Well, I had my first Paypal transactions (as a seller). I admit it was nice to have the bidders "pay" me so quickly. One paid within minutes of the auction closing. But it feels weird shipping the merch, and I don't really have the money. I have to go to Paypal and transfer it to my bank, and wait till it shows up in my account, which takes 3-ish days...
I won't even think about the risk of chargebacks. I have talked to enough sellers of vintage goods to know that chargebacks are rare. I believe if you are selling neat collectibles, the bidder is so happy to add it to his collection, he's not going to try to scam you. He's going to hope that you list more of his covetted items. So I'll table the chargeback issue till it arises.
Of course, with snail-mail payments, I have to drive to my PO box, and if the payments don't show up in a timely manner, I have to "remind" my bidders to pay. Sometimes I have to remind them 2 or 3 times... but I won't go into that now, either.
With this batch of auctions that just closed, 3 paid quickly with Paypal, 2 emailed me to say they are sending checks, and 3 have not communicated at all, so I still have to play the wait-and-see game before I can remind them to pay.
So the payment-dance continues. Paypal is not the complete answer, as eBay wants us to think.
I'm sure that when eBay strictly enforces the no-checks policy, the bidders who have Paypal accounts will pay more quickly.
But what about the bidders who don't have Paypal accounts, and haven't read every eBay related blog, or even the eBay announcements? When they see the PAY NOW button on their invoice, and it takes them to Paypal, and they try to pay, but are told they can't until they sign up...
How many will sign up right away, verses how many will come back to sign up when they have more time, and verses how many will say NO, and not sign up?
And then, are they mad at ME, the seller? Do they email and ask if they can send a check, and I spend extra time commiserating/soothing them, or do they just want to cancel/forget the whole transaction, and I have to deal with that.
I guess only time will tell...
Doin' The Payment Dance
Today's Online Selling Info-Bits
Read about a couple interesting additions to our online selling options.
Not sure what to think about the 1st one. The Antique Trader newsletter announced yet another new online auction site, touting itself to be THE ebay alternative.
It's called HIGH END AUCTIONS (high-endauctions.com). Everything you list has to start at $500.00 or more. They only have a handful of items listed. I do think it has a nice clean look. Their fees chart says it normally costs $25.00 to list and item, with a Final Value Fee of 3%. ($25 is 5% of $500).
They are running an introductory offer -- it's FREE to list till the end of 2008. I'd love to hear from anyone who tries it...
The 2nd info-bit that I am excited about, I read in today's AuctionBytes newsletter: Google Checkout has officially announced their SHOPPING CART. So now anyone can add a FREE (my favorite word) shopping cart to their own website.
I think this is fantastic. Eventually I will set up my own site, with all kinds of treasures for sale. But right now, I am cranking up my old eBay machine-- getting ready to list some of the huge Hallmark Christmas ornament collection that I bought at auctions last Fall and this Spring.
And so, back to work I go ....
Vintage Halloween Postcard Gifts
- RED DEVIL BIG 18x18 Throw Pillow
- Dramatic Red Devil making crank phone calls from Hell!
- Flying Lady Greeting Cards (Pk of 10)
- Vintage postcard art by DWIG
- Halloween Tricks Greeting Cards (Pk of 10)
- Adorable Boy in Halloween Clown Costume Frightens a Little Girl
- Halloween White Witch Women's Plus Size Scoop Neck T-shirt
- Pretty lady in colorful Harlequin patterned dress with Skull and Crossbones robe. Antique postcard art.
- Blue Bat Lady ~ Necklace Pendant ~ Ornament
- Victorian ~ Art Nouveau illustration from an antique postcard. Tie on a silk cord, knot on a few beads, and wear as a necklace ~ so pretty!
How eBay's Recent Sales Score Works
Here's a post from the eBay Developer's Blog -- if you weren't confused about how they calculate your "Recent Sales", this'll do it:
- How the Moving Window Effects Recent Sales
- "Recent sales are calculated using a moving window. As time passes, older sales that once contributed to the Recent Sales score are dropped in favor of that day's sales. This keeps the score fresh and ensures that it better reflects a seller's current practices. This also prevents sellers from accumulating an infinitely high recent sales scores and dominating a category. "
I like their graphics, but I don't think it really explains it in a way anyone can use.
