posted on May 2, 2007 06:56:07 PM new
CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT I'M BEGINNING TO WONDER ?.......YEARS AGO PRACTICALLY EVERYTHING PUT UP FOR AUCTION ON EBAY WOULD GET BIDS AND SELL, NOW YOU CAN DO A SEARCH ON ANY PARTICULAR ITEM AND FIND PAGE AFTER PAGE AFTER PAGE OF THAT PARTICULAR ITEM WITH ABSOLUTLEY NO BIDS.........WHO CAN AFFORD TO KEEP LISTING ITEMS OVER AND OVER WITH THE LISTING FEES THAT EBAY NOW COMMANDS? MY SITUATION IS THIS----WE'VE BEEN ON EBAY FOR 9 YEARS WITH OVER 20,000 FEEDBACKS (WOULD'VE HAD PROBABLY OVER 100,000 IF EVERYONE WE HAD SOLD TO OVER THE YEARS HAD LEFT FEEDBACK)....BUT ANYWAY, WE SELL LOTS OF CD'S AND VIDEOS ETC.......WHEN THE BIDS PROGRESSIVELY SLOWED DOWN WE JUST PARKED EVERYTHING IN OUR EBAY STOREFRONT AND SWITCHED ALMOST OVER COMPLETLY TO AMAZON BECAUSE THESE IS NO LISTING FEE. NOW, WE STILL SELL ITEMS FROM OUR STOREFRONT, BUT I'M WONDERING IF IT WOULDN'T BE BETTER TO JUST CLOSE OUR STOREFRONT AND CONVERT IT ALL OVER TO OTHER AVENUES........IT SEEMS TO ME THE ONLY REASON TO USE EBAY NOW FOR ANYONE IS IF YOU HAD A VERY RARE HIGH DOLLAR ITEM TO LIST ON AUCTION (THAT WAS FAIRLY RARE OR UNIQUE). THE PLAYING FIELD HAS NEVER BEEN LEVEL ON LISTING FEES AND FINAL VALUE FEES FOR SMALLER DOLLAR ITEMS VERSUS HIGHER DOLLAR ITEMS. I STILL SEE THESE INFOMERCIALS ON TV--BLASTING "HOW MUCH IS LEFT TO BE MADE ON EBAY" AND I HAVE TO LAUGH......I HAD A FRIEND CALL ME LAST WEEK SAYING HE KNEW I HAD ALWAYS BEEN SUCCESSFUL SELLING ON EBAY AND HE WANTED TO KNOW HOW HE SHOULD GET STARTED AND WHAT HE SHOULD SELL ? I WAS AT A LOSS ON HOW TO ANSWER HIM. AGAIN, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT IS THIS NOW A LOSING PROPOSITION?
posted on May 2, 2007 07:12:35 PM new
I agree, it's getting tougher.
Most people aren't willing to bid until the auctions are about to end.
I've been starting items for a penny, hoping to get early bids or at least a few watchers - but even that strategy seems to be failing except on select items.
posted on May 2, 2007 07:45:46 PM new
Today was an excellent day. I received over $1,000 in PayPal payments. Only the second time that's ever happened in one day. And it's so nice that these are high profit margin sales.
To answer your question, eBay is a losing proposition for people who insist on selling the same-old same-old. You don't have to sell "unique" items to make money on eBay; just get out of the catalog selling business.
Sorry if it seems unkind but you don't have to be a marketing whiz to figure out why CDs and DVDs are a tough sell these days. They would be even if hundreds of other sellers weren't hawking the exact same wares. I haven't bought a DVD in two years, yet I watch videos every day. Netflix, of course. $30 a month. That $30 wouldn't go very far if I had to buy every DVD.
CDs? I get 'em at garage sales. You can't compete with $1 and no shipping for a CD.
C'mon, on some level you must know all this.
My advice is to take the experience you have with eBay selling and apply it to a completely different product line.
posted on May 2, 2007 08:08:45 PM new
I was 5 years on e bay. It was like pulling the handle on a payoff slot machine in Vegas,,,,clunk, clunk, clunk, YES!!!! I put a red flashing light on top of my monitor and a handle on the side,,,,I listed and I pulled it,,,,,,,,,,,,Winner! winner! Cocktails? cocktails? YUP!!!! hahahahaha....
