posted on October 17, 2000 07:56:58 PM new
Well with all the mess this week Beth think's it would be better to quit ebaY and go back to a regular job.
Maybe she is right.
In the last week someone sent me a Trojan Virus that just about wiped me out and took me 8 hours to get rid off thanks.
Bidding has really stunk though it was starting to improve.But I have had auctions supposed to end (as I am sure most of you do too),every night there has been an outage.
Which makes it difficult to sell your items and intern make money.
Okay so I can relist wrong very hard to do that when ebaY is down.Plus I have items as some of you do ready to go on tonight and that won't happen.This happened to me at least 3 times in the last week which cuts into profit.
There are way too many categories for similar items.For example an old Bible of
1620 can go in either Antiques Books and Manuscripts,General,English,Or Books Rare
or Religious.
There are other items that this applies too as you are well aware.
Increase in fees of late but with site stability going out the window.
Complaints as to starting prices that everyone wants items to start at 1c even on
very expensive and rare items.Too those who think that I say GET REAL.
Never happens in a brick and mortar auction so why should it here.
Its a good way to get bids but also a good way to loose your shirt and go out of business.
Complaints about reserve auctions,once again these are not uncommon in brick and mortar auctions so why any different here.
Plus with the current ebaY problems I do not need to add anymore stress in my life so reserves do make sense.
Dishonest sellers with misleading add descriptions that turn buyers away.Because they assume that all sellers are bad that list similar items.
Comments from people that they will pass on auctions that require sellers to collect sales tax on the items they sell too bidders in their state.I think its a pain too but its the law I have to collect and I have the license to prove it.
Comments that large volume sellers often treat you like dirt and never answer your emails.So far from the truth I think that
Neptune maybe inhabited by another race of
deadebeat ebayers.
Okay so list on other auctions sites,sorry tried that mostly a waste of time for someone who wants to make a living at it.
I can generate thousand of dollars in sales a month on ebaY no problems.Lucky if the same items generate 100.00 a month on the other sites.
Sorry had to rant.
Will I stick with it probably,I do not give up easily.When it all works I think its still a good way to generate an income.
Key is
WHEN IT ALL WORKS.
If you are sick of hearing from me and I will shut up and go away.
Still have that rotten backache which don't help either.
posted on October 17, 2000 08:03:55 PM new
Adrian,
You are to good a dealer to quit.
Stuff happens. It always will. Real life is just the same. At least with on-line trading you have the flexibility to do as much or as little as you chose.
Take a day off. Go play a game of golf, go fishing or just chill out.
Hassles are cyclic. Don't let 'em bug you.
Regards.
posted on October 17, 2000 08:05:15 PM new
Just wanted you to know that you're not alone in your thinking. I'm not a quiter either, but the last couple of weeks have been terrible for me. Summer was better and I haven't changed a thing. Very depressing, isn't it? With ebaY being down so much, the search feature not working correctly, low bids, etc., it's difficult to stay positive. I'm going to go out of town for 5 days and hope the time away will give me a break and maybe things will be better when I get back. Good luck, imabrit, I hope things begin looking up for you.
posted on October 17, 2000 08:12:08 PM new
adrian> No by all means say what is on your mind. We all get into these *funks* when anything that can go wrong does. You are correct, when EBAY works, it really works! I have hubby bringing in the bread and butter paycheck, but without EBAY alot of the bills I used to toss in the air and the ones that landed face up got paid, doesn't happen anymore. EBAY does make a difference when the first of the month rolls around, and by the 5th, I have all of the bills for the month paid. Without EBAY this didn't happen. I guess ya just gotta sit right down with a pencil and paper and list the pros and cons of EBAY as a main source of income. I for one will never go back to punching a timeclock for someone else. I love being my own boss, can take a break when I want to, can list and then sit for a day or two or 5, and then list some more, all at my own pace. It has cut down the stress alot, and when it is all said and done, (even with the deadbeats,) the nice people, the honest people, the wonderful friends I have made, far outweigh the bad times. Maybe just a bit of a break is in order. Step back for a moment, re-group, and you might feel differently! Good luck!
posted on October 17, 2000 08:22:00 PM new
Thanks from the both of you.
