How is Ebay working for you these days?

[Tinkerjane]

Just wondering how everyone is finding Ebay these days. Just asking because there was a time when I was doing quite well and now I feel like the bottom has fallen out. I do sell collectible items, mostly old dolls and toys from the 1950's and up and they are getting harder to find not to mention the fact that everyone that once collected is now a dealer. With the cost of listing fees, final value fees and paypal fees, how are you finding sales and do you find it as "lucrative" as it once was?
I could always do between $1000.00 - $2000.00 a month, sometimes more, now I am lucky to do a couple hundred.
So, is it just me?
Would love to know how others are doing compared to a few years ago on Ebay and how much you consider to be a good month.
Maybe I just need to find something new to sell

 

[DMRick]

My good month wouldn't compare to someone elses, since I put up a few hundered items (repetitive sales) and have a store. The figure I earn on eBay a month would mean nothing compared to someone who only puts up a few things.
I'm still happy with eBay, but it's not what it used to be, before many started selling what I do, and some have the price so low, if they are paying income tax on their earnings, they would be making diddly.
I'll continue with it, as long as what I make matched the hourly rate I have set for myself.

 

[smellyann]

The last time I listed, about 8 auctions, cute baby shoes and some Disney flip-flops, NOTHING sold. That was a first.

 

[kilee]

I'm on hiatus..... . I sell 90% clothing and it goes in cycles. Right now, nobody's really buying the summer stuff anymore, and they're not looking too hard at the fall stuff yet. So, for the last 4 yrs I've always taken off from mid-May to mid-August. Then we start in w/ fall clothing followed quickly by Halloween items. I will then only sell until right before Thanksgiving. Take a break and start w/ summer stuff in early February-early May. When I do list, I usually do about 35-60 auctions going at all times. I did find that my bottom line for the first quarter of this year is down about 25% from the last 2 years. I do think the ebay market is getting more saturated.

 

[gm]

I dont like to sell during summer because I also have mostly new clothes and toys and the sales are too slow but will list alot during the $.10 $.20 etc, listing specials they have once in a while. I will start listing clothes end of July though. The fees are too much. I paid $150 in Ebay fees for May.

 

[formernyer]

I paid $150 in Ebay fees for May.

That's all? I average about 10 times that much

I'm not a casual seller though.

To answer the OP, I've seen no changes/decline in business.

 

[drgnfly30]

I find the summer months are slower... less people sitting in the house surfing ebay out of boredom!

 

[DMRick]

I dont like to sell during summer because I also have mostly new clothes and toys and the sales are too slow but will list alot during the $.10 $.20 etc, listing specials they have once in a while. I will start listing clothes end of July though. The fees are too much. I paid $150 in Ebay fees for May.

I can see why that would be troublesome, if you aren't selling and getting high bids..yet those stupid fees are still there. I'd rather have high fees, because I sold lots of items, rather than high fees because I listed lots of items (and didn't sell).

 

[summerrluvv]

I don't list a lot, but I have noticed that sales are down. I try to list when they have .10 and 20 listing days. As a buyer, I've found that most of the prices are just too high for the items I want with the shipping factored in, so I don't buy that often.

I'm happy that mycoupons.com has re-opened up the garage sale board so that means cleaning out the closets with no selling fees

 

[welovedis]

Sales had been sluggish, even auctions weren't doing terrifically for me. But this past week, I've sold a bunch of store inventory, so that is interesting. I also opted out of the eBay express searches because I found that my items were not showing up in searches at all and now my store traffic has really increased (up more than 35%!).

Of course, now that things are picking up, I need to put my store on vacation because we'll be at WDW!

 

[DMRick]

I also opted out of the eBay express searches because I found that my items were not showing up in searches at all and now my store traffic has really increased (up more than 35%!).

Can you share some more abut this? I just did some searches on my store items and they do show up..at least the ones I checked. So what type of item isn't showing up?

 

[welovedis]

DMRick-
I got my info from this thread on the eBay Children's Clothing Boutique discussions board: Has anyone opted out of Ebay Express because of slow sales?

It was at the end of May/beginning of June, so the glitch might be fixed now, but I did opt out of eBay express because I'm not comfortable with the format. Once I opted I out I started getting 4-6 ASQs a day and a lot more store traffic. Don't know if it is a coincidence or not, but I'm glad I opted out personally. For someone who has more stable inventory and is more comfortable taking a potential loss on shipping it isn't bad. But with the eBay shipping calculators figuring things out I'd rather not take the chance with my smaller store operation.

There are also threads on the eBay Express Board
that talk about this more in depth. I hope this helps, sorry I don't have more specifics, but when I searched via Froogle, my items weren't showing. Then I opted out of Express and they were. Even updating my RSS feed when I was still "opted into" Express didn't bring up my items.

 

[MisunderstoodLilo]

I actually haven't listed anything on ebay since April. My last item didn't sell, so after two attempts, I gave up til the end of the summer.

