Ebay Sales Down

[premium1981]

I'm actually impressed they only upped that fee on $10+ cards. Shows that they have a little concern that the lower end fees are high enough. Surprised to be honest.

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by premium1981

I'm actually impressed they only upped that fee on $10+ cards. Shows that they have a little concern that the lower end fees are high enough. Surprised to be honest.

Or that there was not an overall fee increase on the percentage I was fully expecting one. Oftentimes you see layoffs and some of the other changes they have made as a signal for some major changes

[Bosoxfan5990]

Originally Posted by shrevecity

Or that there was not an overall fee increase on the percentage I was fully expecting one. Oftentimes you see layoffs and some of the other changes they have made as a signal for some major changes

Yeah pleasantly surprised, for sure.

The accurate Terapeak listings is a big deal too. I exclusively use Terapeak to comp, as I already thought it was better than some of the other 3rd party sites with erroneous sales.

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by Bosoxfan5990

Yeah pleasantly surprised, for sure.

The accurate Terapeak listings is a big deal too. I exclusively use Terapeak to comp, as I already thought it was better than some of the other 3rd party sites with erroneous sales.

Tgere are still future updates this could happen in. They maybe looking at the overall site slump to see where it goes before making final decisions

[cjmccreary]

All the S1 momentum came to a complete dead stop today. No sales, no offers to send, nothing. Kinda weird given all of the activity the past week. Maybe the AT&T issues today limited people's browsing time.

[Funkster]

Baseball sellers, have you begun your peak selling season yet or are you waiting until ST is in full swing?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rwperu34]

Originally Posted by Funkster

Baseball sellers, have you begun your peak selling season yet or are you waiting until ST is in full swing?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My inventory is mostly BIN, so its up to the buyers when I hit my peak

Inventory wise I was at peak yesterday (Friday the 23rd I had a nice day of sales and didn't list anything new). I've got four more big orders coming in then I'm done for a few weeks, so my peak inventory for the year will be in the next 4-7 days.

[jkampis]

Originally Posted by Crosby 87

Only fools pays taxes, sir.

That comment makes zero sense in this context. A seller has no control over what taxes a buyer does or doesn’t pay.

[Crosby 87]

Originally Posted by jkampis

That comment makes zero sense in this context. A seller has no control over what taxes a buyer does or doesn’t pay.

I mean it wasn't a serious comment so objective achieved

[Bosoxfan5990]

Already beat my January sales volume in February, with January being my best sales volume month since mid-last year.

Hopefully a good sign for the coming year.

[thenightman]

I’m pretty much over selling low dollar cards. Having to wait months to just get even, after buying a lot, dealing with all the packing and shipping. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking anyone who genuinely enjoys it; more power to you. I’m gonna try pivoting to an auction model. Send cards out for grading and see how I do. Plans have already been put in motion, so wish me luck.

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by thenightman

I’m pretty much over selling low dollar cards. Having to wait months to just get even, after buying a lot, dealing with all the packing and shipping. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking anyone who genuinely enjoys it; more power to you. I’m gonna try pivoting to an auction model. Send cards out for grading and see how I do. Plans have already been put in motion, so wish me luck.

I am about to make some massive changes to my ebay as well. Have not decided how i am going to do it but I need to consolidate inventory and cut out some storage expenses.

[Bosoxfan5990]

I'm working on creating lots for my lower-dollar cards so I can hopefully move some stale inventory.

[thenightman]

Originally Posted by shrevecity

I am about to make some massive changes to my ebay as well. Have not decided how i am going to do it but I need to consolidate inventory and cut out some storage expenses.

Best of luck!!!

[Brian S]

Originally Posted by beauspencer

Things are WAY up for me, but that's early on the market jumbo case of Series 1. Since Wednesday I have almost 1,200 orders. Nothing but pulling and shipping day and night. Fortunately, there has been a trickle-down effect and it's generating sales on other stuff in my store.

I'm just curious to how you don't lose money on cards that you have listed for .99 + free shipping. After ebay fees and ESE postage don't you lose money? Is there something I'm missing?

[jamcas997]

Originally Posted by Brian S

I'm just curious to how you don't lose money on cards that you have listed for .99 + free shipping. After ebay fees and ESE postage don't you lose money? Is there something I'm missing?

Its relying on buyers to buy more than one is what it boils down to. You are hoping to get a buyer to buy 4 of the 99 cent nobodys that would be in the dime box at a show. If you also look he has had over 300 sales this weekend. Its dealing in quantity and also buying bulk along the way.

[nam812]

Originally Posted by Brian S

I'm just curious to how you don't lose money on cards that you have listed for .99 + free shipping. After ebay fees and ESE postage don't you lose money? Is there something I'm missing?

$0.99 + $0.00 shipping - $0.42 ebay fees - $0.64 ESE = $0.07 loss (without taking cost of cards or any supplies into account)

2 cards at $0.99 (added to cart) = $1.98 + $0.00 shipping - $0.54 ebay fees - $0.64 ESE = $0.80 gain (without taking cost of cards or any supplies into account)

4 cards at $0.99 (added to cart) = $3.96 + $0.00 shipping - $0.77 ebay fees - $0.64 ESE = $2.55 gain (without taking cost of cards or any supplies into account)

[Brian S]

Originally Posted by nam812

$0.99 + $0.00 shipping - $0.42 ebay fees - $0.64 ESE = $0.07 loss (without taking cost of cards or any supplies into account)

2 cards at $0.99 (added to cart) = $1.98 + $0.00 shipping - $0.54 ebay fees - $0.64 ESE = $0.80 gain (without taking cost of cards or any supplies into account)

4 cards at $0.99 (added to cart) = $3.96 + $0.00 shipping - $0.77 ebay fees - $0.64 ESE = $2.55 gain (without taking cost of cards or any supplies into account)

I’d be curious as to what percentage of the .99 sales are only one card orders. I mean I totally get it when you sell 4 at a time. Thanks for the explanation.

