Anyone in the same boat?? Becoming more and more difficult make $$ here

[discountlabelsupplies]

1) Most Canadian PS's pegged the pricing to U.S. competition. This was great when the US dollar was towering over our dollar. Now that the U.S. dollar is not as strong as it was, we are making less $$. Very difficult to raise pricing.


2) Canada Post increases


3) Ebay Fee Increases


4) More competition not really balancing out against all the new people discovering Ebay.


5) Competition is willing to make $5.00 on a $50.00 sale . Unheard of in the B & M world.


Total buyers market now, I guess that's how free enterprise is supposed to work however its very difficult as a seller.

[shoplineca]

I paid eBay almost $1,000 over Christmas with another $400 to PP. I could have bought alot of local advertising for that and sold as much in a weekend in just the week before Christmas by renting a kiosk in a mall.

When I first sold on eBay I was even listing pianos in the $4,000 +USD range.

With increased fees for reserves and BINS, my 2nd years average sellimg price was around $350 USD.

Last year, again due to increased fees, my average selling price was around $135 USD.

I have instruments I would have loved to feature that sell for over $1,000. I have tons for around $500 but I had had to go head to head against people importing really cheap junk to maintian my PS status.

That is why my business plan has me loosing my PS status in another 2 weeks.

From now on, I will only sell items I get for a really great price on and know I will enjoy profitable sales or if I can land some special items.

I have said it for almost 3 years here, my goal is simply to maintain a specific profit margin and if that means only selling 1 item per month, then that is what I will do.

I will be featuring one piece of high-end jewellery this week. If it sells, I keep my PS status as it will be selling for a few thousand.

The same people having me sell this item, have additional, rarer and more expensive items that they will have me also sell for them.

At the same time, they want to purchase a piano from me (directly and not through eBay), so I win all around, whether I maintain my PS status or not.

Malcolm

[sunward-hobbies]

Okay, now I have to work. Answering the posts:

malcolm:
"...while it ran far too slow for any practical use, he clearly proved that we have to rethink everything."

Uhm, if it works, make more, put them together and you have ennough power. If it runs too slow, use gears.

"One of the problems will be the oil industry"

Who cares about the oil industry. Just go to the care companies and they will eat up you idea. Makes them money by being able to sell more expensive vehicles.

Fuel cell:
Still early, but will be in use more in the future. BTW, don;t hold you hopes on hydrogen fuel cells. Where does the hydrogen come from?

IBM was stupid. For their IBM personal computer, they had a small company right the operating system but let the company keep the rights to the software. The company was microsoft.

What is Law 0?

System magic:
"400 patents...Accronym is something like NITINO"

Uhm, do a search on http://www.uspto.gov/ and provide the patents numbers please. Also, in the US all property of the US federal government is free for use by all. It is illegal to charge a fee for their use.

[sunset_sports_cards]

I just bought a laberler of off dicountlabelsupplies, I thought it was a very good price. In my line of products it is like a stock market, what is hot sells, what is not doesn't. It is very cyclical. Still waiting to make profits!

[iburk]

dicountlabelsupplies,

Insertion Fee $1.20
Gallery Fee $ .35
BIN fee $ .20
Subtitle $ .50

You have a 100% sell through ? You only get the insertion Fee back if it sells the 2nd time.

[discountlabelsupplies]

I used to have about 80 - 90% sell through. Now it is probably down to about 65%

[systemagic]

reliaable-quality,

A search on the search engine you provide for NITINOL discloses 6 results most of which are medical. None of them are for the device, which I know to be patented by a former government employee, that I'll be looking to apply to electric vehicles.

Needless to say I won't expend any further energy to provide the other hundreds of patents which are, for whatever reason, not diclosed by your search engine.

A search via normal search engines may disclose more.

[zarzuella]

I've been on eBay since 1999. There is no question that things have changed radically.

I pare my listing fees to the bone; my average selling price is around $9-10 bucks, I cannot afford to use gallery, subtitle of any of the other bells and whistles or I'd have nothing left. In the past I have been working on 10% total eBay fees, plus Paypal. 75% of my eBay sales come from my store and the recent changes are having a huge impact - thus far this month my fees are at 14% of sales. More importantly, though, sales overall are down. I could swallow the fee increases more easily if the buyers were there in any real number, but the buyer base just isn't what it was.

I now sell on other sites, have my own website which I am promoting heavily on a local level, and am in the process of opening a B&M showroom with limited opening hours (to start.) Just cannot depend on ebay any more.

Ann

(I bought a labeler from discountlabelsupplies 3 years ago, it is excellent quality and still going stong.)

[shoplineca]

Surely they must see the writing on the wall.

This has been echoed and echoed over and over again.

By simply opening up new markets such as China, I understand that there will be some good numbers that can be reported back to the shareholders but all of this is short term growth for long term failure.

I see eBay operating as a totally autocratic management style, on the surface pretending to solicit input from its 'members', but in reality proceeding in the best interests of today's shareholders.

Malcolm

[sunward-hobbies]

system magic:
Patents are published once granted. If not available on the search engine ( for whatever reason ), they are available by contacting the patent office and even are available at some large libraries.

Ann;
I hear you. I have all but given up on books. The fees and work vs income and the cost of shipping doesn't make it worth while.

Angelo