posted on January 31, 2010 08:39:29 PM
i listed some interesting things this week, and barely had any bids.
one item was a huge 70 yard roll of 1960's tiki print fabric. i started it at 99 cents with a reserve. i got one bid of 99 cents. i did have a high buy it now of $699 ($10 a yard) with free shipping. it only weighed close to 68 pounds.
i am pretty surprised that there was only one bid though. this fabric would sell in a vintage fabric store for over $20 a yard.
posted on February 1, 2010 07:48:13 AM
My sales have been good the past few weeks. Like always, I think it just depends on what you're selling. Your 70-yard roll of fabric sounds like a LOT of material. Wonder if you'd do better cutting it up into more usable amounts? Good luck!
posted on February 1, 2010 08:49:50 AM
I think it would depend upon what you sell. I sold coins for someone this past two weeks and it went quite well. Other things I had up didn't go quite as good at all. I would try the fabric in a month or so. Advertise it as great for making tablecloths for Luaus and such. Personally, I think the fact that it's 70 yards is what's keeping you from selling it. Is there any way to break it down into smaller yardage? That's an awful lot of material!
posted on February 1, 2010 11:09:49 AM
my other account did terrible too... just weeks ago (holiday rush) I was selling so much stuff i had a headache trying to keep up. same items, plus new items... terrible sales.
that account always does well during the holidays, and i use to reign supreme on ebay with these items, but now it just gets flooded.
as for the fabric... i have two bolts. one still wrapped in plastic. the other one is opened and has about 67 yards on it. i will likely start selling that one per yard (or I should say... per 3 yards).
i have seen an increase in the typical emails from bottom feeders... even in my store.
i had someone email me this morning about a very swanky 60's red love seat we had reupholstered (see it at www.shagmidcentury.com). they wanted me to lower the price b/c they were "only using it in their photo studio". LOL!!!! what is that supposed to mean? I don't care how you're going to use it... it is $1500 and if you know anything about this type of furniture, $1500 for a completely restored love seat like this is quite reasonable... but that doesn't matter b/c it is for her photo studio. She offered $500. She wants something cool and unique, but doesn't want to pay for it. i already sold it yesterday to a serious buyer, but the point is made.
a few weeks ago i had someone in florida want to buy a cabinet and have me ship it to them. 2 big boxes from Portland OR to St Augustine, FL. I gave a quote of $195 for shipping including boxes, packing materials, insurance, freight. right away they complained about shipping costs. i had to explain to them that it takes me 3 hours to get all of the materials, pack it and deliver it to the station for shipping and that I charged $55 for it. They balked. I look at it this way, I don't work for free. I charge a minimum of $60 for delivery in the area that would take me 30 minutes. A few weeks later we advertised a sale in our store. Our sales are for in store purchases only. Guess who crawled out from under a rock wanting the sale price on the item and shipping??? Ha! Sold the cabinet the day before the email to someone that carried it out of the store. When will people learn?
[ edited by shagmidmod on Feb 1, 2010 11:15 AM ]
posted on February 1, 2010 11:42:25 AM
Do you have a store? If so, you could sell the fabric by the yard, and offer to cut off the amount the buyer needs. I am sure there are people who need different amounts. I sell yarn by the skein, because buyers want it from 1 skein, up to 30 or 40 skeins.
posted on February 1, 2010 12:14:13 PM
I have had mediocre sales this month. Usually I do very well in January, but this month has been weak.
I have also had a lot of weirdos asking the usual stupid questions that are already answered in the des. A lot of bottom feeders, also. Auctions for various items and they keep offering me a few dollars over the start bid. HELLO, if that is the price I wanted, I would have done a FP!! I have also found that the person that asks the most questions and is the most persistent with asking about details never bids any way.
posted on February 2, 2010 07:06:47 AM
Sellers who have multiple selling IDs,what can they sell for 99 cents?
