WOW !!! FEEBAY WAKEUP CALL FOR ME
jivan
Posts: 1,009 ✭
I know you guys talk about feebay once in a while here... I have not sold anything on there in about 1- 1/2 years....listed some diabetic testing strips and wow.. 12% final value fee hit me.... guess thats why everyone hits craigs list first......just venting for a moment...
always looking for 1969 graded basketball
0
Comments
It is just a shame to think what eBay was...and what eBay is.
Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.
im probably the guy who bought the test strips you sold, lol,, the ones i need sell for 29.00 for 25 strips here at walgreens, on ebay i get double the strips for less than half, if that was you, thank you, no health insurance sucks and being a diabetic really sucks, i wished they sold insulin on ebay, ide be all over it as well,
perhaps you'd like to slip a few of your finest offerings into a notebook or an oversized briefcase and schlepp them to the nearest card store and wrangle over 50%.
thought so.
<< <i>with all of the BINIOTS on feebay now, there is no good place to shop for graded cards anymore. or at least no site that i know of? >>
We've just launched http://www.GrandSlamBids.com - final fees are maxed at 1.5%; less if your item sells for more then $250. We've been averaging about 400 unique sets of eyes on the site each day which is not eBay's broad audience, but we can get there in the collectibles segment if folks are willing to give us a chance; if you start your items for what you are comfortable with taking at a minimum there isn't much risk.
Buying Vintage, all sports.
Buying Woody Hayes, Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, and Jesse Owens autographed items
<< <i>
<< <i>with all of the BINIOTS on feebay now, there is no good place to shop for graded cards anymore. or at least no site that i know of? >>
We've just launched http://www.GrandSlamBids.com - final fees are maxed at 1.5%; less if your item sells for more then $250. We've been averaging about 400 unique sets of eyes on the site each day which is not eBay's broad audience, but we can get there in the collectibles segment if folks are willing to give us a chance; if you start your items for what you are comfortable with taking at a minimum there isn't much risk. >>
Nice site! I hope it takes off for you.
"if you start your items for what you are comfortable with taking at a minimum there isn't much risk."
There also won't be many sales(opportunities to buy cheap) and this is exactly what many are complaining about ebay now. There are less and less sellers willing to dump product for pennies on the dollar. Sellers are now pricing cards at a level they're comfortable with taking. The only difference between you and ebay will be that sellers can price their cards for about 5-10% less because of your lower fees. This won't make cards much easier to sell to a greatly reduced audience, and the slightly reduced prices will be a long way off from attracting the crowd complaining about finding bargains on Ebay.
"...the slightly reduced prices will be a long way off from attracting the crowd complaining about finding bargains on Ebay...."
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VERY true.
It is also true that those "complaining bargain hunters" are the EXACT
bunch that I do not want in my stores.
EBAY is only useful to me if they can deliver RETAIL buyers. I can get
all of the wholesale buyers I want, without paying EBAY to do it.
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IMV......
If GSB spent $20,000,000 on advertising, they would still never
reach critical mass. NEITHER will anybody else; not google, not
yahoo, not msft, not ANYBODY.
GSB can be a nifty niche site. It has the advantage of having
famous folks in charge AND a captive/loyal group of board
readers. But, there is simply no way to make big money with
such a site. (If there was, goog/yhoo/msft would have done it.)
EBAY is the wheel. Trying to invent a new wheel is futile.
..................................
If AMZN was willing to endure the grief, they could start a
"collectibles mall" that MIGHT have a chance to make some
money. So far, they are NOT willing.
Tho, AMZN returns almost 2-million results for "collectibles,"
most are junk/novelty items listed by mega-variety-store
sellers.
...............................................
Small operators - in all fields - often think that the absence
of big players is a gift/invite to little players. It's not.
The absence of the big guys is actually a warning sign to stay
out of battles with first-to-market titans.
...........................................................
Listing Counts:
June 23, 2010
eBay 107,746,987 +367,296
eCrater 3,523,298 -9,708
Bonanzle 3,297,345 -2,059
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EBAY Search Returns
SGC Cards
25,837 Total
960 Auctions
24,933 BINs
...............................................................
An ever increasing number of sales on EBAY are coming from
"cross category" buyers.
That means that niche sites that offer ONE category of items -
like sportscards - will LOSE the sales-opportunities offered by
sites that feature ALL categories of collectibles.
It also means that ANY ad-money spent by such niche sites
misses a HUGE portion of the potential buyer pool.
