Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder
Some see eBay as a booming place of business as they pack mail every day. Others see it as a ghost town as they watch the tumbleweed roll by. I've had 12 feedback left for me over the past 12 months. I used to get that many in less than 2 weeks. Within a week plenty of times. Why would you expect me to see this site as beautiful? I see it as frustrating, disappointing & not worth the effort. For those lining up to date her, I say beauty is only skin deep. You may be in for a surprise! lol Bring on the criticism of my point of view as if I'm not allowed an opinion from my drastic change in experience with sales. Everything in business is, "What have you done for me lately?" Please don't try to convince me that I should be appreciative of sales I had 10 years ago. 🙂
sin-n-dex
·1 year ago@sakic92710
I think you should stop complaining about sales and come to the Canada forum and complain about the strike. That's something worth complaining about and you'll have lots of company over there. I headed over there myself to do some complaining since I'm sure the people in this forum don't think it's really news... unless they mailed a package to Canada that hasn't arrived yet.
C.
gurlcat
·1 year agoI've been really surprised by what I've learned in my mere 6-or-so years here, particularly regarding vintage collectors. I would have assumed that it's a very personal thing, where you collect what you love and that's that. But I've learned that collectibles are almost as trend-driven as contemporary fashion, and the trends are almost as fast-changing. In just the past couple years I've watched a few vintage jewelry designers go from scorching hot to painfully hard to sell.
I also remember my frustrating experience with milk glass, how I thought it was super valuable but it turned out that was a couple years before, and I didn't know the trend had already passed before I'd invested money in highly breakable pieces that were barely worth the shipping risk to sell.
Heck now that I think about it, I even observed this back when I was breeding/selling aquarium fish, bettas in particular, because of the wide array of colors and fin/tail shapes. That's a pretty daunting thing to keep up with, considering it's several months it takes to have sellable livestock, from picking a breeding pair to having fully-developed offspring.
So here's my guess: all these collector/hobby things probably USED TO be more personal, and any trends that did occur occurred much more slowly. But with social media has come so much more visibility into other people's collections, so of course everything was bound to speed up. -Not to mention the rise in overseas counterfeiting of (some) collectible items, which can spoil a trend's hotness real quick in various ways. I no longer even try to delve into a category without joining a few online groups about it, to see what people are into NOW. @sakic92710 -do you do this? What all social media groups are you on, and have you joined specialty groups for the categories you sell?
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year ago@gurlcat As to collectors, I think it's both: there are people who have been collecting "a" for many years, and have watched it go in and out of fashion several times, but they continue to collect because it is a very personal thing for them , it is something they are truly passionate about. They may even pull back a bit during its popular periods because prices can start to become prohibitive. But they'll still collect.
BUT...you are also absolutely right that stuff goes in and out of fashion (and always has) but today the internet (as you point out) has accelerated that process. So, if you are a seller selling a large variety of vintage/collectible/antique items, yes, part of your success will be determined by how well you can keep up with these trends (it also helps to figure out which items are less susceptible to the winds of trend.) And, as always, spotting the NEXT trend in time to stock up before it becomes the current trend, is a gift in itself.
gurlcat
·1 year agochariot_badges
·1 year agoNever be nervous to approach a beautiful woman.
There is at least one man out there that is tired of her Bullshot.
Pass her on.
chevymontecarlo88
·1 year agoIs it in poor taste to say "Dibbs"?
chariot_badges
·1 year agoYes, but ... that's ok.
I call "SHOTGUN".
chevymontecarlo88
·1 year agoWhen eBay is rolling and people are buying, it does not take much if any talent. When times get tough and the customers are more selective, that is where the talent is needed to adapt. Some users are better at sourcing, communicating and enticing while others will just wait for the next a$$ (sales) to fill the seat. It's ok being a clerk but some should stop pretending they are sellers. IMHO
Coffee is for Closers!
luckythewinner
·1 year agoSome see eBay as a booming place of business as they pack mail every day. Others see it as a ghost town as they watch the tumbleweed roll by.
