Ebay Sales Down

[rwperu34]

Originally Posted by Cracktoast

I've never really sold on Ebay before but I am wanting to consolidate my cards and move stuff in team lots. How would you title the auction for say a 100 card lot of random Bluejays cards and does it help to actually list what cards are in the lot ? Seems like a lot of work to do that.

Also do you find it's easy/worth my time or not so much ?

(100) Toronto Blue Jays RC Lot REFRACTOR Vladimir Guerrero Green Gold

Obviously only list stuff you have in there, whether it be relics, autos...etc. Then in the item specifics list the top 5-10 names.

For a 100 count lot I don't think you need to list every card, but make sure they are pictured. You can do 11 photos of 9 or 5 photos of 20 or whatever. For the last one take a picture of the package.

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by rwperu34

(100) Toronto Blue Jays RC Lot REFRACTOR Vladimir Guerrero Green Gold

Obviously only list stuff you have in there, whether it be relics, autos...etc. Then in the item specifics list the top 5-10 names.

For a 100 count lot I don't think you need to list every card, but make sure they are pictured. You can do 11 photos of 9 or 5 photos of 20 or whatever. For the last one take a picture of the package.

I would take an over shot of full lot then 10 photos of 10.

[paulcarlcards]

This is how mine look (see attachments).

I scan each card which takes about 1.5 minutes for a 100 card lot. Doing it with photos by hand is a nightmare in comparison.

My software uses the AI from Kronocard is used to do all of the item specifics, the title, and build out the list of cards included in the description (this helps with SEO—my lots will often appear in search results where people are looking for a single card that happens to be listed in my description).

All of the images are automatically created too. Assuming that you pre-sorted the cards (or, better yet, sourced them pre-sorted), you could crank out 30+ 100 card lot listings per hour or 150+ 20 card lot listings.

[rwperu34]

It appears that seller initiated offers are now good for four days instead of two.

[thenightman]

Originally Posted by rwperu34

It appears that seller initiated offers are now good for four days instead of two.

Just noticed that. I like it.

[Raleigh504]

Had the best month last month for the year in sale $. It basically came down to selling two Ohtani rookie cards. Otherwise would have been #2. Sale # was the third best and third time crossing over 500 sales for a month.

[jamcas997]

Originally Posted by Raleigh504

Had the best month last month for the year in sale $. It basically came down to selling two Ohtani rookie cards. Otherwise would have been #2. Sale # was the third best and third time crossing over 500 sales for a month.

Mine was still improving since the low in June. It ranked #5 for the year. I am hoping for a jump start this month or a big spike like after the Nov 16 elections. I guess it is what it is.

[Raleigh504]

Originally Posted by jamcas997

Mine was still improving since the low in June. It ranked #5 for the year. I am hoping for a jump start this month or a big spike like after the Nov 16 elections. I guess it is what it is.

Depending on how elections go I could see a bump in sales

[jamcas997]

Originally Posted by Raleigh504

Depending on how elections go I could see a bump in sales

I will put my foot in my mouth now. I surpassed last months total cards sold today alone with 337 cards to one buyer.

Report for Oct 1, 2024 - Oct 3, 2024
Compared to Sep 1, 2024 - Sep 3, 2024 (3 days)

Quantity sold
359
797.5%Up
vs. prior time period

[beauspencer]

September finished 2nd best month to date (second to August 2024). My year to date net sales ($) is currently 36% higher than same period 2023.

[BobCollects]

I haven't devoted nearly as much time to listing new items on eBay the past few months (okay, this year) but it's such a slog sometimes. As much as I've tried to streamline, taking pictures and setting up listings is incredibly time consuming. I can understand why people are turning to AI to fill out listings. I'll never do it because AI listings are awful but I can understand wanting to make the process easier and faster.

How much time do people spend trying to keep shipping costs as low as possible? Lately I've noticed a lot of listings with what seem like absurdly high shipping costs. I was just looking at a listing for six packs of Marvel cards, four cards per pack, and the shipping is $10 USPS Ground Advantage from the next state over. But people were bidding.

