posted on March 24, 2004 10:06:00 AM new
i dont think we need jay and marie be our consultants.
anyone who listed their business for sale on 50 cents listing day and no paypal.
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
posted on March 24, 2004 10:22:34 AM new
I'm glad you're amused.
I'm doing such right now for two chain retailers re reverse logistics and eBay sales.
The parties to whom I report are both MBA's.
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them."- John Wayne/The Shootist"(from the novel by Glendon Swarthout)
posted on March 24, 2004 10:36:56 AM new
Readmond;
Go to www.eauctionair.com...
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them."- John Wayne/The Shootist"(from the novel by Glendon Swarthout)
posted on March 24, 2004 10:50:50 AM new
So what ? A webpage sporting about an eBay format AM radio station in Texas that may or may not begin broadcasting sometime soon ?
But here's the million dollar question-- if eBay such a profitable venture, then why waste time with a radio braodcast about it.
It's becoming just like the get-rich quick infomercials. If you're making so much GD money, then why would you waste time and effort selling "kits" or information for everyone else to copy your success ??
This all becoming a deja vue of the last bad recession in the 70s.
There was a flood of get-rich quick schemes and pyrmid "business opportunities" everywhere.
posted on March 24, 2004 10:52:54 AM new
This has been an interesting discussion. It just goes to show that just because someone is the biggest, they don't have the best business model. I bet they will miss those bonus points on their credit card, and ebay will miss the listing fees. I also agree with the person who said that they should have built up their website, it sort of makes no sense to keep it an informational site only. They could have had a loyal customer base with all the contacts they made.
posted on March 24, 2004 11:01:12 AM new
I think the reason they didn't build up their own site was because the profit just weren't there as evidenced via their eBay sales channel. P2P digital downloading probably had its effect too.
But it's like the old saw--- I go to Texas and buy the item for $5 and then take it to Kansas and sell it for $5 and I'm not making a profit. Solution ? Buy a bigger truck.
I think there is quite a news story out there for a good investigative reporter on just who if anyone is making any real profits on eBay. Beofre I would trust anyone, I would want to see certified tax returns.
One thing is certain, the wise man doesn't crow about his finding gold, he quietly mines the vein until it is played out. Then he sells the mine and consults with mining companies.
posted on March 24, 2004 12:36:26 PM new
:: It's becoming just like the get-rich quick infomercials. If you're making so much GD money, then why would you waste time and effort selling "kits" or information for everyone else to copy your success ?? ::
Again Reamond - it's called working smarter not harder. They now have a single product mass produced with outsourced fullfillment as opposed to engageing in constant research, sourcing, listing and dealing with the idiot "ask seller a question" emails.
:: One thing is certain, the wise man doesn't crow about his finding gold, he quietly mines the vein until it is played out. Then he sells the mine and consults with mining companies.::
Yes but judging by your posts in this thread you would not hire him because he did not crow. A smart person making a good living on ebay does not give away their method yet if they protect it by not posting their ID you call them a liar.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
[ edited by Fenix03 on Mar 24, 2004 12:37 PM ]
posted on March 24, 2004 12:48:34 PM newit's called working smarter not harder.
Wrong. You can not accomplish this on an open system like eBay. Unlike less public channels, the ebay venue offers competitors a plethora of information.
if they protect it by not posting their ID you call them a liar.
No one here refered to their own business, they all refered to someone elses that they "knew" of. If so, post the user ID.
A smart person making a good living on ebay does not give away their method
What they are selling, how much they are selling for, how many they are selling, where they are shipping from, are all right there for everyone to see.
Reamond - you mean to tell me that there are actually people out that have built a business model based on taking advantage of the fluid nature of trends?
If by "taking advantage of the fluid nature of trends" you mean scoping out hot trends on eBay by gleaning other seller's information, then yes you're right.
posted on March 24, 2004 12:51:14 PM new
I would also point out the less than 50% sell through rate on eBay. There is no successful retail operation with a sell through like that.
There has also never been a millionaire created from classified ads in newspapers. The only millionaires were those that owned the newspapers.
posted on March 24, 2004 01:06:32 PM new
It certainly is apparent that Reamond has jumped the shark...
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them."- John Wayne/The Shootist"(from the novel by Glendon Swarthout)
posted on March 24, 2004 01:48:41 PM new
Pandora - "jumped the shark..." - LOL!! You are officially now a favorite poster
Reamond
:: Wrong. You can not accomplish this on an open system like eBay. Unlike less public channels, the ebay venue offers competitors a plethora of information. ::
What cannot be done Reamond - working smarter not harder or finding a successful formula and then marketing it. In either case you are wrong.
