Profitable?

[allthings-collectible]

Before I begin, let me first acknowledge those of you who have been unaffected by all the glitches, all the down time, and all the effects of eBay's "exciting new features!", that we've experienced in the last 6-months or so. In fact, you may even be unaffected by our slumping economy. If that describes you, then congratulations! Does this mean that you have achieved some kind of eBay seller "guru" status? Well, um....nope. Because if anyone followed your advice, then they would see their sales normalize, improve, or maybe even increase right? Unfortunately, that ain't happenin'.

So, if in fact your sales are normal or even increasing, great, but you cannot expect that the majority of sellers represented here are less experienced or doing it all wrong. As a 24-yr seller, I've endured countless changes, including policy & platform changes, buying trends, changing market values, 2008, and I sold a few things along the way. But this year is significantly different, especially as a "for-profit" business. The numbers speak for themselves.

In fact, below you will see the YTD sales data from one of my stores. What do notice? Anything stand out to you?

 

 

[allthings-collectible]

True. There is an increase in shipping labels, but it only accounts for about 5% for me. The one thing that I should have done BEFORE using PL is change all my listings from free shipping to a flat rate, and eliminate free altogether. By not doing it, eBay took more of the slice. For this store alone, I estimate that I'll expect to pay eBay an extra $10,000+ for the same amount of sales year over year.

Of course, that's their objective. However, if I didn't own everything straight out, I would be rethinking my business model 😞

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@allthings-collectible I see nothing condescending or apathetic about chapeau-noir's post....nor do I see you attempting to contradict it. She is taking a broader view of the matter, and one that strikes me as wholly accurate: The seller space is indeed over-crowded, in part thanks to so many sellers starting up during covid, and in part due to the changing nature of the workplace, with more people, especially young people, feeling a need for "side hustles" or even full time self employment in the selling space. Not only are there more sellers, there are more places to sell, both on and off-line. The competition, whether one looks at sourcing or selling, is enormous, and neither sellers themselves nor seller venues are immune from the impact of that competition. 

Her comments about the buying public are spot on as well. Not only must we deal with changing tastes in terms of what people want to buy (which, thanks in part to the internet, often change more rapidly than in the past), but changing buyer expectations around the buying experience (delivery speed, returns, price points, etc)  

All of these changes mean selling, particularly reselling, which is what many on this Board do, is subject to greater challenges than before (again, for both sellers and their venues), but also, more opportunities if one can adapt quickly enough. These changes also mean that , more than ever before, what works for one seller might not work for another seller. 

None of this is to say ebay is doing everything right, or that everything is great here. It's simply recognition of the broader reality. As sellers, we need to ensure our expectations are in line with that reality, and not based on "Well, this used to work". 

[luckythewinner]

Does this mean that you have achieved some kind of eBay seller "guru" status? Well, um....nope.

Does this mean a seller who has been affected has achieved some kind of "I know what is wrong with eBay" guru status?  Well, um ... nope.

[allthings-collectible]

You may have misunderstood. This isn't about "what is wrong with eBay". I think that has been thoroughly established, especially if you've been on here long enough for contrast. My post is entirely focused on the reality of what eBay has become, what it means for sellers, and what strategies are needed to survive. 😉

[monica-sells]

Your post got me thinking, so I had to do a similar comparison, using the more thorough/accurate report.

In the case of this one account the trend looks pretty good, and the year-to-year is similar.

The report you used for your initial comparison is misleading to a certain degree (lumping shipping in with fees, etc....)

The real number in that report are the breakdown lower on the page.....

Here are my findings for this one account (this was fun)

(the $115.00 Shipping was a one-time charge through ebay international shipping labels) which then makes the 'real' expenses (fees) number is 698.54, which is actually less than the comparable 2022 period.....

Now, if I assemebled my shipping costs for these 2 periods, I suspect they would be higher in 2023, but for the sake of comparison, I will present it this way....

