Opening an eBay store?

ctf_error_coins · February 3, 2016 1:51AM

Ebay has a special on opening a store with reduced fees for 4 months.

I know FVF are lower for coins if you have store.

I most likely will open a store today or tomorrow.

Those of you with stores, is it worth it? Anything special I need to know?

LindeDad · February 3, 2016 1:57AM

4% Yes.

bigjpst · February 3, 2016 2:29AM

Yes it is worth it if you intend to sell regularly. Nothing special you really need to know. Open a store and your listings will not change much. You will have some options on how to display your store, and market it, but you don't really need to do much. The FVF savings doesn't take long to cover the cost of the store.

Cougar1978 · February 3, 2016 2:37AM

Yes its worth it, its only $19.95 a month listing 150 items for free. A table at a show can be $250 and up, take up your weekend, and add additional cost due to travel expenses before you have sold a single coin. That can be a big hole to get out of. I would estimate variable selling expense on the Bay - seller fees, paypal, shipping, at around 15% of sales. Like any kind of business you have to look at the big picture and be able to record and forecast P&L.

Retail has been slow for sometime. Moving things at auction this month starting say at $9.95 or slightly below CDN yielded 70% of Market Value (Retail) / 98% of wholesale (CDN, auction last, etc) this month. This has been par for the course for sometime. On items you have a lot of room in you can do them BIN / Make offer.

If your going to invest in coins then an online sales site like ebay makes sense allowing you to coach on both sides of the ball. You get the ebay bucks which softens the cost impact. I buy many other things on ebay besides coins and currency.

In buying numismatic material selling at shows and ebay has conditioned me to ask - Ok if I buy this, what can I realistically sell it for to have a good chance to make a profit now. If not, then pass.

It can be tough to predict what you can retail, I have moved things at a really fantastic margin in just a couple of weeks and had other items linger which I felt would have a better chance to move.

TopographicOceans · February 3, 2016 3:54AM

If you sell coins, you definitely need a store. 6% FVF makes a big difference, plus you get 20% discount on your fees for being a top rated seller.

ctf_error_coins · February 3, 2016 4:48AM

Thank you everyone ....

TO .... I never have gone for the 20% discount as shipping is not free. I asked the postmaster about free shipping and he said no. I charge $2.95 for shipping. I have probably shipped 5000 items. 5000 x $3 is $15,000 up front and no games to play ......

TopographicOceans · February 3, 2016 5:20AM

It's a new world on eBay now. Buyer's opinions and DSR's no longer matter starting Feb 20.
Charge $50 S/H and get all 1 DSR's and you still can get 20% discount.
You have to offer returns, ship fast and resolve all buyer issues. Check your seller dashboard

davewesen · February 3, 2016 5:42AM

If you have your own website already, will a eBay store be more effective in sending business to that? or do you feel double listing will get more/quicker sales?

ctf_error_coins · February 3, 2016 5:46AM

Originally posted by: TopographicOceans
It's a new world on eBay now. Buyer's opinions and DSR's no longer matter starting Feb 20.
Charge $50 S/H and get all 1 DSR's and you still can get 20% discount.
You have to offer returns, ship fast and resolve all buyer issues. Check your seller dashboard

TO thank you for the info ..... I will need to look into this

The only thing is that I have a philosophy that an auction is an auction and not an approval service. I may have to get over it tho ......

ctf_error_coins · February 3, 2016 5:48AM

Originally posted by: davewesen
If you have your own website already, will a eBay store be more effective in sending business to that? or do you feel double listing will get more/quicker sales?

Ebay has a lot of eyeballs. Every eBay sale gets a link to my website and a business card. I will do both.

LanceNewmanOCC · February 3, 2016 6:13AM

Originally posted by: ErrorsOnCoins

and not an approval service. I may have to get over it tho ......

i offer no-questions-asked returns and haven't looked back. between my customers and i, i am the weak link and need to strive to do better.

no returns is for greedy inexperienced amateurs.

most sellers with stated no returns still have done them for me with some decent conversation, agreement to leave pos fb and agree to cancel transaction.

the better oneself is, the better experiences one tends to have.

be positive and be glad you aren't enslaved or live in true warzone. be thankful for what you get and it will work out.

if you have been selling on ebay w/o a store, you've been giving away a ton of cash.

take some time to analyze the 1st vs 2nd level tiered stores.

.

MedalCollector · February 3, 2016 6:57AM

If returns are an issue for you, you should look at what you're doing to cause them to happen. With good photos, good descriptions, and good customer service, you should not have a large return rate. Returns will kill you on low margin or low price coins.

