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Blitz
Ezine # 152 Feb 25, 2002
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The
Blitz-Promotions News Letter.
Issue no. 152, Feb 25, 2002
http://www.blitzpromotions.com
100 Ways to promote your site -
http://www.blitzpromotions.com/blitz152.htm
Subscribe to our Ezine
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In This Issue **************
Comments
Food for thought
100 Ways to promote -
The Classifieds
Next Issues
Link
to this issue online -
http://www.blitzpromotions.com/blitz151.htm
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Blitz Comments
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We've
got the flu here - all three of us and it's not a bit
fun... hope you enjoy this issue.
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Food for thought
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If
you're proactive, you don't have to wait for circumstances
or other people to create perspective expanding experiences.
You can consciously create your own.
Stephen
Covey
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100 ways to promote your site #43
Marketing with Ebay
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This
weeks issue comes to you as a result of some nice folks
writing in and sharing their opinions. Please make sure
you visit their sites.
http://www.amherst-antiques-folkart.com/
http://www.baroncreationsandgifts.com/
Hi
Tim and Lisa!
I began using Ebay about four years ago as a means of
selling antiques online. I started off just looking,
then buying, then figured I might as well start selling
(I was already selling in a brick and mortar shop).
At that time, Ebay was a pretty profitable avenue for
sellers of all types of goods. But that was then – things
have changed – a lot!
Ebay
has raised their fees, changed their rules, disallowed
linked banners and ads to our web sites from our auction
pages, and they’ve opened their own “branded” Ebay stores
(mini web sites). So, it doesn’t add a lot of value
to a web-based business just to use Ebay as a way to
advertise your online business anymore. Ebay is BIG
business and they don’t regard small businesses as quite
as valuable as they used to (or seemed to). Over the
years, I have made a profit overall on the items I’ve
sold on Ebay. But, if you really regard your Ebay sales
as a “business” activity, you have to do the bookkeeping!
Let’s
say I offer an antique plate with a retail value of
$200 on auction at Ebay. First I have to take decent
photographs of the front, back, and a close up. If I
don’t have a digital camera, I pay for photo processing.
I have to scan or upload the photos to my computer and
take some time to make sure they are clear, color-corrected,
and optimized for web viewing. If I don’t have photos,
or have poor quality photos, my item simply will not
be looked at or bid on. And, I have to pay for those
photos to be hosted on the web, or pay Ebay to host
them.
Next,
I spend at least 20 minutes to write the auction text;
I need a very, detailed and accurate description with
measurements, and I need to go over this item with a
fine-tooth comb to make sure I describe any flaws. Why?
Because, if a bidder wins this item, and finds when
it arrives that it is not as I described, he or she
is a) going to want to return it, or b) leave me negative
feedback at Ebay. A bad reputation travels fast at Ebay
so it is definitely NOT worth cutting corners here!
Now, I am ready to post the auction. I upload my photos
to the web and fill out the auction form. Here’s where
I can run into the high cost of doing business on Ebay
if I am not careful.
There
is an insertion fee based on the starting bid amount.
If I start the auction too low, there can be a perception
that the item isn’t worth very much, and it will sell
low. Or, if I start the auction at a mid-range opening
bid, say $49.00 on my $200.00 plate, that’s better,
but I’d want to be sure it sells for at least what I
paid for it, plus some to cover all the associated auction
fees I will pay. To be sure that I am covered in that
regard, I have to place a reserve on this item. That
way if the item does not sell high enough to cover my
costs, I am not obligated to sell the item to the highest
bidder. If I enter a reserve price, I pay another fee
to Ebay. Now Ebay will entice me with all kinds of auction
page options, like highlighted titles, boldface text,
dual auction categories, featured auction placement,
etc. Every one of these options can incur more fees,
and none of them will guarantee that my item will sell
high, or sell at all!
OK,
I have all the information ready and I upload it to
Ebay. Now I am at the mercy of the bidding population.
Is it a good week for bidding, or not? Only time will
tell.
In
the meantime, let’s add up the fees:
Insertion fee (for an item with a reserve of $125.00)=
$2.20
Added insertion fee for a reserve auction= $1.00 (refundable
if item sells) Photo hosting: 1 free, 2 more at 0.15
each = $0.30
Boldface title= $2.00
So
far I’ve paid $5.50 to list this plate, and if I chose:
Dual category fees = doubles all fees above, so my fees
are now $11.00
If
I paid $100.00 for the plate and $11.00 to list it,
I have $111.00 invested in this item now, plus about
an hour or more of my time, and maybe film and processing
costs. OK, at the end of 7 days, my plate sells for
$126.00 (one dollar over my reserve price). Now Ebay
goes to work deducting their Final Value Fees. They
take 5% of the first $25.00 ($1.25), plus 2.5% of the
rest up to $1000.00 ($2.52), then they give me back
the $1.00 I paid to list the plate with a reserve, so
my final Value Fees total $2.77. That brings my cost
for this plate to $113.77. I just made a whopping $12.23
profit. Now I have to email the high bidder, tell them
what the shipping and insurance will cost them, and
ask them to make payment to me. If I offered PayPal
as an option to my bidder for making their payment,
I might pay another 2% of that $126.00 + the $7.50 for
Priority mail and insurance, so that is another $2.67,
bringing my profit down to $9.56. If I use the free
boxes and tape offered to Priority Mail customers, I
only have to pay for the bubble wrap I use to protect
the plate (a few more pennies off the bottom line).