In reality though this is not easy as nothing is I really do not want to give it up.I will stick out till the end of the year and see where we are.
Hopefully things will get better.I have gotten some really neat items of late that I know my regulars will like.
I have a good following.Must have really with 2550 feedbacks that are unique and 3500 total.Thats 1000 repeat some of it on multiple items.But its a good following.
I rarely have deadbeats.In fact I cannot recall the last one I have and if I get some I pester them a little bit then move on as not worth the hastle.
I love researching old and interesting items too.In the past two days I have researched the net on people like Cicero,Petrarch,Quintillius,Aristotle,Marcus Aurelius and others like MEFFRETH.
By the way if anyone reading this can tell me who MEFFRETH was,when he lived and what he did etc etc.I will send them a single page leaf from a book of about 1474-1489 I will give you some choices as a thank you.
As this person is hard to find anything on.I got too request a book that deals with him from the Library of Congress today that was printed about 1860.Probably has not been off the shelf since then either.
I wish I could take a few days off but right know I cannot.I have to generate sales to pay DAH bills.
posted on October 17, 2000 08:30:49 PM newI have a good following.Must have really with 2550 feedbacks that are unique and 3500 total.Thats 1000 repeat some of it on multiple items.But its a good following.
Have you tried Yahoo feature auctions? With their current deal for $1 credit for each FB, you could fill the top spots of your categories for months and it wouldn't cost you a dime.
posted on October 17, 2000 08:35:08 PM new
IMABRIT: How did you get that Trojan virus,
and what did it do to your data? Do you use McAfee or any other anti-virus protection?
posted on October 17, 2000 08:35:35 PM new
Having a sales background gives me more flexibility.I was a car sales man before ebaY at the same dealership for 7 years and good at it.
We since moved to Florida but I was looking for another vehicle and went to the local GMC dealership as that was what I sold and own.
Really nice people too told them what I did know and used to do.They wanted to know if I can start tomorrow.HAHAHAHA.
So finding a decent sales job is not really a problem.
I do not think branching out is the solution as I have done that and will just about sell anything to make money.
As the key thing is site stability.You can have the greatest articles in the world and does you no good if no one can bid.
I realise too that this is not a perfect world.What with the Paypal mess lots of people where saying I will not take Paypal anymore.I was not happy either but its a fact of life that they do help.For that reason I take them still and always will.
If I quit I will still do this part time as I think it is quite easy to generate 20,000 a year on ebaY if it works.Even part time.
But I need more than that too survive.It would be a good hobby.
I still think its fun when it works,I can take off when I want,go with the wife and son whenever they want me too.
I have been very fortunate to have been around my son for a year and a half ever single day as well as my wife too.
We homeschool him as well so we spend lots of time together and more than anything else thats why I do not want to give it up.
posted on October 17, 2000 08:41:30 PM new
amalgamated2000
Really that sounds interesting I only have 2 feedbacks on Yahoo and that was hard.Would they count the ebaY feedback.Might just try it.
I LOVE YOU MANN.Hahahahaha
On the Trojan virus it came in an email atatchment.Spealt that wrong sorry.
I have Mccafee as you know they tell you its a virus but they cannot stop you from opening it.I think it was opened in error instead of delete and that did it.
I thought I was going to have too reboot but did not.
I have a bunch of auctions ending and bidding is not too bad.I have seen better but also a lot worse.
posted on October 17, 2000 08:54:34 PM new
I enjoyed reading your thoughts as I have been very frustrated by Ebay the last two weeks. I have a brick and motar shop that has been impacted by Ebay sales and have just started to seriously try Ebay to off set some of that loss. Was going pretty well until these darn outages. Ebays attitude of "sorry for the inconvenience" is from another planet.
I have been able to find out that Meffreth is a pen name. I haven't been able to find out who he really is yet. I'll let you know if I find anything else.
posted on October 17, 2000 09:10:14 PM new
Should be this,its just an idea not sure
quite what to do with it yet.
