---

@chameleon54 wrote:

---

@best-buys-com-au wrote:

Sadly, you are absolutely right.

 

In November 2016 I set up my own online store and that is already selling nearly 30 times what I am selling here on ebay and my google ads cost me less than what ebay charges me every month.

 

I started my online store with the same products that I have here on ebay in my "Crazy Prices" and "Office Machines" categories, at the same prices I have on ebay - so the sales performance comparison is fair.

 

It is hard to not come to the conclusion that there is no future in selling here on ebay if you want to earn more than a couple of dollars an hour and accepting a zero return on your stock investment (in my case, my stock investment is more than what my home is worth, and that is not insignificant).

---

I realise many sellers are really struggling, particularly if they sell into saturated markets such as womans clothing or electronics, but its not all gloom and doom. My sales are still ticking over quite well with regular sales of staple items and a couple of very high priced items sold in the last week..  Even with the decline in ebay over recent years, I still earn a lot more than a couple of dollars an hour and my stock is selling at many times what I pay for it. And in response to the above comments, my investment in stock is around a third of the value of my house, so whilst not as high as some, it is also not insignifigant.

 

I even got keen enough to launch a new store last week to sell into a different catagory to my existing stores. I researched products carefully and came to the conclusion there was an opening in the market for a particular line of niche items that where showing exceptional profit margins. . Its early days yet, but the initial signs are promising with plenty of views, watchers and nearly 10% of listed stock selling in the first six days. Profit margins average between 500% - 1500% on the items that have sold so far.

 

I know the economy in general and ebay in particular is tough at the moment, but there are still buyers out there if you are selling items that people really want.

---

I opened the new store last Saturday and spent last Sunday ( seven days ago ) listing around 100 items. The new store exceeded expectations with eighteen sales in its first week including seven international sales. The dollar value of sales was $520.00 with stock costing very little. Profit margins would have averaged over 1000% for the items sold, so even allowing for stock cost and ebay fees, profit for the new store would be over $400 in its first week. Time spent, around ten hours, giving a wage of $40 per hour with 90 listings included in this figure, still live and ready to provide future sales, further increasing the $40 per hour salary already achieved..

This is not airy fairy estimates, this is a real life example, using real life figures achieved on ebay in the past week.

The purpose of giving such specific details is to show that there are still buyers on ebay for the right products. It is almost impossible to achieve high sales and profit margins in saturated catagories such as womans clothing, mobile phones  and electronic goods. Sellers need to think outside the box and find items which are not commonly available. It is these niche markets and products which provide the potential to make high profits and excellent wages per hour on ebay.