posted on December 30, 2006 04:50:12 PM new
YOU CAN TELL I LIVE IN THE PAST!!!
I mean, 2007 Strategy
In a few weeks we will all be looking at the big picture: 2005 versus 2006 (or a three year comparison if you do that). And a trend analysis of 2006.
Opportunities and challenges include:
Will my eBay strategy change?
Ebay store: yes, no, maybe, only if?
Vendio or other St Elsewhere store: where, when, why and how to drive the people there.
I am intrigued by an article that Neglus listed (thanks MA) talking about eBay being a marketing channel. Is the current logic that we all should be running fixed price and core auctions with a checkout linked to our off site store?
And by the way, my vendio store sales just died...dead, worse stuff in 5 years. Anyone else?
My strategy: niche, market research, google base expansion, possibly close ebay store (tho it is making money, I should be channeling folks to the vendio store).
My strategies seem to be pretty similar to the ones you listed. I definitely want to carve myself more of a niche market (steer clear of the dime-a-dozen national geographic ads, and get into some rarer, more specialized ones).
I've already set up my own website, and am far happier with that than with the eBay store I closed. It's a much cheaper place to "park" my inventory, and it's getting more sales too!
My strategy is to use my "select" ads (the cream-of-the-crop) and have them listed on eBay as auctions (I figure I can list 50 per week, and only have to sell two of them to break even). Then, everytime I communicate with potential bidders and winners, I will push my own website. I'm no longer looking at eBay as being my core venue... instead, I'm trying to incorporate it as advertising for my site (advertising which just happens to pay for itself!)
Definitely going to continue on with Google Base feeds as well... and possibly expand my AdWords campaign.
We'll see how the year goes... I'm definitely trying to figure out a way to make eBay work for me again... instead of me working for eBay!
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posted on December 30, 2006 05:55:42 PM new
Great post, Beth!
Sorry about the death of your Vendio store - do you think it was because you were on vacation and not listing a lot on ebay to channel buyers there?
I still have not settled on a plan. Ebay is still more or less working for me and I hesitate to redirect my energies while it is working. I know I shouldn't have all my eggs in one basket and yet I also know I should make hay while the sun shines. As it is, I am doing about as much as I can handle and any move to increase my business will require some major changes. Any way you slice it, time spent building a web-site is time away from ebay and will affect my bottom line with an uncertain outcome.
The question I keep asking myself: Is there really any advantage to setting up a web-site now or can't it be done when it is necessary?
I am holding tight for a bit until I figure out what ebay has in store for us for 2007 in the way of fees etc.
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posted on December 30, 2006 06:11:23 PM new
There is an interesting thread on the ebay Stores board - a little different from the usual depressing b@%ching and moaning you usually find there. http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000409284&start=0
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posted on December 30, 2006 07:50:25 PM new
eauctionmgt: Question--Do you sell more than one ad of the same product or subject matter? I'm wondering how having auctions that then help you promote your website will help--like if someone is just looking for an ad featuring Maytag washers . . . .Would that buyer want to look at all the other ads you have? Has that been your experience?
I'm asking, because I have about 50 old ads I rescued from a falling-apart stack of old magazines from our extended family.
posted on December 30, 2006 08:31:11 PM new
Roadsmith,
Sometimes you get bidders that are looking for a single, specific ad for a single specific product. Other times, you get collectors that want multiple ads of a particular subject matter. (for example, my top sale ever was over 100 vintage camera ads at $10 apiece!!)
My strategy with eBay is to hope that:
a) The people looking for a specific ad will be able to find it on my website (after they've contacted me to let me know they're looking for it).
b) The people who want multiple ads win the bids of the auctions I have listed, and then add more to their order from my website.
I did a few weeks worth of listings before Christmas, and both A and B seemed to pan out!
As for your particular situation... unless you have some special, rare ads... it may not be worth individually listing them on eBay. The Vintage Ad game is all about finding the right person at the right time. I have over 7000 ads available, and still people can't always find what they want. But if I find the right person looking for the right ad, they'll usually buy it at any reasonable price. With only 50 ads, I'm not confident that you would be able to sell them quick enough to make any profit. (10-20% sell-through rate is pretty good with even GOOD ads on eBay). If you figure you sell 20% a week... at a fair market price of $9.99 apiece, that would be over 12 weeks to sell them, with over $80 in listing fees and over $25 in closing value fees... leaving you with just under $400 profit for over 3 months worth of work. And that's what I would consider the best case scenario... chances are you'd get a much lower sell-through rate, have much more in listing fees, and some ads may never sell.
It takes a lot of work to individually list each one, so unless they're pretty unique... it might be best to list them in a lot and just get as much as you can for the lot. I still do that when I want to move some of my more common ads that are just taking up space. (and even then, they don't always sell!)
posted on December 30, 2006 09:21:19 PM new
Thanks for the information; it's very helpful. I do have several ads (full-color, full-page) for a specific brand, all different. Maybe I'll list them together.
In your experience, do the older ones sell better than the newer ones? The ads I have here are all from the 1910s.
