posted on August 30, 2001 01:56:05 PM
Yes it is only an hour a day on average..if you just did the work needed...but Ebay has a way of taking over ones life...
Whenever I get home I have to check Ebay...read auction watch..sometimes when I get up in the middle of the night to pee...I have to check Ebay...its very addictive.
We just want to have life back to normal...my wife really wants to work a few days a week teaching as that is her thing.
Ebay has allowed my wife to stay home for the kids but now she wants to work.
I work full time as well.
Hopes this explains it to you.
I was thinking 20,000 would be a fair price since you will make that back in a year.
Yes it is buying a Job but a not so bad job.
I worked very hard to build this biz and it would be hard work to repeat.
posted on August 30, 2001 02:16:07 PM
a lot of retail themes get played out,i wont be surprised if whatver he is selling just got played out,every one who wants one already have one,a common problem on ebay-beanies,breyer,royal doulton,lomonosov,borzoi license plates,sterling silver,art deco,art nouveau,pewter ,glass,crystal,limoge,limoge style,crystal,princess diana,dali,rolling stones,vargas,dragon,kirin,merlin,celtic,ganesha,nephrite jade,jadeite jade,serpentine,netsuke,inro,closionne,snuff bottles,list goes on.
20,000 is a lot of money for a stake in cyber flea market,i dont think many people can come up with that money,what you can try is advance him the goods and know how and as he sells he pays you back.
let him get up in the middle of the nite and check ebay.
posted on August 30, 2001 02:29:15 PM
I'll sell my business for 10K and thrown in approximately 10,000 pieces of merchandise. Bring cash, a large pickup truck, and maybe a trailer. I'll fix you up.
posted on August 30, 2001 02:35:32 PM
an east coast importer of european porcelain sold his assets to another company,in the basement are many older procelain,some were made by companies no longer exsited.
best were some old MEISSEN figurines sold to a beverley hills dealer,rest go where ever.
if you have 10,000 piece of meissen ,i will come with cashier check in hand.
posted on August 30, 2001 02:57:27 PM
Aside from whether such a sale is allowed, I certainly think there would be buyers. DH has a vending business he could easily sell for tens of thousands. An ebay business is no different. There are people who have more cash (an inheritance, sale of another business, retirment lump sum, insurance payment...) than they have creativity or persistence to build a business from the ground up. They want something that is ALREADY generating a full fledged income.
For full value it would certainly have to include access to the sources of products, and use of Ebay id and feedback. Heck, when I was trying to start I would have paid pretty good just for an introduction to a good source of salable items, that was the frustrating part.
posted on August 30, 2001 07:24:29 PM
$20,000.00 is not an unreasonable figure. Don't let these posters discourage you. If you really want to sell the business, put some effort into it and with a little luck you'll find a buyer.
posted on August 30, 2001 07:47:55 PM
it is good we have a chance to kick this idea around.
sell too early,we will be sorry later.
when is a good time to sell=when your theme get played out;when you are physically unable to hold the ebay seller job;when your health deteriorates due to ebay stock-mildew,fungus,cockroach,rats,rodents,dust.
when you are bleeding negative cashflow.
when you are about to be evicted by your landlord,when your car broke down and you cant go to garage sale or post office.
when your fingers and joints suffer arthritis,you have tunnel syndrome .
posted on August 31, 2001 12:10:04 AM
"$20,000.00 is not an unreasonable figure."
Ok.
"I business normally sells for 5X the yearly profit"
Love to know where that economic theory comes from.
Sometimes you don't want your company to make a profit. Best to break even, or even better, a loss. So to say a "business" normally sells for X.... is .. well... you put in the word.
posted on August 31, 2001 06:56:18 AM
usually it goes with x times sales or x times CASHFLOW.
no cashflow,no business,must have positive cashflow no matter what your profit/loss statement said.
one man may have magic touch,the other one who could be equally intelligent may lack that same touch.
i would still say ebay is a flea market,selling a business which operates solely on ebay is not worth much,how much would you pay a dealer who shows up most sundays in your town flea market and sell whatever he sells,a bedsheet/tablecloth,he hawks his ware the best he can.if he does not show up one sunday,does anyone miss him?does anyone care>>
it sounds too good to be true,you mean if someone bot your business for 10-20k,he needs to spend 1 hour every day and make 5 grand in a year,you would not compete ,you would pass on more secret recipes for future sales??
cost of good sold is only 1 % ??
if it is such a fantastic easy job,why are you getting up in the middle of the nite to check ebay (i know you are going to the bathroom,but a detour to the pc ??)you must be one of those folks who dont need to sleep much??
posted on August 31, 2001 07:55:02 AM
I should no better than to post here,.
I look for intelligent responses and mostly what I get are losers that just want to jump all over you. You jump to conclusions , second guess and are just plain rude.
