mjh2
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posted on March 14, 2001 05:31:30 PM
R.I.P. It was nice while it lasted. Brace yourself eBay, you're going to die a thousand deaths before this economy picks up.
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engelskdansk
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posted on March 14, 2001 05:42:27 PM
Oh please. eBay is alive and well. Any doom and gloom I've seen is from sellers who are no longer finding an easy market for their flea market leftovers.
The market changes and those in the mail order business have to change to accommodate it.
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sasoony
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posted on March 14, 2001 06:18:02 PM
"The market changes and those in the mail order business have to change to accommodate it."
Looks like one of those changes is finding alternatives to paying eBay's fees to sell at liquidation prices. What changes did you have in mind? Or is this just one of your pet sayings you havn't posted in awhile.
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taz8057
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posted on March 14, 2001 07:12:45 PM
Hmmm...
Isn't there a thread like this every month...
-Trey
***********************************
"If your mind can concieve it, and you believe it, then you probably can achieve it."
http://www.CondomDeals.com
***********************************
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citygirl1
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posted on March 14, 2001 07:13:39 PM
Anyone who thinks the decline of the economy won't effect online auction sales is kidding themselves! The economic decline=people have less money to bid on items that are not necessities. Higher fees and lower bids, I'm no accounting genius but I'd say that will result in lower profits. JMHO
Citygirl
I've always been crazy, but it's kept me from going insane!
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loosecannon
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posted on March 14, 2001 07:39:50 PM
You can't tell me everything is OK. I started a $150-$200 item last night for $1.00 no reserve just to try and get something going. 24 hours later? It's sitting at $1.
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gravid
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posted on March 14, 2001 08:09:01 PM
Quick - what is it so I can bid?
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Shoshanah
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posted on March 14, 2001 08:18:47 PM
Greetings. I don't know about ALL of Ebay being dead, but it would seem that the about me portion is kaput.....Anyone else?
Thanks.
********
Gosh Shosh!
About Me
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reddeer
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posted on March 14, 2001 09:39:25 PM
Hiya Shosh, yes, I noticed it was down a few hours ago as well. But it looks like it's back up & running again.
[ edited by reddeer on Mar 14, 2001 09:41 PM ]
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auntperfect
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posted on March 14, 2001 09:49:51 PM
eBay dead?
Our eBay business is at an all time high.
I quit my full time job 9 months ago.
I adapted.
I still adapt.
We sell more now than we have in the last 3 years, and our product line has not changed.
Only our strategy has changed.
Adapt or die.
There's a gold mine out there. You just have to be willing to work, and work smart.
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quickdraw29
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posted on March 14, 2001 11:09:43 PM
Pull out your rarest of all items and start selling them. The bidding for my rare collectibles just went through the roof. A study shown in BW mag said people actually do not spend less in a down economy when based on their economic outlook. It actually takes more (such as loss of income etc) before they cut back. So people will continue buying on ebay, and maybe they'll stay at home more to spend time on the net.
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outoftheblue
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posted on March 14, 2001 11:21:17 PM
I can't say that business is at an all time high, but it's definitely not dead.
It really depends on what you are selling. If you have something people need and they can get it for a bargain price, they will buy it.
It's still better than paying retail.
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yeager
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posted on March 15, 2001 12:12:51 AM
I realize these threads are about ones opinions and everyone should speak their mind. However, I always wonder what type of person starts this type of thread. One blanket statement to cover all situations. No details or other information.
I wonder if this person has every watched a TV show on economics. How about the PBS show McNiel Lerher report, or the Today show on NBC? Both shows offer professional perspectives on the economy, and the do it more than one sentence.
About two weeks ago, on the Today Show, they had an investment professional who strongly reccomended AGAINST buying high tech and internet stock. She gave two exceptions, one was for eBay. She cited it's power house position and the huge amounts of reserve capital, and strong earnings history.
I think that some people are trying to, as the other poster said, get rid of their flea market leftovers. Some people will not do the work to make ebay a sucess for them. Then they complain about their failure.
Now here's an example of one of my recent auctions compared to another auction with an exact item of another seller. The items are about 60 years old.
Theirs: A short, basic description containing 36 words, and one basic picture. They claim in their seller information they are liquidators of estate items. Their item closed for $13.72. It also appeared to need cleaning. Their feedback is 1950.
Mine: A fully described item with every detail of it mentioned. I've counted the number of words in my descricption and there are 194 and this does not include the TOS. I have four pictures of my item including, front, back, both sides. I will spend as much time as needed to make decent looking images. My item has just under 5 hours to go before it closes. It current price is $51.01. My feedback is 162
I want my description to sound and read like a smoothly flowing paragraph that's easy for all to understand, not choppy in any way. I will not put in any word that is wrongly spelled. I want my pictures to look like a professional took them. I have found that if you put in the effort, the reward will follow!
Ebay is only dead if you are!
P.S. I think I will copy and paste this into a wordpad document so I can put it into a reply next month!
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loosecannon
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posted on March 15, 2001 05:16:34 AM
gravid
I spoke too soon. It went to $20.50 last night and $151 this morning.
If you still want to bid however...
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mballai
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posted on March 15, 2001 06:04:15 AM
There does seem to be a decided loss in book buyers which I can only attribute to half.com siphoning off bidders.
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llama_lady
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posted on March 15, 2001 06:24:57 AM
squawk squawk The sky is falling, the sky is falling.
Life is what you make of it. I've once heard a saying, you are what you think. If you believe you are successful it is much easier to achieve success, then if you think you are a failure. If that little proverb doesn't fit then, sometimes you bite the dog and sometimes the dog bites you.
