posted on November 7, 2000 11:58:40 AM new
Well after almost 2 years of doing this full time its time to call it quits and
Get myself a sales job again.
I thought this may happen eventually or I would have enough customer base to work with but appears not too be.
So instead I will do this part time only as I can no longer support my family on what it makes.
Some of the areas I sell in are not over saturated,I have unique items and a good Customer following.
But bidding is way off,I really do not have any idea as to why,I think the following factors maybe part of the reason.
1)Too many categories to list in I can list my items in 4 different all applicable categories making it hard to figure out exactly what goes where.
2)Ebay outages has not helped as people have not been able to bid I have had a number of bidders complain about this too.
3)I think both the stock market and the election has had some affect on the
bidding as well.
4)All the negativity around about Internet auction sales and the fraud associated with it.
5)Some over saturation in one category I list in has not helped but I expected
that anyway.
6)People bidding and not honoring their bids.
7) The garage sale mentality that people want to be able to steal the item but
I have to admit I would think the same way.
8)I am in fact finding that the items I sell bring much better prices at brick and mortar sites than they do on ebaY.Odd thing is that at the places I buy my items I compete with other dealers who have their own stores etc. and
rarely do they sell on ebaY and get higher prices than I do when they sell the item.Yet the prices that we pay are higher than what the item sells for on ebaY.Even though the items I sell cannot be found in abundance on ebaY.
8)I think the high-end bidders that where on ebaY a few years back that realized the value of the items have been replaced by mostly low-end bidders.
Not sure why this has happened.
This is just my 2 c's worth.Currently I am having a hard time logging onto AW so I may not be able to respond too your comments.
Some of you I am sure are glad to hear that this has happened to me but I wonder if others are facing similar decisions.I had a job interview yesterday
And I hope I get it.
As with all the outages and slow times its been a hard few months and it would be nice not to have the stress.
As I said I am not quitting just going back to this as a very lucrative hobby.
posted on November 7, 2000 12:16:13 PM new
Sounds more to me you are faceing the same problems all businesses are faceing this year fair sales but no real incress in your over all sale for the year to match inflation.
dont really blame you for opting for the more sure paycheck to ease the stress of the realitys of being self employed .
I am looking to exspand my offering from just old collectable to someother areas this is my frist year selling on ebay and the holiday shopping has started they are out there bidding but mostly seem to be switching there buying habbits to new gift type Items an area I didnt invest in for inventory over the year.
I am still getting bids on my collectable but so far since november started bidding is slower and less sure on these items right now.
its looking to me that if your not into some kind of new retail or wholesale gifty sales this time of year at ebay you are over looked by the bulk of buyers.
Edited to add that ebays rush hour down time seems to have gotten better but for me last week and the end of the week before were a bust for me to with there down time I made about enough to pay the listing fees in the end maybe a dollar or two above that not the best deal for me either but all I can do keep going and hope
WWW.dman-n-company.com
[ edited by dman3 on Nov 7, 2000 12:21 PM ]
posted on November 7, 2000 12:20:25 PM new
My mistake, last weeks manifesto from IMABRIT was regarding his quitting AW, not eBay. As you can see, he has not gone through with that promise.
posted on November 7, 2000 12:24:12 PM new
Adrian....Sorry to hear you're givin' up the full-time eBay gig...I have enjoyed & been educated by your posts....I hope that you succeed on which ever path you choose & that you do get the job you're hopin' for....
Before you go, may I ask...did you at one time work for a very large British company & leave to persue personal interests?....The reason for the question, is that I used to work with an "Adrian" (really nice guy) & everytime I see your posts I wonder if you are indeed the same fellow....
posted on November 7, 2000 12:29:22 PM new
I'm sorry to hear this, but I really feel you will have alot of company before too long.
Sales have been declining over past year, and the value of items in many categories has never been lower. Combine that with the fact that bidders have been demanding more, faster and better customer service or they will not bid at all.
It adds up to trying to provide Marshall Fields service while getting thrift store prices. No business can operate that way forever, although the more tenacious have been managing for awhile.
Moreover, it has evolved as a system where the sellers are taking increasing financial risks. Not just by increased fees, but each outage, slowdown or burp of ebays system
makes it less certain that a given listed item will actually sell. That means sellers capital is tied up for extended periods in unsold merchandise and storage. The effects of each incident may seem trifling, but taken in total they amount to a continuing loss of revenues for sellers.
