Is eBay worth Selling on anymore?

[trav]

Is it worth selling retail goods on Ebay anymore?

So our ebay account got banned a little over a year ago now and we just haven't pulled the trigger on doing a stealth account yet.

I guess my main hesitation is that we did around 15-20 K a month so not sure that a stealth account is going to help us much. Seems like they more cater to the casual and hobby seller (No offense intended) that sell smaller quantities of goods/month. I may be wrong, but just kind of seems to be the vibe I get from the book and reading the forums.

I am looking at either buying an account or trying to setup a new corporation and giving ebay a go again.

Is eBay really worth it though these days?

We do really well with Amazon and honestly, I can't think of the last time I have thought to buy much off ebay nor do I hear any of my friends or family talking about ebay. I think more people go to Amazon.

Any thoughts on this? I don't mind jumping through the hoops, but just curious if seasoned sellers on ebay have noticed a significant drop in sales over the past year or so that I haven't been on ebay? Keep in mind I mostly sell new standard retail goods and not used collectibles.

[GreenBean]

Who caters to the casual seller?

Dont be making assumptions

[trav]

No offense intended as mentioned in the post. Just what it seems to me. Didn't mean to hurt feelings.

[tannedweekend]

Originally Posted by trav

Is it worth selling retail goods on Ebay anymore?

So our ebay account got banned a little over a year ago now and we just haven't pulled the trigger on doing a stealth account yet.

I guess my main hesitation is that we did around 15-20 K a month so not sure that a stealth account is going to help us much. Seems like they more cater to the casual and hobby seller (No offense intended) that sell smaller quantities of goods/month. I may be wrong, but just kind of seems to be the vibe I get from the book and reading the forums.

I am looking at either buying an account or trying to setup a new corporation and giving ebay a go again.

Is eBay really worth it though these days?

We do really well with Amazon and honestly, I can't think of the last time I have thought to buy much off ebay nor do I hear any of my friends or family talking about ebay. I think more people go to Amazon.

Any thoughts on this? I don't mind jumping through the hoops, but just curious if seasoned sellers on ebay have noticed a significant drop in sales over the past year or so that I haven't been on ebay? Keep in mind I mostly sell new standard retail goods and not used collectibles.

It depends on a country and so on.
So many countries dont allow to sell on Amazon as they dont allow their banks to withdraw.
So obviously in these countries Amazon is not so popular as EB.
Same as Macintosh its very popular in US but not in EU
Once i lost all accounts on EB, time to time i can see some movement in Bonanza.
Sales are really low to compare, but every little helps

[BigCJ]

Find the right product and the people will come. No matter what the platform.

[trav]

Originally Posted by tannedweekend

It depends on a country and so on.
So many countries dont allow to sell on Amazon as they dont allow their banks to withdraw.
So obviously in these countries Amazon is not so popular as EB.
Same as Macintosh its very popular in US but not in EU
Once i lost all accounts on EB, time to time i can see some movement in Bonanza.
Sales are really low to compare, but every little helps

That is a good point. I have tried bonanza, but haven't had much luck with it. We have about 5,000 products on it and maybe sell something every 1 to 2 months.

I agree that every sale helps, that is why I am entertaining EB again. It is getting more competitive on Amazon, so having an extra 5-10 k even a month from EB would be worth it. Just curious if that is possible with a stealth account with say an average sale price of $15

[GreenBean]

Correctly made and run stealth accounts work to sell items of any amount.

My accounts are all business, nothing casual there. That is USA accounts too.

[yankee]

I am pretty casual...

[GreenBean]

Originally Posted by yankee

I am pretty casual...

Been meaning to talk to you about that attitude.

[slokor]

Originally Posted by yankee

I am pretty casual...

Said the power seller - LOL!

[MM78]

Stealth works fine for all sellers, from casual to Powersellers....I know A LOT of people on this forum who sell 1,000 - 2,000 items a month.

[tannedweekend]

Originally Posted by trav

That is a good point. I have tried bonanza, but haven't had much luck with it. We have about 5,000 products on it and maybe sell something every 1 to 2 months.

I agree that every sale helps, that is why I am entertaining EB again. It is getting more competitive on Amazon, so having an extra 5-10 k even a month from EB would be worth it. Just curious if that is possible with a stealth account with say an average sale price of $15

Was doing around 15k a month ALL Stealth (900 item a month - 30 a day 15$ per piece )
BUT you need quite a few accounts
As you cant cross 20k a year so you should Average 1-1.5k a month per account OR you can stop way earlier and let it sit
The best strategy there is loads of accounts
You sleep better then. less chances to go all of them down
It does take more work, but this is Stealth, this is a way to go

As regarding Bonanza sales for sure are very low, but i managed to sell 9 items in a month having just 200 inventory
So this is not too bad having in mind was selling 2-3 items a month for years.