I'm starting to think the amount of time and effort I put into worrying about packaging and low shipping costs isn't worth it. I'm sure I've spent 20-30 minutes many times on a single item, trying to stay under one pound. eBay's standard envelope has helped with trading cards but for everything else, the jump is significant. Especially when the asking price is $10-$20. I miss the days when a USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope cost $5 to ship. Actually, what I really miss are the days before USPS First Class Package changed to zones.

[beauspencer]

I haven't devoted nearly as much time to listing new items on eBay the past few months (okay, this year) but it's such a slog sometimes. As much as I've tried to streamline, taking pictures and setting up listings is incredibly time consuming. I can understand why people are turning to AI to fill out listings. I'll never do it because AI listings are awful but I can understand wanting to make the process easier and faster.

How much time do people spend trying to keep shipping costs as low as possible? Lately I've noticed a lot of listings with what seem like absurdly high shipping costs. I was just looking at a listing for six packs of Marvel cards, four cards per pack, and the shipping is $10 USPS Ground Advantage from the next state over. But people were bidding.

I'm starting to think the amount of time and effort I put into worrying about packaging and low shipping costs isn't worth it. I'm sure I've spent 20-30 minutes many times on a single item, trying to stay under one pound. eBay's standard envelope has helped with trading cards but for everything else, the jump is significant. Especially when the asking price is $10-$20. I miss the days when a USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope cost $5 to ship. Actually, what I really miss are the days before USPS First Class Package changed to zones.

You just have to understand the postage pricing and adjust. The example of the 6 packs of Marvel cards for $10 is a bit high (the actual cost of postage for something like that is going to be around $5). The amount of time and effort you are putting into worrying about packaging and low shipping costs is absolutely not worth it. My blunt suggestion would be either stop worrying about it, or just not do it.

[paulcarlcards]

Originally Posted by BobCollects

I haven't devoted nearly as much time to listing new items on eBay the past few months (okay, this year) but it's such a slog sometimes. As much as I've tried to streamline, taking pictures and setting up listings is incredibly time consuming. I can understand why people are turning to AI to fill out listings. I'll never do it because AI listings are awful but I can understand wanting to make the process easier and faster.

How much time do people spend trying to keep shipping costs as low as possible? Lately I've noticed a lot of listings with what seem like absurdly high shipping costs. I was just looking at a listing for six packs of Marvel cards, four cards per pack, and the shipping is $10 USPS Ground Advantage from the next state over. But people were bidding.

I'm starting to think the amount of time and effort I put into worrying about packaging and low shipping costs isn't worth it. I'm sure I've spent 20-30 minutes many times on a single item, trying to stay under one pound. eBay's standard envelope has helped with trading cards but for everything else, the jump is significant. Especially when the asking price is $10-$20. I miss the days when a USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope cost $5 to ship. Actually, what I really miss are the days before USPS First Class Package changed to zones.

Specializing in a specific niche is crucial because then you can streamline your shipping process and have everything standardized.

I'm currently using 6x4x2 mailer boxes that works for both my lots and my singles/slabs (I do also ship some things ESE but I have a dedicated printer that prints those labels directly on the envelope and filter my orders to do those separately from boxed orders). The mailers fold together so no time is wasted taping them (although I do put a small piece of tape to seal the closing flap in). I also recently purchased a ton of slider plastic cases and hinged snap cases so I have various lot sizes covered and don't have to spend time putting my 100 card lots into several team bag for shipping anymore. Now I just put em in the hinged snap case and put it in the box with the voidfill. My shipping process is like Henry Ford's assembly line: I pick the orders and then they go down the line for their standardized parts to be assembled (in order) and then I bulk print the labels at the end.

