Commentary from the staff of Auctiva.com
From PowerSeller to Hobby Seller
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For many sellers, what they used to call employment via online sales has turned into something more akin to “hobby sales.” Countless sellers have noted this on forums, and right here on the Auctiva Blog. While their eBay sales used to total enough to pay their bills and allow them the freedom to not work a traditional 9 to 5 job, times have changed.
I definitely fall into the hobby seller category nowadays, though it wasn’t always this way. What began as a venture to sell pieces of my various collections and other miscellaneous items I no longer needed soon turned into an honest-to-goodness cash flow each month. I didn’t make buckets of money, but it was enough to cover my monthly bills and have a little leftover to buy more merchandise to resell on eBay. I reached PowerSeller status, and even Top-rated seller status.
I still hold this title today, but it seems to be getting harder to move products on eBay.
When I started working for Auctiva in 2008, I tried to maintain my monthly sales goals, but it was hard. With fixed-price listings becoming the norm, the types of products I sold started going for less and less. I’m an old-school eBayer, and I think the market should set an item’s price. Most of the time, the items I sold as auctions went for way more than I expected, and my sell-through rate was higher than 90 percent. Had I listed these products as fixed- price, I may have lost out on a lot of money.
Today, if you list an auction with a start price of 99 cents, it might just sell for 99 cents. Bidding wars seem like a thing of the past.
I’ve fiddled with my listing format and tried doing straight up fixed-price listings to move my items a little faster. That didn’t go very well. Then I went back to auction style with a Buy It Now price. I switched to free shipping and raised the purchase price to cover my shipping cost, but that had little effect on the end results. The fees I’ve paid for relisting unsold items haven’t been cheap, even though I tried to take advantage of eBay’s frequent insertion fee sales.
Don’t get me started on the competition between sellers. It’s fierce! I’ve seen sellers adjust their prices to beat rivals by literally a few cents, and then the rivals do the same. It’s a win for the buyers, but not so for us sellers.
I have thought about diversifying my product line. I have also checked out other marketplaces, but they don’t have the buyer traffic eBay does. Even if my items take four or five attempts to sell on eBay, that’s better than having them sit for months on end somewhere else without even a nibble.
Maybe I should be happy with the few sales I have and enjoy the boost during the holidays that pop up throughout the year. I didn’t exactly want my sales to be a “hobby.” But I guess hobby sales are better than no sales at all.
About the author
Rebecca Miller is Auctiva.com's product manager. As an eBay seller of more than 10 years, Rebecca is well tuned into the needs of online sellers, and serves as an internal advocate for merchants. She continuously monitors Auctiva's Community Forums, answering customer's questions and taking their feedback to developers for future enhancements. Rebecca continues to sell on eBay, and is currently a PowerSeller and a Top-rated Seller.
Yikes, I just signed on to Auctiva, am opening a store end of April and am completely depressed reading this article.
While eBay has gone beserk re: unfairness in their latest rules and fee increases, I still don’t have to pay the rent to a brick and motor store. And they know that, unfortunately.
Your statements are facts, I understand that, especially in the blight of this economy, however, you have left those of us with a still positive attitude with a sense of hopelessness and helplessness.
I was ready to try the different modes of selling that you mention, however, with your confirming that none of them worked, I am left hanging over the cliff with no helpful advice, except, get out and get a job. We all know how insanely time-consuming eBay is, so working would pretty much hinder eBay work, even on a part-time basis.
I do believe, however, that there is still hope for the one-of-a-kind items as they march to a different pricing structure. And while discretionary income is not what it used to be, the collectible is still hard to resist, maybe even more so when you need a pick-me-up.
For me, as a newbie, I prefer to still BELIEVE in the working wo(man)’s dream. Fortunately I don’t have prior years for comparison, so I only look forward, like the Little Engine that Could. We also have to learn to work smarter, recognize trends, while dealing with temporary economic issues. We must remember that the only thing constant in life is change, and change it will again for everything is cyclical.
Best, Barbara
P.S. I will go back to what I was about to do before I saw your article – learn how to list on Auctiva and hope for the best!
I’m with Barbara. We all must look forward.
I am 66 years old and as far as I can remember “nothing has ever stayed the same” in my lifetime.
Things change-we adapt-that’s the nature of life.
Hmmmm….Power Seller to Hobby Seller……..Somehow I was thinking that Rebecca was speaking for me. As I read her article, I found it a close mirror-image of my thoughts.
I have been a seller sine Oct ’99, and have seen the waves of up and downs that come when eBay starts making changes – many of which make a lot of work for me to change my auctions and etc. Seems I just get through one period making changes and then another “Update” shows up and I start all over. I am also a Top-rated seller and a PowerSeller and have been for a year. I now look at the changes they are making and wonder which day I am going to sign on and find myself booted out of those slots and much to my surprise, have become a “Hobby Seller”!!
Maybe they should create a venue for all the “hobby” sellers- after all these sellers that have spent years, weeks, days & hours striving to become one of the best and have all that knowledge that got them in the position of Top-rated or PowerSellers. And if nothing else, we could sell our knowledge at “auction” for pennies (free of charge if you don’t have an eBay store)… Seems like a fair reward???????
I realize change is necessary to keep up with the times (whatever those are), but the changes that eBay has make in the last year have sure impacted many seller’s business and bottom lines – myself included. So, one update they “lower” some fee and raise another – then the next update they raise the fees they lowered before and make it sound like the seller is getting a good deal or put in “conditions” that must be met to receive a discounted fee and then raise the Final Value fee to include Shipping (for example) ?????? I am totally confused by their line of thinking – which only puts more money in their pockets in the long run and less in the sellers pockets.
I spend lot of time trying to stay on top of my store and auctions, relisting, preparing items for sale, including cleaning and taking pictures. I use Auctiva for all my listings, making updates and for pictures because it is much easier to use and less complicated. I enjoyed eBay at one time and the more changes they make, the more difficult it is to stay up with them and their changes. I am at the point now, that I am not sure where my online selling business is all going – maybe somewhere else besides eBay.