Remember the media feeds on stirring up the populace. Telling you the sky is falling, makes their readership increase. Obviously a win-win for them.
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mrlatenite
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posted on March 15, 2001 06:50:14 AM
[ edited by mrlatenite on Apr 2, 2001 02:05 PM ]
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TheRedCircle
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posted on March 15, 2001 07:30:53 AM
Maybe it's just my way of looking at it, but I always thought the Flea Market was for eBay leftovers now...at least that's the way we were doing it even back two years ago when we stopped doing the markets.
The flea markets around here are embarrassing...people are literally trying to sell garbage. Too many people took to heart the old adage that you could probably sell a bag of trash on eBay, so they certainly bought a lot of it and are paying the price for it now.
The market on eBay is still thriving...you just have to know what and when to sell and how to work things so you make it easy for your buyers. Don't waste time with superfluous fees for services that don't help your buyers.
You've got a considerably bigger market than a single flea market to work with and a lot less work to get to that market.
----
TRC
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tiamat2001
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posted on March 15, 2001 07:51:36 AM
As for eBay being dead. It might be over the pond in the States have you people tried listing on eBay UK? We don't seem to have a problem here!
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brighid868
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posted on March 15, 2001 08:14:27 AM
it's not dead for me.....i've changed my strategies, and my stuff is doing just fine....but you can't sell some stuff the way you used to, that's a fact. As someone said, adapt or die! You *may* even have to start selling something else---imagine that.
I rarely list low ticket items anymore and have found it helps my bottom line.
I too have quit listing books unless they are a certain niche, because they do better on Amazon.
But otherwise I am happy. Having sold in 'real life'--Ebay's fees STILL seem like a huge bargain to me! 
Kim
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computerboy
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posted on March 15, 2001 08:32:12 AM
eBay sales always run in cycles. The timing always depend on the types of items you offer and the catagories where they are placed.
I view my online selling business from a long term perspective and have adpoted the philosophy that there are always going to be peaks and valleys in our sales. I just make sure that I buy "sharp" and offer my items for sale to allow for a reasonable profit. The rest happens by itself...
Those who panic and run are always the losers. Sellers should view their business similar to a long term stock market plan. You want to make sure to churn out a nice profit on a consistant as possible basis. Don't go for home runs. Try to hit singles...
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noshill
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posted on March 15, 2001 09:03:12 AM
eBay is great for me right now. It has been quite some time since every item I listed sold. On Sunday I listed 11 book auctions with a high buy it now price to run for 7 days, and one item with a very high reserve to run for 3 days. The 11 buy it now auctions were all closed with the buy it now price on Monday, totaling $307.00. The 3 day auction closed last night and went way above reserve at $635.00.
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MAH645
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posted on March 15, 2001 10:40:54 AM
I think the customers buying certain items changes on a regular basis.You just have to go with the flow of that.If an item isn't selling at all,just quit listing it and go with something else.I run alot of searchs before I list and I can figure out when to list something and when not to.But timing is everything.
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AuctionIdeasDotCom
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posted on March 15, 2001 03:31:32 PM
My advice is to focus on high ticket items. Low ticket items like those bought from wholesalers in Hong Kong are a complete waste. I heard of a woman once who made a fortune reselling those little hawaiian umbrellas you get in tropical drinks. She bought a thousand for 50 dollars and resold them in packs of 10 for 2 dollars. That's a lot of work for such little profit. And to think of all the other auction fees she would have to pay!!!! Stick with the stuff that works...antiques and collectables. Anyway, that's my 2 cents!
Lots of great stuff at http://www.auctionideas.com
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goodvibrations
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posted on March 15, 2001 05:48:20 PM
Man, I hate thinly disguised advertisements in a discussion thread. I always put people like that on my "never buy anything from this bozo for any reason" list.
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chum
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posted on March 15, 2001 05:51:40 PM
I would sooner list on the free auction sites, than the flea market ever again. Looking back they were a nightmare!!
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virakech
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posted on March 15, 2001 06:48:21 PM
I'm selling a lot more car parts for restoration and racing...wow, it's really hot right now. We buy cars cheap (but you do have to know your cars) and part them out...emblems, chrome, right down to rear view mirrors, ignitions and motor mounts...things are looking good again.
We bought a mostly-junk car for 150.00 to get the windshield for our car...a friend took some pieces off he needed for his show car...then we sold enough after that to make several hundred dollars profit. Even manuals and dealer books bring in good money...
try something new.
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retro1
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posted on March 16, 2001 04:40:30 AM
sure,ebay may be "dead" in terms of the current product you are selling,and time of year you are selling it.
i sell snowmobile parts year round. how do you think its going here?!?!
i buy jetski closeouts for summer.
when i see market value drop,i break out the big-guns and post rare vintage racing parts.
this wakes up the marketplace in a hurry.
i must say however,i post my links,and "url" into hundreds of classifide sites.
everything you can do to keep going,DO IT.
sure,it takes a heck of alot more effort than normal. its because you got too "cozy" when sales were up. we all do that.
watch,and note when your downtimes occur yearly.
this will enable you to open the flood gates
1 month prior to "d-day" so you can start socking away for your big "personal drought".
for me, its march-april.60 days of hell.
find something you don't normally sell....
browse different categories,see whats hot!
when ya find it,leave the chair and go find it! my best friend always told me,and still does>>> "when things are at their worst,and your almost broke.....BUY!" i know.sounds like an oxymoron,but i'll ba dang if it isn't true .
TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!
keepalegup~
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sasoony
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posted on March 16, 2001 10:02:03 AM
As long as there are sheep, eBay will fleece them. Sheep follow.
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