- Scott Wingo explained it earlier, including suggesting listing strategies:
- FP30 + Finding - Episode II (Attack of the Recent Sales)
I am glad I prefer auctions, and vintage items. It must be driving sellers of new merchandise nuts to figure this all out!
Traffic Is King, Baby!
I ran my Halloween Witch candle auction on Ebid for 10 full days. I had a few lookers, and no bids. I closed the ebid auction last night, and listed it at auction on eBay, and here it is less than 24 hours later, and I have a bid.
As Trading Assistant Journal said recently, TRAFFIC IS KING!!
Just wanted to give you the update...
Today's Ebay Info Tidbits
Well, I did it. I caved, and signed up with Paypal. Now don't get me wrong, I think there is plenty good about using Paypal, as long as there's not a glitch, or I don't get an unscrupulous bidder who does a chargeback. I have used Paypal as a bidder for a few years now, and it has been fabulous and free.
As a seller, I realize that the fees are not too bad, and possibly worth it for the convenience of quick online payments, and direct bank deposits, etc.
Of course, as a business person, I want to know just how much that convenience is actually costing me. And thanks to one of Skip McGrath's blog posts, I have found the Coolest Thing.
It is a Free eBay and PayPal Fee Calculator from New Life Auctions. You can enter all your auction info, and find out just what ebay and paypal will charge you.
For example, I usually list in the
- auction format, starting bid of $9.99 no reserve,
- have an average selling price of $24.99,
- charge actual shipping, host my own pix, no upgrades,
- usually get a 15%FVF discount from ebay,
- and now take paypal,
- so my average fees calculate out to $3.23, about 13% of the bid amount (not including my basis/cost into the item)
Check it out yourself. The calculator is very detailed, with many more variables. It will really help you with setting a fixed price that you can live with. Hat's off to the creator, and a BIG THANKS!
Here's a few other eBay info tidbits I came across while surfing the net today:
1)
- A positive spin (from eBay itself, though):
- State of the eBay Platform: Great!
- "You may have noticed that eBay has been in the news a lot lately. Our news from here at the eBay Developers Program is that we are eagerly moving forward on all of our platform initiatives, and that eBay is making an unprecedented amount of investment in the platform..."
2)
- Tamebay alerts TurboLister users that we will need to update the returns policy on all of our stored templates.
- TurboLister update wipes out returns policy
- "There is a major update to TurboLister today which wipes out any existing returns policy set on users templates... "
3)
- TheBrewsNews has put Bonanzle back on the radar-- the site sure gets a lot of buzz... hmmm... Here's the post:
- Perhaps Bonanzle is in our Near-Term Future After All
- And here's the Bonanzle blog post he's referring to:
- Google Base and Bonanzle: A Story of Star-Crossed Lovers with a Happy Ending
- "Bonanzle is now equipped to be your partner in creating your own Google Base account... detailed help instructions on how to get rolling with your own Google Base account. If you have a booth setup, visit 'My Bonanzle' and 'Add your booth to Google Products search' "
That's it for today -- gotta get to work actually listing some items!
Heads or Tails?
As one of the smaller sellers out here on eBay's Long Tail, I am frustrated by eBay's apparent decision to snip us off -- ouch! I guess I shouldn't take it personally. It is just business.
For us antiques dealers, it has been a great ride, selling out here in our little eBay niche. It's easy to think that we are "all that", and to forget about the Big Head. But eBay definitely hasn't forgotten about it. In fact, they are madly in love with the head -- the big, fat, juicy, money-making head.
I think that this is a good example of the 80/20 Rule (the Pareto Principle) in play. I'm don't know the exact statistic, but it's probably close enough to make my point. Ballpark figure, 80% of eBay's sales are coming from maybe 20% of the sellers. And inversely, probably 20% of the buyers make 80% of the purchases.
Now that's not to say that the sales amounts of the 80%-Long-Tail-Sellers doesn't add up. But it does mean that eBay has to put far fewer resources out for the BH20%, so we 80%LTS are much less important to them. Ebay thinks that they could make more money if they focus on making things work better for the top selling/buying 20%, and sadly, they probably can.
I have been surfing around the fascinating statistics offered up so generously from the SELLER DOME website. Narrowing it down a little, I clicked on the list of the "Top eBay Sellers Registered in the United States", which is sorted by feedback totals. You can then click on each seller's name to get detailed stats on their gross eBay sales.