 

[DMRick]

Thanks..I'll spend some time with it tomorrow. We just got a new foster kitty family (mom and 3 babies) so of course I've spent most of tonight with them getting them aclimated (and loving the babies).

One question for you. I don't understand the shipping concern you have. My express things have the shipping I put in them. I know some of the people have ordered more than one item from more than one of us..but all I see is my part, with my shipping. If you get a chance, can you elaborate on that? I did check a few more items in search..and so far they are all coming up.
What does RSS feed mean?

Doris

DMRick-
I got my info from this thread on the eBay Children's Clothing Boutique discussions board: Has anyone opted out of Ebay Express because of slow sales?

It was at the end of May/beginning of June, so the glitch might be fixed now, but I did opt out of eBay express because I'm not comfortable with the format. Once I opted I out I started getting 4-6 ASQs a day and a lot more store traffic. Don't know if it is a coincidence or not, but I'm glad I opted out personally. For someone who has more stable inventory and is more comfortable taking a potential loss on shipping it isn't bad. But with the eBay shipping calculators figuring things out I'd rather not take the chance with my smaller store operation.

There are also threads on the eBay Express Board
that talk about this more in depth. I hope this helps, sorry I don't have more specifics, but when I searched via Froogle, my items weren't showing. Then I opted out of Express and they were. Even updating my RSS feed when I was still "opted into" Express didn't bring up my items.

 

[jessica52877]

Okay, I am reading the threads and not understanding why opting out would help. If you are in then do your store listings not show up in regular store searches or something. I am missing and something and reading more and more and still missing the problem.

 

[welovedis]

DMRick-
The problem I had with Express was when a customer purchased a few items (2 of mine, 1 of another sellers) and the program attempted to not only combine shipping on my items, but also with the other sellers. It only sent me 2/3 of the shipping cost that it calculated and sent 1/3 to the other seller. Neither amount was sufficient to ship our items and eBay said over & over that is was not their issue even though my shipping was clearly listed, it charged the buyer less. (way less!)

RSS is way to get your store listings fed into search engines like Froogle so that if someone is searching for what you are selling, it will show up. You have to make your own "feed" Here's a site that has basic RSS info:
http://www.webreference.com/authoring/languages/xml/rss/intro/

If you google "make an rss feed" or something like that it will explain it better than I ever could. Since I've been opted out of Express my sales have been boosted and the RSS feed is just icing on the cake.

 

[DMRick]

That would not make me happy. So far I haven't had that happen..I knew the person bought from a couple of us, but I didn't see any of the other side of it, and my shipping was ok.

Thanks for the other info.

DMRick-
The problem I had with Express was when a customer purchased a few items (2 of mine, 1 of another sellers) and the program attempted to not only combine shipping on my items, but also with the other sellers. It only sent me 2/3 of the shipping cost that it calculated and sent 1/3 to the other seller. Neither amount was sufficient to ship our items and eBay said over & over that is was not their issue even though my shipping was clearly listed, it charged the buyer less. (way less!).

 

[travelitis]

Since school here starts the beginning of Aug., I was thinking the BTS shopping would be getting going after July 4th. I sell mainly all clothes. Do you think it'd be better to hold off and list in Aug?

 

[cxcelica]

I am not a heavy seller, but I have noticed a decline in ebay overall. I think ebay has become very saturated and stale.

1. The ebay costs are pretty high. I usually sell small things, like action figures or some vintage toys. These items usually only bring in about 5 or 6 bucks, which I am fine with, but after ebay, paypal fees the profit margin is very low. Factor in time and trips to the post office and is it really worth it.

2. I also find that ebay has been saturated with get quick posters. I remember when I would be able to find some pretty good deals on ebay. Now its cheaper to buy movies and cds and books on amazon than on ebay.

3. Ebay I think has peaked, I don't really see how you can reinvent or revolutionize the product. At one time ebay was the in thing to do. The market got flooded and now the luster and buzz has fell off a little, I guess it happens with most businesses

 

[babiesX2]

I feel like I do OK with my sales. I like to do it more for the fun than the actual money, although money is nice to have! It is fun to find that special item at the thrift shop, list it, and watch the bids climb higher and higher. My $1 turns into $50 with barely any work. I think it is a good return on my investment. I developed a spread sheet that I use to calculate my expenses and profit. That helps to know where I'm at and the actual profit I made on each item I sell. I'm just a casual seller. I'm nowhere near the pro the OP, DMRick, and formernyer are. My fees are still much less than what a flea market booth would cost me per month, and my items are available to a larger market than at a flea market booth!

I like shopping on eBay, too! It is the perfect place to find discontinued and retired toys for my girls! I'm a fisher price peek a blocks crackhead. I found an Incrediblock at Goodwill for $5, but it was missing some of the special blocks. I've been buying them on eBay.