Give the same pen to millions of writers, and some will have great success and others will have none.
Give the same brush to millions of artists, and some will have great success and others will have none.
eBay is just a tool, and some sellers will have great success and others will have none.
sakic92710
OP1 year agoYour comparisons to the situation are not relevant. To be a great writer or artist, it requires natural talent or years of experience to obtain success. Selling on eBay is nothing like that. You do not require talent to sell here. You just need items people wish to buy. From the moment I joined eBay, I did fairly well with sales. I wasn't talented or an expert. People wanted to buy what I was offering. Mainly, it was sports cards. I started almost 24 years ago. My experience with the site is much better but my sales became dismal. I sell an assortment of items now. Not just sports cards. I never quit the site & lost my sense of what was going on with eBay. Having to come back & see the changes & having to deal with them. A low # of writers & artists will have great success. The same goes for actors & singers & pro athletes. The percentages are much better for becoming a seller on eBay, don't you think? Sometimes, it comes down to having a bad agent. eBay has become a bad agent for several.
luckythewinner
·1 year agoYour comparisons to the situation are not relevant.
I disagree.
To be a great writer or artist, it requires natural talent or years of experience to obtain success.
To be a great seller, you need natural talent or years of experience in sourcing the right items and presenting them in an appealing way. Some sellers are born with it, some sellers learn it over time, and some who had it lose it over time.
You do not require talent to sell here
Sourcing the right items and presenting them in an appealing way requires talent. Some sellers are born with it, some sellers learn it over time, and some who had it lose it over time.
You just need items people wish to buy
If there is no talent needed, why do you no longer seem to have items that people wish to buy and why are you unhappy with your sales?
sakic92710
OP1 year agoWhen I joined eBay, I started selling items immediately. No talent or experience. Why is that?
It does not require any talent to present a photo or scan of an item & tell people what it is. Basically, requires common sense.
If talent is needed, why can I post an item for sale on eBay (where there are millions & millions of potential buyers) & unable to sell it but can post it on Marketplace (where the number of potential buyers drops immensely) but I can sell it within hours or days?
I still have plenty of items people wish to buy. I just need the right people to see them on any given day. Or the opportunity for those people to even find them online. Also, it comes down to not being able to sell something because people are cheap.
brightlightbookseller
·1 year agoYou can post an item on Marketplace and sell it quickly because it takes no talent there, but you can't here precisely because it does take talent here. You just proved the point, accidentally...
sakic92710
OP1 year agoIn a single word response -- what?????? lol
brightlightbookseller
·1 year agoThat's a lot more than a single word, but I kinda figured you would say that.
luckythewinner
·1 year agoWhen I joined eBay, I started selling items immediately. No talent or experience. Why is that?
Because 20 years ago, you were listing items that people who were shopping here 20 years ago were interested in buying.
If talent is needed, why can I post an item for sale on eBay (where there are millions & millions of potential buyers) & unable to sell it but can post it on Marketplace (where the number of potential buyers drops immensely) but I can sell it within hours or days?
The talent is knowing which items will sell on which venue.
I still have plenty of items people wish to buy. I just need the right people to see them on any given day. Or the opportunity for those people to even find them online.
I knew eventually you would get to "I am doing everything right, it must be eBay's fault".
Also, it comes down to not being able to sell something because people are cheap.
That sounds suspiciously like people who do not wish to buy your items. 🤔
sakic92710
OP1 year agoOhhh.....I get it now. 20 years ago, you didn't need talent & experience. You only need it in today's world. lol
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agoThe odds of succeeding today on Ebay are substantially lower than they were 20 years ago.
Buyers spend less time on this site. There are more options for people to amuse themselves from their homes and computers.
There are more sellers selling what was the low hanging fruit and the prices has better profit margins for many items.
