dacreson
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posted on February 18, 2004 06:11:39 PM
Hello all,
I have sold stamp related items since 1998 on Ebay. In the good old days was not unusual to have a 100% sell through rate, then 80% later 50% then 30% and now I am hearing 8%! I know we are all different and sell different stuff however am I alone at a 10-15% sell through rate of good material? How are you solving this problem as I am "at a loss" for an answer.
I have cut prices to a ridiculous level, I watch Postal costs to buyer. I have tried other types of items but they are no better and I know less about them than my main area.
What do we do? give up? to What?
David
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gousainc-07
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posted on February 18, 2004 06:25:04 PM
I bought some, what I thought were some very nice stamp items at a sale once.
I was sure these items would have a resale value.
Checked eBay, and the items were just about being given away.
I kept the items, as I felt the prices these items were bringing were ridiculously low.
Granted I do not know much about stamp items, but it seemed like a buyers market.
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dadofstickboy
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posted on February 18, 2004 06:26:15 PM
I listed 85 items for the reduced gallery sale.
Sold 11 items.
Without doing the math little better than 10%.
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ricke
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posted on February 18, 2004 06:44:06 PM
76%..down from 82% 4 years ago.
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neglus
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posted on February 18, 2004 06:48:27 PM
I wonder if the stamp biz in general is waning or being affected by the economy? My husband collects stamps and he went to a show this weekend and said a few years ago the room would have been full..this year it was empty! He also noted he was about the youngest person there (at 54!)Not many kids interested in stamps. 
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on February 18, 2004 06:55:56 PM
95% for the first two weeks of February.
Not great, but it pays the bills.
Signed,
Mr. Melvin
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Being denied live help is unacceptable.
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dadofstickboy
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posted on February 18, 2004 07:01:19 PM
Sell through means nothing!
For a few months I had a 2% rate and it put me in a power seller status!
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Roadsmith
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posted on February 18, 2004 08:42:17 PM
It had been about 95% or better; now between 70% and 85% (some I relist, others I give away to the thrift shop).
___________________________________
"I have resolved to allow my friends their peculiarities." -- Samuel Johnson
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jake
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posted on February 18, 2004 09:11:29 PM
10% is about my average sell thru, no matter what type of items I list (old or new stuff). I don't list anything for less than $9.99...not worth my time to sell for less than that amount.
The solution is to determine your break even point, and adjust your prices so you make a profit.
Example: You list 100 items @ 9.99 or less
Listing fees are $35.00 if you don't add any of the extra junk.
If you are selling 10%, you need to make sure your profit per item is more than $3.50.
Check your competitors closed auctions, to see how much they are selling and at what prices. A high sell-thru means nothing if all of your items are selling for only a $1 or 2.
I see sellers all the time that are doing an awful lot of work just to give their items away.
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dbest
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posted on February 19, 2004 07:46:20 AM
I have a 15% sell thru rate on ebay and a 8% sell thru on yahoo. A Few years ago I had 95% to 100% sell thru rate on ebay and a 45% rate on yahoo. It gets worst every year. I am listing the same items as before. I no longer list during regular listing periods but only on free listing days. The listing fees would force me to quit entirely.
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on February 19, 2004 08:12:04 AM
jake, you had me agreeing with you, mostly, until you said:
A high sell-thru means nothing if all of your items are selling for only a $1 or 2.
Could be a little more study is required on your part...
Signed,
Mr. Melvin
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Being denied live help is unacceptable.
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on February 19, 2004 08:15:52 AM
Something else to consider: If your sellthrough rate is 10%, 9 out of every 10 auctions are being listed to no purpose at all.
That's a lot of wasted effort.
Of course, if you're selling a line where you just relist the losing auctions word-for-word over and over again, your effort is somewhat less. But so are your sales.
People want fresh and new. They don't like sellers who bore them. To me, that's the biggest mistake long-time eBay sellers make, and I have to guard against making that mistake all the time.
Signed,
Mr. Melvin
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Being denied live help is unacceptable.
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NEGLUS
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posted on February 19, 2004 08:52:10 AM
Perhaps instead of adjusting WHAT you are selling, you could take another look at HOW you are selling. I know I am constantly testing new marketing ideas.
Do you have an eBay store? Have you tried fixed price listings? How about cross-promotions? Changing the day of week and time you schedule auctions to end? Do your listings take full advantage of the eBay search engine? Does your title make buyers want to click to take a look at your item? How about links to your other items in your auctions (more visible than "click to see seller's other items). How about raising your opening bid if lowering didn't work? Another idea is offering free shipping and handling or try using the word "sale" "clearance" or "bargain" and promote a group of items you want to move? Are your images good and large enough for buyers to be able to see what they are buying? How about offering one highly desirable item per week and splurge on the gallery so it will show on the "cross promotion" section of your listing causing buyers to want to see your other listings.