{http://onemansjunk.at.edeal.com}
One of my regulars looks like he know waits
till the last few seconds to bid.That way he does not have people chasing after him trying to outbid him and end in a war.Like he did a few nights ago.
At least he bids though,I hope he never runs out of money.
posted on October 17, 2000 09:15:11 PM new
Meffreth another piece too the puzzle.
This is what I know he was preacher who lived in the 15th century,somewhere in Europe.
His sermons of which I have 1 volum of 3 where printed between 1480 and 1495 approx.
Either by Nicolaus Kesler or by Anton Koberger.He produced a number of sermons and these appear to have been multi volumed.
His texts are often cross referenced with
Aesop's tales as it seems he included them in his sermons.
It seems very little else is known about him.
But as I mentioned he is refferenced too in a book by Sabin Gould on preachers of that period.I just need that book to find all else.
posted on October 17, 2000 09:16:14 PM new
It is realistic to feel frustrated with the current availability.
It is like trying to go to work, (your car dealership) and having the doors locked. You sit and wait for the doors to open because this is where you work and get your paycheck. Then about an hour later a note appears on the door that states, "we are closed but will open some time. Sorry".
How long would it take for the employees to quit coming to work and how long for the customers to quite coming if the doors are locked, "Whenever" and No Compensation for that fact that they were closed.
posted on October 17, 2000 09:22:49 PM new
Adrian,
I have always enjoyed your posting and want to encourage you to hang in there.....you can always get a job!
As others have said, this happens in real life too. I have been in the business of selling "vintage junk" for years and its the most interesting job I could ever hope for....always something new to search out...and also an ever changing market place, you have to be flexible and if need be, combine selling sources....I sell at Auctions, in my shop, privately and on ebay.
The internet really affected the offline market so more and more dealers are going online....which of course affects the online market.
ebay is still the best deal in town and you have to realize that the very fact of its tremendous success puts it in the position of being more vulnerable.
I had just gotten ready to list and feel frustrated but I would never give it up, and I do make my living through selling antiques & collectibles.
I am sure that the virus and your bad back has alot to do with how you feel right now!
Better days will come.
posted on October 17, 2000 09:23:07 PM new
i'm at work and very slow right now. Meffreth lived near Munich Germany. That was what i was able to get out of all the web sites i looked at.
posted on October 17, 2000 09:27:07 PM new
It is VERY frustrating, especially if you are a seller and have put all the effort into getting your products acquired and listed.
As a buyer you simply miss out on the chance to bid and you may get another shot at the item, but as a seller it is like trying to do business with the doors locked.
I posted this on another thread, but I think it illustrates the detrimental effect of all these random outages:
There is a great little antique shop about five hours from where I live. Whenever I was in the area I would make a point to go there. Then the owner started having “random hours”. You know, closed on Tuesdays, a “back in fifteen minutes” note on the door that turned into 3 hours, closed half a day here and there...
The result is that I no longer have the desire to make the effort to go there.
I think a lot of people feel the same way about eBay as the result of “functionality” problems. There are a lot of folks who have better things to do than hit the refresh button for two hours. Unfortunately, they are called buyers.
posted on October 17, 2000 09:31:00 PM new
imabrit...you said everything that Ive been thinking myself. Do what you have to do, but hang in there. Ive been looking for a part time job too...just to suppliment my ebay (now, that sucks). Sales arent so slick lately, and the outages dont help any either. I just listed some stuff on yahoo, so at least I have things online. Sometimes, I wish AW would start their own auction place. Enough posters are here to get it going, eh? Maybe we can buy from each other, lol. Just a thought.
posted on October 17, 2000 09:36:24 PM new
YAHOO will give you $1.00 of credit to use toward featured auctions for each unique feedback you have on eBay. You must have a YAHOO Wallet to receive the credit (that is an account funded with a credit card)
I would suggest you go to the YAHOO front page and sign-up for the credit. It is a limited time offer and will cost nothing to acquire. You can decide later if you want to use YAHOO.
I don't know what to say about eBay. I have given-up having any positive expectations or any dependency for income on their site.
They have done so much for so long to hurt so many good people that I have lost any hope they will change.
