ebay stores feedback wanted

RipublicaninMass

monthly fees vs auction listings
how has business been
good for odd ball items for player sets
How has it been for your ebay stores, and what is selling?

Wondo

I have only had a store for a short while, but I am very happy with it. I have only stocked with oddball stuff so far(Milk Duds boxes) but I have sold quite a few retail pieces.

I much prefer it over the auction route- in fact I plan on using auctions as a way to drive customers to my store (providing I find ample inventory). I'll also use auctions to move "dead" items and generate cash

I would think that a store would be less effective for mainstream items. Just my .02.

John

storm888

It is hard to do two things with a store:

1. Lose ANY money.

2. Make ALOT of money.

If you are going to run auctions/FP in CORE, you might as well have
a store where folks can buy other stuff.

If you have a store, you MUST run auctions/FP in CORE to drive
shoppers into the store.

As to, "What's selling?": Everything @ the right price.

MANY common PSA cards go for less than grading costs.
MANY/MOST scarce PSA cards sell above SMR.

Currently, cards are probably one of the worst categories
to build an EBAY store around. That could change, but
there is no consensus that it will. People price-burried
in cards they bought on EBAY tend to think the card market
is in great shape. People trying to sell cards on EBAY tend
to think/know the card market is over-staurated and about
to tank. We will all likley know which group is right, sooner
than later.

storm

themetalsign

My e-bay store has done very well. I just sold two more cards today. I keep around 40-60 items at all times. I sell vintage to certain 80's players, oddball and any other sports tidbits I can find at a reasonable price and resell at a reasonable price to fund the addiction to cards that I have. I haven't done any autctions since opening it up. I get enough people that look for particular items I sell. Give fast professional service, communicate when cards are shipped and received and it should go very well. I have many repeat buyers. It doesn't make you rich but you will make some money if the price offered is fair. As far as fees go I feel they are fair enough for now- roughly 10% or so of the deal if paid by paypal and 3% or so less if money order but the more your monthly fees are the more you are selling so it all works out. Good Luck and open it up.



Dave D.

beantownboy

I have had my store 1 year and do much better with my ebay store then auctions

calaban7

My wife and I sell our oddball stuff quite well in our little store. When we have lots of items that we are selling, then sales are up . When the inventory gets low , interest drops. I try to sell my higher priced items on the auction block. We both have jobs and with 5 boys, time is always the enemy. We have close to a thousand coins, clothes, cards, etc... that we could add if we had the time to shoot and list.
The only thing that presents a real challenge on the horizon, is the eventual on-line tax grab that most states are gearing up for. Also how deep Ebay is trying to get into our wallets, is another issue . Though small now, their greed and need for even more greed , I think will be the oven that cooks the goose. Sonny

PuertoRicanFogBank

We both have jobs and with 5 boys

You are my idol, Sonny!

msassin

I've had an eBay store since last March. Most items are vintage PSA graded cards. Definitely worthwhile for me at least. Some months I sell a bunch of stuff, some months not as much.

Store advantages -
You list your item one time and it stays there until you pull it or it sells (11 cents a month per item won't break you either.....I personally try not to list cards under $20 or so)
My parents occasionally will throw there stuff in it as well (non-sports cards) which amazingly does well.

Store disadvantages -
Unless you are looking for something fairly specific I don't think the store listings always apear in searches.
So many people have overpriced items in their stores, I think many buyers don't even bother looking (I honestly don't look).

Keep in mind that you are paying $20 a month on top of your listings for having a store and eBay takes a larger percentage (8%) out of your sell price.

http://stores.ebay.com/m-sassin_W0QQssPageNameZl2QQtZkm

storm888

"....and eBay takes a larger percentage (8%) out of your sell price."

/////////////////////////////////////

Can be 10%, on cheap items.

Still the best deal in town, though. (Other than your own website.)

MooseDog

Agreed that the Store concept works for me. I sell mostly pre-1975, vintage autographs, and computer equipment. You do have to keep some auctions running at all times, and that will drive traffic to your store. If your items are common, you won't get too many hits in searches, but I do have some unusual items at times.

The other advantage is that it is easy to convert Store Listings to Auction/Fixed Price, which I do weekly.

My goal this year is to get my entire inventory listed in my store.