That sounds like a good plan!
That sounds like a good plan!I was thinking of starting out with my own site first, paying some to get my name out there (as well as reading this forum often). Then if needed, jump on Ebay.
Forgive me but Im going to be the apple that spoils the cart I think, ebay from my experience is a very BAD way to do business. ALOT of people will disagree with me and yes some people HAVE made lots of money which shoots down my opinion. But I beleive that in order to get a true weighted decision, you need to hear BOTH sides, both pro and con. And I shall give you the con of ebay.silverbolt said:I am torn between putting my all into my website, spending some on advertising and marketing, linking my t-shirt stores, ect and selling on Ebay.
Go to the eBay Stores forum and bathe in the blood of the civil warjdr8271 said:for auctions, they take .60 + 6%, and for store inventory, they take .03 + 8% . There is plenty of room to make money there. Personally, I would pay a much higher price, for the service that ebay provides me with. You do make less per shirt sold on ebay, but it gives you the ability to do high volume, due to the high exposure of ebay.
I dont know about Meg Whitlam specifically, but I have to say that ebays current "you can get IT on ebay" TV commercials are pretty effective in my opinion. I wonder if they are working. I know ebays stock is down right now, but there could be alot of reasons for that.
I'm not sure if we have enough data yet to say that the ebay changes are good or bad.If jdr8271 is doing well on Ebay, doesn't that shoot down the anti-Ebay whinges?
I don't like to cheat ebay of a sale that they rightfully deserve, so I don't do deceptive things like that. Once a customer buys a shirt from me however, I do everything I can to make sure that the next time they buy from me, it will be directly through my website.Ebay is a great funnel. Have a regular website, and in your about me page, offer up something if the buyer buys from your site, instead of eBay. Like cheaper shipping, or free shipping.
If you post a few items on Ebay, and try to re-direct these viewers to your site, that's all the more hits you're getting.
The ebay store is where I do most of my business with ebay. If you are using only auctions, it can get expensive quick. those $.30 add up fast. The main purpose of auctions for me, is to drive people to the ebay store. About 95% of my auctions do not sell, becuase the people buy from the ebay store instead. When you get them in your ebay store, they are also more likely to buy multiple shirts.I'm not sure if we have enough data yet to say that the ebay changes are good or bad.
I don't think jdr is posting auctions the same way others are talking about using ebay (through ebay stores). So it might not be comparing apples to apples.
With most changes that companies make that effect a large userbase, the changes will be beneficial for some and not beneficial for others (this happens/happened a lot at cafepress).
If there is a way to still use eBay to your advantage (as jdr seems to be doing), it could be worth testing. That wouldn't mean that some of the changes ebay made to the pricing structure weren't harmful to many businesses that used ebay stores.
[The main purpose of auctions for me, is to drive people to the ebay store. About 95% of my auctions do not sell, becuase the people buy from the ebay store instead. When you get them in your ebay store, they are also more likely to buy multiple shirts.
/QUOTE]
Interesting, jdr8271. This exemplifies my earlier point about exploring below the surface wih Ebay. Seems like you have an effective strategy there.
That's what I meant to do!jdr8271 said:The main purpose of auctions for me, is to drive people to the ebay store. About 95% of my auctions do not sell, becuase the people buy from the ebay store instead. When you get them in your ebay store, they are also more likely to buy multiple shirts.
Okay, so you use Ebay to drive traffic after you've made one sale. I don't see much of a difference. You're still paying the listing fee. I don't think driving trafic to your site via Ebay is deceptive. Ebay has certain things in place to minimize this, but using ways around it - I don't think is deceptive. I think it's smart.jdr8271 said:I don't like to cheat ebay of a sale that they rightfully deserve, so I don't do deceptive things like that. Once a customer buys a shirt from me however, I do everything I can to make sure that the next time they buy from me, it will be directly through my website.
If your grievances are felt widely enough, monkeylantern, eBay will be forced to recognise that they have indeed been "greedy" and guilty of "corporate idiocy". If your charges against them are valid, the market will find them out and they will be forced to backpedal. If their profit margins increase and do not suffer, the market will not have agreed with you, and the market will be right.monkeylantern said:A 250% fee hike is not "the cost of doing business", it is the cost of corporate greed and corporate idiocy. It will slash profit margins for may people down to pennies on the dollar, and force them to leave.
The eBay Stores forums were once a great place, with many of the big players participating. In the last week, thousands of these people have closed down their stores and moving to St Elsewhere.