Need some opinions from the board on keep ebay store or continue site i am working on...

Rogermnj

Right now i have about 5000 psa graded cards.. about 2000 are on ebay, 1000 or uploaded to this website i am working on and the other 2000 are in limbo waiting to be posted somewhere..

The website is Modernpsa.com and its not up yet but can be viewed at test.modernpsa.com

I have about 500 into the site which was the cost for search and checkout system and lots of custom inventory stuff

My original plan was to still run auctions on ebay with fresh material then to e-mail people to let them know about my site.

I was tired of paying 1500 in ebay fees every month for what feels like not so much in sales.

Do i just put it all on ebay since that is where i get all of my gift sales anyway.. cards i dont think are worth $5 but sell for $14.95..
Will those fly by night purchases from random people buying a gift ever find my website??

Let me know your thoughts..
Thanks

Boopotts

Hard to say. However, a website didn't work for 4SC (or at least I don't think it did, last I checked their website was just a portal for their Ebay auctions), and if it can't work with that inventory it probably can't work for anything smaller.

gumbyfan

First of all, great looking website! I started one of my own for raw cards from my 20+ year old collection, but had to put the project on hold for a while. Since it's been on hold, I've been having similar second thoughts. Part of me just wants to find a buyer for the whole thing. Sure, I'd get less money for it in the long run, but when I weigh the time I've already put into it and figure out how much more time I'd need to put in to get everything listed, I'm just not certain it makes much sense to continue.

You, on the other hand, are dealing with graded cards. The set registry is a powerful drug, so there are buyers for the cards you have. The trick is to get them to your personal storefront. I did a little testing and chose a few cards that I saw in your inventory on the site and did a quick google search for them. One example is your 85 Leaf Jim Gantner. The listing on your site was the 5th link on google and only the second to actually have that card. (the first is my registry set) You have that going for you...it's good to be on the first page of google hits.

Will you get the gift purchases off ebay? Maybe not today...but based on ebay's performance, who says they'll be around in a year or two? Many sellers are just like you and are looking for different avenues on which to ply their wares with lesser fees. So if sellers leave ebay, buyers will have to look elsewhere for the things they want.

I guess, in the end, I'd suggest going forward with your site. Concurrently, I would continue to list cards on eBay...but change up your inventory every 30 days or so. Perhaps even consider changing your ebay id to match your website. I haven't checked ebay's rules, but I've considered putting a watermark on my images on ebay that has my website noted. The trick is to constantly drive business off of ebay...and I think you have the inventory to do it.

Good luck!

Rogermnj

<< <i>First of all, great looking website! I started one of my own for raw cards from my 20+ year old collection, but had to put the project on hold for a while. Since it's been on hold, I've been having similar second thoughts. Part of me just wants to find a buyer for the whole thing. Sure, I'd get less money for it in the long run, but when I weigh the time I've already put into it and figure out how much more time I'd need to put in to get everything listed, I'm just not certain it makes much sense to continue.

You, on the other hand, are dealing with graded cards. The set registry is a powerful drug, so there are buyers for the cards you have. The trick is to get them to your personal storefront. I did a little testing and chose a few cards that I saw in your inventory on the site and did a quick google search for them. One example is your 85 Leaf Jim Gantner. The listing on your site was the 5th link on google and only the second to actually have that card. (the first is my registry set) You have that going for you...it's good to be on the first page of google hits.

Will you get the gift purchases off ebay? Maybe not today...but based on ebay's performance, who says they'll be around in a year or two? Many sellers are just like you and are looking for different avenues on which to ply their wares with lesser fees. So if sellers leave ebay, buyers will have to look elsewhere for the things they want.

I guess, in the end, I'd suggest going forward with your site. Concurrently, I would continue to list cards on eBay...but change up your inventory every 30 days or so. Perhaps even consider changing your ebay id to match your website. I haven't checked ebay's rules, but I've considered putting a watermark on my images on ebay that has my website noted. The trick is to constantly drive business off of ebay...and I think you have the inventory to do it.