It is unfortunate that you couldn't make it full time on ebay, but the way things are going I expect you will be the first of many.
Good luck with the job! We are keeping our fingers crossed for you.
posted on November 7, 2000 12:29:32 PM new
Well, could be you are just willing to face something quicker than the rest of us. Bidding IS down, category confusion IS up & times aren't as easy.
Those who have to rely on their sales as base income may be facing some hard times & I wish you the best in doing what you need to do for the best interest of your family.
posted on November 7, 2000 12:55:30 PM new
Hi Adrian. Do you have your own website on which to sell your items? Or do you rely solely on online auction sites?
posted on November 7, 2000 12:59:54 PM new
I wish there was a context for the original post. I've seen many posts from you, imabrit and had the impression that you were making good money on eBay.
How much is not enough? You don't have to answer that. Wow. I thought you worked from home and therefore had minimal overhead.
I've been toying with the idea of starting up a business on eBay. I'd be happy to make 2k a month. From the gist of previous posts, I thought imabrit was making much more than that and yet he's quitting because it's not enough. Yikes. Maybe I'll rethink my taking the plunge.
posted on November 7, 2000 01:03:59 PM new
Adrian...Nope, it was Reuters.....
Don't sweat the change in jobs...My husband just lost a 2nd job that he had (Life Lesson: NEVER give 5 years to a company you Don't Own!) & although we are scamblin' to meet the bills, we are very very happy to have "daddy" back home agin'!!!
posted on November 7, 2000 01:05:31 PM new
I have some questions Adrian.
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.
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.
Do you overcharge for shipping? I only ask because some sellers of real antiques/rarities think they have to overcharge on shipping/handling because Butterfields and the like gets away with it.
How's your feedback? Do you have a lot of negs and neutrals?
I don't understand the category thing. I may be wrong, but I don't see how the category is of supreme importance. I think the keywords in the title and description are far more important than category. 99% of the things I find to bid on are found through "Smart Search", not category searching. Are not most bidders the same way?
posted on November 7, 2000 01:16:08 PM new
liveauctionguy
I checked out LowestBids.com. I'm not too impressed at this point. There's 0 listings for what I sell and only 1 item in the entire "Everything Else" category.
posted on November 7, 2000 01:19:04 PM newLife Lesson: NEVER give 5 years to a company you Don't Own!
Rancher24, do you really think so? I'm about to tick past the four year mark where I work. At five I hit the "four weeks of paid vacation" milestone! I've been looking forward to that, but I've also wondered if in today's economy it's not smarter to move around more.
Adrian, life is nothing if not full of change, right? Look at this as a fresh start and it can be very exciting. And I'll bet you've learned volumes selling on eBay full time. You've helped many of the rest of us, too. Best of luck to you!
posted on November 7, 2000 01:22:34 PM new
Good luck Adrian.
I can understand your need to supplement ebay with an outside job. I think there will be more shakeouts as time goes by. Ebay is basically a wholesale market and it is becoming more evident as time goes by.
I know that when I go to auctions there are frequently many nice things that I feel will sell but am unable to afford because they will not bring the prices on ebay that a dealer can sell for in a shop, so I'm frequently outbid by those with shops. I have a hard time getting the nicer items because of this. I know I have found that I have to look to the items other dealers don't think about because the item is different than the standard shop fare.
posted on November 7, 2000 01:27:45 PM new
Liveauctionguy: More to the point, let's see if AW will let YOU spam this message board with your advertising.
posted on November 7, 2000 01:41:10 PM new
liveauctionguy,
Your promotional posts have been deleted. Posts promoting other sites or services are a violation of the AuctionWatch Community Guidelines.
I'm issuing you a formal warning. Please familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines before you post again. You are one post away from suspension.
posted on November 7, 2000 01:48:21 PM new
RainyBear....I don't think it is a mistake with an established company..Although, in today's economy I've seen folks job jump all the time & just keep getting more & more $$ & better benefits....In our case, we were in the on inception of this venture (no captial invested - Thank God)...Our experience & knowledge helped to design the facility, establish procedures, advertising slogans...the works!....New financial partner arrives on the scene and we're on out, like yesterday's news......
posted on November 7, 2000 02:01:55 PM new
Adrian,
Back in the days when I remembered your eBay userid, I looked at your auctions periodically because you were doing so well and talking about it here on AW. As I recall, what you were selling was much of a sameness. I'm not surprised the market has cooled.
