Main Reasons eBay Businesses Fail?

[back-spin]

What would you say are some of the main reasons eBay businesses fail? You can break them down into top 10 if you want. 

I think this type of info can help people to learn what to avoid doing. 

[turquoisetulips]

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@back-spin wrote:

What would you say are some of the main reasons eBay businesses fail?  OP

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To quote ,, by putting all your eggs into just one basket . Not  branching  out with venues  that understand the importance of advertising . 3rd ,,, poor descriptions ,, if it has a size and color  then  add it .  Tulips 

[turquoisetulips]

lol...........the one thing that IS Guaranteed on ebay is change......... dhbooks 

It's good to know its not just death and taxes anymore . Tulips 

[rixstuff]

You say that you start items at $1.  Maybe at some point you admit that you just aren't making enough money starting super low and not getting oodles of bidders to raise the price.  My minimum is $5 and those are only on items I absolutely no longer care about.  Everything else is the same price across the board on every other site.  I also put slow movers into lots, take offers, and some items I retire them for a few months and try again in a different season.  I don't make enough to buy a house but I also don't complain about not making any money.  Everything sells eventually.

[zamo-zuan]

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@dhbookds wrote:

Until eBay starts paying attention to the concerns being voiced over and over, nothing will change ...

lol...........the one thing that IS Guaranteed on ebay is change.........

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Sadly that "change" is usually doubling down on ideas that did not work out too well the first time. Like the catalog changes, search changes, penalties/FVF increase for returns, and everything about the site design emulating Amazon just at higher costs for the same offerings.

[peter-green]

R you make a valid point
I have been on a downhill slide since my best year in 2011
times used to be great for me

my buisness model depends upon doing the same amount of work day in day out
year after year.next year I will sell 2400 pieces..i need to....

I do not know any other way for me to make money.

I sell in a small niche and specialize in a super niche.
I struggle every day trying to list better stuff,
what I sell is used,its used when I get it.

Just this morning one of my regulars said he was trying to get 6 more of my pieces

he told me the newbies are bidding my stuff way too high

I get hundreds of hits on my stuff,i would guess I average maybe 5000 hits a week
not sure how its really figured but on sundays,
I always get a few items with views of 500-700

this year has also been a struggle
the year started out at 1000 a day...........that was my new goal
i could not sustain it and am down to 700 a day

I was much happier at 1000 a day since I like round numbers

my average selling price is about $90 dollars
in order for me to get back to 1000 a day I need to sell 175 pieces each month for $175

I have been selling the same number of units year to year to year

I like to think it depends exactly on the quality of the items I am selling

not the number of them........$20,000 a month must seem nice but I struggle to make it happen
I know many people who do 100,000 a month

I am happy for them
wish it was me but its not
.....who`s having more fun.....
I am a one man band and woud not have it any other way

[mam98031]

The Gross amount that you sell in a day really isn't the number to be monitoring or nor should it be your goal.  You need to look at what your net is on the items you sell.  

Depending on the costs you have involved with each item and what price the market will allow will determine what your net will be.  

Selling $20,000 a month gross sounds terrific but if your net is 10% of that, maybe there are other things you can sell that you have less costs involved in them.  So you just can't go by the Gross sales.  All that tells you is what your Gross sales are.  It doesn't tell you how much you've actually earned from those sales and that is the number that needs to drive you and the inventory you decide to sell.

[bluebottlegirlresale]

Thank you

[vintagecraze50]

TOO MUCH STUFF in categories. Buyers cannot find what they really want. Buyers get frustrated bored with going through 10,000 listings looking for a particular item and walk away. 

Poor advertising and search results in Google.

A computer program that is so inundated with code that every time they update something something is bound to crash.

Current focus on stock prices and recouping money at the expense of fixing the site and advertising.

Just speculating.

[vintagecraze50]

I am in managed Payments and I see no preferential treatment whatsoever. Promoted listings get the most preferential treatment I would assume.

[soh.maryl]

IMHO, the main reason that sellers fail is fairly simple:  They are so overtaken by eBay's statement of how easy it is to sell here, they do not read anything in the Seller Center nor do they read the Discussion Boards.

We see sellers who ask what to do -- the item sold and it's "What do I do now?"

We see sellers who wait for months to be paid.

We see sellers who list with "No Returns" and genuinely believe they can enforce that when a buyer opens an NAD case.

We see sellers who ship immediately without making sure they were paid.

This list could go on and on and is basically because sellers do not educate themselves before launching their selling career.  

[monster-deals]

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@back-spin wrote:

What would you say are some of the main reasons eBay businesses fail? You can break them down into top 10 if you want. 

I think this type of info can help people to learn what to avoid doing. 

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#1 Trying to sell things made in China sold by Chinese ebay users to US based customers thinking they can make money...spending the time they could be using to source better products complaining here about how they can't compete when they never should have been doing it in the first place.

[turquoisetulips]

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@back-spin wrote:

What would you say are some of the main reasons eBay businesses fail? You can break them down into top 10 if you want. 

I think this type of info can help people to learn what to avoid doing. OP  

Businesses fail when sellers  neglect to check competitors pricing .Savvy buyers aren't going to pay 50 dollars for the exact  same thing they can get for 40  from someone else .It helps to  check   the advanced sold section  and see what items like they have in the same condition   actually  sold for . This will enable them to price their items correctly . Sellers also need to stay constantly  updated   on the neverending price hikes for shipping . You'll go out of business pretty quickly when it costs more to ship  than the amount you  actually made .   Never neglect to consider the cost of shipping materials  and make sure to include those costs  when setting the price . And lastly  ,, keep an eye on the latest trends and choose items for resale that are currently popular . Tulips 

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[turquoisetulips]

• How many sellers have been nickle and dimed to death by eBay's constant pursuit of fees?
• How many sellers have been harmed by eBay's so called glitches and bugs that only ever seem to work out in eBay's favor? albany -sellers 

Bingo - all that too ..  Tulips 

[mam98031]

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@vintagecraze50 wrote:

I am in managed Payments and I see no preferential treatment whatsoever. Promoted listings get the most preferential treatment I would assume.

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@vintagecraze50 

Since this is an older thread, you'd need to refresh my memory.  When did I say taht MP gets "preferential treatment"?  That doesn't sound like anything I'd say. 

And yes Promoted listings are at the top of search returns.  Again I don't remember saying any differently.

[papermoneyforme]

When Ebay acts like a God, treats buyers like Gods, sellers are fighting a losing battle.