eBay

pierrelebel · ‎09-22-2013

By David A. Utter
EcommerceBytes.com
September 16, 2013

http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y13/m09/i16/s02

"It may be that the next big idea on the internet will be the next generation of an online marketplace, likely one with multiple payment options, fully usable on smartphones and tablets as well as desktop PCs, sufficient buyer and seller protections, and the ability to offer or accommodate seller tools. Until then, eBay looks like it will always merit consideration for sellers."

recped · ‎09-23-2013

It will not stop that new online shopper from going to the mall regularly, to visit Value Village or WalMart

Value Village maybe but Wal-Mart well unless you need to touch and feel or get it in the next hour lots of people are switching to online from them.

Here in Toronto I get 2 day FREE delivery (item price same as in store) on cat food. Not only do I get an email notice the night before delivery they give me a phone call 30 minutes before the driver shows up.

"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

ricarmic · ‎09-23-2013

I saw something on the news about Canada Post doing trial same day delivery, (in Toronto I believe) a few companies like Best Buy - if you order in the morning it is at your door that afternoon......

cumos55 · ‎09-23-2013

eBay can be compared to the retail environment of a large city.

In a large city there is a broad spectrum of retail options.

(1) Large malls, with large retailers such as Sears, The Bay, Walmart, Target and more.... as well as retailers that can afford the rent.

(2) The "across the street" from a large mall ... retailers

(3) The down the street from the large mall retailers.

The there is downtown..... Although large suburban malls are prominent... Downtown still serves as a place to shop... perhaps more for smaller specialized retailers as opposed the very large retail enterprises at the large malls.

(4) The little stores, the specialty stores, that serve the local community..., many small stores throughout a city

(5) the dollar or low price retailers...

(6) There are some small stores that serve a large market because of their uniqueness.

On eBay we have everything that is in a large city and more... mainly because the retailers on eBay are in cyberspace... Inventory is located worldwide.... and not a single location.

Imagine the size of eBay if all inventory currently on eBay was stored at one location! eBay would be a country unto itself

It used to be that a market was strictly local... the corner store concept..... little store in a town or city....until the internet arrived..

and we can remember what eBay did... changed the auction market... Many local auction businesses have closed down in Winnipeg. In order to survive with an auction business one must be very focused in what is sold... such as high-end antiques or one has to sell a broad spectrum of inventory, be big, and sell just about anything that can be sold at auction...

An example... eBay changed the market for Beanie Babies.... no longer scarce within a given city....

Thrift stores have multiplied... People have fewer garage sales.... and then internet garage sales on Kijiji.

We have eBay with everything from large retailers, to small businesses, new and antique, high priced, low priced, specialty, and mass selling... and final garage sale items...

Everything,,, and everything has its place..... The main aim for anyone to sell on ebay is to make a profit.... some perhaps just to make sale... get rid of inventory as in a garage sale.

It main difference is that you and your competition have inventory side-by-side... and not in separate stores... and this is what makes it difficult to sell on eBay...Competition is in your face...

Big retailers... big sellers, small sellers..... Everything has a place on eBay....Success depends on what you sell... your competition, and your reputation....

There is a place for small sellers on eBay... However, it is the small sellers that implode and disappear, not because of eBay but because they cannot sustain a retail enterprise on eBay, and function within the environment on eBay

rose-dee · ‎09-23-2013

Well, I thought I would miss the conveniences of city shopping and quick door-to-door delivery when we left Victoria, BC and moved to rural Nova Scotia, (let alone leaving behind years ago the infinite choices available in my hometown of Toronto).

However, when we first arrived someone said to me "don't worry, you can get anything here, within a day or two". She was right. I've ordered supplies from Staples online and had them arrive at the door in 2 days flat. HBC gets them here in the same timeframe (with free shipping for a minimum purchase), right to our door in the middle of almost nowhere, N.S., beautifully packed in a large box, and with generous return/refund terms. Canada Post is the same. Sears has an outlet in town a few kms away. IKEA delivered bookshelves to our door within 3 days (although a minimum purchase was required). Purchases from eBay arrive generally within a week from almost anywhere. All thanks to online shopping.

When I consider how much time I would have had to spend slogging through department stores looking for what I wanted, and the gas to get there and back (the nearest large stores being 1-1/2 hours away at the least), online purchasing has been the option for most things. It allows me to live quietly out in the country but have more or less everything at my fingertips that is available in a big city.

Now, I have to admit that my dear elderly aunt who also lives in the country in Ontario, drives into town (Belleville or Picton) to buy everything, and I find that's generally true with most of that generation. There is a demographic divide. Probably those who had to use computers at work from about the 1970's onward have remained somewhat comfortable with the idea of online purchasing (provided it's reliable and trustworthy), whereas those who never really had to use computers -- let alone Iphones -- are unlikely to switch now. Just imagine the comfort level with (mobile) online shopping of the generation now becoming adults.

I doubt the "personal shopping experience" that we women enjoy so much will ever completely vanish. There will still be stores offering real merchandise for real live people, but I think more and more these will be items like clothing, makeup, shoes, handbags, etc. -- the kinds of things people (OK, read: women) have fun shopping for. This seems to have become the trend with some of the larger retailers -- more vanity goods and fewer household necessities. One real-life west coast B&M store I do miss out here on the east coast however: London Drugs!!!

cumos55 · ‎09-23-2013

When you buy on-line, inventory comes from a warehouse

It cost much less to store in a warehouse than to display and sell at a high-priced retail location.