(Obviously, there are exceptions to this notion. Vintage movie
posters, for example, can be promoted profitably by a niche
site, BUT only by an established market leader. Competing
with such a leader will almost always result in failure.)
sample
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eBay challenged over PayPal rules in Detroit Fed Court
I have a B & M store, where I sell some cards, but that is less than 1% of my business. I have a handful of customers who buy my regular product and will complain about the price no matter what it is. My prices and quality are better than anywhere..period!!! The guys down the street sells for 25% more than I do, the stores in the closest large city sell for 40% more and the online hucksters sell for 10-30% more depending on the item.
I read an article once that spoke of the customers you tolerated when you first opened a business, but after a while, some of those customers become ones you WANT to go to your competitor.
NOT ALL PEOPLE WHO SELL ON EBAY ARE IN IT FOR THE MONEY!!!!
Some are just people who are trying to trade off their unwanted cards for cash so they can buy the cards they really want. I too believe there are idiots on ebay, but there are just as many who want something for nothing. Ebay is not that anymore, ebay has become an online marketplace, not a online flea market giveaway store like it used to be. If you want something for nothing, go to the local shows and spend all day looking for the one card you want and save a buck or t wo --OR-- spend 15 seconds on ebay, do a quick search and pay what is asked. Think of the extra money a convenience fee, like buying tickets online and paying a $2 fee instead of having to stand in line for 3 hours to get tickets to the Pearl Jam or Elton John concert if thats your thing.
And yes, the fees are absurd.
<< <i>I was just venting to a friend yesterday about the Buy It Now people on eBay and how they are ruining the hobby. eBay really needs to do something about this as it is turning off most people I know.
And yes, the fees are absurd. >>
eBay's 1st quarter profits are up 9%. They're not going to do anything about it.
Compare the exposure with tryin to sell your stuff at the local show - ya got to sit there all day - listen to all the people walk by and tell you your stuff is overpriced or want to steal it from ya - "I remember when...." "My mom threw my stuff....."
Just a thought guys.
<< <i>I was just venting to a friend yesterday about the Buy It Now people on eBay and how they are ruining the hobby. eBay really needs to do something about this as it is turning off most people I know.
>>
Exactly.
And Storm, good info there, but seriously i dont even look for "bargains" on ebay. It would be nice to just get cards at smr prices. Who wants to pay $3500 for a $2000 card?
<< <i>I was just venting to a friend yesterday about the Buy It Now people on eBay and how they are ruining the hobby. eBay really needs to do something about this as it is turning off most people I know.
And yes, the fees are absurd. >>
You are absolutely correct unfortunately.
<< <i>
<< <i>I was just venting to a friend yesterday about the Buy It Now people on eBay and how they are ruining the hobby. eBay really needs to do something about this as it is turning off most people I know.
And yes, the fees are absurd. >>
You are absolutely correct unfortunately. >>
Hmm....you just agreed with yourself.
Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.
<< <i>I wish I could run my business for that kind of overhead. >>
Of course that is only considering part of the fees an eBay has, and ignoring things like product cost...which you are likely not doing when you figure overhead.
Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.
As ebay gained in popularity everyone started doing the same thing as me. I then decided to move from moving volume of lower end cards to buying up vintage lots from the dealers going broke due to ebay stealing their sales. Life was not as good as before since I had more money in the game, but I still made a decent profit.
Now I just sell to fund my collecting habit. I do a little speculation on modern cards - if Chris Bosh ends up with the Lakers or Lebron I will make a few bucks. The fee increases, fewer auctions, and scam sellers/buyer don't make it worthwhile anymore. I list cards at a price that I want to sell them at. Anyone looking for a "deal" can buy from someone else.
My point is that people wishing for the days of cheap cards on ebay are dreaming. Times change and you need to adjust. The people complaining about ebay sound just like the fat dealers or store owners who complain that ebay is ruining the hobby while at the same time having up on their laptop.
brick and mortar card stores are a thing of the past, card shows suck, paypal is a rip off, ebay sucks and craiglist is full of scams and sometimes murderers, auction houses shill bid and charge 20% buyers fee.....did I miss anything?
ebay and paypal are still the best bargains around
<< <i>I've been selling on ebay since 1999. In the beginning it was great. I could buy cards of local stars for cheap and flip them at shows or at stores. At one time I was supplying local stars singles to 3 hobby stores in the area. On top of that I could sell star cards from other teams on ebay while picking them up at local shows and stores for cheap. Life was good.
