having a shop vs selling without a shop

[jjba6541]

I and my sister are thinking about starting a shop soon Ebay and combining our listings.,,Obviously Ebay Are getting rid of their small time sellers and only giving the shop sellers  more exposure.

Our sales have gone to almost nothing in the last couple of years  from being very happy with our multiple sales. before that,

We are both long time sellers on Ebay being very  disheartebd with sales in the past year,

What are the benfits to changing to a shop.

[instylecollectables]

At the end of the day has the thought ever crossed your mind of getting into other niches and mix things up a little?

You know the saying if you can't beat em join em.

Perhaps try selling other items that people might be more interested in, I do now after doing a whole lot of research and refining my products.

The bottom line is if you intend to make ebay your full time income then you need to sell what people always want.

If it's just a hobby then there's no need to stress over it.

[chameleon54]

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@instylecollectables wrote:

But the issue for me as to the items OP is selling is that I think that more than not people have those items already.

I know that my parents still have in their posession 70s, 80s and 90s collectables and I also have a few.

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All I can say is i,m selling similar items and collectors are buying them and paying good money for them. A lot of the items the OP has listed are slightly different to the norm. Twelve inch singles ( much rarer than the regular issue ).  Australian printed and issued records, ( often rarer than American imports . ) and collectors OS actually chase editions published in other countries to their own. 

The Fanzines ( Fan club magazines ) and 80's newspaper type music magazines such as Juke are actually quite hard to find as most where thrown away or stored incorrectly. These contain great adverts and editorial on rising Australian bands that went on to become household names and posters and editorial on major international acts. Performers such as Bon Jovi, Kiss and Australia's Cold Chisel and AC/DC still have a hard core, die hard fan base that chase this stuff. They are highly collectible and worth big $$$$ for the rare items. Some of the early AC/DC stuff can bring four figure sums. .

In other words its the oddities and rarities that set the items apart from the mass produced bulk product many people have in their cupboards. And the OP has their share of these rarer items. I  would be more than happy to list some of the OP's items and the rest are quite good, but not my thing.

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[springyzone]

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@jjba6541 wrote:

Didnt beleve I was being rude.

Yes I have been on Ebay since 2001.I believe I am experienced

Just did not think I needed having a shop but was thinking about it and asking opinions on this,'How was I being rude asking 

opinions,

.Listings on this user name and sales in no way show what is being sold by me at this momnet

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It's perfectly reasonable to ask opinions about whether or not it is worth opening an ebay shop.

I know you weren't asking for opinions on your  actual listings though and so comments about them has possibly come across to you as not relevant to your questions.

I know you're reasonably experienced and have been around ebay for a fairly long time, but maybe look upon the listing comments as a bonus extra. There's not a person here who doesn't benefit from learning new things or taking information on board and I think people are trying to be helpful the best way they can. I think chameleon in particular has given some great tips and hopefully they could help get your sales numbers up.

I'm no longer a seller but my take on your question about whether to combine with your sister would be that if you have about 500 listings together, then it could well be worth your while to combine in a shop, but only if you end up selling enough to cover your ebay fees etc and come out of it with a profit each. I used to sell with my sister and it worked as we each had clearly defined tasks so make sure you sort that out before you start up.

[kopenhagen5]

Not having visible stars showing doesn't mean you have fallen below eBay's minimum performance standards.

I know that and perhaps I should have explained myself better.

My meaning was due to DSR's not showing, OP hasn't sold much in the last 12 months.

Therefor it is possible the state of the account may be less desirable as we from the outside look on.

(merely as a clue to look further)

[cezm]

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@jjba6541 wrote:
I have free postage on most items it does increase the selling price.I used to charge postage but was just trying to see if free post would help saes.Thanks for your advise.I appeciate any input.

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I'm only one buyer but I generally steer clear of free postage listings if I want to buy more than one item (and they could be posted for about the same amount)

Yours are more specialised items but perhaps buyers would like to combine and save a few $s

[jjba6541]

Ebay has me as above standard.Probably because I dont usually have many refunds or returns.I dont know..When I do get feedback its usually good

[instylecollectables]

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@cezm wrote:

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@jjba6541 wrote:
I have free postage on most items it does increase the selling price.I used to charge postage but was just trying to see if free post would help saes.Thanks for your advise.I appeciate any input.

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I'm only one buyer but I generally steer clear of free postage listings if I want to buy more than one item (and they could be posted for about the same amount)

Yours are more specialised items but perhaps buyers would like to combine and save a few $s

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Please explain as I list with free postage and I combine multiple buys for free well not free as I have to take it out of my sales and pay for postage but it's free to the buyer.

[digital*ghost]

One of my competitors lists an item as $45 with free post, I list it as $40 with $8 post, which is flat rate.

If that item is the only item a buyer wants, and they only want one, it's cheaper to buy from my competitor. 

If a buyer wants more than one, or other items, it's cheaper to buy from me. 

[instylecollectables]

Yes I now understand and this is with BIN items only.

I have learn't a thing or two already.

Thank you

[zanadoo_56]

I'm a buyer, not a seller, and I collect records (mostly older but sometimes within your range).

I looked at a couple of your listings and I see you have graded the vinyl - is that visually only, or have you actually played them?

I wouldn't buy any without further info - store or no store -  and if it is only by looking at them..... I definitely would not purchase.