posted on April 12, 2008 04:21:45 PM new
I'm having to run more auctions to sell anything this week. I'm going to wait to even relist what went off in my store. Hope it picks up next week.
posted on April 12, 2008 09:11:17 PM new
I'm taking a break from Ebay until Mid May. Then give it a month before dropping eBay until next fall. It's tax time and it's always slow this time of year.
No sense in giving eBay money for non-sales. I will let my website and epier have their shots in selling my items in the mean time.
posted on April 13, 2008 07:21:13 AM new
For the most part we have dropped eBay. Our cyber antique mall sales are a fraction of what they were last year and my sister's real-world antique mall sales are down as well.
That said there are a couple of areas where I buy on eBay where the winning bids are up so much that I never win anything even when I bid way over what would have been a reasonable amount a year ago.
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“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
posted on April 13, 2008 07:51:40 AM new
My sales are not too bad ,it is all relative,sell through rate is around 50-60%,not like way back when it was 75-90%.
Given the difficult retail environment,I am just glad I am covering my cost and making a little .
It seems to me that there are fewer nice items on Ebay (at least in my categories-Orientalia).The Chinese sellers are selling the same repro stuff over and over again and the US sellers are having difficulty finding nice old stuff to sell and if they do find something worthwhile to sell,they are not giving them away.
So,for some of us who have been on Ebay for eons and have spent the efforts to find good merchandise at a low price,we are the survivors.
Also,those who have made some good money way back and retained them in their business are the ones who can buy in bulk and at a moment notice.
Ebay is a great place to study business and economics covering a range of topics such as supply and demand,sourcing low cost suppliers,reinvesting your profit,controlling your cost and of course we are constantly being reminded by Ebay how to make our customers happy!
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Lets all stop whining !
posted on April 13, 2008 03:58:29 PM new
I agree...the Antique market is forever changing and seems to have been going through a major shift over the past two years as the "collector demographic" changes. The younger collectors are now wanting some of what I think of as the really ugly stuff from the 60's and 70's.
My Granddaughter and friends are in the 20-25 age group and they want the Orange plastic lamps and Chrome Bar sets.
There will always be a market for fine antiques but I see the Antique shops in our City either closing or hanging on longer than they should but what I find most interesting is that their price tags are all faded as they have not kept abreast of the market and don't have a clue that Chintz china doesn't bring what it did and that actually people want the Scandinavian style china etc...etc...
If they would reduce prices to clear out some of their older stock, do some research and bring in some slightly newer items and start advertising I am sure they could survive.
It's the same at the weekly Live Auction House in our City which is populated by a huge old English retired segment so some wonderful 16th to 18th Century items appear but one of their best sellers right now is Teak Furniture!
If anyone ever read the book 'Boom, Bust & Echo' it forecast exactly these changes.
