5 sellers, 1,754 listings and 4 sales so far today

[goldrushfinds]

I follow 5 local sellers, with a total of 1,754 active listings, and a diverse range of products for sale. As of about 1:00 pm Pacific time, a total of 4 items had sold today, with a total gross sales amount of ~ $80 (not including all costs, including cost of acquiring the items). This is typically the busiest half of the day, with less sales taking place the remainder of the day. Something is terribly wrong right now. I know some report reasonable sales, but most are suffering a similar fate. Sellers will leave in droves if things don't change and change fast. Just my thoughts. 

[goldrushfinds]

Prove me wrong on my numbers..........

[domin-tomas]

I agree, there is something serious going on. My sales are also on the stale side, my sales on another site are a lot better, I get more for my items and fees are less. The last I checked I was down in sales 45% from last year.

[southern*sweet*tea]

Five sellers with low sales on Ebay is like comparing five hospital patients with broken arms to every patient in the hospital.

"Five patients have broken arms, therefore all patients must have broken arms."

[sandytexas1961]

The best point made so far, I think, is that selling OOAK items may be a poor business choice.  I learned on ebay a long time ago that it works much better for me if I am selling items that are variations on a theme (most of mine are craft items). Easy to package, people know what they are without a lot of description (not like clothing etc). and a pretty steady demand.  

As far as the 7.75 flag goes -- my math might be different. I have a Christmas widget that I can mail for under $3 (under 4 oz) that I sell for 8.99.  Cost is $1, fees are $2, so profit is about $3.  For something that literally I stick in an envelope and print the label -- that is a quick easy sale. and when I sell a bunch of them to one person or a bunch in one day it is easy money.  But that is partly because the amount of labor is negligible.  I list them in one big listing and sell a bunch around Christmas.   So low price items can be good sellers if you have multiples and if you bought them for a low price. And if shipping them is easy.  I wouldn't even bother if they were breakable or fragile.  But they are a nice little money maker for me!

[goldrushfinds]

How many times do I have to say that this is just an example. I have observed a much larger pool of sellers, over a much longer period of time and this is representative of what I have seen. You do understand the concept of polling, right. They take a relatively small representative sample to reflect overall trends. I am not that dim that I come to these conclusions on only that small sampling (it's an example).

[mr_lincoln]

@goldrushfinds   

This is a very good thread and topic BUT, without knowing what type items and categories it doesn't mean that much.  If we're talking clothing then its nothing new ...

I do however agree with you about something not being right based on our experience with one account that tanked within 6 weeks of the GTC mandate implemented in late March this year.  Going from averaging OVER 1 sale per day FOR 12 MONTHS down to 1 per week and maintaining that low level of sales for 3 months straight (yep 3 months straight averaging just over 1 sale per week) is NOT normal.

[goldrushfinds]

I understand your points. With regards to the flag example however, unless a person buys multiples, I just don't see a profit worth the time. I found a wholesaler for the exact flags, and if you buy 100 or more they are $2.50 a piece. Unless the sellers knows a cheaper source, that is $2.50 (cost), $4 shipping (which I think is low, as the flag measures 3' x 5', how light is the dang thing), approx. $1 ebay fees, and misc. 25 cents. That comes to a total of $7.75, or what the flag sold for. Maybe I am naive, but show me my faulty thinking.

[dhbookds]

I am just trying to see if it is a waste of time spending it here selling on Ebay.

Your criteria for defining a waste of time, may be entirely different from someone elses...  I can remember many posts in the early days that described stay at home Moms or other care givers who said Ebay was saving their sanity just because it gave them something to do for themselves and make a few bucks with.  I think that's probably still true today........Money is not the only reason people are here..

Likewise others may be satisfied with earning $50 a month or $5000........others might laugh at either of those.

Point being YOUR point of view matters to no one except yourself......there is no one on ebay who has to justify being here or explain their methods or reasons. 

If you want to know if it will work for you........try it, just like everyone else here has, if it doesn't meet your expectations....try somewhere else.  No one can assure you that anything you try anywhere is a sure thing.........

[goldrushfinds]

Understood. I didn't mean to demean anyone for selling on Ebay, no matter how much or little they make. I realize that for many it is a hobby or just a little extra spending money. I am sorry if I offended anyone in that regard. Sometimes I just need to vent a little when things are so slow. It does seem like the platform is heavily manipulated.

[dreambooks]

Ebay is definitely slow. It is a giants cyber Flea Market. Too many sellers; no enough buyers.

I wonder if it fares better than a physical flea market. Anyone sells at flea market? Is it better than Ebay?

[richard1rst]

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@goldrushfinds wrote:

I understand your points. With regards to the flag example however, unless a person buys multiples, I just don't see a profit worth the time. I found a wholesaler for the exact flags, and if you buy 100 or more they are $2.50 a piece. Unless the sellers knows a cheaper source, that is $2.50 (cost), $4 shipping (which I think is low, as the flag measures 3' x 5', how light is the dang thing), approx. $1 ebay fees, and misc. 25 cents. That comes to a total of $7.75, or what the flag sold for. Maybe I am naive, but show me my faulty thinking.

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Here and in an earlier thread you ask us to prove your figures wrong. OK

I buy 3' x 5' flags at $1.00 a piece in assorted lots. Yes, if I specify the design I will pay more but by simply buying 100 assorted I get a good and random mix. They are not silk but a light weight silky feeling material and, in a padded envelope that I get for free from eBay, they have a shipping weight of under 4 ounces. That makes domestic shipping $2.75-$3.00 depending on where they are going.

As an anchor store and a TRS+ seller my FVF on $7.75 is 64 cents. Add Paypal’s cut of 50 cents.

$7.75 - 0.64 - 0.50 - 3.00 - 1.00 = profit of $2.61. Pretty good mark up on a $1.00 purchase.

The flags already come in a clear plastic envelope so all I have to do is pick it up slide it in the envelope and slap on the sticker. 2-3 seconds of my time.

Now I know that $2.61 doesn’t sound like much but on 100 flags it is $261.00. Better? And even if half of them don't sell, since I am making a 2 1/2 time markup,  I have still gotten back way more than my initial investment of $100.00.

So let me tell you a story about Andrew Carnegie. He took over what eventually became U S Steel and was selling steel at a profit of a penny a ton (of course, in the late 1800’s a penny actually had some value). He went on to become a millionaire. One penny at a time.

On a more current time frame, I wonder how much Jeff Bezos made on those books he was selling out of his garage when he first started. Look at him now.

I get the feeling you have already negatively made up your mind. Yet you have 199 listings and in a 3 month period you appear to have sold 175. That is a tremendously successful turnover rate.

I still don’t see what your complaint is.

[membersinceaug2001]

The Mrs and I have about that many listings that are various and haven't sold anything today.  4 sales in a day would be great at this point in time.

Selling on here has been down, down, down for the last 12 years or so now.

[goldrushfinds]

Thanks for the accounting. I can see that with lots of trial and error, maneuvering and patience, you may be able to cobble together a profitable enterprise. For myself, I just don't know if I have the patience to keep sourcing, adapting and selling in such quantities to make a decent sum. I don't begrudge you for doing what works for you. Best of luck.

[goldrushfinds]

Down, down, down has been the trend for me as well. Even though my sell through rate is reasonable, when factoring in all the time spent sourcing, cleaning, photographing and shipping, it is just no longer fun for me. Additionally, there are still too many items that never sell, which I just hate.

[3eyedfishcatcher]

Oddly enough I got a message from eBay were they are boarder line hinting at sales plummeting and implying they are the cause however they were pushing items from drop shippers on their mobile app in return for eBay bucks.