Can you target the top? It's working for Delta. Can it work for ebay sellers?
Interesting article about how Delta's emphasis on the wealthier customers is paying off. With some interesting stats. For full context, read the entire article. But here's a bit:
This surge in premium demand is directly aligned with the dramatic concentration of wealth in the U.S., where the top 10% of households accounted for nearly 50% of all consumer spending in the second quarter of 2025, according to Moody’s Analytics. CFO Dan Janki referenced Delta’s strategic moves to trim off-peak routes and focus on more profitable flights as contributing to the results, but Hauenstein spoke almost in surprise at what’s playing out: “Premium products used to be loss leaders, and now they’re the highest-margin products.â€
Looking to the future, Hauenstein said he thinks Delta is seeing “many, many more opportunities in premium in the coming years.†He cited Delta’s investments in Los Angeles, Boston, New York, and Seattle as a platform for growth, because “that’s where a considerable amount of premium lives. Delta historically wasn’t as big in those markets as we are now.â€....
And not only has Delta planted itself on the coasts where the upper middle class lives (and flies from), Hauenstein noted that Delta has “built generational experiences through the airports, the Delta One lounges,†referring to the extra-high-end tier of lounges that Delta has introduced as its Delta Sky Club lounges grow more overcrowded. “We see a considerable amount of continued momentum forward in premium,†Hauenstein added. In other words, the top 10% are going to keep spending, and maybe blow past 50% of the consumer economy soon, if Delta’s results are the bellwether they seem to be.
rugerskick
·10 months agoMore than anything it depends on what you sell that the "top" is highly interested in acquiring off of a site such as Ebay.
meme6253
·10 months agoVery interesting article, Thanks for posting it., Looking at it you do have to realize most top 10% are very frugal with their money, This is one reason they have it, & coming to sites like these is where they can buy all their extra toys for far less, & your average Joe is struggling so much that even the lower prices are not enough to grab some of their business, This is also a perfect time for the rich to get even richer by buying up gold, real estate, etc., Something the average Joe cannot do.
roccotacodad54
·10 months agoGood point meme. A family member is rich and he has always been frugal (not cheap). Over the years I'm sure alot of his wealth has been accrued through not spending money without looking for the best deal.
He's generous to people that are also frugal as he told me they won't just "throw the money away".
A mindset he's had since I can remember...........................
tobaccocardyahoo
·10 months agoThere have been varying studies on the demographics of buyers on online sites.
Ebay has been shown to have lower income buyers than Amazon has, for example.
Some high income buyers will never visit Ebay, too uneven a level of customer service and they could never allow themselves to be known to shop on Ebay.
Some high income collectors will buy on Ebay because it is the place to find what they collect. Amazon has pretty much destroyed its collectibles and fine arts categories as a side effect of it has dealt with the problems in trust and safety in its mass market business. Etsy vintage is a low quality site.
I am back on Ebay because Amazon no longer commanded a higher price for collectible items, and that was needed to put up the with extra hassle selling on Amazon is.
chapeau-noir
·10 months agoEtsy vintage is a low quality site.
Not sure if you have a mad on at Etsy, but I sold vintage there for years, and not only was the category high quality, but the prices were good. I only quit due to the forced 'success penalty'.
If you're thinking that it's the site design that's low quality (including the search), I agree with you there. CEO Silverman has never really seemed to understand Etsy's original purpose.
ittybitnot
·10 months agoI only quit due to the forced 'success penalty'.
@chapeau-noir
LOL @ forced success penalty!!! So did I.....I was only something like 24 cents over the limit...to get the "reward" of being a "good seller" or whatever they called it with a lifetime of forced promoted listings fees........I had a good run until my "first" sale that happened within a day.....Congratulations! LOL....no, not in this lifetime.
chapeau-noir
·10 months agoAnd yes, seriously, it was like the Roach Motel - you could check in...but never check out.
It didn't take that long to gross 10k in a year, either. If I can do that myself, I didn't need Etsy's stupid promotion scheme 'leveraged' by their awesomely broken search engine.