Well, times have changed,,,,I no longer make my living on e bay. I am NOW the Refrigerator KING of Los Angeles! Yes I Be........LOCAL delivery Only....Sorry, for you folks 3000 miles away,,,NO SHIPPING!!!! and there are NO shipping fees....DON"T even ASK!!!!!!! NO!!!!!!! then again....$$$$$$.....
change with the times,,,,the collectables have already been collected.
posted on May 2, 2007 08:45:20 PM new
Collectibles are not food or medicine,anyone who has taken out an adjustable rate mortgage on their home would tell you where their priority lies.
I cancelled my Netflix,it costs me 20 dollars a month and I dont have to rush to watch it ,return it and watch some more.
Now I either rent from the machine for one dollar or buy it so I can watch it at my leisure.
I watched 'The Good Shepherd' 3 times and finally figured out what the plot is all about! see I own the dvd!
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posted on May 3, 2007 06:20:01 AM new
Listing on Amzn marketplace may be free,but without paying 39.99 a month ,listings expire in 6 weeks and you have to relist them manually one by one,how many listings do you have??
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Lets all stop whining !
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posted on May 3, 2007 10:34:09 AM new
Part of the problem is the lack of truly rare collectibles. Lets say there is a rare out of print book. I would guess that 10,000 or 20,000 were printed, but the collecting community had 100 books, the rest were missing in libraries around the world. The 500 collectors all wanted that book, so it was valuable. With the growth of the internet, ebay in particular, more and more of those books are in the market. All 500 collectors have a copy, and the people selling it now are either selling it to a new collector (at a much lower price), or they are not selling it at all.
This has happened with my Pins. I used to sell all the time. I sold out my 1996 left overs, in 1997, in 1998 and 1999 I sold out my leftovers from 1984, 1992, and 1998. By 2000, I had no leftovers, and the market had turned. Old stuff would not sell. Everyone who wants the old rarities, has them. The exception are the extreme rarities like the kenya pin I found last week, or the Rhodesia pin the same guy auctioned this week. Those are so rare, that when they hit ebay, they get the old prices. everything else sells for $1 or doesn't sell at all.
posted on May 3, 2007 10:49:03 AM new
To answer your question and comments......we have several 1000 pieces converted to Amazon and we sell several daily (as opposed to a piece or 2 here and there on EBAY daily).......we've always looked for uncommon pieces to sell that are sought after....YOU'RE RIGHT--THERE ARE BOTH CD'S AND VIDEOS OUT THERE THAT YOU COULDN'T PUT UNDER THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS OF CARS IN A WALMART PARKING LOT AND GET PEOPLE TO TAKE THEM HOME (MUCH LESS BUY)............my only thought was this........My stuff does sell consistantly, but not thru Ebay for the most part anymore---it doesn't really matter to me if people keep hitting the relist button on auctions till their fingers bleed (but it seems senseless except to make Ebay wealthier). My only concern is since I'm not getting the turns I want out of the Ebay storefront and I am getting good turns from their competetion---would I be money ahead just to close the storefront ?....Has anyone else experienced this ?
posted on May 3, 2007 10:57:47 AM new
You still have not answered my question-how do you relist your cd.dvd and vdieo on Amzn when they expire in 6 weeks?
Do you sit there and relist each manually or do you pay them 39.99 to auto relist for you?
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Lets all stop whining !
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posted on May 3, 2007 11:03:36 AM new
As to your question of whether you should keep your Ebay store,I assume it is a matter of $$,FEE you are paying to maintain the store?
Have you considered Half.com,listing is free and does not expire.
There are still plenty of people who would want to own a cd/dvd/video versus renting,not everyone wants to pay Netflix a fixed fee each month.
I cancelled my Netflix account and I would buy a movie once in a while and take my time to watch it at my leisure.
posted on May 3, 2007 11:34:04 AM new
I'm another person who prefers to own their DVD's over renting and having it gone.
I haven't rented a movie in years. Maybe through "On Demand" on the cable so I can copy it and watch it over and over, but certainly not one I have to return and re-rent if I want to see it again.
Same with music. I hate MP3 quality and love actually owning my CD's. I don't go to garage or thrift stores so still buy mine on Ebay or elsewhere on the net.
But, I never buy on half. I hated that place when it started and still do. I can't put my finger on exactly why (maybe it's those stock photos and descriptions) but that's not the way I buy things.
posted on May 3, 2007 12:54:06 PM new
I love Blockbuster Online. I have the lowest plan, I think. 2 movies a month for $7 and you get one free coupon to rent a movie at the store. But you can take your online movie back to the store and get another free movie. So I end up with 5 movies a month for $7. That's about all I can watch anyway.
