posted on January 26, 2010 05:54:57 AM new
That is a huge increase in fees. With the same basic price store owners are paying now for the monthly rate, it will be 20 cents for each listing. If you want the "cheap" 3 cent listing, the monthly store fee is almost $300!
I can't afford to pay 20 cents a month for the low price items in my store!
posted on January 26, 2010 06:19:04 AM new
I am so sorry they are slamming the store sellers!! I was thinking about getting a store but not now. Auction type listings look like they will be a real deal, although I do not list .99 or less (might try a couple just to get rid of some things). I guess I will have to wait and see how this works out.
posted on January 26, 2010 07:20:19 AM new
Ooops, math error-- looks like my fees will go up 28% - double ouch!
[ edited by pixiamom on Jan 26, 2010 07:30 AM ]
posted on January 26, 2010 08:41:21 AM new
I calculated a small decrease using my October sales report (I used October because it was the last month I listed regularly without holiday and vacation and general laziness getting in the way). Ebay provides a calculator for you to use - just plug in figures from your Sales Reports.
I thought I would have to go to Anchor Store but found out it was $30 cheaper to use Premium. I must be on the cusp - if there were advantages to Anchor I would think the $30 was worth it but I don't see any. They used to be supposedly favored in Search but I don't see that that is the case any more.
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posted on January 26, 2010 08:59:57 AM new
Watch out for the fine print. Although eBay says that if subscribe to stores or upgrade your store subscription now, you won't be charged any more until April, the fine print says that it is a promotion, you will be charged the subscription rate and it will be credited back during the same OR NEXT billing cycle. Not paying it and waiting for the credit is NOT an option. See last paragraph:
Terms & Conditions
* What is it?
* When is it?
* What's included?
* Who is eligible?
* When will I receive the promotion credit?
* How do I subscribe or upgrade my eBay Store?
What is it?
From Tuesday, January 26, 2010 to February 16, 2010, sellers on eBay.com, eBay.ca and ebaymotors.com will pay no additional monthly fees (in the form of a credit) on new Store subscriptions or Store upgrades through March 31, 2010.
When is it?
The promotion starts Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second on Tuesday, January 26, 2009) and ends Tuesday February 16, 2010 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds) (the "Promotional Period".
What's included?
New Store subscribers who subscribe to any level eBay Store (Basic, Premium, or Anchor) within the Promotional Period will pay no monthly Store subscription fees through March 31, 2010. Current eBay Store subscribers who upgrade their Store during the Promotional Period will pay only their regular monthly subscription fee. Example: A Basic Store subscriber can upgrade to the Premium level during the Promotional Period but continue to pay Basic Store subscription fees through March 31, 2010.
Who is eligible?
* New Store subscriptions
* New Store subscribers are defined as those sellers who do not have an active Store subscription as of January 26, 2010.
* Sellers can subscribe to a Basic, Premium, or Anchor level Store to qualify.
* Seller must be registered and subscribe to a store on www.ebay.com, www.ebay.ca, www.cafr.ebay.ca, or www.ebaymotors.com.
* Store subscription upgrades
* Store upgrades are defined as sellers who have a current store during the Promotional Period and upgrade from either a Basic Store to a Premium or Anchor Store or from a Premium Store to an Anchor store.
* Eligibility for upgrade requires no downgrades of Store subscriptions during the Promotional Period.
* Seller must be registered and have a store subscription on www.ebay.com, www.ebay.ca, www.cafr.ebay.ca, or www.ebaymotors.com
When will I receive the promotion credit?
eBay will apply the credits within the same or next billing cycle as the charge appears. If it is not credited within the same period, it will be applied in the next billing cycle. Sellers are encouraged to pay their monthly invoice as normal.
posted on January 26, 2010 09:18:24 AM new
Amber.
You can have a YAhoo store for less than 40 dollars a month and if item sell,Yahoo"s cut is minimal.
You can list up to 40,000 items on Yahoo store .The problem is that if you dont pay for click,you have to drive your own traffic.
Also consider AMZN store,there is way to have your website show up on AMZN.
