posted on April 5, 2002 02:56:42 PM new
Hi! It's the newbie here again. Just wondering, what do you all consider a successful percentage of sales? I realize it will vary based on what you are selling and how many, however can anyone give me a generalization? Is 50% of sales a decent amount?
posted on April 5, 2002 03:04:21 PM new
I, personally, don't understand the question. Are you talking about the number of closed Auctions? Or are you talking about the markup of cost to net sales?
posted on April 5, 2002 03:07:57 PM new
Yes, I'm talking about the number of closed auctions. So if I have 50 auctions up and 25 close, is that good? Let's take clothing items for example . . .
posted on April 5, 2002 03:36:21 PM new
Once again, this will depend on what you are willing to accept as your minimum bid, the competition and lots of other things.
I generally sell about 2/3 of my items the first time listed, and with relistings, most of the ones that missed bids the first time round.
I do BIN's and use 10 day auctions to increase the selling ratio, and generally price the opening bid so all expenses plus a dollar profit is included if it only gets one minimal bid.
I have twiddled and tweaked my auctions for years, and am constantly adding and deleting items as the marketplace matures.
More important than the percentage you sell may be the profit margin you receive when an item is sold.
For example, if you have something fairly commonplace that cost you $10 and you put it up for $15, you need to sell it pretty quick or your profit evaporates.
But if you have a rare item that also cost $10 but you know there are people out there who will pay $100, you can start it at $99 and run the auction a dozen times in different categories waiting for the big sale and still have plenty of profit left over.
Some sellers would say start it at a dollar, and let the auction run its course, but that's a pretty big risk for a newbie to take until you are secure about your potential bidders.
I guess it all sort of depends, if you know what I mean.
[ edited by litlux on Apr 5, 2002 03:39 PM ]
posted on April 5, 2002 03:38:01 PM new
Its not how much you sell but how much profit you make on what youve sold. You could sell below cost and move all your listings comming out with a loss - Youve sold everything and lost money -- You can also sell a few profitable big tag items and make money without selling many listings.
If you make money on each sale and sell half your listings your doing fine. I have a 65% sell thru on auctions - sometimes better someyimes worse.In my Retail shop I have a 20% sell thru each month on average. Online items move better but the persale profit is better in the retail shop...... go figure....
Luck to ya
ok4
posted on April 5, 2002 03:38:02 PM new
I, personally, prefer to use a system of weights and measures...
How much did the auctions close for?
Did they meet my expectations?
Was the markup enough to offset all of the costs? ..enough for me to pay bills AND buy more stock?
These things, to me, are more important that the number of closing auctions. But, then, I am doing this to try to make a semblance of a living. I am still deep in the red, but I am clawing my way out...
posted on April 5, 2002 04:09:23 PM new
My sell through rate is probably 65% the first time with relist about 90%. I start my auctions at where I would like them to end. I don't sell high ticket items so I start at $9.99 and if I sell at that price I have made a profit. It it goes higher I really get excited. I also sell ties and since they are used I prefer them not to sell at a high price so I use a BIN on most of them. I usually make a reasonable profit. There are exceptions, of course, to everything you sell. I would never have the courage to start my auctions at $1.00. I also find my auctions are sniped alot and that is fun to watch. Not my tie auctions though. Men make up their minds faster than women. They know what they want and they bid. Good Luck
posted on April 5, 2002 04:37:21 PM new
These are the stats for the last 30 days completed for this Clothing subcategory. Make what you will of them.
Home > All Categories > Clothing & Accessories > Infants > Clothing > 0-3 Months > Sleepwear
ITEMS
Number of auctions in category: 2604
Number of auctions resulting in a sale: 1599 (61.41%)
Number of regular auctions: 2600
Regular auctions with sale: 1597 (61.42%)
Average number of bids per auction: 3
Average high bid: $5.51
Average sale price: $5.51
Total value of all high bids: $8,851.04
Total actual sales in category: $8,823.79
SELLERS
Number of sellers in category: 1340
Auctions in category per seller: 1.9
Average seller feedback rating: 284.8
Average total sales per seller: $6.55 tekgems.com
posted on April 5, 2002 07:12:58 PM new
ok4leather
You need to have a lot better sellthrough on your online auctions than in your retail shop. In a retail shop you are not paying per item listing fees...
posted on April 5, 2002 08:07:14 PM new
That appears to be an Awesome peice of software. I just downloaded it and am going to give a 30 day check out. Looks VERY useful.
posted on April 5, 2002 08:18:18 PM new
Outoftheblue, Ive found that its less expensive to sell online provided you can move merchandise on a regular basis. expenses are around 7% of gross if you dont have any lease payments.
My retail shop eats about 30% per sale without factoring salerys. Theres good and bad either way. I really enjoy not having to watch people shop - just list and check your bait once in awhile. Both sales venues together really help put food on the table .
Luck 2 ya
Ok4
