Market v eBay

[sakic92710]

Looking forward to the flea market on Sunday to make some real cash instead of hoping & praying for any decent amount of sales on eBay!   1 sale today.  Marvelous!  Pretty pathetic when a 'busy' day' is 4-5 sales.   I have been getting several $100 at the FM in just 5-6 hours.  Lucky to get that in an entire week on here.  My online items are just as good, if not better, than what is at the market.  MILLIONS potential buyers here??  LOL!  Yet - I have better sales dealing with just 15-20 people.  Good luck to us all.   🙂

[fashunu4eeuh]

It can help to diversify sales outlets. However, multiple selling channels can be hard to juggle sometimes, which is why i don’t list the same items on eBay elsewhere too. Still, I find eBay the most lucrative for the kinds of items i prefer to list.

[katzrul15]

Good luck at the Flea!  Hopefully, sales are Red Hot!!

(Sorry...could not resist)

Sincerely hope it is a great sales day!

[coolections]

Maybe since Ebay is not for you just stick to flea markets ?

[sakic92710]

Good idea.   Only try to make sales 1 day a week.

[jayjaspersgarage]

I support and encourage a variety of selling methods.  Some people will snark about flea markets but they overlook the personal contacts and relationships that develop rather quickly with regular attendance.  If you have business cards with you ebay info they are a great handout at flea markets.  You don't have to sell to hand out cards while milling about.  The flea market I go to has up to 800 sellers, many that also sell in Pasadena, CA.  Combine the San Francisco Bay Area market and the Los Angeles basin and you might see 30,000 shoppers in a couple weekends.  

Having said that I like selling on-line after Halloween when the weather goes downhill and the garage sales slow way down until spring.  The Sunday fleas are hit and miss but ours usually goes strong until February.  

[jayjaspersgarage]

"It can help to diversify sales outlets. However, multiple selling channels can be hard to juggle sometimes, which is why i don’t list the same items on eBay elsewhere too. Still, I find eBay the most lucrative for the kinds of items i prefer to list."

I agree that double booking is not good practice.  With over 60,000 items in my inventory I have plenty of inventory to spread around.  The only time I would double book would be if I had an antique B&M store where I could have a dedicated ebay computer three feet from the cash register.  If someone bought an item off the shelf you could end the listing immediately.

[kensgiftshop]

I kind of miss flea markets.
I miss:
Loading up the vehicle.
Setting everything up.
20 to 30 mile winds blowing everything off the tables.
100 degree temps.
Packing everything up at the end of the day.
Unloading the vehicle.

[inhawaii]

Wow 700 listings and just 1 sale?  I would be bummed too.

I have 250-300 listings and i get bummed when i have a 1 sale day.

On the positive side, one  sale is better than no sales.

[this*old*attic]

😂 😆 😝 

[Anonymous]

Ken has it right, that's what you are forgetting.   Flea markets are a heck of a lot more work.   I have to load a 16ft box truck, I have to drive it to the flea market with it's 6MPG Diesel engine.   Then I have to unload it in the hot sun, setup canopy tents, and tables, and then setup my inventory.   It takes me an entire day.

I made $1400 last weekend doing this at Penns Cave which is one of the biggest in Pennsylvania.   I've made more than twice that on Ebay this week, and didn't have to unload or load anything, or setup anything.   All I had to do was pack it and ship it in a nice air conditioned buildings.

If you can make more at a weekend or day flea market than you can make on Ebay, you're not doing Ebay right.  

[inhawaii]

I haven't been to a flea market in years.

Do they still have those people (i think there's a name for them) that swarm a seller as soon as you pull up and park?  

[chapeau-noir]

---

@kensgiftshop wrote:

I kind of miss flea markets.
I miss:
Loading up the vehicle.
Setting everything up.
20 to 30 mile winds blowing everything off the tables.
100 degree temps.
Packing everything up at the end of the day.
Unloading the vehicle.

---

Around here there's also the rain, and leave us not forget trying to get to the loo when you're the only one manning the table!  Then that dull, dragging last 2 hours of the flea when nothing happens.

There are still the tables of tube socks here and there, too - Armageddon may happen, and what will survive will be cockroaches and tube socks.

[sakic92710]

I'm set up indoors.  Only need to pack up new items I may want to show & maybe bring home new buys for the 'net.   🙂

[sakic92710]

If it's just 1 sale but $200, then I'm good to go.   😛