posted on July 17, 2009 05:19:00 PM new
EBay Woos Entrepreneurs With Cash Article Comments more in Small Business »Email Printer
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By DANA MATTIOLI
At the height of VagaBond Nyc's success, the eBay store specializing in vintage clothing and accessories was pulling in $7,000 per month in profits. Now, as consumers cut back on spending, Andrea Perini, the 31-year-old owner of the store, says sales have decreased by 80%.
Ms. Perini, who lives in Brooklyn, had hoped that she could make her eBay store her sole source of income when she opened up shop in 2006. The idea of not shelling out money for an expensive storefront and the fact that New York was already oversaturated with similar wares pushed her to pursue the online route. But with sales down, she's become disenchanted. "I've been in touch with eBay about the decline in sales," she says.
Perini isn't the only business owner complaining. The online marketplace, which has long counted on "eBay-preneurs" to drive sales, saw its gross merchandise volume (excluding vehicles) slip 16% as of March compared to a year earlier, and is redoubling efforts to woo aspiring business owners. On Monday, the company plans to announce finalists in its recent eBay Seller's Challenge, in which sellers who submitted business plans and one-minute videos get the chance to win $25,000 prizes.
"We wanted to be able to try to make eBay the place where people can come and grow their businesses in a tough economy," says Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay Marketplaces. The contest is open to every seller on eBay and is broken up into four categories: full-time eBay sellers, part-time eBay sellers who want to go full-time, new sellers and current or former military members. The public will vote on a winner from each category. Ms. Norrington says she hopes the contest will give way to the sharing of best practices among sellers.
Related Video
See what eBay seller Bertha Martine submitted to the contest.
Tom Costello, 19, accidentally stumbled upon the eBay contest while on the site's homepage and thought he'd be the perfect fit. Mr. Costello, who lives in Chicago, is a lance corporal in the U.S. Marine Corp. Reserve and works part-time as a network engineer. He got his start on eBay using his father's account when he was just 15 and has since developed his sales into what he calls "a very nice second paycheck." Mr. Costello salvages computer parts and resells them for $40 to $300 a piece in auction-style sales.
Should he win the contest Mr. Costello plans on ramping up his inventory, creating a formal eBay store and buying software that would help streamline his listing process, instead of spending 15-30 minutes on each product.
The part-time to full-time category comes at a time when laid off professionals are looking for other means of making money and existing sellers are looking to bolster income as the cost of living rises.
Longtime eBayer Kat Simpson of Colorado Springs entered the contest as a part-time seller looking to sell on a full-time basis. Ms. Simpson's husband recently went on disability and the family took a 40% hit to their income. To help supplement their earnings, the eBay store owner, who sells everything from Webkinz to footwear is taking the plunge to a full-time seller.
Ms. Simpson started selling on eBay in 1997 and her product offerings have ranged from body lotions and Beanie Babies to live bugs. She currently sells between $3,000 and $4,000 a month but has goals of ramping sales up to $10,000 to $15,000 a month. She says she would use the prize money to expand inventory and upgrade shipping arrangements.
Bertha Martine, a 29-year-old mother from Lakewood, Calif., also entered the competition in the part-time to full-time seller category. In June, her husband Silas was laid off from his job at a wireless company and the couple plans to focus their energies primarily on their eBay business rather than Silas re-entering the workforce.
Ms. Martine began selling women's designer clothing on eBay two years ago as a way to make extra cash while still being an active mother. Now, her sales are responsible for $2,000 - $3,000 a month in income and she has inadvertently become a small business owner. Part of the couple's business plan is to increase inventory and variety, expand their sources of merchandise and develop a formal eBay store, which has fees attached to it. Their video features their 6-year-old son lamenting about the lack of space in his room as a result of the family's inventory overtaking his closets. If they win, they plan on creating a storage room as well.
Ms. Martine says she was thrilled when her husband discovered the contest, especially given the difficulty in obtaining a loan in this environment. "These days it's not easy to get a loan, especially if you aren't working," she says. "This is so perfect for small
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Economic Reform act of Chairman Obama of the socialist States of America :
10 ounces of meat per month,half a yard of cotton per year per adult.
Hellilujah!
posted on July 18, 2009 10:39:02 AM new
25K will only last for a little while then they'll go belly up - you can no longer have a viable full time Ebay business without selling on other venues. You cannot depend on Ebay for anything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline
posted on July 19, 2009 01:34:51 PM new
It's a heck of a note when you have to feel sorry for someone even if they win a contest, but sadly, the days of building a 100% eBay business and growing it are long over.
