RANT, I read here of how bad everything is and no sales BUT

[slideshopper]

But of the 8 items  am currently bidding on I have been outbid on 7 items. I just placed a $250 dollar bid and 5 minutes later I was outbid.

I have been outbid in the last 60 days 34 times, with ending prices between $10 and $600.

Basically I am saying plenty of items are selling and alot are selling at a premium price. If your items aren't is it eBays fault? Or could it be a saturated low end market? Or a great item with a terrible title line?

Some people claim cloths are saturated, I say no it isn't. The top quality clothing is selling and I would say at a good price for both the buyer and seller. Just look at Mens Under Armour, it has close to a 65% sell through rate.

I know it's easy to blame somebody else (esp eBay) but it could be time to "Man Up" and admit you need to dump the **bleep** you are selling and/or to actually make a GREAT title line so you can be found.  Take great photos, write a description that doesn't JUST say look at the photos and then have 2 paragraphs of your TOS

I know I always try to do my best keeping with my market trends and am rewarded for it. How? WIth sales of course.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

I'm being outbid a lot too. In fact the clothing line I've been looking for (certain kind of Talbots pants) are gone as soon as they hit the market. 

Realistically I look at the listings of many clothing sellers and they're selling nameless brands. I can go to TJMaxx and buy similar items for much less money and get them new.

Once you add on the cost of shipping, much of the used clothing is not worth buying here. Plus then you get sellers complaining who are trying to sell shoes at 3-4 times the price they are selling at DSW or even Macy's on sale.

If you're listing "free" shipping with built in ship costs, you are pricing yourself out of the market. I recently paid $19 to ship 4 tank tops by FedEx SmartPost. It took forever but I ended up paying just over $10 per shirt. If you're adding that $19 into your fixed cost you will be way too much money, that included a multi item shipping discount.

I have spent thousands here already this year on clothing and vintage collectibles. Things are selling. If yours aren't you should reexamine what you are selling.

[nawlinsron2]

True...BUT...you are 1 out of 171M shoppers looking at what sounds like specialized items.
Ever taken a statistics course?

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

There's a lot of money changing hands. I think the problem is more that someone is one of millions of sellers selling used shorts, nothing to do with the buyers.

[slideshopper]

Ahh, well lets see. eBay is the best place to find specialized items. Think of it like this if I wanted someones old golf clubs I could go down to a local thrift shop and buy them cheaper than here and also get the feel of the club at the shop vs buying here.

If I was looking for a great (or as my Wife says, cute) outfit for My Granddaughter then I will look and mostly buy it here. Why ? Because where I live doesn't cater to the childrens market. BTW I just purchased an outfit for her here SIX bids. Remember clothing is "oversaturated" LOL . No, clothing is oversaturated in segments as the other poster stated.

I firmly beleive if you are selling something the buyer can easily go down to Walmart/Target/ or anywhere else and buy new you had better be prepared to struggle. Frankly I have no desire to struggle and don't deal with that line.

And BTW one item I was bidding on went from $9 to close at $385 since I originally posted this

eBay item number:

192539079512

[percgrabbe-0]

Dont worry no one is scamming people in anonymous auctions. 

Sellers aren shill bidding using fake accounts on their own items.

You just dont know what youre doing.

[slideshopper]

LMAO

[lex-talon]

I won an auction not too long ago. You win and you lose some, as the saying goes.

There are plenty of threads about sellers claiming ebay is at fault for their low sales. Usually it's the sellers fault. Inexperience, ineptness and an unwillingness to change things around.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Sometimes they're experienced sellers who don't want to acknowledge that the entire online selling market has changed. Sellers who used to be able to sell shoes or clothing for five times the price of the outlet stores like TJMaxx and Nordstrom Rack.

Why would I buy overpriced shoes here and deal with seller angst when I can buy the same pair for less money on DSW and return to the store if it doesn't fit?

[slideshopper]

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@lex-talon wrote:

I won an auction not too long ago. You win and you lose some, as the saying goes.

There are plenty of threads about sellers claiming ebay is at fault for their low sales. Usually it's the sellers fault. Inexperience, ineptness and an unwillingness to change things around.

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Hey, LX ,

I am not complaining about losing the auctions, I expect to lose about 50% of my bids. It is just all the whining on these boards. If sellers aren't willing to learn and adapt then they are doomed.

I didn't start out selling what I do now back in 98, I had to adjust and learn to stay relevant and successful

[tahoe-sports]

I work for an online mega retailer.

All I can say is they are sending shifts home early on days and nights at our warehouses because there's no work.  The backlog on orders was only 20,000 per facility which does not justify a full shift.  You need to have enough orders in the system so that the pickers are picking items close to each other or they waste time walking farther and farther between bins.  The company has already announced that the warehoused will be closed on Memorial Day making that a short week. Employees have been offered three days off unpaid and no one is getting overtime.

It's not just ebay.

[emerald40]

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

There's a lot of money changing hands. I think the problem is more that someone is one of millions of sellers selling used shorts, nothing to do with the buyers.

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I also spend a lot here.  And for the items I buy there is fierce competition.

But of course I buy scarce items, not ones you can find in every strip mall, often new and at cheaper prices.

As far as high end clothes, we have a store called Cohoes, who has all that designer stuff, new, and cheaper than many are asking here on ebay.

Same with all that designer sneakers.  We have Bob's, and prices are much more reasonable.

As far as the rest, not sure about anyone else, but I would rather by new, even if it is from Walmart,

[orangehound]

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@tahoe-sports wrote:

I work for an online mega retailer.

All I can say is they are sending shifts home early on days and nights at our warehouses because there's no work.  The backlog on orders was only 20,000 per facility which does not justify a full shift.  You need to have enough orders in the system so that the pickers are picking items close to each other or they waste time walking farther and farther between bins.  The company has already announced that the warehoused will be closed on Memorial Day making that a short week. Employees have been offered three days off unpaid and no one is getting overtime.

It's not just ebay.

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Brace yourself for lots of sellers telling you that you are wrong and it is all eBay's fault.  Your information does not confirm their bias.

[tahoe-sports]

I would add that the smart people around the office are saying that rising housing and fuel prices and a tired consumer are part of the problem.  We sell womens and childrens items.  We rely on consumers having discretionary income.  If increased rent, housing, and fuel are taking up more of the consumers income, there's less left over for houshold purchases.

Our projected seasonal hiring suggests it may be quiet until August.

[chrysylys]

I don't care about brands or what anybody else wants or thinks is 'trendy'.  I care about what I want.  And I'm having touble finding it for any number of reasons.  When listings appear in my searches though, they don't last long, even if they're priced higher than I will pay or think the item will sell for.  They're usually gone within a day or two.