Regards,
@timemachine777 wrote: Very important word..."Had".
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You are probably right but we've done well with collectibles ... seems to still be a market for certain things.
@yuzuha wrote: Some things simply sell better locally/on specialty sites. I have one particular site that gets almost all of my merchandise from a particular series of video games before I ever bring it here simply because it's a site for fans of that series, so it's easy to sell things quickly there when you're showcasing them to people who are guaranteed to be interested. I preordered a box of keychains the other day (I only wanted one out of the box of nine) and put up an interest list for the other eight-- six of them were claimed within half an hour of me posting. I could sell them here, sure, but it would take longer. It makes more sense for me to put them up where I know there will be interest right away.
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I think you just describe the full time online sales entrepreneur ... seeing opportunity with merchandise on venues where they have the best chance to sell and optimizing the sell through rate on vaious lots. I think that may be the wave of the future ...
So the venues that make it easier to sell on will probably grow where those who have too many rules and regulations will eventually be surpassed.
@yuzuha wrote: I agree. And it takes a lot of work! I have a friend who makes a full-time living off Etsy, but she spends a huge amount of time promoting her stuff on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest) and attending craft shows to showcase her goods. She doesn't just list things and sit back and wait for them to sell; she's out there constantly promoting and drumming up interest and showcasing what she makes. I'd say she spends just as much time promoting her stuff as she does actually making it. But it's paid off in a big way, because like I said, she's able to make a living off it.
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A lot of work does not surprise me ... there should however be a better advertising method then the ones you mentioned. Those to me would take a lot of time (we're not on any of them). I don't look at collectibles on eBay as something that requires a lot of advertising because they are things people are looking for and people spend their time searching for them. I think advertising is probably good in saturated categories where competition is stiff.
@luckythewinner wrote: The best way to compete against big box stores is to either (a) not sell things that big box stores offer, or (b) have a significantly better price.
Let's review: The best way to compete against big box stores is to either (a) not sell things that big box stores offer, or (b) have a significantly better price.
And just to make it crystal clear: The best way to compete against big box stores is to either (a) not sell things that big box stores offer, or (b) have a significantly better price.
@premiumgiant Now THAT reply with that type of volume really speaks to the fact that there IS an eBay issue. And NO, its not because of the NBA playoffs because the suffering IDs here started about 2 months ago. What a ridiculousy stupid thing to tell a professional who knows their business, right!?!
The one ID sold one item all weekend so far with several hours left in the day. That account was averaging 32 sales per month on vintage and collectible items ... thus far 9 ... do the math and even with 8 days remaining in the month I think it will be hard pressed to get to half of the normal sales volume.
When I first started reading about throttling and other manipulation I was skeptical but through my own experience on several accounts I am pretty confident that something is being done or not being done to promote more sales on the site.
@tunicaslot wrote:I have 2 selling accts - only one with a store - the non store only gets a sale once every couple of months if I'm lucky - but I don't put the time into that that I do the store. The store had 1 sale all weekend - and that was an auction that just ended - yet I've had sales on another venue with 1/5 of what I have listed here - so I do believe the algorithms changed again. Then again - checking a few of my items on another browser - and not logged in to any acct - those items checked have good placement - maybe the buyers of my items are just shopping elsewhere.
I think that it goes a little deeper then just the algorithms ... I think it extends to accounts as well and takes into account different bits of info to determine if the ID Account items get shown or not, meaning they don't simply block categories they simply block the entire account from having anything displayed for a time. It could be that it is being done during prime buying times then other times. They know when most Buyers are logged on shopping, don't ever think that they don't ...