Good luck! >>



Thanks for taking the time to reply. I didnt know i could show up in google yet since my site isnt officialy "up" yet.. interesting

Rogermnj

<< <i>Hard to say. However, a website didn't work for 4SC (or at least I don't think it did, last I checked their website was just a portal for their Ebay auctions), and if it can't work with that inventory it probably can't work for anything smaller. >>



I checked 4sc site a few times and i never saw them have more then 200 cards on their website..
I think they only listed cards they had like 40 of..

earlycalguy

if your ebay fees were $1500 per month you must have been doing a good bit in sales. Mine were $600 last month and I was very pleased with my sales on eBay. I would not complain about eBay fees if ebay is getting you buyers at $15 for cards normally worth only $5...I'd be happy to pay fees when selling a card for 3 times it's normal value.

I had a web site for a while along with an ebay store and 98% of my sales were coming from eBay so I let the web site go...it was too much work to keep both sites going so I stayed with were the customers and traffic was .

csmtampa

You could always have your website, but have direct links to ongoing auctions, Ive seen a few sellers have a site that showed a picture and description of the card, and when you clicked on it, it took you to the auction. The website looks great, and you can probably do alot of business there. Just get the name out, and people will come

KbKards

Earlycal hit the nail on the head. If you have 2000 items listed in your store it only costs $16 a month for a store plus 3, 5, or 10 cents to list an item for 30 days. Your average for modern stuff is probably between 3 and 5 cents, so all it costs you to have a store and list 2000 cards is in the $100 to $110 range. If you're paying $1500 a month in Ebay fees then about $1400 of that is for final value fees which means you're selling about $10,000 worth of cards a month. You should be happy to pay Ebay $1500 a month and pray that next months bill is even higher because that means you're selling more cards. Put all 5000 cards on Ebay and your site and when people buy from you on Ebay let them know about your site. To encourage them to look you can offer them 10% off and still make more money than selling the card on Ebay.

nearmint

I started my site seven years ago when eBay raised their auction prices, and it's worked out well. Using eBay sales to promote your own site, as a couple of people here have suggested, is a good idea. You can also buy ads on hobby sites, such as the Google ads you see everywhere. It sounds like you're already making a good showing in search results, which is great. The sheer number of cards you have will give your site weight and help you appear high in searches.

leathtech

you biggest problem will be getting enough people to your site... if you can build up a name for it I think it could work... but you probably have to do some advertising in Becket and on PSA (those costs alone might make ebay seem like a better place).

good luck whatever you decided to do!

leathtech

Also wanted to add the site looks good... looks a lot like the BBCE's website.

I like that there is room for a blog, I think if you could write some articles that might help you produce free traffic to your site.

mmync

Roger, just in case you are not already aware of this... you could always just forward your domain name to your ebay store, and if somebody ends up buying something, you save like 75% off the final value fees.

Mike

tunahead08

Don't have much input on which site you should go with, but wanted to say the test site looks good!

tedh111

Roger, i have been thinking about the exact same thing you have, and it is not an easy decision. I have gone back and forth about 10 different times and i decided about a week ago to re-focus on my website and get away from ebay as much as possible... My reasoning comes from the fact that I don't think ebay will be strong forever and potential buyers will start looking elsewhere. If you can get a leg up on competition and get your site out there and start creating a buyer base, you will be in a good position going foward. Websites can work, but they will not work overnight. If you are looking long term, i think going with a website now is the way to go.

Rogermnj

Thanks for the replies guys.

The $1500 a month isnt just store fees, i run plenty of auctions, sometimes with high starting bids and do fixed price stuff etc. Once in a while do a feautured item.. It all adds up..

The site is far from complete, i was planning on doing blogs, forums etc.

Obviously would have some kind of logo and the pic that is there would be replaced with something much higher quality.

I guess i will finish the site and give it a year to see what happens..

I only sell cards as a side gig and for some fun so the decision wont be life changing either way

Bottom9th

Agreed. I think the website and your Ebay store will play off each other. Your site looks cool. Good luck!