- My eBay seller name, msdowantiques, with a feedback score of 3,197, has a sellerdome ranking of a lowly #83,225.
- The seller I mentioned recently, wendyhur, with 13,752 feedbacks, ranks at #8,176.
Looking at the U.S. list from the Big Head top, starting with sellers with the highest feedbacks (around 1,000,000), I went down the list looking for sellers that list antiques/collectibles, as opposed to electronics, dvds, etc., and I'd say the highest-ranked seller that sells vintage items is probably:
- Replacements Ltd, replacementsltd, which is a well known company that sells dishes, etc.
- Their feedback is 82,533, and their sellerdome rank is #335,
- Average monthly sales of $135,231.00.
That's impressive Big-Head numbers, and no other vintage/antiques dealer comes close.
Now, jumping to the Crown on the Big Head. Just look at the stats for the reviled newcomer, BUY.COM...
- Their eBay name is buy, feedback is already 275,545, and they rank #36!
- # of Listings, monthly avg. = 1,699,397 / Sell-Through = 2.30 % / Average Sale Price = $42.26
- Monthly sales: $2,202,346.00. That's right -- over $2 million a month. Even with the rumored fee discounts, they still have to be paying eBay a hefty chunk'o'cash.
If that doesn't put into perspective for you why eBay loves the Big Head, here's a few more interesting seller-dome stats:
- The top 8 U.S. sellers (ordered by feedback, not sales amounts) had average monthly sales of
- $345,447
- $277,132
- $220,146
- $260,864
- $114,059
- $61,461
- $487,657
- $307,005
That totals approx. $2,012,00 per month
- #9 is ebestdeal4u, with an impressive $1,723,713 per month., bringing the approx. monthly gross sales of those 9 sellers to $3,736,000.
- #10 on their list, bargainland, has been inactive for the last month, so I will add in #36, BUY.com's $2,202,346 to make my top 10 list complete, as I am sure BUY will be zooming to the top of the list momentarily anyway.
So you can see that eBay is telling us antiques and collectibles dealers that they tossed the coin, and it's "Big-Head Wins, and Long-Tails, You Lose".
It's time for the Long Tailers to look around for a new home before eBay officially chops us off, or just cuts off all "life support" and we just wither away.
Findlay Bottle Show is NOW!
Quick reminder -- the Findlay Bottle Club's annual show is this weekend. I'm off to dealer set-up tomorrow, and the show is open to the public on Sunday.
The dealer tables are SOLD OUT. The weather should be nice, so last-minute dealers can set up outside Sunday morning. Just show up, and check with the club to get a space.
Get directions and details in my earlier post.
See ya there!
Rubber-Neck Round-Up
I wrote yesterday about my flip-floppin' decision to stay with ebay (for now -- oops, there I flop), and to stay positive. It's the positive part that's difficult, what with all the negative-towards-ebay articles I read. I know, I could just not read them... but it's like driving by an accident-- I just can't NOT look.
Here's just a few of the things I read today:
- The Antique Trader's new e-newsletter came out today, and they have an article titled:
- Is eBay Ditching Collectibles? What an ominous title -- I HAD to read it.
- They write about many of the ongoing ebay changes, and that sellers of antiques/collectibles are wary that ebay is abandoning us.
- It's an interesting read, but not really anything new is said. They kind of drift off target, and there are several typos that distracted me, but the gist is that there is not a positive future for small dealers of vintage items on ebay.
- TAMEBAY has a blog entry titled:
- eBay Search Broken - Buyers Offered Off-site Ads
- Also a scary title requiring my attention.
- It refers to something I noticed myself when surfing the 'bay yesterday. Search results were coming back with pages that read:
- “Sorry, that’s not working right now.” But the paid ads leading potential bidders off-site certainly show up.
Ebay says:
Title and Description Search is not displaying all items correctly. Please be assured that we are working aggressively to resolve the issue, and expect it to be fixed by the end of next week. We know how frustrating this is, and sincerely apologize that the fix will take so long, but the reindexing necessary to complete the fix literally takes several days to run.
- How can search be not working? It's pretty much the most important thing, is it not? And ebay's repair time estimate is a week -- yikes! No wonder their stock is doing so poorly.