Small sellers who did not get the best prices for what they bought could still compete because the big guys were not as likely to be competing online.
The Ebay selling process was more cumbersome, time was not of the essence in payment or delivery.
Most of the competition was as clueless as the losers were.
luckythewinner
·1 year agoI never said that. I said you need talent and experience to be a great seller.
20 years ago, you needed the talent and experience to recognize what people were buying 20 years ago.
Today, you need the talent and experience to recognize what people are buying today.
I refer you back to my earlier post on this thread: "Some sellers are born with it, some sellers learn it over time, and some who had it lose it over time."
powell-collectibles
·1 year agoYou don’t understand that 20 years ago there wasn’t near the level of competition as you see now? eBay didn’t have nearly so many strong competitors and there weren’t so many sellers on eBay. Add in that absorbing intl postage costs are harder and harder, and you don’t understand why things aren’t as easy?
powell-collectibles
·1 year agoIf you ever want improved sales on eBay, you need a major reset. What you sell, how you sell it, how you ship it, your grading of items, your after-sale service - everything should be game for revisiting.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agoRetail is an underrated profession.
Yes, you need products people wish to buy. Unfortunately, for those who fail at retail, the skills to choose and acquire products people wish to buy and will not return, require talent and experience. Retail also requires customer service skills which are necessary for continuing relationships with your customers and business success.
Ebay is a venue for retail selling. Some might consider it the degenerate case of retail, but they tend to be the one's who lack the skills to succeed.
Further complicating matters is the fact that based on one's needs and wants the definition of success varies from person to person.
The goals I set and meet may be insignificant to other people.
femmefan1946
·1 year ago@tobaccocardyahoo
Ebay is a venue for retail selling.
EBay is a venue for mail order selling.
Having done both, there are different skill sets involved.
B&M retail has the advantage for the customer of being able to see and touch the product.
For the seller, sales mean immediate payment.
Online/mail order means a larger market, an advantage for both buyer and seller.
But offsetting that is the delay in payment and delivery.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year ago@femmefan1946 Mail order is retail in the broad sense of the word. Many of the same skills on the buy side are applicable to all retail channels as well as the same customer service skills.
Yes, you must be more able to communicate as a mail order merchant. Yes there are broader consumer protections you must deal with as a mail order merchant.
And unfortunately in the post-internet world, the challenges are much greater for mail order merchants than they were in the past. That includes not only payment, delivery time, but the cost of delivery and the extent of competition.
For many sellers the lack of shipping skills, and the time required to pack items which arrive in multi-unit packaging and must be packed for delivery.
Both mail order and B&M retail require labor. Mail order often requires more. Many of Dollar General's B&M stores operate successfully with one employee in a store at a time. It often takes more people to sell the same amount of items mail order than to do the same in B&M.
lakefor94
·1 year ago@sakic92710 wrote:
" You do not require talent to sell here. You just need items people wish to buy."
Effective sourcing takes talent.
I ran across a seller account today that was one of the most impressive eBay small businesses I have seen. Might not be considered small.
https://www.ebay.com/str/lonestarpawngrandprairietx
This seller can source. Tons of multi-quantity listings. Lots of pricey items as well.
Gonna have to stop in there at some point when I venture into Big D.
kh-shakhib
·1 year agoHi everyone,
This discussion has gotten a bit heated. Please remember that, while it is fine to disagree with others, discussion should always remain friendly and respectful as required by the Community Guidelines.
Thank you for your cooperation.
inhawaii
·1 year agoThis conversation has got a bit heated.
Can't we all just get along?
Happy holidays everyone!
sakic92710
OP1 year agoI just hope the Hatfields & McCoys don't decide to add their viewpoints on my post. lol Merry Happy Christmas Holidays!
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoThe economic forensics on @inhawaii 's casual comment on the $$ he has deposited into his bank account smells like old sour grapes. 🙄
jerseyboymusic
·1 year agoI strive to be kind and tactful in life, and I try to on these boards. It doesn't always work.
