Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Anybody Remember Sixfinger???

Topper Toy Sixfinger. This was one of Mick's favorite toys as a kid!

Again... Why eBay???

Well, eBay has done it again! They are raising fees in the guise of "Look at this great deal we've created for you!" At first I was excited that Fixed Price items were going to be marked down from 35 cents to 5 cents if I upgraded to a Premium store. I would get more exposure and could write off the extra expense on our taxes, even though it's really cutting into profits... which weren't much to begin with. But then a good friend and fellow eBay store owner called me and told me what was really up. Store items are going away completely to be replaced by Fixed Price. Whoa. That's quite an expense. I remember when we first opened our store, how affordable it was. For $16 per month we could organize everything as we wanted it and have a landing page to send people. Insertion fee was only 1 cent per item and our stuff still showed up in the marketplace!!! The following year the insertion fee went up so our monthly expense went from around $30 to $75. Big jump! And our items disappeared from the marketplace unless there were only 30 or less of said item. Then things changed again when final value fees were raised and our monthly fees went up to around $160!!! Starting in April we'll have to tack on another $75 per month. When will it end???

I had the good fortune to speak with a Stores rep this week and voiced my concerns. He just couldn't see what the problem was. eBay used this model in Europe with great success, and the joy of those store owners. He looked at my store and told me that I was doing everything right and that the exposure will help. I told him I would let him know if my sales increased. Sadly, even if they do increase, I'm still paying an additional $75 in fees... and that's with my 20% power seller discount!!!

But in the end it all comes down to these simple facts...
I don't have to pay for rent in a mall.
I don't have to sit behind a counter waiting for people to walk in.
I don't have to worry about anybody knocking something off the shelf.
I don't have to pay for lots of other fees involved with running a brick and mortar business.

So eBay is still a pretty good deal. Having said that, I am still pursuing other avenues...




eCrater is totally free, so it is our preferred site.