The problem with both AMZN and Yahoo stores is that Ebay type old and worn stuff do not sell well .
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on January 26, 2010 10:28:50 AM new
Did anyone notice this?
The International Site Visibility Fee on Fixed Price items will be a flat $0.50 for all durations. There will be no changes to the International Site Visibility Fee for Auction-style listings
That is going to be a huge price to pay for International exposure. Just this week I had 6 UK buyers, but it would not be worth an extra 50 cents a month for each auction. I guess that now means revising all those auctions again!
posted on January 26, 2010 11:04:32 AM new
hwahwa: I am afraid I can't have a Yahoo account. I used to, and did well with it before they excluded Canadians. To sell on Yahoo you have to have a US address and bank account.
posted on January 26, 2010 11:48:56 AM new
Just stated on eBay Radio - Dinesh Lathi, Vice President of Buyer and Seller Experience, - there is no search advantage Anchor Store over Premium Store.
posted on January 27, 2010 06:47:05 AM new
Did you all notice that store subscribers don't even get the 100 free $0.99 or less auction listings? If you subscribe to a store, your rate will be $0.10 for each auction listing starting at $0-0.99. They certainly do a good job at making their fee structures complicated and confusing.
Man... I'm so glad I got out of the eBay game. I have over 41,000 items in my web store. It costs me less than $500 for an entire YEAR. Sure... you have to market it a bit more than ebay... but I still only pay another $500 a year in Google advertising. Sales are up... profits are up... don't know why I'd ever go back to eBay!
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posted on January 27, 2010 06:57:48 AM new
Neglus...
Be careful using eBay's calculator! They're using some "fuzzy math". As a store owner... your inventory builds monthly. They don't take that into consideration. Here's an illustration:
With their calculator, Ebay figures that if you list 1000 items per month... and sell one hundred... then next month you will also list just 1000 items and sell one hundred.
That's not really the case, though, is it? If you list 1000 items a month and sell 100... you'll have 900 items left to RE-LIST. You'll probably also have 1000 new listings. and you may now still only sell 100 (or a little more)... but you're paying for 1900 listings. The following month you might have 2800 listings... then 37000 listings... and so on...
Bottom line is your inventory's going to increase monthly, along with your cost... but the calculator doesn't take that into consideration. Much better to create your own spreadsheet with some simple formulas to calculate your true cost, rather than rely on an eBay propaganda calculator. I bet you're going to find out it's a LOT more of an increase than you're expecting.
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posted on January 27, 2010 07:47:03 AM new
I am soooo confused. If you keep your store plan, what is the advantage of committing now. Are the monthly fees changing??
Isn't the Basic store monthly fee $15.95 now and will be come April??
posted on January 27, 2010 08:07:51 AM new
Vintageads - I did take all of that into consideration - even without using the calculator I ballparked as follows:
My savings, such as they are, are because my increased store listing fees (10,500 x .02= $210) are offset by my savings on fixed price listings (350 x .30 = 105.00) and auction savings (1500x .10= $150). Net "savings" = a whopping $45. I already had a premium store - if I had to consider that cost as well, the new fees and old fees would pretty much be equal.
Of course the figures will vary month by month. I can see auction sellers of items priced $25 or more are really going to take it in the shorts on FVF increases as shown by this table:
posted on January 27, 2010 08:11:20 AM new
If an auction seller subscribes to a store, the FVF increase is less (but still a MAJOR increase) as shown in this chart:
The charts were made by Geoff "exclusivelyredtag"
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posted on January 27, 2010 08:22:13 AM new
No one knows what sell through rate will be once all the store items are in core. It could bring everything down. I plan on staying until I see how it works. I no longer say I will be the one to turn out the lights, but the fact of the matter is, postcard buyers are STILL on eBay. I see no point in spinning my wheels to set up shop on some other site or develop my own website YET ... but not saying "never".
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posted on January 27, 2010 08:45:48 AM new
Neglus,
I'm glad you ran your own numbers! Your figures make sense. They definitely give you a bigger picture than the eBay calculator. I just kind of think the calculator's a bit misleading to the average person...