I no longer care for myself but I'm concerned daily for the sellers, both large and small, that are made to overcome unnecessary hardships.
Guess I just can't see the big picture but the small one I see, filled with great sellers and buyers, is being torn apart by a destructive attitude.
The best I can hope for is that I'm completely wrong.
posted on October 17, 2000 09:41:55 PM new
I think you have to take a long hard look at your needs, do you have another source of income coming in? I don't think its realistic to rely on any one source of income, if my spouse did not have a good income I would not be selling antiques on ebay or anywhere else. Face it, it can be a very lucrative income or it can be nothing at all! You find the great items that bring in big bucks and then you find just stuff, its all luck no matter how hard you work at it, I have been selling antiques full time for ten years now, in malls, my own shop, big shows, little shows and flea markets and I wouldn't trade it for any job in the world but it is a very risky business. I have been selling on ebay for four full years now and the outages back then make the recent ones seem like nothing to me. I remember the times when you could only list ten items a day and then had to rush to try to get a listing in before the quota was full for the hour! Talk about stress! There is no free lunch, its work and there are problems with any venue, and ebay is just a venue!
posted on October 17, 2000 09:45:34 PM new
Another piece of the puzzle on Meffreth.
I had one of my German customers ask for a Billpoint invoice a few mins ago as he won an auction tonight.
I asked if he could come up with anything on
MEFFRETH and if he did I would ship him the item and some others for free.
I also made a mistake on the date of an item I had listed on ebaY.Bidding was off on it.A guy in Japan bought it and one other.He asked for a Billpoint invoice too I love Billpoint.Just realised the mistake told he so and he came back he still wants it.Probably realised he got a gift oh well.
ON the Yahoo I have an account with them and a credit card too so I will look at it tomorrow.Thanks for the tip on that one.
If it works I will send you something as a thank you as I appreciate the help.
posted on October 17, 2000 09:51:57 PM new
Its all relative....!!
You have to balance things in life and you should have a "back up system" just like ebay.....but hopefully better!
That shop that began to be "closed" more and more....they probably are doing ebay!
posted on October 17, 2000 09:56:47 PM new
I agree backup is the key thats why I am not
panicking or in a hurry to give it up.
One my wife does not work so she could do this part time.Two I can get a job selling
cars in the morning if I want.Or really any decent sales job.Plus still do this part time.
I signed up with Yahoo for the credit thingy so we will see what happens.
Hope it works as I will give it a good try next week and see how it goes.
posted on October 17, 2000 10:29:06 PM new
Adrian,
We are here for you, so rant away! I know what you mean. I don't understand bidders who want all auctions to start at 1 cent.
I sold an item for $7.99 to a bidder. They forgot to send tax, and I asked them to paypal the tax (same way they paid) when they got a chance. I mailed the pin before I shipped the pin. When they received the pin they sent me an email asking why should they pay tax on the item (auction clearly stating sales tax for my state) and since I made 2 dollars (the pin price was originally $6.00) that should be enough.
I couldn't believe that I was being treated like I was trying to rip them off. After you take out the listing and closing fees, my time, etc, I made maybe 3 cents.
People want to see that the seller bought the item for $100.00 and is willing to sell it for $50.00, but they don't see what is wrong with this picture.
Maybe it's time for you to take a week or two off, if you can afford it.
I took the last two weeks off and it did me a world of good.
Hope you stick to it.
Maybe I can hire you as a consultant. I would love to make thousands of dollars a month on ebay.
posted on October 17, 2000 11:54:49 PM new
From the VANDERBILT University Jean and Alexander Heard Library. LIBER CHRONICARUM. You are looking for the Liber cronicarm, Nuremberg, ANTON KOBERGER, 23, DEC. 1493. A substantial preacher who wrote over 14 books of sermons, amongst which is a 3-volume set one of which you have. he lived (apparently in NUREMBERG, and preached there (I'm still looking into it). Hope this helps. Will post later.
posted on October 18, 2000 12:32:18 AM new
Correction. Koeberger is the publisher of most of the manuscripts it seems. This may help.Anthony Koberger
(KOBURGER, COBERGER).
