considering closing my ebay store - opinions please

[razorwyre1]

hi! i just wanted to see what you folks think about this:
several years ago, i was selling an average of about 12 items a day on ebay, 3 times that during the halloween season, and once as many as 150 in a weekend. i was a full time ebay power seller, with nearly 44000 sales. once i even sold a mask to a VERY BIG NAME hollywood director.
in the past 5 or 6 years, the numbers have been spiraling downwards, to the point where last month i sold one single solitary item. also during that time ebay itself made things much harder on its sellers and its storekeepers.
last month, despite selling a single item for about $20.00, i still paid $130.00+ in ebay listing fees.
i am seriously considering shutting down the ebay store, or at least shutting it down until the halloween season. even if i don't shut it down entirely, i will be severely cutting back the number of things i sell, keeping only the very best of what i myself have designed and prototyped.
a huge part of me would hate to do this, yet at the moment its nothing but a burden and a frustration.
please let me know what you think, particularly those of you that sell on ebay (and other outlets on the web).
thanks!

[beaveren]

Have you looked at esty.com ?

B

[jedideni]

While I don't sell on ebay, these 2 comments apply to any business model:

despite selling a single item for about $20.00, i still paid $130.00+ in ebay listing fees.

at the moment its nothing but a burden and a frustration.

Like you said, maybe wait until the Halloween season and put it back up when sales would be better?

[tay666]

With numbers like that, I'd close it too.

Take the time you save, and put that towards getting a website together.
Lots of work upfront. But once it's up and running, you're all set.
Then it's just a matter of keeping it updated.

Might be slow at first, until people start finding you.
But it can't really be any slower than what your ebay sales have been.

[black and white]

Have you looked at esty.com ?

B

What he said. It is the new "trendy" way for artsits to sell their work online, it's definitely worth a look as ebay seems to be on a slow steady decline.

[Brian McGuire]

I use etsy as well. Not big numbers, but it is cheap. I wait for shows anymore to sell kits, ebay + paypal = way out of line. Not to mention the principle and audacity to base final value fees wjth the shipping included.

[TeddyNovak]

I use etsy as well. Not big numbers, but it is cheap. I wait for shows anymore to sell kits, ebay + paypal = way out of line. Not to mention the principle and audacity to base final value fees wjth the shipping included.

Ebay used to be a great place, you could find stuff that you couldn't find anywhere else and find buyers for stuff that you could never get value for anywhere else. Now for the very reasons you mention above I hate it almost as much as Jar jar Binks and Rosie O'Donnell combined and tripled.

[Brian McGuire]

I use etsy as well. Not big numbers, but it is cheap. I wait for shows anymore to sell kits, ebay + paypal = way out of line. Not to mention the principle and audacity to base final value fees wjth the shipping included.

Ebay used to be a great place, you could find stuff that you couldn't find anywhere else and find buyers for stuff that you could never get value for anywhere else. Now for the very reasons you mention above I hate it almost as much as Jar jar Binks and Rosie O'Donnell combined and tripled.

and Nickelback

[razorwyre1]

i sell mass produced stuff, so etsy really isnt the right place.
i guess ive decided to end it, i just have to work up the nerve to pull the plug.

[monsterjones]

Sounds like you made the best choice to exit for now.
Ebay is great for buyers like me....but to sell...not so much,
unless it is a really rare piece....and then the fees are high.

[Brian McGuire]

I sold a casting (the only one I made) of a lifesize Chaney Wolfman, with hand laid fur on ebay about two years ago for 500 odd dollars. Fees between ebay and paypal were almost eighty dollars. That was pretty much the end of me selling there. I do buy, from time to time, but even thats poor anymore weeding through the garbage. It's all been a long time coming. It's mainly retail sellers now, and they have to do huge volume to make any money. Plus, they all drive prices to rock bottom. I think thats even why kits will seem to not bri.g what they once did-thers less people looking at them.

[raydrz]

With numbers like that, I'd close it too.

Take the time you save, and put that towards getting a website together.
Lots of work upfront. But once it's up and running, you're all set.
Then it's just a matter of keeping it updated.

Might be slow at first, until people start finding you.
But it can't really be any slower than what your ebay sales have been.

BINGO!

days are numbered for FEEbay...they really ruined a good thing...like crack dealers, they get you hooked then ruin your life...nice...only sellers seem to be "i'll take whatever i can get" ex-hoarders or friggin recasters...

[razorwyre1]

i figure im going to pull the plug just before the end of the billing cycle, so i get every last second i am entitled to.

[RCreations]

EBay has made it very bad for sellers. I got a bunch of kits I want to sell, that didn't sell here but I keep delaying posting them. Problem is, selling rare kits incurs huge fees and average kits just don't sell or sell for a little. It's still a good place for buyers but not for sellers and without the sellers, there won't be buyers either. EBay really messed up.

[Otto69]

Perhaps open an Amazon store?

[TomOtattoos]

As someone who cares, please bail! This has made you upset for long enough.

[razorwyre1]

Perhaps open an Amazon store?

already have. lets just say, selling on amazon is problematic, at least for halloween mask sellers.

and if you think ebay costs a lot, you should take a gander at amazons percentages. yow!

[raydrz]

Perhaps open an Amazon store?

already have. lets just say, selling on amazon is problematic, at least for halloween mask sellers.

and if you think ebay costs a lot, you should take a gander at amazons percentages. yow!

problematic AND high percentages?!?!? ouch

[The Coop]

It seems like as many years as you have been doing this, you probably have a lot of return customers. If you don't already, like Trevor said, why not just have your own website? Or even use Facebook to your advantage, I know a lot of people are dead set against FB, but it does reach many, many people.

[Todd P.]

Bloody shame that eBay has made it so hard on the people who made it such a success. It abandoned small-time sellers years ago; now even the medium-sized guys like Ray — with tens of thousands of sales — aren't worth the effort as far as they're concerned. These days eBay seems to cater only to sellers who do thousands of sales every month, all others can either swallow the punishment or go the bleep away. No loss as far they're concerned.

I have rooted for alternatives to get a foothold, but what's happened is that there are now MANY decent alternatives, no single one of which offers the opportunity to make a living the way eBay stores used to.

Kinda hate to see you off eBay, Ray, but your plan makes sense. I hope it leads to something better for you.