But yes...take a good look at what benefits opening a store will do for you. When I was looking, the tipping point was somewhere around $500 in sales for the store level that I was interested in. Ebay may also provide evidence that opening a store will give you some level of lift (in terms of sales or volume), but you'd have to look for it.

ctf_error_coins · February 3, 2016 7:25AM

GE ... never get returns, but then again it says no returns on my auctions. I guess I may have had two returns in 5000 transactions so I guess it's not never ....

I am mainly thinking of the bidiots who get in bidding wars and then get buyers remorse. My items are really cool so many times I get way more than retail because two or three people wanted the same thing.

roadrunner · February 3, 2016 8:32AM

$250 and up for show tables? The largest show fee I ever paid was $225 and that was for Orlando FUN table split 3 ways over 4-5 days ($50 per day). My local show fees were on the order of $30-35 for one day shows, where I always split tables with someone else. Shows don't have to be expensive to get access.

If you can solicit coins from other dealers for Ebay you can reduce your own overall fees.

Bigpoppas · February 3, 2016 8:43AM

It requires basically no knowledge or experience nowadays to be an instant dealer on eBay. The platform is so easy to use that I'm about to set up my kids their own business. A smartphone is really all you need nowadays, however certain things do require having a PC or laptop available.

The hardest part is the beginning in establishing a reputation, so that people feel comfortable purchasing items from you .

I think Paypal also requires a certain amount if feedback, but not sure about that .

Anything like coins , handbags, watches, etc., that has a reputation of being counterfeited will make things a bit more difficult in the beginning.

Good Luck and stay positive. Coins are simple to ship compared to most anythyrlse, so you should be good to go

unclebob · February 3, 2016 9:07AM

I'm considering a store as well, and wondered if it would make sense to bank the amount of insurance in a account for the rare claim. In nearly 1000 transactions over more than a decade, I can't think of a time I have ever had to file a claim.

ctf_error_coins · February 3, 2016 9:10AM

Self insure for sure. Every insurance guy I know has really expensive toys .........

coindeuce · February 3, 2016 9:22AM

Originally posted by: TopographicOceans

It's a new world on eBay now. Buyer's opinions and DSR's no longer matter starting Feb 20.

Charge $50 S/H and get all 1 DSR's and you still can get 20% discount.

You have to offer returns, ship fast and resolve all buyer issues. Check your seller dashboard

Might that be a result of eBay ignoring the many scammer buyers who have chased away fair and honest sellers ?

jt88 · February 3, 2016 1:16PM

you need to sell 200 items a year to get that 20%. I meet the dollar amount but not that 200 sale a year.

TwoSides2aCoin · February 3, 2016 3:29PM

Selling on any venue requires a lot of diligence. You should open a store and make your presence felt in a continuum for the express purpose of commerce. (my opinion)

OKCC · February 3, 2016 5:41PM

Originally posted by: jt88

you need to sell 200 items a year to get that 20%. I meet the dollar amount but not that 200 sale a year.

Wasn't it at least just 100 items per year to get the fvf discount?

OPA · February 3, 2016 9:27PM

Originally posted by: jt88
you need to sell 200 items a year to get that 20%. I meet the dollar amount but not that 200 sale a year.

It's 100 & not 200
top rated seller requirements

HATTRICK · February 4, 2016 12:33AM

READ THIS

Run Forest Run !!!!!!!

ctf_error_coins · February 4, 2016 6:25AM

Just opened the store ....

so many options to customize ........

LanceNewmanOCC · February 4, 2016 7:20AM

Originally posted by: HATTRICK

READ THIS

Run Forest Run !!!!!!!

ah yes, i remember that. (thread in archives) - a lot if not most big corps, from what ive read have reported being breached. fwiw

it is what it is.

wait til we go to only digital currency. hope i dont live to see that one.

not making light of your link but if one is digital, one need make peace with breaches.

.

TopographicOceans · February 4, 2016 10:24AM

Originally posted by: ErrorsOnCoins
Just opened the store ....

so many options to customize ........

Now you'll have to raise your prices by 10%

You can use the Markdown Manager under the Manage My Store option from the Account drop down list, and put your items on sale.

ctf_error_coins · February 5, 2016 1:45AM

So I open a store and list a few items ...... and of course the photos do not show up on a relist from eBay .... really???

I call ebay this AM and ask about my problem. Well it was a bug and complete coincidence that it happened at the same time.

All is well now. What a helpful eBay rep .

Opening an eBay store?

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