When I started out on AuctionWeb I was (like so many other people) selling "finds" from garage sales. Before long I found that you can't find enough that way, and developed other buying channels.
Today I sell five main and totally separate lines of merchandise on eBay. And I'm always looking for more lines. I found a fabulous cat toy when I was overseas that you can't get here...cats go NUTS for it. I'm working on importing some to sell on eBay. Shucks, I'll sell anything that brings in the bucks as long as it isn't illegal, immoral or tasteless.
I won't go into sales figures here.
Your business has so much going for it that I wonder if similarly it would benefit from some diversification. Opportunities abound.
Whatever you do, I wish you luck. You have been more than generous in sharing your tips and techniques, which I would much rather read than the bile some people spew.
posted on November 7, 2000 02:35:09 PM new
There is absolutely no doubt that it is harder to make a buck on eBay now than it was 2 years ago.
Can you still make a full time income? Depends. Upon your needs, your skills etc, etc, etc.
Are there better ways to earn a living? Each of us has different options. Adrian , it's too bad that eBay is no longer working for you.
What I do know for sure is that succeeding on eBay requires a competitive edge of some kind. YOu need something that sets you apart. And I am even more sure that you can't make a living on $5.00 items. There is just too much work per item. Those items are great to supplement your income but...
posted on November 7, 2000 02:58:31 PM newBidding IS down
Not in my category, either as a seller or (unfortunately for me) as a bidder. Hate to be boring, but my net has been consistent for the past year.
category confusion IS up
I've had 4 categories to list the same stuff in since I started selling in 11/98, so there's no increase in "category confusion" there. Anyway - just a wtraw poll here: How many folks who buy on ebay still just scroll through selected categories rather than doing keyword searches?
posted on November 7, 2000 02:58:35 PM new
Yes, things have changed! Best of luck to you. But don't be a stranger to this board, OK? You would be sorely missed
******************** Shosh
posted on November 7, 2000 03:02:30 PM newCongratulations, Adrian!
I'm happy to hear that you have taken positive steps by adjusting with the market. Taking on a sales job (my first Love!) will help to take the financial pressure off a bit. Hopefully, in time, you will gain a new perspective and see new ways to make your online business more successful.
I have also done the same thing as you: I have had a healthly web design business for the last 5-1/2 years. Selling online was just a natural for me, although I'm feeling the pinch just as badly as you are. So I am putting more time into my web design business with taking on a partner. When the online auction business picks back up again -- and it will, mark my words, then I'll be in a much better position.
Keep Your Hand In The Till!
When auction sales were good for me, I stopped advertising for new customers in my web design business. I merely serviced the old ones. That way, as I am now expanding with my new partner, I have a solid customer base to draw upon. So keep your hand in the playing field on eBay no matter how tempting it will be for you to just give it up altogether!
Lastly, don't let online users like doninpa drive you away. I see no reason for his/her posts in this thread, other than to be nasty IMO. Adrian, you have many more people on AW who like you than these few nasties who gloat at how miserable that they can make someone else feel in order to pump themselves up. Just ignore them.
posted on November 7, 2000 03:25:56 PM new
I quit my job of 15 yrs, last year, to sell full-time online. My monthly sales aren't FANTASTIC, but I have no problem bringing in 2-3 G per month off eBay, with some months going over the 5 G mark.
Bids are down? Well, not for me. Then again I don't need 10 G per month to survive, my wife makes the BIG $$$.
IMO eBay has always been somewhat fickle, what might fetch $150 one week, can fizzle at $50 the following week. Timing is everything on eBay.
I've been selling on eBay for 3 yrs now, and I've been hearing the same doom & gloom story since day one. Sorry, I'm not buying into it.
posted on November 7, 2000 04:20:27 PM new
Adrian, you have summarized many of the discussions we have had around this house in the last few months. I know exactly what you are talking about. The value of many items (I sell in a number of different, unrelated categories) IS down and the number of deadbeats is way up. Folks, I can't live on 2-3K gross per month and support my family; I envy anyone who can do that. Our health insurance alone costs over $500 per month. I spent my day today calling agencies so that I can go back into my old field of consulting. It's been a great 2 years at home, but it's time to face reality. eBay is a GREAT second income, and I plan to keep doing it. I think I will be a lot less stressed with a paycheck and eBay supplementing that check.
