Locked
Discussion interactions are currently paused.
Where did all the antique sellers go?
I noticed that many of my favorite antique sellers don't sell anymore like they use to years ago. Where did they go?
24 comments
Locked
Discussion interactions are currently paused.
I noticed that many of my favorite antique sellers don't sell anymore like they use to years ago. Where did they go?
kh-gary
·3 years agoHi everyone,
This thread has been closed at the request of the OP.
Thank you for understanding.
us-mamic
·3 years agoI have been an antiques dealer for many years, selling only from 0.99Ñ. I stopped selling here due to the loss of protection from paypal. Selling from 0.99Ñ, the seller hopes for quick money and does not need anyone to manage it. I sold my warehouse in bulk for cash and went to sell other goods elsewhere.
az93
·3 years agoThey are still here . Good luck finding them, search is cracked. And why sellers pay extra to promote unique one of a kind items baffles me. There is no o1ne they are fighting with for attention. Sometimes i have to search the web to find thins on ebay because search say zero found. Rarely true, by the way. I would like to have the old categories back, but that won't happen. I'm old and have been here 24 years. Hey, ebay, i f were rich i would not shop here for diamonds and sneakers.
boomersbiz46
·3 years agoI'm still here and selling antiques, collectibles and back issue magazines and books. People don't realize the values any more. My husband and I have collected since 1970 and married 57 years on May 30.....we are selling our collections and I think no one believes that the items we sell are authentic. LOL. No vision, out there! Maybe our store is hard to find with all of eBay's changes.
ms.rodriguez*
·3 years agoThe big increase in shipping and the fact that buyers can lie about anything and get free return shipping has stopped me from listing anything over a cubic foot and more than a few lbs. I sold several 1970s style lamps and chandeliers back when shipping was dirt cheap and folks paid by check or money order. I packed very well and everything arrived fine. Now those lamps would cost an arm and leg to ship and then you will get a buyer who will say " I thought this was more gold in color or brighter " and ask for a return.
All of my 'antiquish stuff that was big and bulky went at a yard sale years ago.
evry1nositswindy
·3 years agoI'm sure many antique sellers would ask where all the antique buyers have gone!
ed8108
·3 years agoPerhaps they are awaiting more , problem free, reasonably priced, & fresh to the ebay market merchandise
genv
·3 years agoIn today's 'tap, tap, tap' on pictures on a tiny screen phone, where people do not read, anyone selling 'age character' pieces, which may be: large, heavy, time consuming to pack, etc., is at RISK... Any buyer can exercise the right to return any item, for any reason, on the seller's dime... The seller's investment in time, to source, clean, research, measure, photo, describe, pack, ship, plus, fees on item, postage, tax... negates most profit, or, a living wage, on so many things... Better to sell local if possible... Buyer inspects, likes, pays, handshake, done.
kelekt
·3 years ago@genv Exactly. everything you said!
"The seller's investment in time, to source, clean, research, measure, photo, describe, pack, ship, plus, fees on item, postage, tax... negates most profit, or, a living wage, on so many things"
"Better to sell local if possible... Buyer inspects, likes, pays, handshake, done."
agreed!
carolynnq
·3 years agoAntiques still do well. Not massive pieces, but smaller pieces. Here in the San Francisco Bay area, there are several flea markets that sell only antique and vintage items (Alameda and San Rafael French Market, for example). Those markets are packed with vendors and buyers. Few people have a house furnished totally with antiques these days, but use individual pieces here and there.
The cost of shipping has risen so much that shipping is a larger percentage of total sale price than it used to be, which makes it hard for buyers to get a good deal. And returns...it's a huge risk for sellers to sell heavy items and then have to pay return shipping if a buyer claims NAD.
There was a huge exodus of antique sellers to RL and other sites back in 2008. A new fee structure and other changes were the last straw for a lot of sellers, so a lot of sellers jumped ship. That's when I started selling on amazon and ended up having 10 times more items listed there than here. [Now, I prefer selling on eBay and am starting to wind down on Amazon.] Back then, one of the sellers I hated to see go was Bruce Hershenon. He had movie poster auctions that ended every Sunday night. He had a huge following. And the people bidding on his auctions were shopping on ebay while they waited for the auctions they were bidding on to end. Bruce tried to work something out with eBay, Bruce started his own auction site, which is still prospering today. (From wikipedia: "...In 2008, after selling approximately 330,000 vintage movie posters on eBay, Hershenson began selling exclusively on his own website, due to an objection with changes to eBay's rules and increases in their listing fees...."
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·3 years agoebay has been neglecting antiques for years...in my opinion, this neglect wasn't as serious years ago, when ebay had less competition. But in today's world, where ebay faces serious online AND offline competition in this category (and many others), ebay's insistence on marketing and focusing only certain Focus Categories (such as sneakers, designer handbags, luxury watches, etc) is an unsustainable strategy, but one ebay seems determined to follow to the bitter end.