I don't know if you sell foreign items but one thing to consider is that US $ is weak right now - perhaps you can expand your market to list things that would appeal to buyers outside the US.
In other words, what "worked" years ago on eBay may not "work" now. I wish I knew all the answers, but I do know you have to tinker all the time. What "works" in the winter may not "work" in the summer.
When someone DOES get it all figured out, I hope they will post it here 
[ edited by NEGLUS on Feb 19, 2004 08:56 AM ]
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on February 19, 2004 09:42:55 AM
Perhaps instead of adjusting WHAT you are selling, you could take another look at HOW you are selling. I know I am constantly testing new marketing ideas.
DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!
Someone please hand that lady the refreshing adult beverage of her choice. She's earned it.
Signed,
Mr. Melvin
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Being denied live help is unacceptable.
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ebayvet
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posted on February 19, 2004 09:59:51 AM
I agree that you can't have the same business model on ebay that you had even a year ago. Things change too quickly, and if things stop working, it is time to try something different. I also agree that while sell through rate is a good indication, it is irrelevant to telling if you are making a profit or loss. You can have a 100% sell through rate and lose money, or a 5% rate and be making a killing.
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toben88
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posted on February 19, 2004 12:50:28 PM
my sell through rate hovers around 50% - when it fell to 10% I quit listing for awhile
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on February 19, 2004 01:28:44 PM
a 5% rate and be making a killing
Do you have an example seller in mind? I'd like to see this in action.
You'd have to have some impressive margins ( meaning "buy cheaply" ) on big-ticket items to make this work. Right?
Signed,
Mr. Melvin
--
Being denied live help is unacceptable.
[ edited by fluffythewondercat on Feb 19, 2004 01:29 PM ]
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ebayvet
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posted on February 19, 2004 01:31:22 PM
I don't have an example, but it is possible. It would have to be very high margin and very expensive. If I knew what it was, I would be selling it lol
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pelorus
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posted on February 19, 2004 05:00:12 PM
dacreson,
It's tough to move into a new type of product outside your area of expertise. Most of the sellers here (including me) have stayed with the same type for a long time.
I find that I am still learning more about my type of product (books) and how to sell them better even after 4 years! Knowledge creates power and money on ebay.
When I tried a new type of product, I quickly realized that I was competing with lots of sellers with way more expertise and knowledge than me. Fuggedaboutit.
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dacreson
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posted on February 20, 2004 07:19:20 AM
Hello,
First off, thank you all, for thoughtful replies. I took the liberty to look at a few of your sites after reading the comments. One site I like is NEGLUS site and kind comments. I was stuck with the incredible amount of work involved. 2000 listings all mostly hand typed and scanned WOW! I am not lazy and I do know my sales area. My listing are nice with usually good pictures etc. I have tinkered and tested ideas for years. I have tried Ebay stores, AW stores, other sites such as Yahoo et al.
I think the problem is that I at least, find it very hard to buy wholesale elsewhere and sell on Ebay as Ebay IS Wholesale.
In conclusion I don't want to give up as I LIKE selling on the Internet. I don't mind reasonable labor but excessive labor is failure in its self. One idea that I can use is to make my listings more "interesting". I'll work on that. Again thank you all for your ideas. David
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NEGLUS
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posted on February 22, 2004 04:18:24 PM
Thanks David for compliments about my site...FYI most of my listings are VENDIO saved listing text so typing is less than you might think! Scanning is a huge PITA but I still like scans better than photos and once scanned need no more editing etc. Many of my 2000 are relists (I go through lots of listings with 30% sell through and trying to run 400 auctions at a time).
Just got back from another trip (college shopping w/ youngest daughter) so my auction count is down to 150 and falling fast .. I am going to need to run LOTS of auctions to pay for tuition... so BACK AT IT!
Glad you decided not to give up! Good luck!
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getalife
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posted on February 23, 2004 12:42:05 PM
I cherry pick the items I sell but the sell through rate is 93 percent since I started selling. I start items at four to ten dollars and average about 35 dollars per sale.
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getalife
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posted on February 23, 2004 12:42:15 PM
I cherry pick the items I sell but the sell through rate is 93 percent since I started selling. I start items at four to ten dollars and average about 35 dollars per sale.
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getalife
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posted on February 23, 2004 12:42:25 PM
I cherry pick the items I sell but the sell through rate is 93 percent since I started selling. I start items at four to ten dollars and average about 35 dollars per sale.
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MAH645
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posted on February 23, 2004 07:02:44 PM
Mine is usually around 40 to 50%.This week looks like it will be 80%,don't have a clue why sales are up this week,the flea market sucked this weekend.
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