Spreland
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posted on February 12, 2001 06:11:23 AM new
Looking at pages of completed auctions, I would guess the average sellthru is 65% to 75% but atleast half of these items are selling at liquidation prices. Its obvious from the closing prices that the items are selling very close to cost. Unlikely, the seller is making more than minimum wage for their time after paying eBay's fees.
I'm not interested in minimum wage, but to each his own. Every item I list on a free site has a minimum bid/buy price that makes it worth my time to list, pack, ship, etc. Free listing means that I can wait 3 days, 3 weeks, or 3 months for that item to sell at a price that makes it worth my time. Regardless of any category(s) of item you sell (within reason) I can all but guarantee success with this approach. You will make good money for every hour spent and eventually will see your sales and profits surpass what you were making with eBay.
I have heard all the pro-eBay arguments ("fast turnover", "you get what you pay for", etc.) and these are all arguments that only hold up from a short term perspective or if the seller is on a very limited budget (meaning that they must sell at any price to generate the cash flow to stay in business).
Obviously, this isn't the only approach to successful online selling (some people work 16 hours days, some people have an abundant supply of profitable items, some people are just more intelligent). But if you are tired of paying eBay's fees and busting your butt for minimum wage this approach might be right for you.
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libbyparsons
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posted on February 12, 2001 06:20:12 AM new
Wow you are persistant.
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Meya
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posted on February 12, 2001 06:21:56 AM new
Where is that Dead Horse gif when you need it?
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loosecannon
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posted on February 12, 2001 06:34:13 AM new
My sell through rate is at about 82.5% over the last two months. That's unusually low for me but I have been trying some merchandise that I'm not too familiar with lately. I'm usually at about 90% or better.
I'm supporting my family on sales. What does that do to your theory?
What are you selling? Vegamatics? Ginsu knives?
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Spreland
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posted on February 12, 2001 06:49:14 AM new
>>I'm supporting my family on sales. What does that do to your theory?<<
This is not "theory". This is my personal experience after leaving eBay to sell on the free sites. If you are supporting your family with a 82.5% to 90% sellthru rate, this would not apply to you, but you can email your shipping address and I'll send you your medal.
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loosecannon
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posted on February 12, 2001 06:53:42 AM new
Don't need a medal. How about your bid instead?
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Spreland
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posted on February 12, 2001 07:03:40 AM new
I loathe eBay. I will not buy or sell thru their site. But I wish you well.
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loosecannon
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posted on February 12, 2001 07:14:24 AM new
Thank you.
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Brooklynguy-07
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posted on February 12, 2001 07:49:07 AM new
Spre - You're like an 8 year old child who asks his mother if he can have a dollar. When his mother says no he then goes to his father and then his grandmother and then his big brother and keeps on going until he gets the dollar. Send me your email address and I'll send you a dollar via paypal so you can stop creating the same thread over and over. If the free auction sites work for you then more power to you. When you sell baseball cards like yourself for a .40 profit you obviously can't afford to pay fees. No one has tried to discourage you from using the free sites. It just doesn't work for most of us!!!!!!!!!!!
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Nearthesea
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posted on February 12, 2001 09:29:06 AM new
Spreland-I've tried some free listing sites, the problem (with most) is there are no bidders. Most bidders/buyers know ebay.
What I've seen on a couple 'free listing sites' are sellers buying each others items. How long can that last?
I don't want to wait months for a sale, so I pay ebay, and usually get sales. Yes its been slow, but ebay is still the place where the bidders are. They are comfortable with ebay.
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tomyou
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posted on February 12, 2001 09:45:55 AM new
I have sold at about a 94% rate since the begining of the year. Fees increase are minimal and I challenge anyone to find a consignment shope that offers better and has this wide of a viewing audience. IF the extra .05 hurts that much perhaps you should offer a better product that sells. And I agree with the others find a new arguement!
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surfsworth
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posted on February 12, 2001 11:31:16 AM new
Well I have come to understand one thing. Selling on free sites gives a person a lot of time to start and moniter threads. Maybe they are good for something.
But then if you wait three months to mail something you would have a lot of time also.
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MrJim
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posted on February 12, 2001 11:48:50 AM new
The Horse is DEAD, please stop beating it.