Mail order works well for rural, small communities... the more remote, the better the options for buying.

bb_cool_stuff · ‎09-23-2013

Maybe I'm the exception, but none of my friends at this time buy on line and my family never has.

I'm with you on that, however I think we are fast becoming part of the minority.

I can only think of one person in our circle of friends that buys online.

My wife, just once when she bought a gift for me, my kids even though they are in their early thirties still have the "Want It Now Attitude"

I often ask friends why, but they never seem to have an answer.

bb_cool_stuff · ‎09-23-2013

However, it is the small sellers that implode & disappear, not because of eBay, but because they cannot sustain a retail enterprise on eBay, and function within the eBay environment.

I will agree with that statement.

We have to develop a business mind set & work within the paramaters set out by eBay.

It isn't really all that tough. The tough part is sourcing out product at a good price.

Important words of advice i received when i first came to the forums as a Newbie years ago, check the Completed Listings.

I still have the print out of my first topic.

Guess who replied ? In order Nikki, Pierre, Femme, Loki, Surplus & a smart alec post from Dex.

pjcdn2005 · ‎09-24-2013

Guess who replied ? In order Nikki, Pierre, Femme, Loki, Surplus & a smart alec post from Dex.

Wow...you really are an oldtimer!

Just on the discussion boards of course.

cumos55 · ‎09-24-2013

Before anyone starts selling on eBay a person must understand who they are.

Stand in front of a mirror and ask... Who am I?

Then it is very important to be absolutely honest.

How do I deal with people?... How do I communicate?..

and then adjust if possible... For some people adjustment is never a possibility

How do I deal with someone I cannot see?

Sellers come here to eBay ... Do their own thing... ignore eBay... and are not too complementary of buyers... end up losing their place on ebay... and leave voluntarily or because eBay said good-bye.

There are many sellers who do not take a responsibility for what they do ... they leave.

Many people say small sellers have a target on their backs... It is more like the seller paints the target.....

One can learn a lot from these people... Sit back, read and learn.... and many times it is learning what not to do.

They are the ones who look to sell elsewhere.... However, They may find out, eBay was better for them... and then it is too late...

cumos55 · ‎09-24-2013

Many people do not take the time to find out how their listings relate to the listings of competitors.

Many throw up a series of listings and say... buyer buy...

Two months later the question is ...Why is it not selling....

List three books at $10 each... and the first book is Da Vinci Code....1000 listings on eBay and 100 listed at $1.00... speaks for itself.

Reasarch is most important... before one lists and then after one lists.

Cassini is here... on eBay.ca..... How many sellers know what is happening to their listings.... and then how many will adjust listings in relation to how Cassini works to produce a search report...

Major adjustments have been made to all my listings..Views are up... people are buying ... The high-priced items are being viewed but not purchased to a significant degree.....

But then high international postal rates are causing a problem with international, specifically US, buyers.

If anything kills eBay it could be the annual increase in postage... not because of what ebay does, but rather the effect of postage costs on sales overall...

It will not be eBay only... it will be internet , and mail order sales in general.

Large companies such a as Sears, IKEA, Walmart and others, as large companies can arrange for special postal rates or special delivery rates . eBay has some of that. However, even those reduced rates may not be enough at some point in the future..

bb_cool_stuff · ‎09-24-2013

Wow... you really are an oldtimer!

LOL, I consider myself seven in dog years.

I see a PJ shot coming in the future.

bb_cool_stuff · ‎09-24-2013

Stand in front of a mirrior...and ask ...Who am I ?

You are always informative, but when i see that statement i am reminded of the old SNL Skit when Stuart Smalley has Michael Jordan standing in front of a mirror asking the same question. Hilarious Skit !

and then adjust if possible...

Agree again.

That is why i keep this Richard Branson quote on my desk " Sometimes you have to take your thinking in a new direction because circumstances & opportunities have changed."

bb_cool_stuff · ‎09-24-2013

I will add connections are very important.

Paramount now as costs have to be lower than ever as competition is so fierce.

Form a relationship with competitors. In my experience most are very receptive.

Treat people the way they should treated & one would be very surprised how many back doors open.

bb_cool_stuff · ‎09-24-2013

Should add, hard to get rid of this guy, the amount of great deals that are out there right now, but be careful what you buy.

The deal might be there, but bottom line, can you sell it ?

Inuk mentioned one time, paraphrasing of course " You make your profit when you buy the Item " He can correct me.

Do the math when buying.

How much does it cost & what can i sell it for ?

What are the eBay,Paypal & Shipping charges ?

That should give you a good idea how much profit could me made.

reallynicestamps · ‎09-24-2013

It main difference is that you and your competition have inventory side-by-side... and not in separate stores... and this is what makes it difficult to sell on eBay...Competition is in your face...

In B&M that would be a good thing.

Here in Ottawa when Mountain Equipment Coop opened a store, several other similar businesses opened within a few blocks. All seem to have done well. In addition, MEC brought in the Starbucks crowd so the same area became the place for frothy coffee, artisan bakeries, bistros and ready to renovate housing. Now there are $500K condos going up.

I think I mean-- when you have a draw for one type of product, competitors also benefit. Some because they have better prices, some because they have friendly ToS, some because they have a somewhat different product mix. And while the customer is on eBay they may/will start browsing. Personally I detest that first page with all the "Here's stuff you might be interested in" but I have come to realize that part of my hostility is because of the time I waste looking at stuff I like (plus the stuff my husband looks at while checked in to MY account).