posted on May 26, 2010 01:15:33 PM
I've have several favorite sellers saved in myebay and I've noticed that some of them seem to still be doing quite well. Of course, I haven't been watching closely enough to know whether or not they are selling at the same levels they were in the past, just that I'm seeing high sell thru rates now - above 90% sold in their complete listings.
Of course, I realize this is relative - these are people who have anywhere from 40 something to a little over 100 auctions in their completed listings. But if I could get to a 90% sold rate at that level, I'd be thrilled.
posted on May 26, 2010 04:18:15 PM
Sell thru rate doesn't matter if the items are selling for a fraction of what they should be selling for. Many sellers are falling for ebay's 99-cent starting price promotion. Overall, page views seem to be much lower than they have in the past.
posted on May 26, 2010 05:46:19 PM
"what they should be selling for" is an interesting phrase. At a recent antique show I overheard a shopper say in reference to some of the dealers something about the dealers still having items priced at the same level they were a couple of years ago, in the shopper's view, the dealers weren't aware that prices had gone down.
I suspect that any of us that have sold via auction have had things go for less than we thought it should, but I figure trying to get top dollar out of every item is how I end up with a basement full of inventory. I'm trying to work on getting rid of stuff - at a profit - but not necessarily at the price that I think it's "worth" and I'm trying to learn from some of my "favorite sellers".
posted on May 26, 2010 08:31:34 PM
For years I've said I'm a wholesaler, not a retailer, on eBay. I'm fully aware that some of the things I sell will be resold somewhere for more money, but I can't let myself worry about that. I make some money on some of the things I sell (hobby seller), and so far that's been okay with me.
I have, though, noticed that page views are down for my listings, and certainly prices have gone down. Sometimes I wonder how long I'll keep selling, since the enjoyment isn't the same as it used to be.
posted on May 26, 2010 09:07:06 PM
roadsmith- i'm almost with you on the wholesaler bit, however i look at myself as eBay's drop shipper. They gain the most in profits, name branding, I just ship the items I specialize once it sells on their site.
posted on May 27, 2010 05:31:43 AM
Yes, they are all TRS. One sells vintage jewelry - every piece starts at 5.00, there always seem to be a couple of pieces that finish at over $100 on her completed listings.
Another sells antiques and collectibles and starts everything at .99. More skewed toward the antiques side than the collectibles side. Currently there are 102 completed listings, the highest went for $1375 - only 2 sold for under $10.
The final one also sells antiques and collectibles. He starts most items at $9.00 and some start lower. On his completed listings, the highest close was $1291.99, one sold for $9.00 - three went unsold.
I just stumbled across all three doing research, because they had at some time or another had sold something similar to something I was about to list. They seem to do consistently well. Of course, I don't know what they paid for their items - but if the jewelry seller buys jewelry like I do (in lots) then she's probably doing pretty well.
posted on May 27, 2010 05:31:09 PM
So if you are a TRS, seems that most are doing well. I have done some research on the categories that i sell on and the TRS are having good sales, and the rest of us are not. This TRS stuff is not good for everyone. Looks like it is time to open up a new account. As hard as i have tried to stay up with TRS, there is always going to be one or two folks that are not going to be happy with your service, so i don't know how these TRS sellers are doing it to stay up there.
posted on May 27, 2010 06:34:25 PM
one thing I cant get over is shipping charge.
They know how much they are going to pay for shipping but they dont take into consideration how much goes into packing and insuring and providing DC and signature confirmation,tapes and bubblewrap etc.
Wen I order shipping supplies,my supplier ship UPS and thats expensive.
Drving to post office is also expensive and time consumimg.
Why does EBAY ask them to rate shipping fee when they know upfront how much they are going to pay,if you dont like it,then dont buy it.
And Ebay should drop this stupid rating/
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 27, 2010 08:19:30 PM
How about shipping time? At least change it to handling time.
One thing I like about Netflix is that they check in with renters every few movies to ask when you received your item. I generally receive the dvd within a day of them shipping them out.
eBay should do the same and eliminate the shipping time DSR.
Communication??? Most of the sales I get I never actually email the buyer anymore. I just ship their item. eBay and paypal notifies them of the tracking/shipping info.
I probably shouldn't complain much, as my DSRs on both accounts are 4.9, 4.9, 4.9, 4.8... but it does bother me that my lowest is always shipping costs which are out of my hands and as hwahwa suggests, the buyer knows what it is going to be before they bid. they either buy it or not.
posted on May 28, 2010 02:14:29 PM
FINALLY!!! I got a bid on my other account. Geez, 5 days no bids, no BINs. Hopefully, this continues thru the weekend, though I doubt it.
My other account seems to be doing quite well though. In fact, I just had a $500 sale thru Vendio stores. Hmmm...