It's good to see you're waiting it out to make an informed decision... just keep in mind.. one reason the postcard buyers are still on eBay is because the postcard sellers have stayed there. If you and Pixiamom closed up shop on eBay and opened up somewhere else... I bet there'd be less postcard buyers on eBay... Buyers are much more internet-savvy now... and don't just search on eBay. They'd find you someplace else (and you can help take them with you if you have good customer distribution lists!)
I know in there's a lot less advertisement sellers on eBay now... but my sales keep getting better and better. The demand for my product is still there, it's just that my buyers know to go to somewhere other than eBay to find it!
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posted on January 27, 2010 07:21:56 PM new
Eauctionmgnt,
Few sellers add 1000 new items every month and your example of starting with 1000 first month,sold 100,then add another 1000 next month and voila you now have 1900 unsold in the second month is flawed.
(1) If the sell thru rate is 10% per month,this is not a profitable business and the owner should really be pruning back his inventory,not building up his inventory by another 1000 each month.
Inventory is financed by short term loan and usually carry a higher interest rate,at this rate ,the business will go under .
Say you dont need to borrow money to finance your inventory,you use your savings,soon your savings is all tied up in slow moving inventory and you are stuck with thousand of items,you cant buy food or stamps with unsold inventory.
Some inventory such as electronics can go obsolete ,so it is not a good idea to keep on stocking,very dangerous !
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on January 27, 2010 07:34:27 PM new
hwahwa,
Guess you don't understand the paper ephemera business.
I was talking from one paper ephemera dealer to another... for us it's all about getting large selections of items listed in the marketplace. Totally different than that of an electronic seller that has low profit margins and needs fast turnaround. I'm perfectly happy to sit on an item for years just to wait for one person to buy it. Believe me... there's plenty of profit in this business model. The more I have listed... the more I make (especially with my own website, since I'm not charged any more for 10 items or 10 million items available for purchase).
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posted on January 27, 2010 07:45:33 PM new
I'm perfectly happy to sit on an item for years just to wait for one person to buy it. ////
This is not a business,this is more like a hobby or a passion !
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on January 27, 2010 08:08:30 PM new
hwahwa, if the required inventory to stock a store correctly is $50,000, then you would invest that amount, regardless of your sales. However, I doubt that anyone would invest that much to operate an eBay business, unless the operation was a chain, or a large entity.
I bet there are small web businesses which carry an inventory that large or larger.
Now, since a store on eBay or the web may require time to fill, the figures presented by eauctionmgnt are realistic, especially if the store owner is filling the store.
Can you imagine your local grocery store only stocking 5 cans of one brand of peas, and restocking when the items are sold out. Or, shagmidmod only stocking one couch and one chair, and not adding additional items until the items are sold.
eauctionmgnt is speaking as a store owner who is building a business, and wants to offer a selection of goods, so his customers will return, and new customers will be attracted.
You appear to be describing the business of a jobber, or someone diving through the cluttered shelves of store closures - selling stale, distressed, and out of date goods.
eBay appears to be dictating merchandise turns, and has no business interfering in a store owner's business operation. Unless eBay wants to share in the risk. JMO
posted on January 27, 2010 08:11:37 PM new
This is OT but it is Ebay related,so I would like to tell it here-
There is this guy who is a disabled veteran,he is not disabled in the war but after war he acted as a good Samaritan and injured his spine.
He spent a lot of time at home taking pain pills and discovered Ebay,he decided he can make a killing in antique jade carvings.
He bidded on some jade items on Ebay,cheap items and then took them to Christie and asked them to auction them off as it is part of his collection.
They told him they would not auction any low price items,they have to be at least worth 200 dollars.
He came back to Ebay and bidded some more,soon he was bidding up a big storm,once he told me about a Canadian seller who claimed his jade is not just antique but has been buried at one time,so I said I would bid on one and see what it is all about,when he saw me bidding,he figured out it must be good stuff,so he outbidded me.