[yankee]

I have so much to say but to sum it up, when someone asks me a question such as, "Can you really make money on ebay?" My answer is, "I have no idea if you can. Can You? "

[livelifewild]

Originally Posted by yankee

I have so much to say but to sum it up, when someone asks me a question such as, "Can you really make money on ebay?" My answer is, "I have no idea if you can. Can You? "

I LOVE IT! lol

I think that sums it up. I have had friends, family members, strangers even say things like oh that will never work out. How on earth can you make a real income on ebay...so on so on.
I have been a stay at home "stealther" for the last 3 years. And I have about $3,400 in bills a month thats just bills absolute things that need to be paid. No over and above. And never had a problem paying my bills.

Could cut back on vacas to casinos tho! HA

[livelifewild]

Oh and to be a little more helpful to the question,
Yes you can sell LOADS on ebay in stealth accounts. Thing is if you do it small and personal info not doing as business accounts and you can not verify the information to lift your limits then you will need MANY accounts.

A better thing is to go the business route, do DBA's and Ein's stuff like that and you will be able to list a lot more on single accounts way faster then waiting for 10/1,000 limits to be lifted every few months.

Hope that helps!

[trav]

Thanks for the feedback. I agree with the Business Account approach. I am looking at setting up a new corp right now, but was a little worried that ebay would find a way to link my new corp to my old corp if they looked at the articles of incorporation with my state, because my name is going to be on both of them if that makes sense

[trav]

Originally Posted by GreenBean

Correctly made and run stealth accounts work to sell items of any amount.

My accounts are all business, nothing casual there. That is USA accounts too.

Any chance I could pick your brain one of these days on the best way to setup a Business Stealth account? I love the book, but there are just a few questions I have more toward the business side.

[yankee]

It is easy.
Start selling on a stealth or ten. When paypal requests tax info, make the decision to either move onto another stealth or ad an EIN.
It is that simple.

[trosky]

On the ebay side I don't think there is a difference in selling limits between new standard or business accounts. On PayPal is where you might need the business account but can wait until tax info is requested like "powerseller yankee" said to convert it. The amount you're talking about is possible but have to start slow with multiple accounts

[Dmshark25]

Originally Posted by trav

Thanks for the feedback. I agree with the Business Account approach. I am looking at setting up a new corp right now, but was a little worried that ebay would find a way to link my new corp to my old corp if they looked at the articles of incorporation with my state, because my name is going to be on both of them if that makes sense

Stealth accounts are just as good and for me even better than my original, I have accounts that ran 20K a week this holiday season

[bananaappeal]

Originally Posted by trav

Is it worth selling retail goods on Ebay anymore?

So our ebay account got banned a little over a year ago now and we just haven't pulled the trigger on doing a stealth account yet.

I guess my main hesitation is that we did around 15-20 K a month so not sure that a stealth account is going to help us much. Seems like they more cater to the casual and hobby seller (No offense intended) that sell smaller quantities of goods/month. I may be wrong, but just kind of seems to be the vibe I get from the book and reading the forums.

I am looking at either buying an account or trying to setup a new corporation and giving ebay a go again.

Is eBay really worth it though these days?

We do really well with Amazon and honestly, I can't think of the last time I have thought to buy much off ebay nor do I hear any of my friends or family talking about ebay. I think more people go to Amazon.

Any thoughts on this? I don't mind jumping through the hoops, but just curious if seasoned sellers on ebay have noticed a significant drop in sales over the past year or so that I haven't been on ebay? Keep in mind I mostly sell new standard retail goods and not used collectibles.

Consider building an eCommerce? with your figures you'd spend most of your time wasted on flipping through stealths. You obviously have good amazon setup - simply use that setup to funnel customers upon various other popular advert methods.

If you have to ask whether or not eBay is a worthy avenue then you need more confidence in your product.

Most successful eComm stores operate a very simple one-click sale method and are very PayPal friendly.

[pokerpro]

Seriously, if it wasn't for eBay, I'd be be living in my car on some beach, somewhere.....which does not actually look half bad when I read what I just typed???..........anyway, no way could I make 30% of what I do now, unless I went back to school and became a brain surgeon. lol.