[allthings-collectible]

Although I appreciate your need to defend chapeau-noir's response, I can't help but notice that you are also very careful of your criticism of eBay. Diluting eBay's current choices with broad realities doesn't cut it for me personally. Over-crowded seller space, changing nature of the workplace, changing seller demographics are all related forces of retail in general. The same can and was said of Sears, K-Mart, Toys-R-Us, J. C. Penney etc. But, what happened to them? Well, they too tried to make changes to keep them afloat during desperate times but their demise was bankruptcy. Obviously, they made mistakes and sank.  That is why its imperative for sellers like us to carefully inspect the ship. 🙂

[coolections]

You really need to learn that as you sell things numbers drop and as you add things "people want and at the right price" numbers go up. Nothing is ever constant. It has noting to do with your speculations.

[allthings-collectible]

..."Nothing is ever constant."

Well, that about covers it.... goodnight everyone!

[luckythewinner]

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@allthings-collectible wrote:

You may have misunderstood. This isn't about "what is wrong with eBay". I think that has been thoroughly established, especially if you've been on here long enough for contrast. My post is entirely focused on the reality of what eBay has become, what it means for sellers, and what strategies are needed to survive. 😉

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Okay, so you can substitute " what strategies are needed to survive" for "what is wrong with eBay". I still stand by my point.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@allthings-collectible  One of your "solutions" as I understand it, is for sellers to go "multi channel". Did you know chapeau has been multi channel for YEARS? So, really, you're a little late to the multi channel party

Many sellers who are doing well on ebay are also multi channel. My observation has been there are sellers who become unhappy with their existing channel (ebay or elsewhere) and choose a multi channel strategy. And there are sellers who are happy enough with their existing channel, but see multi channel selling as a way to expand their reach, in short, as a business opportunity, and so they choose a multi channel strategy as well. Two different reasons, but they end up at the same place. And their multi channel success will depend on their ability to keep more than one channel going at the same time....some sellers find this nearly impossible, others find it isn't all that hard (and of course, some use third party tools to help them)

I have been plenty critical of ebay, and continue to be. I am not multi channel at present, but expect I will be eventually...but I want to be better organized before that happens. 

I think ebay's insistence on its Focus Category strategy is too narrow, and I think it has become overly reliant on the ads part of the business. I think there is much more ebay could do to improve selling on the site, and see few, if any, signs that ebay is headed in a  direction I would prefer. But I also recognize ebay is just one small part of a much greater ecommerce system, and believe its important to recognize the greater forces at play as well. That's not "diluting" anything, that's accepting reality. 

Sellers have different goals, different business models, etc. Each seller must ultimately decide what is best for that seller. I have never said differently. I am always in favor of looking at new strategies, new options, etc. Whether one does that because the current one isn't working as one wishes, or whether one does that because it is working well, and so expansion can be done while maintaining a strong existing foundation....either way, there are options.

[allthings-collectible]

You can read into this all you want to, but it's quite clear that I never suggested a "solution" to anybody other than sharing my personal efforts. What you and others do is non of my business. I just used my data to show my costs and profitability in contrast with the year before. I'm hoping that others do the same so they can develop their own survival strategies amid rocketing "eBay" costs.  🙂

[greatmidwestcoin]

The fact remains that from what I see you have currently for sale, your sales and profit will continue to decline. This type of material, "old stuff" has been declining rapidly for many years. Why? #1. Old people, or those who appreciated this material, are dying off every second of every day.  #2. There are VERY FEW new people to replace the people in #1. No one needs a line chart to tell them this fact. Everyone selling this stuff realized that years ago. Bottom line? It will never return to the way it use to be.  Good luck!

[greatmidwestcoin]

You should be the speechwriter for the President. Very good. I am not stating anything against the current POTUS as I try not to deal with politics. I will state ANY POTUS to keep the post from hitting a concrete wall.

[greatmidwestcoin]

Some regulars here love to OVER analyze and make assumptions.  I'm guessing they were a shrink in a previous life.

[fern*wood]

Why post and then criticize others that don't just repeat your talking points?   Maybe listening to different viewpoints could help.  Even if they don't, why waste time just critiquing others?