cramer
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posted on July 12, 2002 09:00:25 PM
Hi Gang,
Well, I've been selling Birkenstocks for sometime and now people are selling them so cheap I'm thinking of dumping my stock....How can people start these sandals at $1.00 and make it? Anyone else out there puzzled by the competition? Can't we just have fair prices and a fair profit? The big guys are killing me. Anyone out there know why people do this....I'm just so curious.....Thanks for letting me rant.
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sparkz
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posted on July 12, 2002 09:33:00 PM
If they are making a profit at selling them for a buck a pop, they're probably dealing in stolen merchandise. Otherwise they're making enough flipping burgers at McDonald's to subsidize their losses on Ebay. There's a small group who thinks volume will make it in the long run. By the time they discover the flaw in that theory and file for chapter 11, they've already ruined an entire category and a score of legitimate sellers.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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kiara
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posted on July 12, 2002 09:33:16 PM
They do it to "crush" you and wipe you out and then when everyone else is gone they have total control. Sorry, but that is the way of the world and I do feel sorry for the little guy because I am one also.
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cramer
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posted on July 12, 2002 09:36:34 PM
ever feel like stomping your feet and shouting its not fair???????? I know, get a grip, stand firm or move on.....
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bidsbids
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posted on July 12, 2002 09:40:31 PM
They can crush you and eliminate you but there will always be another you to be their competition. Like in the inner city, there are drug wars but there is always a new set of drug leaders to take the dead ones places.
Some people get stuff for ten cents on the dollar. Some people buy storage lockers full of new mercandise for a very low price. eBay and the internet have forever changed the retail prices portion of society, no one wants to pay the old prices anymore. "I can get it a lot cheaper on eBay or the Net" is heard more and more these days.
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quickdraw29
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posted on July 12, 2002 09:41:49 PM
"How can people start these sandals at $1.00 and make it?"
The start bid is irrelevant, it's the end bid that counts. They are taking a chance by starting the bidding low to draw more bidders.
I sometimes sell things at a loss to quickly unload the merch so I can reinvest the money into better product. Nothing worse than holding onto stale product.
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kiara
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posted on July 12, 2002 09:44:31 PM
ever feel like stomping your feet and shouting its not fair????????
Yes I do. And I DO throw a little tantrum.  This happens to me all the time with my real life store.
The secret is to find a new product and sell it before everyone else jumps on the bandwagon. Easy for me to say, but not so easy when you have a lot of excess stock and lots invested. 
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cramer
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posted on July 12, 2002 09:45:40 PM
thanks everyone....I plan to stick it out a little longer.
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on July 12, 2002 09:55:12 PM
Better invest in a copy of "Who Moved My Cheese?"
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kiara
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posted on July 12, 2002 09:57:45 PM
http://www.whomovedmycheese.com/
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Japerton
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posted on July 14, 2002 01:15:07 PM
Whooo....Thanks for posting that link Kiara...you don't want to know what I thought when I first read that post!
Just thinking out loud
Japerton
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toolhound
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posted on July 14, 2002 03:15:33 PM
Maybe you just need better photos like this guys auctions=
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1842922030
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Japerton
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posted on July 14, 2002 03:35:34 PM
...you could show a naked foot?
...man all the girls with fake boobs get all the good jobs!
Just thinking out loud
Japerton
meant to say you not I...
[ edited by Japerton on Jul 14, 2002 03:39 PM ]
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revvassago
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posted on July 14, 2002 05:38:39 PM
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1842652271
I think someone should leave him a neg:
"I didn't get everything that was shown in the photo!" 
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sanmar
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posted on July 14, 2002 05:51:13 PM
Cramer; Who said life was fair? We all have this same problem to some extent. Think of it this way; Things could be worse. Have you stepped in any dog doodoo today?
[ edited by sanmar on Jul 14, 2002 05:52 PM ]
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caffeitalia
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posted on July 14, 2002 07:11:04 PM
What I find ironic is many of those sellers starting their items at $1.00 often don't receive a bid high enough for them to sell it so they contact the bidder with a higher amount stating buy it for this much or I will neg you. I had this happen to me twice, so I turned them in and what happened? My bidding id was NARU and the sellers got to get their FVF's back. Now I have many buying ID's just for losers like that. Paybacks are a b----.
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stopwhining
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posted on July 14, 2002 08:17:14 PM
HOW MUCH IS shipping??25? 35? 85??
may be they have their friends bid on these sandals??
i dont believe there is a glut of these sandals out there??
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ruben
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posted on July 16, 2002 10:44:22 AM
cramer,
I tell you what it is, it's happend to me before. The seller post the item for $1.00, then he goes and charges an huge amount for s/h. I've seen my market of glass chess games go from $29.99 2 years ago to $1.00 now. The only way these other folks can make any money on this is by charging a huge s/h. Because $1.00 does not even cover the price of the item, even if you import it yourself. Your best bet would be to get out of that market because you are going to see your profits go down the drain. Or you can do as they are doing, lower your price of your sandals and charge more for s/h.
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cramer
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posted on July 16, 2002 10:53:38 AM
Ruben,
Heres the issue....even if I charged a huge amount for shipping it wouldn't cover my costs let alone profit. And I get these cheap, trust me.....
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odaychris
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posted on July 16, 2002 02:24:55 PM
Maybe you just need better photos like this guys auctions=
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1842922030
I guess we all need to be wary of the ebay police lurking around this board. Toolhound posted the above about a particularly ambitious seller. Now the poor seller has been NARU'd by eBay! YIKES!!!!
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Japerton
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posted on July 16, 2002 05:22:30 PM
...hey you can only get so far on looks alone...
Just thinking out loud
Japerton
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