Bigger fish to fry

[bill.purvis2012]

Sellers,  we have to navigate a rough road ahead in order to keep safe and still operate a small business.  I'm having to re-think my daily operations.  Sales are down right now due to the overwhelming changes being made with US employment and health regulations. So, I'm wanting to keep my business alive, but be cautious at the same time.  I can exercise social distancing while I do my daily tasks of shipping. But, it's not going to be possible to procure inventory without risks.  Stores, estate sales, etc. all have a risk and are closing doors at this time. How is it affecting you?   

[grandmasjewelry123]

Truthfully, there are so many back door shenanigans going on its hard to say, but fortunately I stocked up on inventory and saved for a rainy day.

[le-5262]

I'm too small beans to operate a store out of here.

I put my handling time to 30 days and am finding other stuff to occupy my time.

[mr_lincoln]

@bill.purvis2012   You kind of nailed one of the key issues, inventory acquisition.  With gatherings limited to 10 people and non-essential businesses closed it leaves few choices other then shopping online ...

So far our county has a low count of diagnosed cases ...

[mcdougle4248]

So far, standard operating procedures for me.  Due to the nature of my business (recycling), I always practice personal protection and thorough disinfecting.  I do expect sales to decline drastically because what I sell is not a neccessity.   

[dirk12955]

I could be wrong,   But in the short term I seriously doubt that there are going to be too many garage sales,   Yard sales,  or estate sales.      

Maybe when things calm down a little and we all reach a level of "Normalcy"   we'll see things loosen up.  

Fortunately I buy 100% of my inventory on eBay.    The only problem I'm having is my stuff that usually takes 9 days to get here for Europe,  Is more like 30-45 days.   

My sales are down about 80% from January and February.  

[tsme35]

Same here, I get my stuff from flea markets and yard sales, those all have been cancelled.  I've notice a lot more sellers on FB and CL that got off ebay, so prices are going up beyond buying and making a profit. Could be a killer for me, I sell fishing items and make about 60% of my income from March to July, even if this bug dies out in a couple weeks, it'll take months to recover from ppl being laid off or job loss, which could be past Sept.

[mementomoria]

I have a stock pile of inventory since all of the changes Ebay made have decreased my sales.

[sidgotiques]

I am just selling what I have. I do have small inventory of antiques and collectible. Due to our age, we are staying in except for groceries, doctor, drug store. Best of luck to all of us.

[nets4911]

I am having the same problem with securing new inventory.  I am keeping my store open with my existing inventory and hoping that buyers will purchase those items.  All businesses--big & small--are experiencing business halts or slowdowns. Just glad I do not depend on my Ebay sales as a primary source of income.  Savings and social security are a Godsend!  I'm hoping that in time, we all will be able to resume our search for new and old items to present for sale to our customers!  Stay well my fellow Ebayers!

[byrd69er]

I fully expect a slow down. I'd be foolish not to.

I went two days without a sale. Without my routine in support of those sales, I felt lost. I enjoy the process of getting stuff out the door. Even though I could have the USPS pickup my shipments, I take them to the PO myself. I enjoy the three mile ride to post office. I guess the best thing to do is to keep listing. I had two pricey sales today so people are buying. One is going to Japan. Maybe I'll be surprised at how much sells during all this.

[chapeau-noir]

I always keep a backlog because inventory acquisition here can be pretty sometimey, so I have that.  I'll take consignments but not much consigning going on.  Since this happened during transitional period in fashion (going from fall/winter to spring/summer) it has made it easier for me to get fresh stock out as I source for all seasons all year and have stocked already for the next couple of months.  After that, who knows.

But my computer items/sports equipment - I'm going to run out soon and there isn't any way to replenish that with things shut down.  So that will be an alteration. 

My philosophy is that I've prepared as well as I can, so will just take it a day at a time. 

One thing I'd like to mention - I remember the 2008 recession well, and one thing that invariably sold for me were 'smalls' - inexpensive 'feel good' items - they fit into a tight budget, but had the intangible value of giving pleasure to the individual and they were NOT something you could get on Amazon or Walmart.  Similarly, I was talking with one of the clerks at the local drug store who had put a display of various fancy soaps and the like at her till - they were on sale and very reasonably priced.  She said in tight times people like a little something to brighten their day, and this was one thing that did not cost a great deal, was useful, but gave pleasure - she was selling those soaps and suds like crazy.

[mcdougle4248]

@chapeau-noir 

Thank you!  Your comments about "inexpensive feel good items" gives me some hope.  I have picked up a lot of watchers this week (I usually don't have very many) on non Christmas specific ornaments, so maybe.... 

[chapeau-noir]

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@mcdougle4248 wrote:

@chapeau-noir 

Thank you!  Your comments about "inexpensive feel good items" gives me some hope.  I have picked up a lot of watchers this week (I usually don't have very many) on non Christmas specific ornaments, so maybe.... 

---

Your wares reminded me of that - they're exactly the kinds of things that are not real expensive, and very cool. They make a fun gift, are unique and hand-crafted.  I sold a lot of vintage smalls and books in 2008 and I think it was because of that.  Right now I've sold some DVDs - 8-10 hours of viewing pleasure for $12, $15, etc. - stuck at home and a lot of those shows aren't streamed.

Things like that I think will keep selling so it's good to look at what we've got and say "OK, I may not have necessities, but I do have pleasure and people could use a little pleasure."

[femmefan1946]

I have four banker's boxes of books to list and DH has promised me more philatelic material for another couple of accounts.

So I have time to get those up.

Sewing patterns are thrifted, and those shops have closed for the interim.

Since thrift stores commonly are used to raise money for their charities (not actually to provide cheap goods for The Deserving Poor) this is going to be tough on them.

A friend who manages a Food Bank has been reminding her FaceBook followers that Food Bank users are unable to afford stocking up in case they have to be quarantined and are more likely to get sick since many work in retail and other service jobs where their exposure to illness is higher than average.

My cleaning service called today to cancel their appointment which is understandable, but I worry that the cleaners are doing without a paycheque.

Fortunately, the Canadian government has changed the rules over unemployment payments, but March applications are already over 500,000. Last March saw only 23,000 applications. (Canada has a population slightly smaller than California.)