eBay

keziak · ‎03-15-2022

I took myself off "vacation" here and on Amazon because I feel up to it after surgery. I have help to get the packages to the P.O. Due to weight restrictions unless I can find light items, auctions are off the table for the next few weeks. Books/AV = heavy boxes. In a way it's a preview of retirement when I expect to end auctions to a large degree. I don't really sell a whole lot of single books from my store.

If you don't run auctions how do you make much here? Large inventory in your store? Items in lots in your store, just not at auction? I see zillions of lots sold at Fixed Price and I always wonder if the sellers have a warehouse to store the stuff until it sells.

shado-x · ‎03-15-2022

If you don't run auctions how do you make much here?

I run auctions to push cash flow forward. Always look at what is in demand, and check your capital costs (the lower capital costs, the more in income). If you need exercise, ship those big boxes, there is always a positive in every sale.

evry1nositswindy · ‎03-15-2022

Where are your books stored? List a few at a time if it involves going up and down stairs or moving storage bins. If you sell a book, you would package and lift one book.

I have all of my books on shelves in my house. All are fixed price because with a store, they charge me to run an auction, and I won't pay anymore in fees than I have to.

Glad you're feeling better!

evry1nositswindy • seller since 2013
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luckythewinner · ‎03-15-2022

@keziak wrote:
I took myself off "vacation" here and on Amazon because I feel up to it after surgery. I have help to get the packages to the P.O. Due to weight restrictions unless I can find light items, auctions are off the table for the next few weeks. Books/AV = heavy boxes. In a way it's a preview of retirement when I expect to end auctions to a large degree. I don't really sell a whole lot of single books from my store.

If you don't run auctions how do you make much here? Large inventory in your store? Items in lots in your store, just not at auction? I see zillions of lots sold at Fixed Price and I always wonder if the sellers have a warehouse to store the stuff until it sells.

I guess I am just confused by your post.

Due to weight restrictions unless I can find light items, auctions are off the table

What is the connection between the weight of an item and the listing format? Light items can be sold at auction or fixed price. Ditto for heavy items. What you seem to be saying is "heavy items are off the table".

If you don't run auctions how do you make much here?

What is the connection between "making money" and the listing format? An auction that ends at $10 makes the same money as a fixed price listing that sells at $10.

Large inventory in your store?

What is the connection between inventory size and the listing format? 1000 books at auction take up the same space as 1000 books at fixed price.

keziak · ‎03-15-2022

Sorry to be inarticulate. When I refer to not running auctions right now is because except for rare cases I end up with heavy boxes of lotted up books and AV. I'm going to try to beat the bushes to see if I can find enough light-weight items to make up a lot worth listing and end up in a box light enough to handle.

Given my track record I think that if I gave up auctions permanently it will be bye-bye ebay but this makes me curious about how sellers who do not run auctions make a satisfactory profit here. I think my problem may be that single-item books and AV don't sell here compared to on Amazon. I can tell that many sellers get good sales for their lots at fixed price but I wonder where they store them until they sell. I personally do not have the space so that is why I auction most lots.

hkfever456 · ‎03-15-2022

if i were you i would lower your prices and try to bundle some stuff up. your prices are a little high in a market where gas and groceries are more important than luxury items. If you bundle then you can get rid of several things. i see you have some comic books. if you have the time, look through your stuff and see if anything is desirable. If it is, then bundle it with other books that are hard to move and that way the buyer gets the book they want and you get rid of more stuff, but the price has to be worth it for both parties.

If you want to do auctions just bundle stuff together. Let the buyer truly set the price. that way you can control when the auction ends and maybe try to calculate when the buyer will pay so you know when to hit the post office if mobility is an issue.

bearswatching · ‎03-15-2022

Will your carrier not pick up outgoing mail at your door? I thought that service was offered everywhere?

yuzuha · ‎03-15-2022

@keziak wrote:
Given my track record I think that if I gave up auctions permanently it will be bye-bye ebay but this makes me curious about how sellers who do not run auctions make a satisfactory profit here.

By focusing on items that tend to have a fairly rapid turnover rate. I may win multiple new crane game prizes per month, but they also sell steadily, so I'm shipping them out just about as quickly as I'm bringing them in. My actual net inventory increase works out to be close to zero in that sense.

silverstatetreasureboxes · ‎03-15-2022

@yuzuha

I gotta ask, those crane games are those the novelty prize vending machines one sees at Wal-Mart? Just curious.

jewelbiz · ‎03-15-2022

I live in a New York City apartment with book shelves and book cases neatly stacked up to the ceilings some 3 deep in all my rooms. Maybe I figure 10,000 books. But I love them & I’m not even a full time book dealer…

yuzuha · ‎03-15-2022

@silverstatetreasureboxes wrote:
@yuzuha
I gotta ask, those crane games are those the novelty prize vending machines one sees at Wal-Mart? Just curious.

Japanese ones! Unlike the US ones, they aren't rigged, and they're skill-based rather than luck-based. With practice and experience you can win a lot, and these days there are a whole lot of crane game apps that ship you whatever prizes you win via the app. I play about seven different apps so between all of them I usually have a pretty steady stream of prizes coming in.

That figure I sold just a little while back for $50 was a prize, for example. Same with the $35 Twisted Wonderland one and the $30 Re:Zero one. Cost me a total of maybe $20 to win all three.

luckythewinner · ‎03-15-2022

@keziak wrote:
this makes me curious about how sellers who do not run auctions make a satisfactory profit here
{snip}
I can tell that many sellers get good sales for their lots at fixed price but I wonder where they store them until they sell. I personally do not have the space so that is why I auction most lots.

Your issues are the weight of your items and storage space. That's it. Auction vs. Fixed Price has nothing to do with either of those issues.

You seem fixated on the idea that if you sold items as fixed price listings you would have to carry a lot more inventory than you do now.

Why do you believe this?

Is it because you know that your existing inventory would not do well individually at fixed price, and so you think your only option would be to buy a lot more similar inventory that would also not do well individually at fixed price to make up for it?

I am a fixed price seller of books, records, CDs and other music memorabilia like posters, flyers, magazines, photos, etc. 95% of my items weigh a pound or less, and a 6' x 6' bookshelf holds several thousand of them.

Neither space not the fixed price format is an issue for me. I make a satisfactory profit because I sell profitable items that people want at prices they are willing to pay. It's not rocket science.

katzrul15 · ‎03-15-2022

@keziak

We never do auctions and our sales are just fine. Can you not group 4 DVDs or 4 Blu-Rays into a lot and sell them? 4 paperback books? Lots of 2-3 HB books?

We sell lots all the time..........4 CDs for 19.87 + free shipping. We have pennies in the CDs and net about $10 after fees and shipping/box, etc. We list 4 in most lots of DVDs, Blu-Rays, etc. If the item is new/sealed, we typically sell in lots of 2 or by itself - depends on the item. Buyers search for lots and not waiting for an auction end does seem to draw Buyers to FP lots. At least for us - we do not do auctions.

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