::No one here refered to their own business, they all refered to someone elses that they "knew" of. If so, post the user ID. ::
OK - so you called on the IDs of people who knew someone doig high sales to post their IDs. Are you telling me that if I stated that I average 5 to 6k a month you are not going to ask for my ID for confirmation?
::What they are selling, how much they are selling for, how many they are selling, where they are shipping from, are all right there for everyone to see.::
Yes, if you look. But then a smart person also does not put all their eggs into one basket and it is just possible that they have constantly rotating product lines spread among a variety of IDs so that no single one attracts attention.
:: If by "taking advantage of the fluid nature of trends" you mean scoping out hot trends on eBay by gleaning other seller's information, then yes you're right.::
Yes Reamond, that's exactly hat I mean, it's called market reasearch and in an integral aspect of any successful business model. This is a constantly evolving market and to be successful you must evolve as well.
::You don't seem to get the picture yet fenix.::
No, I ge it very clearly. You are operating on a model which serves your needs satisfactorily. The problem is that you seem to be unwilling to accept that there are others that may have different needs or goals and have adopted a different method in order to fill them and are successful at it.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on March 24, 2004 03:28:35 PM newThe Apple example is a joke. Apple is almost gone, it is the amazing shrinking PC maker.
I think I'm beginning to understand. With you, Reamond, it's either global domination or oblivion. If you ain't Microsoft, you ain't nobody, eh? Even if you're sitting in Cupertino with billions in cash?
Well, la di dah.
In eBay's worldwide online marketplace, nobody is going to dominate their category. And that's a good thing, even though it seems to break your heart. Competition? Bring it on. There's enough business for everyone.
--
"The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: `If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping Up and Down.'" -- Rita Rudner
posted on March 24, 2004 03:32:06 PM new
Reamond....sounds to me like sour grapes on your part. Maybe you bought a pallet full of widgets with the intention of making some money selling them on Ebay, and now after selling a few you've run into some competition. Are you a seller on Ebay? Well, it's a fact....There are competitors on Ebay and in real life. And there are people as you say who look for products that sell on Ebay and undercut the market making profit margins shrink. But for you to say that there's not people making 50k a year on Ebay is ridiculous. Maybe you can't, but there are quite a few who can. I've been doing it for 6 years now. Used to be a lot easier to do, but competition has made me work harder and change my business model a few times to make the same. I'm jealous of the people that I know that are making much more than I, but I give them credit for what they're doing.
posted on March 24, 2004 03:56:48 PM newNO one has asked this, but does anyone know how old Jay and Marie are?
Handwriting on the wall, perhaps, but as successful entrepreneurs, Jay and Marie may have found a more profitable, less labor intensive, less stressful investment/business.
We started on internet sales via eBay in the mid 90s. But, in the last year and a half, with the continued growth of our web sites, we are to the point that eBay sales are superfluous. I still post some on eBay, but only enough to keep a minor Power Seller rating, and I am surprised that I have continued to keep that, as I have posted less, and less in the last year, to the point we seldom have more than 10 auctions running at any given time.
Working on line auctions is too labor intensive and stressful. Our web site sales are MUCH easier, faster, and with MUCH less hassle from the buyer.
Because 99.9% of our sales are credit card, there are no NON-paying buyers. We provide the product, the buyer chooses their items, pays, their money and order is sent to us. Credit cards are run (and this is the last week of that, we are going to an automated system because I just can't keep up with daily credit card punch in's), then we use Endicia Postage, and U-Pic insurance, our employees pack the items, and they are shipped out.
There are phone calls to answer, but our employees do that, so by and large it is less hassle, less labor intensive, less stressful, frustrating, etc., than eBay.
I can clearly see a time, in not the very distant future, probably later this year, that we will drop out of eBay totally.
Back when eBay allowed us to link from our auctions to our web sites, I was happy to post, just to promote our sites, but without that, eBay has basically become more trouble than it is worth to us.
I dont see any experienced entrepreneur paying anything like $5 Mil for any on line private auction business. I do bid Jay and Marie, the Best of Wishes!