Do you just sit on your fat asses all day reading auctionwatch waiting to jump all over anyone looking for advice!
Moderator go ahead a suspend me for this post if you like I am sick of how your members act here and I dont really care if you suspend me forever.
I have started 2 thread in the last few days and the same kind of crap happens in both!
posted on August 31, 2001 08:13:26 AM
I have been selling on eBay, and on line since 1996, and am seriously considering retiring. We have excellent customer following and feedback, but I am just tired; not burned out, I've been through that, but tired. I don't need to work, and have decided at this point in my life that the endless hassle is foolish to continue to contend with. I did this for years because I totally enjoyed it, but the fun has gone out of it, and unlike other times, I don’t think the “fun” will return.
I also have 3 major web sites, etc., BUT I don't think I would consider selling either my "name", feedback nor business contacts, just in case, sometime in the future I might decide to re-enter the "work force."
My only problem at the moment is, trying to figure out what to do with all the product I have on hand. If I had an adult “child” living near me, I’d turn the business over to them, but alas, I don’t. We have 2 employees, but neither are capable of doing my job, and probably wouldn’t want to if they could. I truly wish I just had someone close to turn the whole thing over to, who would run it according to our business standards.
At the moment, I may just quit and let the product sit and perhaps in the future give it all to a charitable organization and just take it as a tax deduction and/or business loss. Naturally, I’ll sell the antiques off through our shop, but much of the newer collectibles I may just give to charity.
posted on August 31, 2001 09:18:38 AM
lowprofile,
please dont take this too seriously,i believe you are using this to test the water to see what kind of responses from aw members.
in real world,it just get worse.
most business folks are cynical and inquisitive when it comeE TO BUSINESS DEALINGS,for very good reason.
EBAY has been fun and rewarding for those who enter the arena early,but now the reward is disappearing and we are all getting tired of all that hard work for peanuts,it is human nature.
posted on September 1, 2001 07:16:08 AM
"Do you just sit on your fat asses all day reading auctionwatch waiting to jump all over anyone looking for advice! '
posted on September 1, 2001 07:30:48 AM
new collectibles can appreciate in value-depends on what they are.
i sell mostly ethnic new collectibles and some of my wholesalers and maufacturers are rasing their order requirements-they are tired of weekend warriors ordering small quantity and selling them on the cheap destroying their regular network of traditional retailers.
they are rasing the open order and minimim order requirement,some would just sell to licensed retailers who would order 3000 dollars worth of merchandise a year.many are more diligent in asking for resale certificate and other forms of businesss existence.
some new collectibles are very nice,they move on to become antique someday when the line has been discontinued.
look at those chinese made limoge style boxes,someday soemone will write a book on them,just like the chinese made milefiori paperweights back in the early 1900,they are quite collectible now and are mentioned in books on collecting paperweights.
posted on September 5, 2001 07:17:54 PM
"Membership Eligibility.
Our services are available only to individuals who can form legally binding contracts under applicable law. ...
Further, your eBay account (including feedback) and User Id may not be transferred or sold to another party."
I believe a corporation can be considered an individual for this language. Thus: if you are registered under a corporate identity, and the ownership of the corporation is transferred then the id and feedback goes with it, and the rule is not bent. If, however, you are selling under a personal id - that would appear to be non-transferable.
Worth of the business? ebaY was recently at 134 x extimated earnings.
posted on September 5, 2001 07:54:18 PM
i think ebay legal dept should revise the terms on individual and feed back etc.
these days anyone who has a brick and mortar shop and sell on ebay and runs a website will point out to potential buyer these operations as an integral part of the business.
posted on September 6, 2001 06:24:08 AM
insightwatcher
write me.
i am starting an online consignment business from my home and could use some diverse inventory. i'm not interested in NEW things but would be interested in those things not quite moving as fast as you would like them to in your physical store.
posted on September 8, 2001 06:37:41 AM
I look for intelligent responses and mostly what I get are losers that just want to jump all over you. You jump to conclusions , second guess and are just plain rude. (from lowprofile)
******************************************
we are giving you intelligent feedback to your inquiry ,if you cannot bear the scrutiny of your business here on this board,you better not sell your business for real dollars!!!!
talk about jumping to conclusion,how do you know WE ARE LOSERS!!!!!!
often when someone wants to buy a business,he not only ask very tough questions posed to seller,he will also check out his customers,suppliers and competitors
.
say if you are selling a sandwich shop,how many loaves of bread do your suppliers deliver to you daily,how many fresh lettuce and tomato do you order each week,and worse ask your helper or go thru your dumpster to see how many stale bread and rotten tomato do you throw out each day/each week?
pose as your customer and come to the store,order a sandwich and use the bathroom.