Meg Whitman always said : "Sellers go where the buyers are" and , back then, online, that was ebay. Today, buyers are scattered all over many different sites (as well as in the B&M world), but Meg is still right: Sellers will go where they find the buyers.
Unfortunately for ebay, today that is not necessarily ebay.
ittybitnot
·3 years agoThe cost of shipping has risen so much that shipping is a larger percentage of total sale price than it used to be, which makes it hard for buyers to get a good deal. And returns...it's a huge risk for sellers to sell heavy items and then have to pay return shipping if a buyer claims NAD.
@carolynnq
THIS ^^^^^^^^^^.
I used to be a seller here. In 1998 I started out with "marine salvage" and "building salvage" items like port holes, antique boat propellers, staircases, antique bronze fountains and the like.
I would be a total idiot if I did that today on this platform. Shipping is NOT only a cost for the buyer, it is a cost (via fees) for the seller as well as you point out. That does not even include the very real possibility of a phony SNAD claim on a 300 lb. item. Before we even were required to fund returns on phony SNADs or had to pay fees on shipping, I became alerted to the fact that 99% of my listings were sold to California, consistently, month after month (I am in S. Fl.) Moved on to selling only lightweight items, no international shipping, and things I could afford to lose.
I have an extensive list of "favorite sellers" that I have purchased from for years. I took a tally the other day, and 85% have NO listings, and have not listed for months or years. Just like me. I only BUY now, and it seems eBay is making that a most unpleasant experience as well.
atlasesattic
·3 years agoI used to do pretty good on my vintage and antique when I first started selling here about 3 yrs ago, but not as much lately, so now instead of strictly collectibles I have added a lot more different categories from new to old and handmade, even my victorian trade cards have slowed down too..
kabilab
·3 years agoSpark,
I do NOT have any personal experience with antiques, BUT, a few dealers with whom I have conversed on the subject, stated that younger folks had different interests. The profit no longer warranted their time and investment at auctions and sales at flea markets.
rond2
·3 years agoEbay chased them off with category changes and search function changes that make it almost impossible to browse for antiques and collectibles any more
sextons-sweet-deals
·3 years agoYou are so correct!
I played around yesterday revising some listings. I was wondering why I don't get offers or sales on my vintage Notre Dame Yearbooks.
I remember when eBay did some type of change probably 3+ years ago in which some categories were combined / condensed.
It used to be that if you entered Notre Dame Yearbook in your search, that is what you got. Now if you do that today you get yearbooks, magazines, programs, and other related items.
To narrow my search down today on eBay, I have to ender "Notre Dame Yearbook". I have to include the quotation marks. It then filters all the stuff out.
Back to yesterday. I entered "Notre Dame Yearbook" and then filtered by nearest. I never found my books listed. I decided to revise them. I took out the word 'University' and submitted the revision. I waited a while and then repeated my search. My listings popped up.
just a mess!
gotta-have-it-collectables
·3 years agoFantastic Question eBay???
I see eBay wanting to be a BIG BOX Store Not the Cool Collectors site it one was.
My sales have tanked from 1k+ a month to $100 a week this year!!!!
Great place to buy a TV but so is Walmart and I can drive there and be home and watching a TV Commercial for ETSY in an hour.
kelekt
·3 years agoEbay is not the go-to for cool stuff like antiques/vintage/collectibles anymore - better finds are either local or other venues (Ebay is basically a walmart / amazon wannabe now from what I'm seeing - mostly mainstream cheap mass produced stuff)
I barely bother trying to sell or buy here anymore. it's a shame...used to be the best, now it's the worst 😞
around here everyones selling vintage / antiques locally now (FBMP local groups, auctions, estate sales, pop-ups, etc)
slyders_finds
·3 years agoYou must not shop much on Ebay. I constantly find unique stuff.
monica-sells
·3 years agoI am still waiting for ANYONE to say
"If you're not sure what it's worth look it up at "...FBMP local groups, auctions, estate sales, pop-ups..."
to see what they sell for.......
Almost exclusively, the response is EBAY......
when that changes, so will I
You are not looking if you can't find unique stuff
dbfolks166mt
·3 years agoDepending on how many years ago they may have retired and found other things to do. They may have diversified, or moved, to alternate platforms/venues. Their inventory may have been exhausted or they sold off all their collection. Difficult to to say but sellers, and buyers, come and go on eBay as well as other ecommerce venues all the time just like corporations and businesses. Sears, KMart, Block Buster..... used to be major retailers.
gotta-have-it-collectables
·3 years agoEBay used to be a major retailer too!
What happened?
dbfolks166mt
·3 years agoEBay used to be a major retailer too!
What happened?
Competition fueled in a large part due to the pandemic. I believe Amazon's third party sellers now constitute over 50% of their sales which is a HUGE shift.
ms.rodriguez*
·3 years agoThere are many , many other sites. Buyers have more choices to spend their $$$.