08-04-2020 10:59 AM - edited 08-04-2020 11:00 AM
One of my previous posts sparked this question I have. Do you "advertise" yourself as an ebay seller to everyone and anyone around you?
08-04-2020 11:09 AM
Most 'close' friends and family know that I sell here. I custom build items that nobody else does and net about $50k (50% of sales), This is part time around a full time 'day' job. if I had enough sales to work 8 hrs a day, well, basically the business does $100 an hour- so you can do the math.
But if I were simply 'buying' and 'reselling' something, it still would not be a secret that I make a living selling here. I will actually add 'buy/resell' to my arsenal when I retire from my day job next year.
I remember 30 years ago, I was doing construction side jobs, and did a job in a new housing tract for a guy that was a Mgr at a big box retail chain. I thought to myself, 'you can make enough $ working there to buy a new house? 2 years later, I also worked for that same company.
08-04-2020 11:14 AM
Very few people know i do ebay. I like it like that...
08-04-2020 11:16 AM
"Advertise?" No.
08-04-2020 11:16 AM
Only if asked.
It is really not hard to see who are dealers, when around sales locations eBay find items.
08-04-2020 11:19 AM - edited 08-04-2020 11:21 AM
@mtgraves7984 wrote:"Advertise?" No.
Well by that I also include just answering people when they ask what do you do. "I sell on ebay" or "I sell personal submarines on ebay".
I've told people only if asked too. But sometimes it opens up a conversational can of worms I don't really care to dive into at those moments. But I can say I've gotten so many people ask for my link and say they want to purchase this or purchase that from me. So far no one has followed thru with it.
08-04-2020 11:23 AM - edited 08-04-2020 11:24 AM
@bigdeals.etc wrote:
@mtgraves7984 wrote:"Advertise?" No.
Well by that I also include just answering people when they ask what do you do. "I sell on ebay" or "I sell personal submarines on ebay".
If someone asks what I do and I feel like sharing that with them... sure. I say I sell on eBay.
My family, close friends and my mail carrier know that I do. I never consign... that's what I don't 'advertise'.
08-04-2020 11:26 AM
I just say the truth: "online sales" - eBay is only one venue, anyway.
08-04-2020 11:27 AM
Do you "advertise" yourself as an ebay seller to everyone and anyone around you?
Absolutely not. Most of my family know - they are also occasional eBay sellers. And the folks at the post office who see me every other day. But that's it.
08-04-2020 11:34 AM
I really don't want to hear buyer stories about having had negative experiences when shopping on ebay
08-04-2020 11:39 AM
08-04-2020 11:42 AM
When asked "what do you do?" I reply "I sell "stuff" online".
I sell in a niche, only a few people I know or meet have any interest in that niche. If I encounter someone who might be one of those interested I would be more specific and point them to my user id and suggest they have a look.
Given what you sell it's a lot more likely that anyone you meet could be a potential customer.
08-04-2020 11:47 AM
You couldn't walk in my house without knowing. Most people like it, some come over to Christmas shop for their gifts, most people are either either not interested or jealous.
08-04-2020 12:08 PM - edited 08-04-2020 12:09 PM
@slippinjimmy wrote:
Given what you sell it's a lot more likely that anyone you meet could be a potential customer.
Yea, but no one near me really does buy from me. Aside from looking for handouts or huge at-cost discounts... none of them has come to me as an actual buyer. I guess there's an allure of buying from an impersonal online seller who you imagine to be a big business or company versus someone they know well running out of their own house, garage, or closet.
Perhaps people think being personal is inversely proportional to being professional and the two don't mix. Which I don't mind because doing business with strangers is much more preferable.
08-04-2020 01:33 PM
I have very little human contact outside family. (Yes, I like it that way.) My mail ladies know I sell here. To everyone else I'm just that farmer lady on the corner with the ginormous garden and a bunch of dogs.
Now... back when I had my candle business I advertised all over the place.