[premium1981]

Originally Posted by Brian S

I'm just curious to how you don't lose money on cards that you have listed for .99 + free shipping. After ebay fees and ESE postage don't you lose money? Is there something I'm missing?

Its all a volume game, and it works. I take a different approach personally though. My lowest individual cards are $1.99. I will make fewer of these sales compared to someone selling $.99, $1.25, or $1.50, etc. But with fewer sales come a higher profit per sale, less labor, and more inventory for future sales. I've run some personal hypothetical scenarios, and due to the the tiny profits and/or losses of $.99 cent cards thats others do I can sell about 10%-25% quantity of the same type cards and come out ahead in more ways than one. Its the difference in packaging 300 things vs maybe 50 things with the same bottom line. Then comes the extra headaches of packages going missing, messages, etc as well.

A lot of people like to diss the low end game, and I understand why they do it. But if you don't mind the work its such a great foundation for a store/business. I don't consider the $1.99 cards my specialty, but I have a ton of them and they will sell when other things are slow. That is why I call it my foundation. I can always count on a certain amount of sales from my cheap cards, even if I am between opening products or adding fun new inventory that flies off the shelf. You need a balance. If all you do is sell $.99-$1.99 cards you are going to drive yourself nuts trying to keep up with what probably equates to less than minimum wage. But when balanced with other things it makes for an incredible ebay store that can sustain a family. I made more money last year than I ever have in my life. And that was with me having my store closed for almost 2 months total last year while my family traveled and enjoyed the fruits of my labor. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'll add one more note when talking card sales in general. You will always have people who do not understand, or say it isn't possible. But here is what you have to realize. There are tens of millions of dollars getting transacted every single days in the card business. $274 in profit a day is all you have to average to make $100k a year. If you understand the hobby pulling $274 a day from those many millions is very doable. It isn't as crazy of a thought as some make you think it is. Understanding these $.99 or $1.99 cards can be part of that math with little risk compared to some of the other ways to do it.

[shrevecity]

On single cards they do, but when someone buys another at same time it becomes a plus. However sometimes just tge transaction is the more important detail especially if you are a seller who hovers around 150 transaction a month. Ebay policies are that if ypu sell more than 400 items every 3 months your rated on a 3 month scale. If ypu sell less you are on a 12 month scale. If you fall below that once you get on it you could fall below standard due to the past 12 months being added back to you. A few 99 cent free shipping transactions would keep them over that number.

Another thing us transactions boost overall search rankings.

Would I do it on everything. No but from ths overall sales point most sellers make it up on other sales. Retail stores will sometimes sell items at a loss to get people in door. This is ebays way of doing it.

[Andr3000]

I do a lot of low end, and give up the tracking and ship anything that’s only a few bucks or less with a forever stamp. I typically get them far below market price; usually around 25-30c each. You have to be careful as there are some fakes out there, but I have had good luck on eBay and that allows those single card transactions to at least come out slightly in the black.

[nam812]

Saturday and Sunday were terrible for me. It's only 9:40 EST and I have the same amount of sales this morning as I had in both days combined.

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by nam812

Saturday and Sunday were terrible for me. It's only 9:40 EST and I have the same amount of sales this morning as I had in both days combined.

February has been overall terrible for me

[Brian S]

Originally Posted by premium1981

Its all a volume game, and it works. I take a different approach personally though. My lowest individual cards are $1.99. I will make fewer of these sales compared to someone selling $.99, $1.25, or $1.50, etc. But with fewer sales come a higher profit per sale, less labor, and more inventory for future sales. I've run some personal hypothetical scenarios, and due to the the tiny profits and/or losses of $.99 cent cards thats others do I can sell about 10%-25% quantity of the same type cards and come out ahead in more ways than one. Its the difference in packaging 300 things vs maybe 50 things with the same bottom line. Then comes the extra headaches of packages going missing, messages, etc as well.

A lot of people like to diss the low end game, and I understand why they do it. But if you don't mind the work its such a great foundation for a store/business. I don't consider the $1.99 cards my specialty, but I have a ton of them and they will sell when other things are slow. That is why I call it my foundation. I can always count on a certain amount of sales from my cheap cards, even if I am between opening products or adding fun new inventory that flies off the shelf. You need a balance. If all you do is sell $.99-$1.99 cards you are going to drive yourself nuts trying to keep up with what probably equates to less than minimum wage. But when balanced with other things it makes for an incredible ebay store that can sustain a family. I made more money last year than I ever have in my life. And that was with me having my store closed for almost 2 months total last year while my family traveled and enjoyed the fruits of my labor. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'll add one more note when talking card sales in general. You will always have people who do not understand, or say it isn't possible. But here is what you have to realize. There are tens of millions of dollars getting transacted every single days in the card business. $274 in profit a day is all you have to average to make $100k a year. If you understand the hobby pulling $274 a day from those many millions is very doable. It isn't as crazy of a thought as some make you think it is. Understanding these $.99 or $1.99 cards can be part of that math with little risk compared to some of the other ways to do it.

$1.99 is my lowest as well and I have around 17k listings right now. Not as much as many of you guys but that's the lowest I feel good with on an individual sale. I tried the lower price deal but too many people would buy one card compared to people who bought two or more.

[rynobot]

Had a good weekend with sales so time to get my BGS order ready... ��