My name is Daniel Costello and I am a reporter at the Wall Street Journal. I am doing a story on online auctions and eBay and would like to talk to people who regularly sell and buy online. I am looking for regular buyers and sellers and not those who do it as a business.
Specifically, I am interesting in knowing what is going on online today. What has changed about eBay in the last six to 12 months? How is selling going? What sells best? What doesn't sell? And are things selling for less than or more than you assume them might?
Also, I am interested to know if anyone is selling things (especially new stuff) that they bought in the last few years during the 90s consumption boom that they are trying to get rid of. Did you buy a Palm VII before you even opened your Palm V? Are you trying to get rid of some Armani ties you no longer wear?
Lastly, what do you like most about online auctions? What do you like least? Are software managers worth the money?
posted on April 26, 2001 08:32:59 AM new
>>>Are you trying to get rid of some Armani ties you no longer wear<<<<
Hon, I think you need to get out of New York more.
I don't think that that part of your story is going to fly. Nice idea, but I don't think it's a huge trend.
Most of the people selling designer stuff on Ebay in my observation are persons who buy for resale from outlets, closeouts, etc. not downsized individuals. I could be wrong. I am sure there are exceptions. But there are so many more important areas to do a story on when you're talking column inches and Ebay.
After my dot-com laid me off, I looked to Ebay to pick up the slack, but they will NEVER get their hands on my toys! Lol.
posted on April 26, 2001 09:00:43 AM new
What is the point of your story? Sounds to me like you are thinking eBayers are the white collar workers who went under... Speaking for myself, I am not.
I think more bankrupt ex-yups can be found in Real Estate offices (selling their yup condos) than on Ebay selling their icky silk ties..
Is that the story spin?
posted on April 26, 2001 09:11:10 AM new
Just sitting here trying to picture my husband (a jeans and t-shirt guy) sitting at his computer wearing an Armani tie as he did his listings. Then as some of the prices drop on his auctions he rips off his tie and lists it. LOL.
posted on April 26, 2001 09:18:34 AM new
I adore my Armani clothing WAY too much to sell it! However, if there are fire sales on it going on over on ebay..maybe I need to take a look!
posted on April 26, 2001 09:58:12 AM new
I can't wait to see how this reporter describes the responses his inquiry drew. Good luck, Dan. Been there, done that.
posted on April 26, 2001 10:18:42 AM new
To everyone who has thus far responded to the reporter's inquiry, thank you so much. I haven't laughed, literally out loud, at an auctionwatch thread in a very long time. I come to auctionwatch to learn and don't fail to come here daily. I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed the humor in your responses when most of us take our dealings on eBay very seriously and our threads show it. Thank you; I needed that!
posted on April 26, 2001 12:45:07 PM new
Brigid868...LMAO!!!!
Dan, I think you will find, here especially, folks that know the value of a buck. And those who make a go of it understand markets pretty well...inasmuch as it's a group who prolly buy the armani ties at a yard sale for pennies on the dollar and then sell them to folks who don't mind paying near retail "sales" prices.
If you are thinking of writing an article, why not advocate for the little guy middleman?
There's a cool topic. Not as marketable as down-on-their-luck-dotcommers?
Oh well, as a "gen-xer" I am kind of bored with all the labelling and pigeonholing.
posted on April 26, 2001 01:32:37 PM new
Capriole is right on.
You could write a mighty interesting story about how people (like my hubby & me) sell on Ebay to pay down student loan debt, or make extra $ while staying home with kids, or to buy firewood, or pay for skyrocketing energy bills, or save enough for a downpayment on a home of our very own, or any number of things for which the average adult is responsible.
I doubt that most Americans have even one Armani tie. While the average reader of the Wall Street Journal may be more well off than most, I hazard a guess that a large number of Ebay sellers are like most Americans---pretty average and just trying to make it in the world. My hubby and I are fortunate that we both have university degrees and we still Ebay to get what we want out of life faster.
Written with the correct angle, I think that investors might enjoy reading about how Ebay is keeping people from defaulting on their bills and maybe even making enough $ to afford some of the consumer goods and services that they promote.
Your statements as the original poster of this thread make it sound like you think Ebay sellers sell for the fun of it with $ as an afterthought. Believe me, at least with this group, we generally start out with $ as our primary goal and then we figure out how to use Ebay to get it.
Online auctioning and trading has a very important place in our society---and it isn't about rich people getting tired of their toys and taking a stab at secondhand selling for kicks. Good luck on your story. If it is published, please come back here and post it so that we can read it.
[ edited by squinkle99 on Apr 26, 2001 01:37 PM ]
posted on April 26, 2001 03:27:56 PM new
Maybe this reporter should interview the street vendors on Times Square on why they are barred from selling their Armani goods on ebay... or their Rolex, Gucci bags, etc...
posted on April 26, 2001 07:31:01 PM new
I am ROTFL!
This is too hilarious!!
I was expecting more "serious" replies but thanks I needed to laugh today as my ebay sales are depressing lately!
Could be the sunny weather outside????