When you sell a little bit of everything, you have to invest space/time into having multiple processes (or no processes at all). You'll have to pay up for supplies because you have to order in smaller quantities to conserve space for the larger variety of boxes/bubble mailers. Dedicate shipping space becomes a nightmare because you may not have enough space when a large (or series of medium/large) items are going through it plus you may have to get up and move from your shipping area to get supplies because there's no room for the entire variety to all be in reaching distance from the workspace. As a result your labor costs go up. If you value your time at $100/hour minimum then you just paid an extra $50 to try to save $2-3 on postage by getting that box under 1lb.

All that said, in any business the biggest part of your cashflow that you can control is your costs. Be ruthless on cutting costs without cutting customer experience or hurting your brand. But also be aware of your labor costs (what you value your time at, even though it's "free"). Increasing my supply costs by up to $0.50 per order for my plastic cases is worth it because it reduces my labor cost (the time to package orders) and improves the customer experience/brand.

Profit and sales are at the whim of the market, but your costs are under your complete control. When it comes to shipping, the typical eBay seller's biggest cost is labor because their systems are bad (if they even bothered to create one).

[jamcas997]

Sales conversion rate
33.6%
23.5% pts

[jamcas997]

Originally Posted by jamcas997

I will put my foot in my mouth now. I surpassed last months total cards sold today alone with 337 cards to one buyer.

Report for Oct 1, 2024 - Oct 3, 2024
Compared to Sep 1, 2024 - Sep 3, 2024 (3 days)

Quantity sold
359
797.5%Up
vs. prior time period

[msucollector4]

I have a question about Top-Rated Seller status. Is it worth allowing 30 day returns in order to get the Top Rated seal on listings?

[jamcas997]

Originally Posted by msucollector4

I have a question about Top-Rated Seller status. Is it worth allowing 30 day returns in order to get the Top Rated seal on listings?

Looking at yours you are a TRS , but the badge and 5% back really isn't worth the trouble unless you have a like more than 5k in listings and are paying ebay big fees a month, or unless you are really pinching pennies. the 5% back would only net me back $10 last month. It really IMO does again does not mean a lot to me as I write the fees off on taxes.

I do 2 day handling and 14 day returns and I am a TRS just no BS seal . I refuse to chase it.

[CardKing16]

If you are selling cards, you can still get the discount without offering 30 day free returns now. I do 14 day returns with the buyer paying return shipping and get the 10% fee discount. For most of my other categories, I just turn off returns to not deal with the headaches as said above.

Forgot to mention - While you get the discount, you don't get the fancy little badge on your listings if offering less than 30 day returns.

[BobCollects]

Originally Posted by beauspencer

You just have to understand the postage pricing and adjust. The example of the 6 packs of Marvel cards for $10 is a bit high (the actual cost of postage for something like that is going to be around $5). The amount of time and effort you are putting into worrying about packaging and low shipping costs is absolutely not worth it. My blunt suggestion would be either stop worrying about it, or just not do it.

I'm still stuck in the hobbyist mindset because I don't have time to make the transition to full-time seller. So when I'm packaging something, I think about how I'd want it packaged as a collector, not what is the cheapest and fastest but still decently secure way to package an item.

Originally Posted by paulcarlcards

Specializing in a specific niche is crucial because then you can streamline your shipping process and have everything standardized.

I'm currently using 6x4x2 mailer boxes that works for both my lots and my singles/slabs (I do also ship some things ESE but I have a dedicated printer that prints those labels directly on the envelope and filter my orders to do those separately from boxed orders). The mailers fold together so no time is wasted taping them (although I do put a small piece of tape to seal the closing flap in). I also recently purchased a ton of slider plastic cases and hinged snap cases so I have various lot sizes covered and don't have to spend time putting my 100 card lots into several team bag for shipping anymore. Now I just put em in the hinged snap case and put it in the box with the voidfill. My shipping process is like Henry Ford's assembly line: I pick the orders and then they go down the line for their standardized parts to be assembled (in order) and then I bulk print the labels at the end.