For the record, one particular item that we have for sale on Ebay we list at $9.99 with a BIN Price of $14.00. The item cost us $1.25. Each time one sells, we list another. In the last ten days we have sold 12 with BIN. Over $150 profit for the 10 minutes it took to setup the first auction and 15 seconds each time to relist. (sold 3 in the last 24 hours alone) That's about $450 an hour profit. (wish I could find about 100 other items that sell like this) Meanwhile, I am sure you made at least $10 selling your cards on NoBidVille.com
In case no one explained this to you before, I will. A profit is the money you make from an item that you sell, minus cost and expenses. You don't make profit listing items, only selling them.
By the way Spreland, what you are doing is considered Promotional Spamming since obviously you have some type of interest in convincing people to list items on NoBidVille.
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blondestranger
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posted on February 12, 2001 01:23:55 PM new
here here Mr Jim...couldnt of said it any better.
I dont post alot.. but read all the time..
I am so turned off my Sprelands 'own exprience'
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kerrigirl
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posted on February 12, 2001 01:41:46 PM new
How many times has this same subject been posted by the same person?
I will finally add my own "experience". We listed hundreds of auctions over on bidville. Out of about 300 auctions we sold 2 items in two weeks.
We list on ebay, and have over 83% sell rate for the same 300 items, and in less time. More volume, quicker turnover. How is the even comparable?
I agree with the deadhorse theory. This is about as beaten as that. Bidville doesn't need more sellers, it needs more BUYERS.
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jfpnatl
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posted on February 12, 2001 01:56:58 PM new
"Bidville doesn't need more sellers, it needs more BUYERS."
Well said Kerrigirl, I wish this guy could come up with something new, more orginal than the same ole crap over and over again!!
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igolf
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posted on February 12, 2001 02:09:47 PM new
I've been following these (many threads) about Bidville, and I have one simple question/comment.
If things are so good on Bidville, and your sales are SO great Spreland: Why in the name of all that is good in this world would you want to invite the competition to the site to list and potentially compete with your sales?
And why must you continue to post in on the eBay OUTLOOK message board?
Ok, maybe that's two comments.
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Spreland
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posted on February 12, 2001 05:48:33 PM new
>>>"I've got 41 auctions running that end today and only 4 items have bids. Won't even pay the ebay fees from those sales."
"I'm running out of room in the garage and paying as much as $100.00 a month to keep relisting these items only to get 20-30 hits but no bids!"
"I started last March and at that time I was selling 70-90% first time around. Now I'm down to about 25-30"<<<<<
These are quotes from the thread "Are Prices Dropping on Ebay.....But for those of you with a 85% to 99% sellthru rate and a high profit margin...My comments do not apply to you. If you don't want to read them, there is no reason for you to do so. It's not required reading, so I assume you are bored and just like to complain.
MrJim, Labeling my comments as "promotional spamming" is ridiculous. I'm comparing eBay's fees to long term listing on free sites. I didn't mention Bidville. You did.
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Spreland
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posted on February 12, 2001 06:30:48 PM new
>>How many times has this same subject been posted by the same person?<<
LOL......As if every other thread on "eBay Outlook" hasn't already been discussed a thousand times ("PayPal lied to us", "Ebay is down again", "International Shipments - Canada is not in the US", "Post Office raised rates AGAIN!!!", "Some jerk left me negative feedback for no reason", "Shilling", "Fee Avoidance", "I broke all the rules so the eBay Nazis suspended me", "Where can I find free Image Hosting", "PayPal vs Billpoint", "EBay is #1", "Do I have to pay taxes?" "Uggghhh Slow Sales", "Advertising Banners on eBay", "No help from Safeharbour", "Ebay is DOWN AGAIN", I LUV eBay and my Beanie Babies", "Is eBay down again?" "Ebay is DOWN AGAIN".
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gravid
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posted on February 12, 2001 06:44:40 PM new
"some people are just more intelligent"
i.e. anyone that disagrees with me is an idiot and you are too limited to consider that others might have different circumstances
You are tiring. You are not interested in our income or your own business. Your whole agenda here is to damage eBay anyway you can.
Since it leads to a strident unreasonable rant it does not pursuade people.
Insulting people does not recruit them to your side. I picture you as comming from a disfunctional family where emotional abuse was the norm or you would not keep hammering on people thinking they will have to come around to your world view. You would take a more suble approuch if you knew one.
