after July

[keziak]

I've been pretty grateful to Ebay for offering so many free FP listings until July 31, more than I could possibly use. That plus the 200 free auctions has meant I am able to save money by lowering my store subscription level. This has helped offset the rent of a storage unit I got.

I am glad this all lasts though July.  I do wonder if ebay will figure everything is back to normal by August for most sellers and no need for a hand up.

As a book seller I will still have much fewer sources of inventory than usual. I've had to invest a whole lot of money upfront for inventory, versus selling on commission and only paying when stuff sells. That commission is with a library and they are being very cautious about reopening. It's totally unclear when they will really reopen and take in donations. I was told staff do not want to interact with the public more than absolutely necessary though they will start allowing people to enter based on limited appointments. That might be as good as it gets in the absence of a vaccine.

The thrifts did reopen - briefly - but now are closed again because of being buried in donations.  I wonder why they don't just have the retain stores open to start selling off all the stuff? They are not good for books though.

[mam98031]

Only time will tell.  You and I just have to be patient and wait and see if they follow it up with something else.

[disneyshopper]

Disneyland had announced they were reopening on July 17th, but has since decided to postpone reopening.  That's where I purchase the merchandise I list here, so I too, am limited in replenishing merchandise.  ☹️

[myboardid]

RE: buying inventory and paying up-front, and paying rent - welcome to the real world of business.

[keziak]

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@myboardid wrote:

RE: buying inventory and paying up-front, and paying rent - welcome to the real world of business.

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I always paid up front for inventory sourced at library and church sales (now suspended for who knows  how long?). The difference is in the volume.  One thing about buying material up front, I do not pay a steep commission when the stuff sells. Also, I've sourced interesting material. So there is something of a silver lining going on. My friend refuses to invest in inventory and is pinning her hopes on the libraries reopening at least to the extent that you can buy from branch shops. I can't imagine them mounting the big and super-crowded library booksales with any amount of virus around.

[chapeau-noir]

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@keziak wrote:

I've been pretty grateful to Ebay for offering so many free FP listings until July 31, more than I could possibly use. That plus the 200 free auctions has meant I am able to save money by lowering my store subscription level. This has helped offset the rent of a storage unit I got.

I am glad this all lasts though July.  I do wonder if ebay will figure everything is back to normal by August for most sellers and no need for a hand up.

As a book seller I will still have much fewer sources of inventory than usual. I've had to invest a whole lot of money upfront for inventory, versus selling on commission and only paying when stuff sells. That commission is with a library and they are being very cautious about reopening. It's totally unclear when they will really reopen and take in donations. I was told staff do not want to interact with the public more than absolutely necessary though they will start allowing people to enter based on limited appointments. That might be as good as it gets in the absence of a vaccine.

The thrifts did reopen - briefly - but now are closed again because of being buried in donations.  I wonder why they don't just have the retain stores open to start selling off all the stuff? They are not good for books though.

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The donations have to be sorted, priced and room made to put them out.  Also too many people DONATE OBVIOUS RUBBISH that belongs in the dump, which costs time, trouble AND money for the thrift in having to have it hauled off.  So it's a game of catch-up.

[luckythewinner]

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@keziak wrote:

The thrifts did reopen - briefly - but now are closed again because of being buried in donations. 

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Are you sure that is the reason they closed? The thrift stores around here are open, they just stop taking donations when they have as much as they can handle. 

[upgradedendmills]

Your focus on freebies and upfront costs is probably hurting your business.

[keziak]

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@upgradedendmills wrote:

Your focus on freebies and upfront costs is probably hurting your business.

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That may well be. Since I started investing heavily in inventory (basically once the library closed due to covid) I have mounded up inventory and am doing much better on both Amazon and ebay.  As for freebies, I like them as much as the next person on ebay which is to say a lot. I will upgrade to a Premium store again unless ebay extends it's current free listings. I"ll be back to paying 15 cents for auctions again.

[kathieskorner]

No telling what eBay will do, so I'm getting ready to consolidate some of my unsold listings into lots for July/August.   I still have untapped tubs of inventory in the garage so inventory is not a problem for me. 

The thrifts have re-opened around here - the racks and the shelves have been full, but their prices have gone up.  Instead of making a weekly trip to my favorites - I am only visiting one every week or two. 

[reallynicestamps]

This account does some auction buying, and philatelic auctions work perfectly for online only.  Our family auction just had its first "limited viewing / all online" sessions. Which went very well-- and consider that our clientele is over fifty and often over 80. Computer use is normal for the elderly nowadays.

A few thrift stores have opened here, which are my source for other products on other IDs. But the big annual booksale which fills a curling rink for three days in May has been cancelled and may not happen this year at all. My bookshelves are looking a bit thin.

The thrifts have moved to single depot for donations, rather than taking them at every location, but they were moving that way anyhow.