Now, I use my gas to travel to the post office, stand
in line, and mail the plate to the winning bidder. My
time invested in each auction item usually adds up to
about 3 hours in total, for which I am paid an average
of about $1.00 an hour or less.
What
am I really getting out of listing items for sale at
Ebay auction? Well, not as much as I used to. You really
have to decide what types of items will sell well, and
consistently. You need to know which days are best for
starting and ending an auction and which categories
give those items the exposure they need to sell high.
You have to establish a good Ebay feedback profile over
time, find ways to cut your costs, and link your auction
pages from your own web site (you can’t do it the other
way around anymore). I must admit, I have only had two
bidders send bad checks over the years, and I have had
a few that simply did not make payment at all (non-paying
bidders) – you can report them to Ebay and sometimes
they will refund part of your fees.
Are
there any pluses? Well, I have met a lot of very nice
people using Ebay, and some still frequent my web site
(there’s a plus!). Ebay has grown dramatically over
the last couple of years, and its user base has grown
as well. So you now have more people selling at Ebay
than ever before, which reduces the likelihood of your
item being seen like it once would have been. You have
to foster a client base and try to let them know when
you list something they would be interested in. If you
are only selling at Ebay and not from your own web site,
it can be a good thing – it’s an inexpensive way to
start off a web-based business. Pay as you go and see
if it’s for you!
At
this point, I simply don’t have the time to devote to
Ebay now that I have my own web site to maintain. I
would much rather spend the time keeping the items at
my site fresh, working on my e-newsletter, and keeping
in touch with the clients I have at my site. Ebay, for
the time and energy it takes to keep up, simply isn’t
as profitable as it once was. I am glad that I had the
experience using Ebay (I even listed auctions for clients
for a short time – not a good idea!!), but I find having
the control over my spending, and making my own rules
for my business is much more profitable and enjoyable
than allowing Ebay to dictate (at a whim) where my money
goes.
Here’s
a link to my Ebay Feedback Profile – http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=saldanb
I
worked hard to establish this kind of a rep at Ebay
– and at least I can say to my web site customers, “look,
I am reputable and I deliver as promised – my customers
at Ebay are very satisfied!”
Sally
Van Nuys-Brown Antiques dealer / artist
Visit Old Towne Amherst Antiques & Folk Art Today
for Antiques*Collectibles*Hand-painted Folk Art*Country
Decorating Accessories & Gifts Free Newsletter, Drawings,
Ideas, and More!
http://www.amherst-antiques-folkart.com/
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Hi
Tim,
We
started using Ebay through the coaxing of some friends
who have a huge Ebay business! One is a jeweler and
the other sell T-shirts. We decided to give it a try
and from the first item placed up for auction we immediately
received bids. We did extrememly well and built a small
customer base from doing this. We got repeat customers
and even some custom orders. The downfall we found is
we couldnt get our money, meaning people are shopping
for discount bargains and expect to pay as little as
possible for an item.
I
find that's the reputation that seems to come with the
Ebay name. We did sell a few high priced items, depending
on the item you have I guess, people may dish out the
money if they want it bad enough. I had an item that
I was selling for $495 and got anywhere from $750 $1100
for them. So I guess you never know. The hottest seller
I find on Ebay are antiques, people will spend the money
and antiques have a large customer base!
On
the up and up however, Ebay has new potential customers
signing on daily. So you can sell the same item over
and over again because of the volume and increase of
new customers. People also like to find the items they
need quickly and know they can get it on Ebay, unlike
having to search for a website.
Depending
of the types of goods you have, I am convinced your
items will sell no matter what you have but getting
the dollar amount you want is another thing. For both
my friends that have a large Ebay business, Their main
complaint is that Ebay is very expensive and they have
to pay listing fees whether an item sells or not. They
are paying Ebay as much as $2000 a month. And being
that busy, both businesses have had to hire help.
Hope
this helps,
Blessings,
Denise Baron
http://www.baroncreationsandgifts.com/
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Want
more information - the link below has tons of information
about E-bay and how to sell.
http://onlineauctionbiz.com/
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