BTW, I agree with you squinkle99:
"Online auctioning and trading has a very important place in our society---and it isn't about rich people getting tired of their toys and taking a stab at secondhand selling for kicks. "
GREAT POINT!
pay attention DAN
oh well, I just hope that you don't write another yuppie "canned" eBay article.
posted on April 26, 2001 08:00:38 PM new
We have been selling on EBay for almost three years. Prior to that, we did the flea market scene for ten years . We live in a small economically depressed town on the VA mtns. I work a blue collar job at the local gas company and my wife has a degree . Unable to find a job to match her skills, we started on line selling as a way to have a second income and to have the extras which we would not otherwise have. Living in an area where the young people leave to find employment and 60% of the residents are over 65 makes our area a haven for finding antiques and collectables to sell. I have only two years of college , but EBay has been the " equalizer" as far as giving us the lifestyle that we have .
posted on April 26, 2001 08:01:54 PM new
Clevergirl- I read the WSJ. But only on days when my boyfriend doesn't recycle it before I get to it. The subscription was a gift from my mom.
posted on April 26, 2001 09:01:08 PM new
Dan, as you've probably gathered, the Ebay story in large part is a classically American tale of small entrepreneurs working their butts off in a kind of blue collar - or surely blue jeans - atmosphere. This is a world of practicality, frugality and high energy. You'll find the story in any number of city or small town post offices, as Ebayers line up each morning to get the day's shipments out -- and maybe pick up a few checks and money orders too. Talk to the USPS and find out what they've learned about Ebayers in the last several years. How much new business do we really represent for them? I've been surprised to find myself using the post office over UPS or FedEx - the corporate choices - for reasons of ease and reliability.
Or come go garage saleing with us early on a Saturday morning and watch us fairly quickly and efficiently plow through the junk to get to an occasional treasure that we've learned to spot across a crowded driveway at thirty paces.
Oh, yeah, pay attention here on AuctionWatch to the ways in which we help each other with every kind of small business problem. There's community building going on.
And think about things like this: I bought an old, old radio at a garage sale last week. Within a few minutes, I had managed to find a complete set of working tubes(!) and electronic schematics and service information on line. Cost me thirty-five bucks - which I paid in PayPal dollars without even getting up. That would have been so difficult as to be useless to try any other way. As a market place, Ebay and other internet sites and sellers, are wayyyy different than anything ever seen before. It borders on perfection - in the classic economists' sense.
The WSJ is a great paper. I subscribe to the electronic edition, of course.
Alot has changed on eBay in the last 6 - 12 months. Ebay began partnering with businesses to reposition their company as a B2C and a B2B auction house, instead of their historical C2C medium.
Evidence of this is that they increased fees for small sellers, cut special deals for large sellers (i.e USPS), hosted business sites (i.e Disney), invested directly in businesses that would sell and compete on their site (i.e. ReturnBuy), and acquired companies that would allow them to capture more money from the revenue that passes through their site (i.e BillPoint and Blackthorne Software).
While they partner and consolidate their position in the online marketplace worldwide, they brutalize and punish real and perceived competition.
Today, they're the proverbial 300 lb gorilla, the Microsoft of the on-line auction world and no competitor has emerged to seriously challenge them, despite the revenue and profit potential.
[ edited by ecom on Apr 27, 2001 12:44 AM ]
posted on April 27, 2001 01:30:01 AM new
Let me begin by saying this: Dan, for a journalist who deals in "words," you seem a might bit rusty. Your composition lacks structure, organization, two name two things. Let's take a closer look at an example:
"And are things selling for less than or more than you assume them might?"
Dan, Dan, Dan, What did they teach you at journalism school? Starting a sentance with "And" is a no no. The end of the sentance, "...nore than you assume them might?" is a High School English teachers nightmare.
In addition, all numbers used in the composition should be spelled out. In the same sentence you use the number and type it out.
posted on April 27, 2001 01:55:46 AM new
Hi Everyone,
Let's take this back to the topic of the thread...I don't think the originator or other posters need to have their grammar and spelling checked - we all make mistakes
posted on April 27, 2001 07:36:45 AM new
Hi Daniel, I sincerely hope your story angle is not what many here are guessing. Although, it has me wondering. I agree wihat most other's here have posted.
If it is economy related I'll share a bit of my story: I'm a journalist. A former newspaper reporter and editor for the past 15 years who was let go, not fired by any means they said, because I had a immpeccable work record and talent (have even won awards for layout, headline writing, and story writing), but because of company downsizing.
However, you see, I was at the top of the pay scale. My age is forty-something, pushing the big 5-0, and they can hire greenhorns fresh out of college for half of my annual wage. Guess what they did?
I learned from my attorney that I had no recourse. If you don't have an employment contract with your employer, you can be let go at anytime. Oh, of course they said they would give me a glowing reference.
I discovered that most company's payscale is low here in the Midwest. Apparently my employer paid higher to get quality employers. Then they hired yuppie management from the West Coast and became cutthroat. Which I found amusing because of the payscale comparison between California and the Midwest.
To make a long story short, I now sell on eBay as my source of income, and love it, because I won't prostitute myself and talent out for pennies. If anyone is going making money off of me, it is going to be little old me!
posted on April 27, 2001 07:49:28 AM new
I guess old Dan is going to have a ball writing up ebay sellers as a bunch of hostile jerks in the Wall Street Journal.
posted on April 27, 2001 07:51:42 AM new
Dan---I sell on eBay and I think the biggest change during the past year has been the instant online payments made possible by PayPal. It has certainly changed things a lot for me.
BTW, in "real life" I write Al Gore At The Movies reviews and I even worked eBay and PayPal into one of the movie reviews. Take a look. You'll find the reference in the review.
posted on April 27, 2001 07:54:51 AM new
To answer your question nothing has changed with ebay. we can still list things in our underwear and drink beer while makeing money.