Then he will meet Chinese immigrants in motel parking lot and buy from them,the Chinese told him these are family heirlooms and they would rather have the money to buy TV set and house etc.
Then he found Chinese dealers in China who brought him more antique jade carvings and he paid Fed Exp a fortune to bring them in,along the way he also spent a fortune on books making all the dealers happy as clams.
He also spent a fortune hiring someone to take photos of these items,attended trade shows with his album and contacted every dealer in the country asking them to resell for him.
Most tell him these are repros,some were made in the 50s and some were made yesterday.
He took some to Christie with a tape recorder and recorded the convsersation when they told him these are repros,he thought of suing Christie.
No dealer would deal with him,but he thought of writing a book on jade (by then he has amassed over 10,000 pieces,big and small) so he can add some credibility to his collection .he also considered donating some to museums.
Most of his collection is jade but there are a few peices of bronze and porcelain.
Once he heard that Chinese chicken cup are rare and not in good condition,he boasted he has 2 in perfect condition.
Anyone who deals in antique can spot these repros a mile away,but he just refused to believe .
Then he heard Steve Wynn of LAS VEGAS has a piece of antique which is not as nice as his,so he sent him his piece but Steve secretary refused the package.
Where did he get all the money to buy these jade?Well,he took out 3 mortgages on his home and his credit cards,in the end bankruptcy is the only way out.
But wait,what if the judge ordered the likes of Christie and Soetheby to auction his pieces to the super rich?
Where is he now?
He lost his home,he gets to keep his ss and veteran checks ,he now lives in an apt and depressed as hell,his back hurted him,fusion does not work,chiropracter does not help.
The company which is responsible for auctioning off his stuff is some commercial outfit which sells pipes and plumbing supply and they held an auction taking horrible pictures of his stuff.
He said he wished he has never heard of Ebay but I am not sure how much of his behavior is caused by his medication??
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on January 27, 2010 08:15:07 PM new
I agree, HwaHwa does not understand the business model. Ideally. you want to get to the point where you sell the equivalent, preferably more items than you newly list each month. To do that in the paper world, you need to carry a tremendous inventory.
posted on January 27, 2010 08:30:02 PM new
well,if eauction is building a store inventory,yes,by all means,add more each month,but I am under the impression he is an old hand in the business,and his store has been around for years.
there is a saturation point where a large inventory does not translate to more sales.
Do you ever notice those upscale boutiques like Ralph Lauren,Salvadore Ferragamo and Channel never have many items in their stores?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on January 27, 2010 08:41:03 PM new
Well,I guess I dont understand your business but I do know,if you have a real business and have to meet operating expenses and pay yourself a fair wage ,would you let your working capital all tied up in inventory?
Does what you sell each month bring enough profit to pay all your store related expenses and pay you a wage to live on?
After the initial investment of 50k is spent,where do you get the money to buy more?
If you are not paying yourself,then it is not a business,it is just a hobby,somewhere you have other osurces of income to pay your house mortgage and utilities and food on the table.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
[ edited by hwahwa on Jan 27, 2010 08:45 PM ]
posted on January 28, 2010 03:44:32 AM new
hwahwa,
No time to keep trying to explain my business model to you. The ephemera dealers get it... I'm off to list more items in my store and increase my sales. Believe me... I'm in this business making money... NOT as a hobby (although I do enjoy my work).
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posted on January 28, 2010 08:04:19 AM new
Hwahwa, you are thinking like a retailer and that is not a bad thing but there are many areas of the collectibles market where standard marketing practices do not apply. Paper collectibles is certainly one of them.
Your friend's jade business was doomed for failure from the get-go. He made the most common mistakes for anyone who starts a business.
1. not really knowing your market.
2. not listening to those who do.
3. investing more than you can afford to lose
4. Not having the resources to support yourself for at 24 months before the business begins to pay off.
The above are textbook business lessons anyone who wants to start a business should know.
too many people are driven by the perceived profit factor when they want to start a business. The success rate of new businesses would be much higher if people would just take a few hours to read a book about starting a business and then follow through with writing a business plan.
.