German printer, publisher, and bookseller, b. about 1445; d. at Nuremberg, 3 October, 1513. He was descended from an old family of skilful artisans who had belonged to the town council as early as 1350, and was a goldsmith before he became a printer. After the completion of the first dated volume (Alcinous, 24 Nov., 1472), Koberger's printing-house quickly developed an activity reaching out in all dlrections, and about 200 works appeared before the year 1500, mostly in folio form and some in bindings. In 1480 it had already outstripped Schöffer of Mainz, and, until practically the end of the fifteenth century, was the most important printing-house in the world. From a chance statement we learn that Koberger used twenty-four presses a day for his printing and employed over a hundred workmen. His publications demonstrate the generous plan on which his work was done. The paper will still outlast centuries. The type is almost entirely cut in Gothic form, is strong and carefully designed, and, in spite of its narrowness, gives a good, readable round script, which was later very widely used. An Antiqua type, resembling the Venetian, first appeared in 1492. The graceful Bible type of 1483, which is a facsimile of the writing used in fifteenth-century documents, deserves special mentions. The beauty of the letterpress is greatly enhanced by tasteful arrangement of the sentences, often a difficult matter (for example in "Canon Law", 1489-83; "Boethius", 1486). Koberger took no less pains to have his print clear and black, using a newly-cast fount, as well as to have the books lucidly subdivided and decorated by the rubricator and illuminator. The employment of woodcuts in the Bible of 1483, which was embellished with 109 vignettes, marks a new epoch in the history of printing, and opened the way for such works as Schedel's "Weltchronik" (1493), a book which, with its 2000 woodcuts from the drawings of the artists Wolgemut and Pleldenwurf, was almost too profusely decorated. This latter, the greatest illustrated work of the century, greatly influenced the development of the woodcut, and especially the work of Dürer, who was drawn towards Koberger, not only as the godfather of the latter, but also by bonds of personal friendship. Towards the end of the century, the business of the printing-house greatly diminished, the last proof appearing in 1504. Publication by contract occupied a prominent place in Koberger's enterprises; this, together with the war, pestilence, and other disturbances, was doubtlessly the chief cause of the dissolution of the printing-house. For some years previously he had had printing done for him at Basle and Strasburg, and from 1510 to 1525 the presses of Nuremberg, Hagenau, Strasburg, Basle, Paris and Lyons were busily engaged with his work.
After Anthony Koberger's death (1513), his cousin Hans Koberger, some ten years his junior took charge of the business as trustee for Anthony's children. He, too, was a business man of great ability and under Anthony's supervision had from the year 1480 displayed great business activity, especially in foreign countries. He took charge of the business trader the most difficult of partnership relations until the children were of age. The eldest son Anthony, a way-ward youth, died in 1532; the second, Hans the younger, was actively engaged in the business of the house until his death in 1552. The publishing-house and the retail book trade were gradually given up before 1532, but the hereditary occupation of goldsmith and jeweller, which Anthony had never abandoned still for a long period engaged the attentions of the family. Thus, when the family became extinct in 1629, it still possessed extensive landed property. As a printer, Koberger had built up a wholesale trade such as was seldom commanded before the discovery of the steam press. Yet he is more renowned as the founder of a wholesale publishing-house, handling all the scientific literature of his time, and dominating the book trade of the world. On the same large scale this "king of booksellers" had developed into a valuable asset of his house an honourable hawking trade. The scholarly Latin literature of the Middle Ages of all tendencies formed the main basis of his world-wide commerce. Of great merit are his special editions of the classical literature of the Fathers of the Church. His editions of the Bible are also very important; before the year 1500 fifteen different editions appeared, while the whole output of the house exceeded thirty folio editions, including some in binding. The Kobergers participated for a short time the sale of the Reformation literature, and had some dealings with Luther in 1525. But further than this they took no part in the popular agitation. They remained true to the old principles of their world-renowned house, and devoted themselves to the sale of scientific works.
HASE, Die Koberger (2nd ed., Leipzig, 1885).
HEINRICH WILHELM WALLAU
Transcribed by Joseph P. Thomas