- And to whip my rubber neck the other direction, The Whine Seller put Bonanzle back on the radar:
- Bonanzle offers new Plus and Premier Paid Membership tiers
- I think Bonanzle is interesting, and will be watching it for growth.
- The Whine Seller also has some insightful commentary about ebay's 30-day-BIN listings gambit:
- Quickie: eBay’s Fixed Price for 30 days was only a listing sale gimmick
OK, that's my Rubber-neck Round-up. Now I am going to put on blinders, and stay positively focused on putting some listings on ebay.
Ebid ... or Ebay ... I'm So Confused
OK, here's what I'm thinking now. I think Ebid.net has the best potential to become a happening AUCTION site. But it's not there yet, and Ebay is still the one. I know, my thoughts are flipping and flopping.
I am not basing this on my beta test of just one ebid listing. That was the best way for me to see how my listings would look on their site. And to get the feel for how their system works. I am going to look for something that I have 2 of, to do a comparison test, and list one on each site.
I spent some time surfing around ebid, searching for the types of items that I generally sell, or shop for. With ebid you can see the completed listings, as you can with ebay. [There's no way to see completed/closed listings on ecrater or bonanzle (that I know of). ]
Ebid puts a big green check mark, or a red X, so you can quickly scroll down looking for items that actually sold. Let me tell you, green check marks are few and far between. I don't know what the sell-through ratio is, but it is low. Of course, there is but a tiny fraction of listings, and shoppers, compared to ebay. Ebid is also originally a UK site, with the recent expansion to US, and the majority of the listings are from UK sellers. So it is hard to compare it to ebay US. But it is obvious that ebay still has way WAY WAY more sellers, and more traffic, equaling way WAY WAY more buyers.
Not that I haven't seen plenty of ebay sellers with what I consider to be very low sell through rates. I am used to about 75% STR for my items (some categories higher, some lower...). I know that new item sellers work under a different business model, with many more listings, and are pleased with 20-30% STRs. But many successful antiques/vintage sellers have STRs like mine, or better. I don't see that happening on ebid for some time.
There are still many people who are happily sticking with ebay, and have not even considered leaving. I will try to take some inspiration from them.
Here's an exerpt from an email my friend Pat wrote to me:
" I'm surprised that you'd leave ebay over Paypal and their other stupid moves since you have done so well from it. And I haven't seen anywhere that can compete except Amazon.
I believe that the auctioning part is pretty much over except for scarce items. Most things are getting few bids or going for the opening price. So if you want to auction you have to start at a price you can live with.
I have done few auctions this year, relying on my store for sales. And I truthfully think that you can get a good price for good items. You just have to be brave to ask for what you want. I've been pleasantly surprised.
And it costs so little to let them sit for the right buyer in the store. ( I have an acquaintance who uses the make offer on almost all her stuff, I think it just tells the buyers that you'll take less, so I don't use it. If someone emails me directly with an offer, I consider it.)
FVF's just keep rising, which is a pain. I'll probably be trying the new 30 day BIN over the next couple months and see if things move faster there. I have a sneaky suspicion that they are going to do away with the stores.
And I don't complain about Paypal. The fees are just part of the game and I hate waiting for mail payments and going to the bank often. I even print my postage right thru ebay/paypal so that I just drop them off at the PO with no waiting.I have stopped shipping out of the country though, too much hassle trying to get the postage right and filling the forms and waiting at the PO. Have missed some sales but I don't care, I just tell them sorry but no."
You can see Pat's ebay listings here. I guess she's right, paypal might have some positiveness. I have just heard so much negativeness, but there are few posts about when things go right.
Here's an excerpt from another ebay seller who has made a career out of her positive ebay outlook. I am referring to The Queen of Auctions, Lynn Dralle, and this is from her latest e-newsletter:
" Remember, I make my living selling about 1,000 $10 items each month. Sometimes I get lucky and something sells for a lot more, but most of the time it is $9.99 items. Be happy with that! "
There is another ebay seller I watch regularly for inspiration. Her ebay name is wendyhur. She has 13,723 all-positive feedbacks, and lists her treasures only as "$9.99-No-reserve-AUCTIONS", not BIN. She is proof that vintage auctions are still happening on ebay. I guess should have been paying more attention to her listings.