Also, do the ads have to be in mint condition, or is there leeway if there's a little rippling or color bleed?
posted on December 31, 2006 06:57:20 AM new
Roadsmith,
I've found that content and rarity have been a bigger factor than age. I've had ads from 2000 and later sell better than ads from the late 1800's. That said... age can be a factor in rarity (since not as many magazines from earlier ages survive). Ads from the 1910's may or may not do well... it just depends on their subject material. The best way to find out, is do some completed auction searches. Ads (especially older ones) do not always need to be in mint condition... but you want to make sure you acurately describe any damage. Of course, severity of damage may discourage bids.
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posted on December 31, 2006 09:55:02 AM new
Again, thanks! You can bet I'll be doing some research. I already peeked at the entire ads picture on eBay, and it's quite daunting. In your experience, does BIN in the auction-formatted eBay do well, vs. a store?
posted on December 31, 2006 11:15:52 AM new
2007 strategy:
Continuing to cultivate non-eBay sales through low-tech means. Data-mining sales records to offer special bulk deals to top 100 buyers who are obviously purchasing for resale.
eBay is still the primo sales portal and generates the most leads per dollar spent.
posted on December 31, 2006 11:38:47 AM new
Beth - My apologies for how Roadsmith and I have hijacked your thread! This will be my last post that strays from your original subject.
Roadsmith - I've never found BIN to be useful for ads on auction. Just set the price high enough to cover all costs, labor and make a profit (I find $9.99 to be good). Then, list them as an auction. Chances are you'll only get one bid... but you might get lucky and start a bidding frenzy. eBay stores did not work well for me. I would have items in there for 2-3 years before they sold... (if they sold)... there just isn't enough trafic, and with their new higher fees... I don't feel stores are worth it. If you continue to have questions, feel free to start your own thread and I'll be glad to respond... but let's keep this one on topic!
Fluffy -
eBay is still the primo sales portal and generates the most leads per dollar spent.
I'm glad that eBay is still panning out well for you... but it's not the same way for everyone. Dollar-for-dollar, I get more sales for my investment through my own website than I do through eBay. Plus, I get way more hits than I ever got through my eBay store. Times are changing... Definitely good to see that many people are at least exploring alternative sales methods.
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posted on December 31, 2006 12:04:24 PM new
Fluffy,
I'm not trying to compare my listings to your listings. That's the whole point. eBay may still work for some sellers, but may not work for others.
My experience with my vintage ads is that even the CORE listings on eBay do not bring as much of a return as my own website does. The fees are too high, the sell-through rate is too low, and the exposure is so-so. I get MUCH lower rates through my website, a comparable amount of sales, and greater exposure through my Google AdWords campaign. I'm still definitely spending money to make money... but I'm decreasing my costs, and increasing my profit margin.
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posted on December 31, 2006 12:30:55 PM new
I have a store and I list a LOT in core and I agree with Fluffy - you have to spend money to make money.
I firmly believe you have to have a constant presence on ebay with new items added regularly to keep repeat buyers interested and returning. You can't be "all in" on listing sales days and out the rest of the year. You have to promote your store in Core and not HOPE that someone will find you. Just for good measure I toggle my store vacation settings every now and then to make sure my items are indexed and appearing in search.
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posted on January 4, 2007 01:44:28 AM new
I always hesitate to post something positive about ebay on any board.
Since ebay has already posted the new fees, I no longer have to wait before continuing my plan that I began in July of last year.
At that time, I linked all my items at my Vendio store to items and categories in my store at ebay. The purpose was to direct buyers who would come to my store at Vendio to my store at ebay. There were no differences in pricing or shipping between the two stores. Both stores stocked similar items with only a small difference in inventory.
The results are in. I am more than pleased with the thousands of unique visitors to my store at ebay, in the 4th quarter of 2006. I also doubled my sales over the 4th quarter of 2005. I need to make some policy changes and increase the inventory variety, so as to convert more of the visits to sales.
This year I will continue the plan. I am waiting for Vendio to announce any improvements for this year. As I recall, they have implied that there would be some coming. If they can't fix the problem with the International shipping function, I will move on.
Plans for 2007 include: (1) listing weekly in three separate categories on ebay.uk and ebay.com; (2) increasing inventory at the ebay store to 1,000 - 2,000 items; (3) writing stamp reviews, creating a blog, using kaboodle.com to enhance a google search; (4) revising my About Me page so as to serve as a portal to Philatelic, news and other non-sales sites; and (5) having the front page professionally redone.
I have much of the new inventory stacked about me, just waiting for the shipping fix at Vendio.
I can handle what ever ebay hands out this year. What I do not like, and I am concerned about is the problems at Vendio. Which is too bad, because I really want to remain a Vendio customer.
I can see no reason to leave ebay, or close my store at ebay at this time. ebay is where the traffic is. ebay is where the perceived security is. There is no way that I can duplicate the ebay experience at this time. Perhaps in the future, but not now.
Congratulations to those of you who have left ebay, and are doing better off than on ebay.
