Is the Ebay thing cooling off or what?

[daleastern]

I am trying to figure out what I am doing wrong!  Over the past few years I have sold quite a few things on Ebay.  I took a break but came back lately to sell some left over classic Mustang auto parts.   I see a part listed for let's say $50 on a "Buy it now" so I list the same part in an auction for $22.  Not only does it not sell, I don't even get any watchers.  Due to high Canada Post rates as compared to US postal I give shipping cost so low that I am losing money sometimes as I mail a part.

Seems I list 20 parts that are cheaper than anybody else and only sell 2!

Should I be using "Buy it Now instead of auction?  

Thanks in advance for you opinions.

[i*m-still-here]

It's very hard for others to compete with Americans and this holds true for buying and selling alike.

It's been escalating and currently it's more difficult that ever for everyone other than US buyers and sellers than it ever was.

American buyers can buy with much more ease on ebay because they do not have to email every seller for shipping costs.

Since they can buy most of their items within their own borders while others shop internationally their cost is lower as well, and depending on the item very often MUCH lower.

Ebay is often unfriendly to "Outsiders" (nonAmericans) and this is true now more than ever, and so many leave very quickly once they have a taste of American hospitality..... :).

Canadian sellers can compete if they have One Of a Kind (OOAK) items and/or take a hit on shipping costs.

I wonder if that isn't the crunch you're feeling now?

[pierrelebel]

Please allow me to present a totally different opinion.

Sales by sellers on eBay are booming!  That is a fact. UP 18% last year over the preceeding year.

OK - it may be a bit more challenging for Canadian sellers to sell by mail on eBay and elsewhere due to high shipping costs but you have plenty of success stories by Canadian sellers.  It is time to listen to positive comments instead of the same negativity coming from the same posters.

From an eBay press release last week:

" eBay Inc. enabled more than $175 billion of commerce volume (ECV) in 2012, representing growth of 18%. ECV is the total commerce and payment volume across all three business units consisting of Marketplaces GMV, PayPal merchant services net total payment volume and GSI global ecommerce (GeC) merchandise sales."

http://www.ebayinc.com/content/press_release/20130116006423 

It should be noted that the growth of sales in North America is about the same as international sites.

A key statistic is the percentage of transactions at fixed price.  It is now up to 68% or more than twice as much as auction style listings.

It does not mean that you should sell at fixed price but, you should consider it if your competitors are successful using the "fixed price" format and you are not doing so well using the "auction" format.

For example, when I checked the sub-category In Vintage Car & Truck Parts & Accessories I found 29,886 listings (on eBay.ca) only 3,617 (12%) were offered at auction. The vast majority of listings were offered at fixed price.  Why?  That is what most buyers want.  The ability to buy it now, pay for it immediately and have the seller ship within a day.

Before your next listing, I suggest you take a good look at what your successful competitors are doing.

Good Luck.

[i*m-still-here]

P*****.........

A reality check is not the same as negativity.

You are once again taking a sideways swipe at me......... I'm not going to fight with you so please stop.

What is the point?  Enough Already!

[bb_cool_stuff]

Before your next listing, I suggest you take a good luck at what your successful competitors are doing.

Same advice I received from the same person years ago.

Strike up a friendship with some of your competitors. I am in weekly contact with three of them that have been in the game for a lot longer than i have. Friendly & helpful.

Yes it is a challenge, but the majority of us have found a way to make it work for us. Thousands of Canadian businesses encounter this daily & have successfully met the challenge.

Keep in mind, same advice i received from the same person, " Some things are just not worth selling online"

[i*m-still-here]

Yes, and since you are selling car parts for Mustangs you do have OOAK items.

A good friend of mine deals in exactly the same thing you do, but he in the States now.

I know NOTHING about old Mustangs, but he taught me a little.

He told me that they are making new parts for the old cars and was somewhat concerned because all he does is deal in old parts from old cars which.......... as he explained to me........ is what the purists are after.

However, those restoring old Mustangs can buy new parts which wasn't true in the past.

Perhaps that is hurting your business???

[i*m-still-here]

Also.......... IMO as I stated above, I do think that Americans are trying harder now to buy at home than ever before because of their economy.

But that won't last forever so hang in there.

[pjcdn2005]

I think that the sheer volume of listings plus the way ebay manipulates search can make it tougher for people to find some listings. One thing I noticed is that 3 of your items...230913330949, 230913331329 & 230913331733 do not have a U.S. shipping cost which means that only people on .ca are seeing them.

[canuckchat]

Some items that may possibly have sold well in the past on Ebay may not do so - perhaps take a look at Kijiji or even a Mustang-specific site. Or maybe a swap meet?

[queenpalmer]

I am a hobby seller.  I sell for the enjoyment of interaction.  If I had a store front in a town I would never know when a passerby would come in.  If they did come in maybe they did not buy.   I had no sales in Dec-12 or in the first week of Jan-13, then whamooo several unexpected sales within days of each other.  I did not change my listings to attract buyers.  In fact I added S&H charges to buyers from the States.  I ship free to fellow Canadians.  The age old addage---you can lead a horse to water, but you can not make them drink.

[i*m-still-here]

The ?: "Is ebay cooling off" may best be answered with the reply that ebay is changing and in some cases this will mean that it's cooling off.

If you are selling and have never altered the way you sell and/or what you sell then it might seem like ebay is cooling off.

In other words, the market and ebay are not static.

Some things which sold well in the past won't today, and some ways of selling in the past will no longer work very well today.

[daleastern]

Thanks to all for the input.  I agree with most everything that was said.   With Canada Post rates going up I think I'll take a break for a while.