So it turns out that I am still going to list on ebay (that's the flip-flop part). I hate to be a sell-out, and to let ebay think that they can do anything they want, but for now they can -- I do need to make some money... It sure felt good to say I was quitting, though.
Ebay is a numbers game, and I am sure if I just list enough treasures, I will turn a profit, and that's what it's all about, right?
So, that's sums up today's thoughts...
My First Ebid Auction Item
Well -- I got all set up on EBID today, and listed my first experimental auction item. It goes "live" at 11pm tonight, but can be viewed now.
It's a Halloween Witch Gurley Candle.
Here's the link to my Ms Dow Antiques Ebid Store, with the candle auction.
You can put your auctions in your FREE store, as well as fixed price. You can have several different categories in each store, and you can have 5 stores. Pretty nifty. They also display in the regular ebid search listings, with a gallery pic (which means it's not actually a free auction-- with a gallery pic it runs you 2% FVF, but it is FREE to LIST.) Gotta have the gallery pic!
I am thinking that this will most likely take the place of my Ecrater and Bonazle efforts. it's exhausting trying to put everything in all those places. And as I've said, I prefer the auction format, and that means EBID.
That's it for today's update...
Cutting the Ebay Apron Strings
I have spent so much time reading everything that I can find about the changes that ebay is making, and trying to find out about the latest alternatives to ebay. You can see by the links here on my website that I have set up stores with Bonanzle and Ecrater. You may notice new links to EBID. I had checked them out before all this ebay messiness really took off, but was reminded of them today in my auctionbytes newsletter (you need to sign up with them to stay informed on online selling).
- Auction Site eBid Runs Promo, Ad Campaign in US / By Ina Steiner / AuctionBytes.com
- Excerpt:
- International online-auction site eBid is giving the first 20,000 new subscribers a special rate of $50 for a lifetime subscription, which entitles them to zero listing fees and zero final value fees on their auctions for life. The promotion is part of the company's celebration of its U.S. launch and double digit growth. To support its growth plans, eBid is currently embarking on an online and offline radio and billboard advertising campaign in the U.S.
I paid my $50.00, signed up, and looked around. I haven't listed anything yet, but I definitely will. I think this sight looks good, and I think with this promotion, and the growing ebay defection, that this is the sight with the most potential to become the best online auction site.
My hesitation is that I have really enjoyed my 9 years on ebay, and enjoyed the good income. I hate to abandon my ebay-comfort-zone, all cushy with my power seller status, and my 3000+ feedbacks, and my experience with using the site, and having all my listing templates and invoicing methods all "dialed in".
BUT...
It is obvious that ebay is not-so-slowly killing off auctions, and going to an all BIN format. I just need to cut those apron strings, and cut ebay loose, as they are doing it to me anyway.
You can read several insightful articles and blog posts on the subject:
- The New York Times article about ebay vs. amazon:
- Amid the Gloom, an E-Commerce War
- excerpt:
- In a series of interviews, Mr. Donahoe acknowledged that eBay, based in San Jose, Calif., didn’t adapt fast enough to shifting e-commerce winds. He now embraces a “turnaround mind-set” and is refocusing its Web marketplace toward shoppers who don’t want to waste time in online auctions.
“There are times when I wish we can close this store and just open a new store, but we can’t,” he said. “We need to make bolder, more aggressive changes to the eBay ecosystem even if they are unpopular.”
- Trading Assistant Journal's post titled:
- Reasons Why eBay is Walking Away from Auctions
- excerpt:
- The patient is not eBay as a corporation, that will survive for eons. The patient is eBay auctions which are travelling through the final chapter of an amazing lifetime. It is time to say goodbye.
- This post on Randy Smythe's My Blog Utopia!:
- Time Flies When You Are Having Fun!
- He reminisces about how he left ebay 3 years ago when they made fee changes that basically put him out of business, and the changes he made then vs. the new online selling tactics we have now that are much cheaper and more user-friendly. I think his positive new-beginnings outlook is a great way for us all to look at the recent developments, and the future ones.
- Excerpt:
- "Let me assure you, this is just a setback before your next opportunity. You will survive these troubling times and come out of them in better shape, than you can imagine."
