posted on March 12, 2001 08:50:33 AM
Has anyone noticed a very distinctive lower dollar amount on their items? I have had items that sold for triple what they go for now and a lot more serious buyers who wanted better items. I don't expect a bidding frenzy, but I am disappointed that the only way to get a half-way decent amount is to offer a buy it now and hope they'll bite.
I think the name of the game on eBay these days is "change and grow"...
Change Inventory when one category gets too flooded etc. LOTS of competition out there.
I've not received nearly the ENDING VALUES this year as on many of the same items I was selling last year. Some items I've completely STOPPED offering... and others... well, I'm just gettin' LESS money for them. *sigh*
posted on March 12, 2001 10:00:52 AM
I took over for a seller who was making a killing. By the time I took over, sellers selling the same items were everywhere. I am stuck with inventory now that is hard to get rid of because the market is flooded.
posted on March 12, 2001 10:44:35 AM
I am a seller on ebay as well and have noticed some items are getting less. A friend of mine got me started on ebay and we used to go to a few local auctions together to buy items. We used to get tables of glassware and other items for a dollar! MOst people at the auctions were antique dealers and werent interested in the stuff we were bidding on that we knew we would make a profit with on ebay.
As time went on more people who figured out the ebay thing were at the auctions bidding against us. I had taken a break from ebay and have just started getting back into it. She has continued going to auctions and it turns out that the people that frequent these auctions somehow figured out her ebay ID ...see that she is doing extremely well and now bid against her on everything she bids on! She never gets a real "steal" anymore and has been going to auctions further away from the area.
We used to be able to walk in and get a seat but now the auctions are standing room only.Alot of people are catching on to ebay and the items that used to be rare are now listed everyday. I think its great that more people are enjoying the ebay lifestyle, I just hope with all the new sellers alot more buyers find out about ebay as well!
posted on March 12, 2001 10:54:44 AM
I'm not sure what everyone on this post sells, but we sell older collectibles and antiques. We try to concentrate on the higher end items, but have to have some lower priced items as well to pay the bills.
Anyway, we've noticed from the beginning that when an item is selling well it doesn't take too long for that item's price to go down. Here's our theory:
Widget is fairly scarce. We list one and get $1200.00 for it. Another gets listed and sells for $1100.00, then $900.00 and now you can buy one of these on eBay almost weekly for around $500.00. We think it's probably because there are more of them available now, but also in a particular collecting area the people that could afford to spend $900-$1200 for that item are not in abundance either, therefore the price goes down. New people have to start collecting for the price to be driven back up.
posted on March 12, 2001 10:59:28 AM
I am not experiencing major competition, but the bidding fall off is weird. When they bid, they often try and outbid one another in absurd .25 increments. Precious little proxy bidding. Heaven forbid that they pay another .50 for something that retails for 5 times the current bid.
posted on March 12, 2001 11:50:15 AM
Hello. We sell sports trading cards plus other collectibles. Our business is way down. It is the time of the year, but we noticed that we are getting smaller bids now. We used to start everything at around $1.00 opening bids. Not any longer. Plus we have also noticed we are getting the majority of our bids with bidders with low feedback counts. Where are the regulars? Most of our repeat customers are either away from the hobby or they themselves turned into sellers. Disappointing sales this month!!
posted on March 12, 2001 04:20:27 PM
I dunno...I was thinking my sales fell off in February, but when I "did the numbers" I had as good a month as January, and that was a good month. I know I am selling MORE books though. Making the same by working harder maybe.
I do think I would not want to be selling anything heavy these days due to high Priority shipping charges. Do you think you are losing bidders because they check the shipping and figure it's too much, total?
posted on March 12, 2001 04:43:21 PM
I raised my basic book shipping fee a whopping dime. If that scares off bidders, we're in serious trouble. I suspect that half.com has siphoned off some bidders, but I won't sell books for two bits.
I do think if it can be gotten cheap, they'll want it cheaper. And then cheaper still. The reality check is that this will go full circle because you won't find anyone who can sell below a certain amount, all the cheapo dealers will die off and the prices will rise.
I suspect if enough sellers stopped selling, just for a spell, we could get prices to go up.
posted on March 12, 2001 05:07:19 PM
I don't know about this as categories are the key. This thread would be more fulfilling if everyone listed what category they sold in. I sell depression/elegant glass with an occasional foray into china/ceramics. My Feb was the best in 3 years on ebay! Of course, "book price" is now mythical and if you understand that from the beginning, you will do ok.
We have had this discussion from the day I started on AW and it frustrates me not knowing what people are selling!
posted on March 12, 2001 06:59:58 PM
glassperson: I sell used books. I bought a good deal of depression glass early last year...boy that was fun. But I filled up my cabinet and got busy selling, so haven't bothered in a long time.
mballai: I was thinking the other day about what you are talking about, the downward pressure on prices. One angle: Marketplace listings are for only 30 days. I suppose people could keep re-listing, but I wonder if they bother? For the most part, prices I've seen on Marketplace have been pretty good. I will often "pass" on half.com due to low prices for the same book, then list on Marketplace.
It's all such a crap shoot. I usually list for more on half/Amazon than my opening bids on ebay, but I like fast turnover so even the opening bids give me decent profit.