When you sell a little bit of everything, you have to invest space/time into having multiple processes (or no processes at all). You'll have to pay up for supplies because you have to order in smaller quantities to conserve space for the larger variety of boxes/bubble mailers. Dedicate shipping space becomes a nightmare because you may not have enough space when a large (or series of medium/large) items are going through it plus you may have to get up and move from your shipping area to get supplies because there's no room for the entire variety to all be in reaching distance from the workspace. As a result your labor costs go up. If you value your time at $100/hour minimum then you just paid an extra $50 to try to save $2-3 on postage by getting that box under 1lb.

All that said, in any business the biggest part of your cashflow that you can control is your costs. Be ruthless on cutting costs without cutting customer experience or hurting your brand. But also be aware of your labor costs (what you value your time at, even though it's "free"). Increasing my supply costs by up to $0.50 per order for my plastic cases is worth it because it reduces my labor cost (the time to package orders) and improves the customer experience/brand.

Profit and sales are at the whim of the market, but your costs are under your complete control. When it comes to shipping, the typical eBay seller's biggest cost is labor because their systems are bad (if they even bothered to create one).

Specializing is a must. I'm working toward that. The first two times I sold things on eBay, it was the equivalent of a garage sale. I sold whatever I had taking up space in the house and didn't worry about how long it took me to do anything. It was just getting rid of stuff and making a little money.

When the pandemic hit, I cast a wide net and was flipping anything I could and made money on almost everything but those days are over. I still have some odds and ends but for the most part I'm focusing on trading cards (singles, base sets, bulk lots) and comic books.

I used to hate messing around with bubble wrap or kraft paper when packaging up a base set in a card box. I found a paper cutter at Goodwill and started cutting pieces of cardboard to size that I use to fill in the sides and top of card boxes. It's faster and more secure. Every so often I spend an hour or so cutting out stacks of these cardboard pieces but the amount of time spent getting a base set packaged has been cut significantly.

I've thought about using a single box for everything but a box large enough to fit a 120-card base set is going to be overkill for a single card in a top loader or a 10-card insert set in a team bag. That said, I've bought things on eBay that arrive in boxes much too large, presumably because the seller only uses one size. It's something to think about.

I know there are people who swear by USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate envelopes and boxes because the envelopes and boxes are free and you always know what the shipping costs are going to be. I thought that would work for me and even ordered bundles of boxes. But buyers aren't going to want to pay $10-11 for a small flat rate box to ship a $10 base set. I still have some boxes sitting around but rarely use them.

[mogwai316]

.....

[msucollector4]

Originally Posted by mogwai316

Trading cards are one of the items that do not require allowing returns to be top rated. (oh yeah like the other post says, you don't get the badge that way. I dgaf about the badge, but I care about the reduced fees. And I prefer shipping every day, including Saturdays, anyway so it's no extra effort.)

Yeah I do 1 day handling time already, but the 30 day returns seems like a headache that isnt worth the badge when it comes to sports cards.

[thenightman]

I offer 30-day returns on raw cards and, fingers crossed, never deal with returns.

[jamcas997]

Originally Posted by msucollector4

Yeah I do 1 day handling time already, but the 30 day returns seems like a headache that isnt worth the badge when it comes to sports cards.

If I did one day handling I would not have had time to pull all of the cards I sold in one sale. I had a buyer buy almost 700 total cards since Thursday.

[BGT Masters]

Originally Posted by msucollector4

Yeah I do 1 day handling time already, but the 30 day returns seems like a headache that isnt worth the badge when it comes to sports cards.

Try selling parts. Its an absolute nightmare. Probably 1 in 3 returns are abused meaning wrong item shipped back, filed improperly, or shipped back damaged/missing parts. With cards I would never do it. They are like stocks and prices are too volatile.

[msucollector4]

Originally Posted by jamcas997

If I did one day handling I would not have had time to pull all of the cards I sold in one sale. I had a buyer buy almost 700 total cards since Thursday.

Sheesh, I usually only have 4-5 orders a day max which is manageable