My plan is to list for a bit more on ebay, until they enforce the paypal only rule (which may be any moment), and then to start putting things on ebid. I have to finish getting set up there, and get signed up with google checkout. And design my new templates, and figure out how to bulk list from a spread sheet (???). It might take a while. I will keep you updated.
" Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls, and looks like work. " --Thomas Edison
Bottle Clubs Are Alive and Well
PS-- for Lima area readers-- the Lions Antique Show has been cancelled... I will miss seeing all my friends. I hope they will hold the February show.
Countdown Till the Findlay Bottle Show
Just a reminder -- only 2 more weeks!
The 32nd annual 2008 FAB-Club BOTTLE SHOW and SALE weekend is almost here!
Sunday October 19th, 2008 will be here before you know it.
- The show is held at the Old Barn Auction House
- 10040 St. Rt. 224 West / Findlay, OH.
- Directions: Go WEST on SR-224 from I-75 (exit
159)
- The show is open to the public on Sunday October 19th at
9am. - "Dealer-only" set-up is the day before, Sat. Oct. 18th (from 1pm till 9pm)
- Includes our FAB-ulous Free Dealer Supper!
- It's a great chance to get in a visit with your
bottle collecting friends before the hectic sale day.
Contact show chairman Fred Curtis (419-424-0486) NOW to reserve sales tables -- better hurry!
Taking a Knowledge "Stay-cation"
I've written about Collector's Weekly several times before. It is a wonderful site, with articles and interviews about zillions of different collecting categories. The site has a nice clean look (no ads-- yay!) and is very user-friendly.
I love their ebay search widget "Super-Browse" which shows you completed items that actually SOLD (not reserve-not-met, or no bids).
I just got their latest email/newsletter, announcing the addition of lots of new categories, and many new articles.
In this time of economic uncertainty, I think it's a good time to gain some antiquing knowledge, and with Collector's Weekly, it's free!
Sign up for their free newsletter here.
Here's some of what they wrote:
We've recently added several dozen new categories, including: Arts and Crafts Movement, Fashion, Vintage Advertising, Victorian Era, Model Trains, Cards, Marbles, Watch Fobs, Jukeboxes, Slot Machines, Fountain Pens and Seth Thomas clocks. We now have over 500 category pages and counting (see the complete list).
Check out the recent in-depth interviews we've done with experienced and passionate collectors... there's a lot of great stuff here!
Antique Hatpin Collector Jodi Lenocker
Pharmacy Antiques Collector Bill Soderlund
Ford Car and Porcelain Sign Collector Sam Baker
Petroliana Collector Jim Potts
Arts and Crafts Silver Collector Paul Somerson
Comic Character Advertising Pinback Collector Mark Lansdown
Advertising Collector Alex Renshaw
19th Century Wood Camera Collector Rob Niederman
Victorian Furniture Collector John Werry
Television Set Collector Steve McVoy
Beer Stein Collector Frank Loevi
Roycroft Metalwork Collector David Kornacki
Rare Cookbook Expert Peter Berg
Jigsaw Puzzle Collector Bob Armstrong
Glass Insulator Collector Ian Macky
Beatles Record Collector Jesse Barron
Marilyn Monroe Memorabilia Collector Scott Fortner
1950s TV Lamp Collector Mark Stevens
Victorian Trade Card Collector Ben Crane
Early American Pattern Glass Collector Elaine Henderson
Oil Lamp Collector Dan Edminster
Pocket Watch Collector Barry S. Goldberg
Alarm Clock Collector Bill Stoddard
Typewriter collector Richard Polt
Antique Telephone Collector Gary Goff
Vintage Microphone Expert Stan Coutant
Bottle Opener Collector John Stanley
Model Car Collector Ron Sturgeon
Silver Necklaces with Vintage Art
Please visit my online shop, Delightfully Vintage -- you'll find all kinds of antiques and vintage treasures from my many & varied collections, now for sale.
Here's My Delightfully Vintage Shoppe - newly listed items:
FinBotClub Blog - Read the Findlay Antique Bottle Club's blog
MS DOW ANTIQUES ~ ON EBAY NOW
My name is Marianne, and I am a collecting addict! And I don't want to be cured. I love everything about antiquing, collecting, and selling. I'm a born-and-raised California Girl, which changed when, after visiting hubby's family back here in Ohio, we got hooked on antiques.