To be honest, I unfortunately had to deal with a grown stepchild with whom we purchased a house together, and all he did was complain for two years. He was to do the lion's share of the work and put money into it, and my wife and I were to work with him and help him. He moved here homeless and penniless, and put very little work into the house and complained about everything and gave countless reasons why he couldn't do the work. This was to be his home.
My wife and I ended up doing and paying for 95% of EVERYTHING on this house, while hearing him complain every step of the way. He complained I was using a new corded power drill.
When we sold the house after two years and he made $30k, he complained.
We realized he has very much a victim attitude.
Sadly, I have very little tolerance these days for complainers.
It's like any other job. Stop whining and get a new job. If you have been complaining about Ebay for years, with the same kind of posts and don't want help, maybe Ebay isn't for you.
sakic92710
OP1 year agoSorry you had that experience. Just because you feel he had a 'victim attitude' maybe you shouldn't try to apply it to someone who you do not know a single thing about. eBay has been a royal disappointment in trying to get ahead. Without the sales I used to have, I still resolved my worst problems such as being $8700 behind with my rent. I figured it out without blaming anyone else for my position. Sound like a victim to you? I guess you have never complained anything in your life? Congratulations - you are a saint! lol
jerseyboymusic
·1 year agoYes. You have been complaining from at least 2017. In my opinion, if Ebay has not worked for you in the last 7 or 8 years, time to find another way to make your money. ALL your posts I have seen since then seem to be the same thing. You don't like Ebay. It does not work for you
If you are $8700 behind in your rent, it is not Ebay's fault. My wife and I have found other avenues other than Ebay to make income, since my selling account has crashed. You can do the same and stop blaming Ebay.
Stop being a victim. You have ONE THING listed right now. I learned a LONG time ago, the more you list, the more you sell
sakic92710
OP1 year agoIf you read my comments, then you know I never blamed eBay for falling behind on my rent. I resolved the problem without relying on sales here. The only thing I blame eBay for is my drastic drop in sales; not the financial situation I found myself in. My eBay sales would have never covered my rent even when I was doing just ok. Secondly, I don't have listings because Canada Post is on strike. I cannot ship anything. I do look elsewhere for more sales - Marketplace.
lakefor94
·1 year ago@sakic92710
You have 1 listing up now.
theteamsetguy
·1 year ago@sakic92710 ,
Canadian Post is not the only option to ship from Canada. I get stuff from Canada delivered to me by UPS quite often.
sakic92710
OP1 year agoI don't have a UPS near me. Also know they are more expensive for small packages like bubble mailers.
theteamsetguy
·1 year ago@sakic92710 ,
Have you looked in Chit Chats shipping? Looks like Canada's version of Pirateship.
https://chitchats.com/pricing
jerseyboymusic
·1 year agoYou brought up your back rent. Stop blaming everyone for your complaints. Ebay can't make people buy our items, any more than Wal-Mart can force me to buy anything when I go into one of their stores
sakic92710
OP1 year agoIf you bothered to really read what I said, I did not blame poor eBay sales for my back rent & even said, when I was doing ok with sales, eBay sales were not enough to cover it anyway. English is a great language to learn. 😛
bonanza125
·1 year ago@sakic92710
This community is a place where you ask specific questions and for advice. All you are doing is ranting your frustration of lack of sales on more than one occasion. What are you trying to accomplish here? You made your point which is you are unhappy which you pointed out and replied to many times. We as community members get it. You don't like the amount of sales you have. You don't feel its worth the time and effort. Ok then leave Ebay. Stop with the clap backs of "you are in the mood to" or "I will always have something to say deal with it." Nothing will change with you ranting all the time. All you are doing is making posts with arguments. 2025 will be no better for you.