I also buy movies at garage sales, watch them and then either keep them or sale them on ebay in lots.
posted on May 3, 2007 01:28:41 PM newcertainly not one I have to return and re-rent if I want to see it again.
This is getting away from the business of selling DVDs on eBay, but...
I simply queue any movie I want to see again. I think I've queued _Ocean's Eleven_ three times now. Same with _Sideways_. I get about 24 actual rentals a month out of my Netflix plan. Something new (or something old I want to see again) comes just about every day.
This profitable store is located in Norwalk CT 06851 in Fairfield County. The location of the store is on the Boston Post Road (US Route 1 in a high traffic area). Fairfield County is one of the most affluent markets in the United States which includes high income areas of Greenwich, New Canaan, Westport, Fairfield and Darien.
The store was opened in 2005. Growth in 2006 was +70%!!
I am selling this store as I have built into a profitable business and now am moving onto my next venture.
Cash flow on this business was over $100,000 during 2006.
I have priced this to sell. The cost to open the doors is $50,000 so you are buying the rights to the store, proprietary software, a client list of over 1,000 customers, postive feedback of over 2700.
I have financials on 2005 and 2006.
Sales in 2006 exceeded $500,000.
I will be glad to discuss this business. It will only get stronger as the general market learns the power of ebay."
posted on May 4, 2007 08:12:20 AM new
My experience with Amazon is most DVDs and videos have a ton listed already. Sometimes when I buy a case of odd ball videos I will get severals sales for good money. In fact the last case I bought I sold enough on Amazon to give me a excellent profit and I could throw the others away, but I'll sell them somewhere. I hardly ever list videos on E-Bay. But I did list a auction for 3 Wilderness Family VHS and got $31.00,not bad because I gave 75 cents for them at the Library Sale last month. Videos,Games,CDs and DVDs do bring good money if you have the right ones. You could make a living off of CDs if you had the right Artist. Those are the ones you would never find at a yardsale.
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posted on May 6, 2007 10:34:51 AM new
Just read an article on foreclosure-folks who lost their homes or about to lose their homes are selling their belongings on Ebay and Craigslist,this could explain why starting bid is so low.
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Lets all stop whining !
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posted on May 8, 2007 05:45:20 AM new
Why do people seem to think that eBay is some alternate universe? The problem isn't with eBay; eBay is simply part of the mainstream marketplace now, just like outlet stores, individual company retail websites, etc. If these eBay sellers had other outlets where they found the stuff flying off the shelves, but not moving on eBay, then I would be more likely to buy the 'eBay is the problem' argument (it would also make me wonder why they were bothering with eBay.)
As was said in other replies, marketing and the right items will do well, but the days of finding "stuff" and listing is just a crapshoot with increasingly long odds.
[ edited by Damariscotta on May 8, 2007 05:47 AM ]
posted on May 8, 2007 10:02:10 AM newis ebay a losing proposition now?
For 90% of the items listed on eBay, the answer is YES. eBay has become a true rare or hot item venue. The collectible market is basically gone and the new market is so flooded with items listed at or below cost, there is no way you can survive with eBay alone. Especially with eBay's never ending fee hikes.
posted on May 8, 2007 06:19:22 PM new
Stonecold......O.K.....I can agree with that, now how long wlll it take the rest of the listers out there to figure that out ?
posted on May 8, 2007 06:24:11 PM new
how long wlll it take the rest of the listers out there to figure that out ?
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What kind of question is that?
When he runs out of money,max out on his debit/credit card,when Ebay kicks him out for not paying his bill.
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Lets all stop whining !
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posted on May 8, 2007 07:43:07 PM new
I'm a relative newcomer as a seller - just a few years. I started buying on eBay when it was brand new and I could view all of the children's books in less than an hour. Gone are the days when I (or anyone else) spent $350 on a set of stainless flatware that you can now find for $50 (a much more realistic price). My sales in the last few years have slowly increased, by working harder, researching and being more selective in what I list. My fees have doubled. I love the freedom eBay provides - I can work the 60 hours per week of my choice. I love indulging and groveling in my hobby. I need to add another, lower maintenance product line to live comfortably on my eBay sales.