Edited to add I am putting you on ignore. The first person I have ever done that to.
[ edited by gravid on Feb 12, 2001 06:47 PM ]
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taz8057
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posted on February 12, 2001 06:53:47 PM new
Hmmm,
I bet I could have a 90% sell through rate if I lowered the listing price and did not want to make a profit. Yes, It can be done.
I want to make a profit, so my sell through rate is about 55%.
-Trey
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jt-2007
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posted on February 12, 2001 07:02:19 PM new
When I buy, I shop around for the best price. So far that price is always on ebay.
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Spreland
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posted on February 12, 2001 07:11:27 PM new
>>Edited to add I am putting you on ignore. YThe first person I have ever done that to.<<
Thank God! I finally got through to somebody. If my comments do not apply to you and/or you just don't want to read them, Click on "Spreland", Click on "Ignore".
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sulyn1950
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posted on February 12, 2001 07:18:01 PM new
Spreland Since this IS "The eBay Outlook" message center, are you surprised at finding eBay sellers?
Perhaps you would have better luck on the message center for "Other Auction Sites"?
http://www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/list.html?num=33
If another site is working well for you that is great, but what works for you will not necessarily work for everyone.
That is what many people have tried to get across to you on all your other threads.
Trying to convince a seller who is doing well on eBay to go to another site is probably a waste of your breath.
Maybe you should give it a rest for awhile.
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Spreland
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posted on February 12, 2001 07:30:02 PM new
>>>I bet I could have a 90% sell through rate if I lowered the listing price and did not want to make a profit. Yes, It can be done.
I want to make a profit, so my sell through rate is about 55%.<<<
My point exactly. We have the same approach. I take it to a further extreme, listing on the free sites, but it is the same philosophy. There are a lot of items that require that you list on the free sites because eBay's fees would just eat up all the profits, but 55% with a high profit margin is very workable on eBay.
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loosecannon
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posted on February 12, 2001 07:36:03 PM new
Trey
To each his own. But if one's merchadise is desirable/valuable, whatever you want to call it, you should be able to start low, just to get some bidding action started. Bids usually draw more bids. Depends on the merchandise though.
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MrJim
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posted on February 12, 2001 07:40:39 PM new
"There are a lot of items that require that you list on the free sites because eBay's fees would just eat up all the profits"
Now I understand. Put the crap that doesn't sell on the free sites. That way you can not sell crap for free. That must be why most of the free sites are so overloaded with crap and have no bidders.
I will certainly remember this advice should I ever get into the business of selling crap. (for now, I think I will stick with items that sell fast and profitably)
PS. Isn't that why Yahoo started charging listing fees ? To get the crap off of their site ?
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Spreland
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posted on February 12, 2001 07:50:45 PM new
>>"Spreland Since this IS "The eBay Outlook" message center, are you surprised at finding eBay sellers?"<<
No. Thats why I post my comments here. Most of the sellers on the "Other Auction Sites" already know that they are having more success listing with the free sites.
>>"Trying to convince a seller who is doing well on eBay to go to another site is probably a waste of your breath""<<<<
As I already stated, [If my comments do not apply to you and/or you just don't want to read them, Click on "Spreland", Click on "Ignore".] What part of this statement do you not understand?
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taz8057
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posted on February 12, 2001 07:52:30 PM new
loosecannon,
I used to start my auctions off low, at $.99. People would bid on it, sometimes going up to $15.00. I can honestly say I had about a 99% sell rate.
Now, I list at $9.95 with a buy it now of $12.95.
I seem to be getting more sales because I list the same 6 items every day of the week.
-Trey
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mballai
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posted on February 12, 2001 08:01:56 PM new
The problem with eBay is not the fees. I listed hundreds of good items on Yahoo and many got enough hits but no bids. Over months of time. A number of the same items later sold on eBay within days. Frankly I would not mind waiting, but those who have to pay their bills on time can't afford to wait three months and them wait between 10-30 days to get paid. You can be very "profitable" and be broke at the same time.
The real problem is this: people expect stuff cheap on auction. Now that they know they can get bargains, they often hold out until the starting price is real low. They then bid in the smallest possible increments. That's where profits go.
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