Every time people here complain about promotions I think about Etsy.
roccotacodad54
·10 months ago"their awesomely broken search engine"
I'll second that.
tobaccocardyahoo
·10 months agoThe Etsy vintage buyers were all low end, when I sold there. Many used it like Pinterest build collections of favorites, and never bought. Most of the business seemed to be Etsy seller to Etsy seller. On the whole it was the worst online site I ever sold on, worse even than Artfire was.
My experience paralleled other experience online sellers who tried it and abandoned it.
And that did not take into consideration the worst search on the internet and the sellers who spent their entire life spamming keywords in their listings.
chapeau-noir
·10 months agoMeanwhile, those of us who travel cattle class now have to purchase meals and pay to check baggage.
But we can also enjoy the constipated looks on the faces of the first class passengers as we peasants haul our backpacks and baggage through their Area getting to our cheap seats. They probably expect some of us to be leading goats and dragging chicken coups. 😂
wri-8727
·10 months agoPeople used to dress when traveling back in the Concord days. Anyway, I remember reading a lament from a airline stewardess back when prices became affordable for everybody: when are the Beverly Hillbillies going home?
--
Re buying on eBay: where else is Melania going to get a vintage M1958 Field Jacket?
reallynicestamps
·10 months agoIt doesn't take much to be a millionaire these days.
I'm a millionaire if you count in the taxable value of my house. A multi-millionaire if you counted the actual probable selling price.
Look at the annual income of your buyers.
Are they scraping by, paycheck to paycheck?
If you sell bundles of used children's clothing , probably. If you sell rare MTG cards at $1000 each, probably not.
Look at Googe Streetview for their homes.
Are they living in a suburb of McMansions jammed together, or in an area of acre lots with three car garages?
If you sell collectibles or jewelry or fine decorative items, it's likely your customer is earning the ~$200,000 annually that puts them in the top 10% of earners.
luckythewinner
·10 months agoCan you target the top? It's working for Delta. Can it work for ebay sellers?
A lot of millionaires travel by plane. I'm not so sure a lot of them shop on eBay.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
OP10 months ago@luckythewinner Then I think you would be surprised by how many do shop on ebay (or have their personal assistants shop on ebay for them).
luckythewinner
·10 months agoI'd love to see the research or the statistics.
adamcartwright
·10 months ago@luckythewinner
Their interior designers do, that's for sure.
carolynnq
·10 months agoA millionaire I know shops on eBay for Meissen, pieces for his vintage train set, and art (maybe other things too, but these are the things I know about). Another buys books for his collection.
chapeau-noir
·10 months agoSomeone here said that he/she supposed that if someone is desperate they'll buy second hand clothing, but I've sold some of my items to pretty well-known people, TV studios, play houses, etc., not to mention professionals (I wear second hand clothing all the time and grew up in it, so I am one with the zeitgeist).
roccotacodad54
·10 months ago"Someone here said that he/she supposed that if someone is desperate they'll buy second hand clothing"
I grew up wearing "hand me downs" (I grew up on used clothing as well) as all of my cousins were older than I. I never felt slighted or deprived (they had similar taste).
In our extended family it just seemed to make sense to recycle clothing. We weren't desperate just not wasteful.
reallynicestamps
·10 months agoI agree.
Tangential, but when I worked for Tourism Canada we were told that tourist businesses got more money (per capita) from travellers who flew in than from travellers who drove in.
Fliers were more likely to stay in a hotel than a campsite, more likely to rent a car (well- duh!), and more likely to eat in restaurants than at McD's and the like.
They also spent more on gifts and souvenirs.
This came up around the turn of the millennium when the US started demanding a passport to enter the USA. Tourism Canada was concerned because at that time most US residents did not have a passport-- including those drive-in tourists.
I seem to remember the percentage was about 25% at that time, compared to 75% of Canadians. Today between 45% and 50% of Americans have US passports.
caldreamer
·10 months agoI agree, that is why many EBAY sellers only offer high-end brands. But you have to layout big bucks for your inventory and hope to get a quick return on your investment. You can make high profits but there is also high risk from scammers.
grand-and-glorious-purpose
·10 months agoIf you are high end there is MUCH less risk to you on ebay than the average reseller.
Just one luxury purse seller replaces 20 of us regular pukes that have been chugging along for 20 years