Too bad this writer didn't talk to, oh, almost anybody who's been trying to sell on eBay lo these last few years.
The way daily sales go for me is that I either have a good day on my website or I have a good day on eBay. It's never both. If I could find a viable third channel I'd be all over it.
posted on July 19, 2009 07:35:38 PM new
Did you look into AMZN?
It has changed the rules on jewelry,yes,it is still a 'guarded' category but if you have an AMZN shop,you can sell jewelry.
There is no way anyone can support himself by selling on Ebay unless that person has no mortgage and no car payment and in good health and low or no health insurance.or the spouse is picking up all these expenses,then whatever she makes is icing on the cake!
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Economic Reform act of Chairman Obama of the socialist States of America :
10 ounces of meat per month,half a yard of cotton per year per adult.
Hellilujah!
posted on July 19, 2009 08:40:13 PM new
It's a gated category and no, you cannot sell jewelry there without authorization because they won't let you set up an Amazon shop for jewelry.
I'm over Amazon anyway. Why should I put up 400 listings on Amazon when any leech can sell theirs on the same page as mine and undercut my pricing by a few bucks?
posted on July 19, 2009 09:21:30 PM new
fluff, you have a store, why not try print advertising? Or, Google adwords, and Google Base.
With what you are working with, I see no need to continue with Amazon, ebay, or any of the others. My personal belief is that the days of the third party sites - pay for listing with FVFs, are numbered.
You have a Brand, great store, and popular items. I see no need for any of the restrictions of Amazon, ebay, shop.com, etc.
posted on July 20, 2009 10:57:26 AM new
Last year,many AMZN shopowners complained saying they want to sell some jewelry so AMZN relaxed the rules,if you have a shop for so many months,you can sell jewelry.
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Economic Reform act of Chairman Obama of the socialist States of America :
10 ounces of meat per month,half a yard of cotton per year per adult.
Hellilujah!
posted on July 20, 2009 02:25:48 PM newfluff, you have a store, why not try print advertising? Or, Google adwords, and Google Base.
I've looked into print advertising. It's very expensive now -- and publications wonder why they're going out of business.
With a free-ad rag like PennySaver, the ads of course are not free to businesses. I got a quote for a 1.5 x 1.5 inch ad in the jewelry category, 100k households, $290 a week.
Google AdWords? I buy AdWords, but my natural search results are great, so I'm easing off the AdWords spend. When the current deposit runs out, I won't be buying more. I don't mind spending $8 for a conversion when it's a $120 order, but for a $20 order? I found that some people are lazy. Instead of dropping a bookmark, they just click your ad every time they want to visit your site. Gets expensive.
Google Base? (Or Google Product Search.) I'm in there with my eBay listings. Eventually it'll be my website. I did have a Google Base feed but it generated no sales and very few clicks, so this isn't a big priority.
But honestly, Bill, you're starting to sound like a friend of mine. He ditched eBay, set up his own site and never looked back.
posted on July 21, 2009 01:51:49 PM new
Hey, fluff - just curious - didn't you try Ebay advertising? How did that work out for you, if so? I was considering trying it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline
posted on July 23, 2009 08:46:49 PM new
hello fluffy, can you tell us where to find AdCommerce on the ebay site? i looked all over and i am not finding it.. also how did your friend do with their own store? have you looked into Tias? ruby lane? and does google have nan actual sales place or is it just a keyword finder / pointer? thanks much and have a great night.
miz
posted on July 23, 2009 10:57:17 PM new
AdCommerce.com
My friend is doing fabulously. He's selling a ton on Amazon and on his own website as well.
My things are new, so TIAS and RubyLane aren't appropriate.
Google Base (Google Product Search) isn't a store; it's a section of Google where you can search for specific products. A list of links and prices comes up, then you click through to the merchant's store.
posted on July 27, 2009 09:26:47 AM new
On rereading the original post, I suspect that some of the people referenced in the article above don't know for sure whether or not they are making money.
Mistaking cash flow for profits is such a common beginner's mistake it hardly merits a mention. You have your eBay fees charged to a credit card and somehow you never get around to opening that bill. Or promising yourself that the money from the next couple of big sales will go to the credit card company.
Caroline 