As ebay gained in popularity everyone started doing the same thing as me. I then decided to move from moving volume of lower end cards to buying up vintage lots from the dealers going broke due to ebay stealing their sales. Life was not as good as before since I had more money in the game, but I still made a decent profit.
Now I just sell to fund my collecting habit. I do a little speculation on modern cards - if Chris Bosh ends up with the Lakers or Lebron I will make a few bucks. The fee increases, fewer auctions, and scam sellers/buyer don't make it worthwhile anymore. I list cards at a price that I want to sell them at. Anyone looking for a "deal" can buy from someone else.
My point is that people wishing for the days of cheap cards on ebay are dreaming. Times change and you need to adjust. The people complaining about ebay sound just like the fat dealers or store owners who complain that ebay is ruining the hobby while at the same time having up on their laptop. >>
To me it has nothing to do with cheap cards, but more to do with can I trust ebay to pay the electric bill and whatever a couple months from now. More so, can it remain economically and time viable.
I do a lot of overseas sales, like 30%, and one thing that concerns me is in September I think you will only be allowed I think 2.5%, not sure the number, item not received claims. I get a lot of the them from overseas buyers, and do not trust any PO outside of our own. Not to mention an increased scan likelyhood. This of course is only 1 of 20 ways ebay can force all your store items in auctions. Run the numbers of 1500 items with photo features from $0.05 to $0.50-$2.00.
Then the new change, if your item doesn't have the used or unused thing noted, they will likely start ending those auctions. There has been some auction format change like this, every 3 months. I really love redoing 1500 listings. For most of you, running a couple dozen auctions, all these little things likely did not matter. Couple hours of playing on eBay and move on.
I am likely going to have to cut out overseas sales....which will hurt my biggest sale catagory meteorites. But for the moment....another eBay break is likely best.
And like I noted, I am not leaving ebay, need to use up my 100 free listings, dump a bunch of unwanted and the like. (Which will actually mean more sales...just lower dollar).
However, I hope you forgive me for what feels like the passing of a friend.
Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.
And then what exactly do I get out of eBay? Basically, more things I will one day sell on eBay.
I am pretty much an eBay addict....and then nothing really excites me anymore. I got 3 game used bats today, a couple yearbooks and a stack of graded cards. Fairly normal Monday I imagine. I did my best Derrick Lowe stance (seeing the younger Lowe in my head)...but it is all getting kinda blah. I cant imagine how a single bat would have excited me as a kid.
I don't know. I collect Young so I have like 50 Young autos now, 100 plus game used, a cabinet and few boxes of stuff.
Started collecting Tony Gonzalez and I have like 16 1/1's and drawer full of GU and lower numbered cards.
Started collecting stamps and have about 95% of all them. Stopped playing with them when I hit the early ones where it is too hard to tell apart.
Pretty much same with coins. Bought and sold coins, so I have all the Buffalos, all the Mercury's, missing two lincoln cents, have all the Washingtons....
Play around with yearbooks, and have three selves in a few weeks.
Like with meteorites, started playing with meteorites, a couple years later, have a literal ton of meteorites, part of this board and this committee, writing for this journal, et al.
I don't know...but surely I am not the only one a little burned out on this game.
Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.
I agree with one gripe that ebay does not care about seller profitability. They are only concerned about the buyers. In the long run this will eliminate sellers like me and I suspect most of this board.
I am slowly winding down my excess cards. I'll still buy cards but be a lot more selective. July is a great time to bid on auction since everyone is on the road. I suggest you wait until Sept of you plan to list any high dollar auctions.
I know I was really burnt out. Like you I was an Ebay addict too, but I kicked in 2008!
I never had the amount of transactions that you seem to have.
However, I loved to buy and sell as much as anyone. But now it seems that the new restricitions will cause even more smaller sellers to bail out. Sad.
Robert
And I too have burned out several times myself, pre-internets and since 1995 as well. I am at a point now where I am happy to just buy and sell whatever and once or twice a year add something to my collection. My personal collection of cards starts with all of the cheap 80's and 90's junk of my youth, it's my own little time machine, a binder of cards that aren't even worth the plastic sheets they are in but boy did they used to be something. And then there are the occasional pickups I make now, not as cheap or cheesy as the time machine binder.
I've been collecting full time since 1984 and selling in some capacity since 1987, lots of changes and adaptations along the way, I don't get all of the threads on all of the message boards I check out on a daily basis about Paypal and eBay and this and that. Scammers and thieves and hucksters been around since the beginning of time and aren't going anywhere anytime soon. This hobby requires a thick teflon coated skin, if you can't hack it then try taking up bonsai plants as a hobby instead.