What has happened to Ebay ?

charlies_mum

soolin wrote: »

I could reminisce all day about past markets- I've been selling long enough to remember when Wedgwood Jasper ware actually sold, completely worthless market now.

Totally agree, was at an auction the other day where they couldn't get a bid on some blue Jasperware. Think it went in the skip at the end

JonTurner

hubb wrote: »

Here is an example. I have Dr Who stuff from the 70's, annuals, books etc. Dr Who has been revived with new interest from kids of today. Logicly the retro stuff should be in demand more so than it used to be. Not so, I remember Dr Who stuff selling for quite a bit of money 10 years or so ago. It doesn't make sense.:mad:

I think the big thing is that there's such a massive amount of new official Doctor Who merchandise out there, not just new series related but classic series too, whereas 10 years ago getting hold of anything Who-related was a bit of a quest and so there were plenty of collectors coming to ebay to find things. Though saying that, the market for older items hasn't completely dried up- for example, some of the New Adventure novels from the 90s command crazy prices still, and there are plenty of toys which sell for a huge amount.

The high prices, though, seem mainly to come from either 60s/early 70s items, or from the 90s wilderness years, whereas a lot of merchandise comes from the 70s/early 80s and this seems to be the stuff that doesn't sell so well, partly because there was so much of it about at that time. Also worth noting is that some of the New Series items, despite being only two or three years old, can reach prices that are much much higher than their original RRP. (I'm one of the nerds who collects this stuff, in case you're wondering!)

As an alternative to ebay, or a place to advertise your Who sales, there's a marketplace section on the main Dr Who forum, Gallifrey Base where you can sell items for free or link to your ebay auctions.

hubb

Still crap. All but one sale comes back sold. The rest unsold. Cheaper than most, reliable, 100% and genuine product photographed well. A few years ago hardly a sale came back unsold.

hubb

Sales still awful. Out of 33 listings of varied collectables such as Cd's. DVD.s, magazines, books I got 2 sales. That wouldn't have happened years ago. It's dead !!!

soolin

hubb wrote: »

Sales still awful. Out of 33 listings of varied collectables such as Cd's. DVD.s, magazines, books I got 2 sales. That wouldn't have happened years ago. It's dead !!!

I can only give my usual answer, you are selling unpopular items. CDs for instance, have you seen the retail market for them? The youngsters all download what they want instantly, they are not going to sit and wait 3 days for it to arrive by post. Even DVDs now are nowhere near as popular, the youngsters seem to use these pay to view services and download stuff.

As for books, on Amazon ebooks outsell traditional books now.

It isn't eBay that is the problem, it is the items you are selling.

RFW

soolin wrote: »

I can only give my usual answer, you are selling unpopular items. CDs for instance, have you seen the retail market for them? The youngsters all download what they want instantly, they are not going to sit and wait 3 days for it to arrive by post. Even DVDs now are nowhere near as popular, the youngsters seem to use these pay to view services and download stuff.

As for books, on Amazon ebooks outsell traditional books now.

It isn't eBay that is the problem, it is the items you are selling.

Got to agree. Look at how many retailers there are who sell CDs and DVDs compared to a few years ago. By this time next year there are likely to be considerably less with HMV severely struggling. Add the poor sales of the items to the general poor economy and drop in sales everywhere and that's your problem.

I don't have any figures but I'd guess that Ebay is a little bit ahead of the general retail sector, all of which is down considerably from a few years ago. Ebay's changed quite a bit, but has kept quite ahead of the game.

Crowqueen

There is real money to be made in ecommerce, but you have to go out and find it - like any retail situation, it may not come to you. I think the online media market is now heavily tilting towards software rather than hardware. I do still buy some CDs but only really obscure stuff which I may not have encountered on Amazon, where it's not incredibly easy to browse. But those are likely to be, e.g. while on holiday looking for local folk or 'fun' tacky pop music. When I want something by a big name I go straight to iTunes or the mp3 section on Amazon.

However, one thing I still notice is the good prices being fetched for TV DVD box-sets. Perhaps that is one market you might cultivate. Particularly AFAIK American stuff is still unlicensed on official (ie non-pirate) streaming sites over here. I've sold a number of secondhand sets for good money on Amazon this summer and I'm weighing up whether to part with my ER collection but am waiting on price fluctuations - I may list them nearer Christmas.

The things I am selling on Amazon are still going fairly well, but I am under no illusions that with the Kindle buoyant and having to compete with it, and the ability of many sellers to far undercut me on general stuff, even as a private seller I have to look long and hard for something even worth listing.

eBay is still OK with books, though if it doesn't pick up this autumn I might think about listing some postcards and stamps again - although even in that market the emphasis has changed to individual issues rather than thematic/country/bulk lots.

soolin

We all get our markets wrong sometimes as well. I am currently at a fair type thing for the whole bank holiday as a dealer. I've completely sold out of some of my stock and am hurriedly rigging up an email service so people can buy and I can post out when I have new stock.

Items I bought specifically for this market though are sitting here unsold- my fault entirely and not a fault of the venue.

hubb

soolin wrote: »

I can only give my usual answer, you are selling unpopular items. CDs for instance, have you seen the retail market for them? The youngsters all download what they want instantly, they are not going to sit and wait 3 days for it to arrive by post. Even DVDs now are nowhere near as popular, the youngsters seem to use these pay to view services and download stuff.


It isn't eBay that is the problem, it is the items you are selling.

I would disagree to some extent. Have you ever been in a branch of CEX or Cash Converters selling cd's/DVD's ? I always find them full of people buying cheaper second hand. Especially in these cost cutting times. Sometimes I am ages standing in the que to be served. Some of my cd's are obscure stuff. Most people cannot afford the live movie streaming subscriptions.

RHemmings

hubb wrote: »

Sales have absolutely tanked for me. Unbelievable. I just can't sell anything anymore. This recession is terrible. My business and private sales have just tanked.

Anyone else noticing this depressing trend ?

I've noted that computer monitors (which I have bought a number of) appears much, much, cheaper than they were a year ago.