sakic92710
OP1 year agoNothing will change with your complaining about my complaining. Don't like it? - ignore me. It takes 2 to argue. Don't you find it a waste of time to argue about what MY experience is?
mtgraves7984
·1 year agopowell-collectibles
·1 year agoI think that most comment about your complaints because it is frustrating to see someone with potential waste his energy on blaming others. I have a friend since high school like you. Constant victim mentality. Always someone else’s fault if he doesn’t like his apartment, can’t afford a house, doesn’t like his boss, doesn’t do well on a performance review, etc. Every challenge that he faces is some grand injustice. He doesn’t do very well with relationships or his career. Eventually, most in his life just stop paying attention to the complaints.
he lost his job – again – of course, someone else’s fault. So, he’s been using on Facebook that he’d like to start a business, but doesn’t know how, or what to do. I offered to talk through ideas with him, give him advice, help him with direction and strategy. He hasn’t taken me up on my offer, of course. Doing something different would mean that he was doing something wrong before – and that is really hard for someone with a victim mentality to admit
powell-collectibles
·1 year agoUnderstood that you don’t like self reflection. But, I think you need to look at a very simple metric. Check out your ratio of items sold to followers It is extremely high - and that isn’t good. That tells you something about your items or your service, or both.
b86fiero
·1 year agoI understand your frustration and disappointment.
Hope springs eternal.
Carry on ......
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year agoBreaking news...this just in....sakic92710 unhappy with ebay....ebay execs refrain from comment...
sakic92710
OP1 year agoSome say to me that if I'm not happy with eBay, why am I still here. My reply to all who want to mock me for having such an opinion is, if you don't like my viewpoint, why are you always reading my comments & feeling your 2 cents makes any difference to the topic? If I'm in the mood, I will always have something to say. Deal with it. lol 🙂 Someone wished they could block me. Just ignore me if it bothers them so much. My whining will continue unless I find a way for this site to be of some use to me. Wait until I attempt a comeback with 100s of listings - or more. lol
lakefor94
·1 year ago"Wait until I attempt a comeback with 100s of listings - or more. lol"
Is that a look into the inevitable?
sakic92710
OP1 year agoIt is. I have 1000s upon 1000s of items to sell. They all can't go on Marketplace. I'll be trying the same tactic on, probably, 5 sites. HAVE TO get the stuff out there for eyes to see. No reason I shouldn't be able to make, at least, $30-50 a day. 2025 cannot be like 2022, 2023, 2024. HAVE TO be prepared for Jan. 1 (if not sooner). 🙂
lakefor94
·1 year agoYou can do that. It does not take that much to keep up with inventory that is crosslisted.
I do it and just have to be diligent adjusting inventory on eBay after it sells elsewhere. Can't be taking any OOS's or getting negs for cancellations.
250 freebies can be used.
simply-the-best-for-you
·1 year agoI only wish I had this level of free time on my hands 😠A girl can dream.
lakefor94
·1 year ago@sakic92710
All the regular posters know where you are with your old flame, eBay.
As I have said before, you are on other venues, take what is offered from eBay and obtain the rest elsewhere as far as online selling goes.
Best of luck this month and the upcoming year.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agoI had an old rust bucket of a car. It had dents and scratches and burned oil, but it got me where I wanted to go. No one would call it beautiful.
I drove it until I could afford a more attractive model.
I have always met my profit goals with Ebay. When I found a better way to make the same money with less work, I stopped selling on Ebay. When it got to be too much hassle with the other site, and I found I could meet the same goals with fewer listings on Ebay, I was back.
Ebay has been ugly all of this time, and I never cared, and still do not.
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoI suggest selling everything in the same category.
Last few days for me were mostly 'repeat buyers'.
Can't fight those eBay algorithms as to when it's your turn to be seen to 'new buyers' with lower prices on items plus being promoted plus newly listed.
It's kind of fun never knowing what you sell...or can never sell...LOL
janet9988
·1 year agoSo you are here for the feedback? LOL