I have 3 selling ids,so it means I can list 300 items at 99 cents,so all of us list thousands of 99 cents item on Ebay,how is that supposed to 'stimulate bidding' as Ebay called it?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 2, 2010 10:59:15 AM
Do like the Chinese sellers-
99 cents,free shipping but insurance of 65 dollars is mandatory.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 2, 2010 12:47:04 PM
shagi, check out the market at http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/index.php for your Tiki fabric. I sold some Witco for big $$ to those nuts over there.
posted on February 2, 2010 04:39:48 PM
I figure the stock market has something to do with the bidding on Ebay ,you fgure most households own stock,mutual fund ,ETF etc and the stock market has been tanking .
It went up yesterday and today though.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 2, 2010 04:48:49 PM
I never understand any of that Ebay marketing strategy and I have been on Ebay for many years .
Before this 100 free listing of 99 cents deal,did Ebay not offer buyer free listing,buyers who never sell anything under their buying ID get to list items free?
and now we sellers would not get to list 5 items over 99 cents free but we can list 100 99cents junk free?
I have noticed Ebay bidders are becoming more savvy,more demanding and more knowledgible ,so how is bringing out 99 cents items going to whet their appetite?
I dont have many items I can sell at 99 cents,I SURE DONT HAVE 100 OF THEM LYING AROUND EVERY MONTH?
The last time I check there are over 45 million listings on Ebay,does this sound right?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 2, 2010 05:41:01 PM
45 mil sounds about right. I checked on books a few days ago there were around 880,000 listings for a buck and under.
Even when I pull a book out of the free bin at the landfill I figure I need to sell it for at least 5 bucks to pay for the time it took me to list it.
posted on February 2, 2010 08:08:22 PM
alldings, I agree. If you are willing to let something sell for 99 cents( and it may end at that amount), throw it out. I don't even think $5.00 is enough.
posted on February 3, 2010 07:20:19 AM
I agree that sales have cooled. A lot. I got a phone call from eBay yesterday. The new fees are going to be awful. If you have an eBay store. . .WATCH OUT! The basic store fees are going from .03 per item to a whopping .20!!! If you upgrade to the next level it's .05 per listing.
By raising the fees like that, it's telling me that even eBay isn't making any money. With all the changes they keep making, they've shot their own foot off. Now, they're going for an arm.
posted on February 3, 2010 07:49:23 AM
Before the announcement I listed many fixed price items and sold some,some high priced ones which have been sitting in my non EBAY store for years!
The FVF is steep but they get the same search exposure as the auction items.
So the new store fee you will be paying may not be that bad if it helps you sell.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 3, 2010 08:01:41 AM
Actually, eBay posted a great fourth quarter '09, with revenue up 16% over the same period in '08. They credit part of that to "growth in the core marketplace business", which is a fancy way of saying:
Look guys! We raised fees and people kept selling. Let's raise 'em again, since it worked so well.
There are two more sets of changes planned for 2010. Many people believe one of those sets will include mandatory 21-day PayPal holds.
In a shaky economy, desperate people are willing to give up an ever-larger percentage of their sale proceeds just to have *some* cash from the sale. eBay: the pawnshop of the Web.
posted on February 3, 2010 03:17:16 PM
Shaggie: I believe, under "theater" or such, there's a spot for dressmakers/costumers, or such. Sometime you might try listing fabric there. Those folks are always looking for less-expensive backdrops and such. Might be worth a try, anyway. Adele
posted on February 4, 2010 07:56:20 PM
Fluffy - I will use my own CC processor if eBay tries to pull the 21 day hold stunt. I think they'd be really pushing the envelope doing that. Don't know how they can legally get away with it since they are teetering on the edge of being "just a venue".
posted on February 5, 2010 01:58:46 PM
Ebayers, please remember to start using fixed prices as it will now be mandatory in March. No more Store item option. Thats going to cost us a bundle to list. $1.00 a listing and when you have over a hundred, ouch!
Its the 6 month how can we screw things up again blues. They need to layoff the star bucks, take the meds.
Also, they are launching no cost to list for under 99 cent auctions. I'm up in tha air on that one.My time is valuable and the cost of my items are more than 99 cents. Its quite the gamble.
Still peeved about the insurance option, no longer being an option. Lots of buyers hate the handling charge and always think we are trying to get one over on them.
If I have got this wrong, can someone let me know.
