map and seriously consider doing what I and other sellers have done to keep the 85% of eBay income rolling with 85% less work! Good luck!
posted on August 26, 2003 11:50:28 AM new
You have a good deal, probably one that can not be repeated. Someone who only charges you 15% put pays for all ebay, paypal, and shipping supplies? It sounds like they are paying to work for you. I can't see how there would be any profit unless you are selling $100 or higher items...I've not signed up for this program because I have kept pretty busy on my own, but I believe most competent trading assistants would want to be paid for their time.
posted on August 26, 2003 12:23:16 PM new
he said he is getting 85% of final sales price.
where did you read his assistant is paying ebay and paypal fees ??
if so,he is getting like 6-8% plus skimping on shipping
-sig file -------The thrill is gone!!
So there are deals to be found,and money to be made.You just have to get up at the crack of dawn to find them.