[ edited by jwpc on Mar 24, 2004 03:57 PM ]
posted on March 24, 2004 04:16:24 PM new
::The Apple example is a joke. Apple is almost gone, it is the amazing shrinking PC maker.::
At least market research is not the onlything you are clueless about.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on March 24, 2004 05:32:18 PM new
We can break this down further. OK, they have a self-sustaining set-up that produces money with an input of less than 40 hours a week from the right person. We can figure out a net and use a multiplier to arrive at a value. And value your time and money investment. Tangibles, check. Good will is hard to pin down. There is name recognition, feedback, and other considerations.
Hmmm, 500G fb with 40% received in the last 12 months. Repeat 526G by 168G. Minimum double 336G, over 2 equal 190G. Repeat buyers figure 3.13 an association. Straight up return buyers reaching a 100,000. 60,000 sales a month potential and climbing.
Drop a mill five on them and pump the numbers with promos and doodads get the PR jazzed. Do a door buster sale on music devices and cameras, etc. Doable 100,000 sales at $40 - $200 per over the next 30 days while you give all your employees a free cruise. Jump out the back of the airplane with at least Brewster's starting pile. Got VC?
posted on March 24, 2004 06:10:06 PM new
your seller id and feedback means very little,as long as you are selling cd,pc,camera or anything anyone else can order from factory or wholesaler.
if jay and marie exit the ebay scene,someone else will be selling the same cds,may be not at starting bid of one penny,but will charge less for shipping.
no one with 5 millions dollars is looking on ebay to buy such business,but someone who comes into money say 40k,and is looking to create a job for himself,may want to offer 100k,let jay and marie have that 40k and take a note for 60k .
He found himself a job,give himself a respectable title and he could gain instant respect and dignity.
as for jay and marie ,they can take a long overdue vacation.
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
posted on March 24, 2004 08:07:42 PM new
The smart thing to do if eBay is such a profit opportunity as some beleive would be to buy eBay stock as an post suggested.
posted on March 25, 2004 05:04:33 AM newApple is a forcein the PC marketplace??You folksdon't have a clue.
Really, why would any one want to buy an Apple!?! Surely, there is ABSOLUTELY NO market share for Apple.
Why would any one want a computer that doesn't crash suddenly, isn't prone to viruses, and whose designers don't plan obsolesence with each upgrade.
Frankly, I ENJOY shelling out for a new version of Microsoft Office(TM), each time I buy a new system.
Oh...wait............ I get it! Apple shoots itself in the foot because one doesn't HAVE to buy a new computer every other year, or so. And IF ones chooses to do so, one doesn't have to buy all the software one uses all over again.
I see where you are coming from now...........never mind.
posted on March 25, 2004 05:09:39 AM new
i have a question on downloading music-
apple is 99 cents??walmart is going to offer it for 88 cents??
can you copy the music to your own cd when you download??
if so,why buy them in the store or from jay and marie??
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
posted on March 25, 2004 08:11:49 AM new
jvj - you forgot to menntion thatpesky little aspect of guaranteed compatibility with Apple components.
Once you own a Mac you miss out on the joy of four hour hard ware installations followed by four days or mysterious crashes or a general lack of power all together because you new component is incompatible with your existing ones.
Stop - If WalMart is going to be offering music at 88 cents they are going to be doing it with no profit margin. Apple is only making 10 cents a song at 99 cents.
Yes, you can convert to songs and burn them to CD after downloading although now more and more CD players read MP3s so you don't always need to convert them. Your "why buy" question is why I mentioned earlier that J&Ms was an industry starting to bottom out. Retail CD sales have been droping since theintroduction of MP3 which have a large advantage of enabling you to purchase only the songs you like from any particular album.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on March 25, 2004 08:21:22 AM new
thanks,fenixo3.
i work out to the music of voodoo lounge and there are a few songs i hate and would like to bypass.
yes,walmart is going to offer 88 cents on their site.
walmartisation of the whole country.
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
posted on March 25, 2004 08:31:32 AM new
I don't think that will last long. The only reason you would operate at a zero profit margin is if you were hoping to use it to drive new sales but I don' think that is going to happen and the fact that they are using a song format that is incompatible with the iPod which is the highest selling MP3 player on the market is going to hurt them as well. I predict a price hike within 6 months.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on March 25, 2004 09:09:51 AM new
Ugh! I hate Walfarts!
For da first time in YEARS, I went XMAS shopping in REAL LIFE @ 5:30AM 11/26 -- what fun being crushed by all them stretch-pants clad BAMS stampeding over poor little ole Ralphie & I to get to their CHATTY-CATHIES & EASY-BAKE OVENS!
posted on March 25, 2004 10:27:53 AM new
LOL Replay - I am often still up at 5:30 but never waking up at that time.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
