Alterego71

eBay Management and Sellers Need Relationship Advice

You are on the money Randy!

Although the article puts a realistic perspective on the situation, I get the feeling from the stereotypical "Jerk Hubby/Saint Wife" replies that there is a lot more going on here than a rant about eBay...lol.

Regardless of the analogies in these replies, we all have the same pain. My wife began selling on eBay, feeBay, greedBay, or whatever other name makes us feel better a little over 4 1/2 years ago. Through the years, I have been there with her day in and day out trying to become one of those select few who manages to earn a living doing something they want to rather than something that provides a "paycheck". We have tried to roll with the punches through the years and make attempts to counteract all the tweaks and twists that eBay throws at its sellers. From the delight of our first dollar item sold, to Power Seller status and back, to barely making enough to cover overhead, we have stuck with it (sort of) simply because we haven't found an alternative yet that has the traffic flow of eBay.

Currently, we have a base store on eBay (dropped featured store to save overhead costs), a store on Vendio, and our newest creation is on eCrater. Although we have made sales on both Vendio and eCrater, the amount of people searching these sites is nowhere near the volume of eBay. Without the funds available to promote our other locations and having to rely on free services that might get our name out to a few people, referring eBay customers to visit our other stores, and getting Google to list us high enough in searches for someone to take the time to look through our store, it is nearly impossible to completely detach ourselves from the grip of eBay.

Long gone are the days of Power Seller status and being up to our ears in orders on a daily basis. Relatively speaking, the potential for eBay sellers is like buying gasoline. Although it will never again be like it once was, you try to capitalize on those days when the price drops 3 cents a gallon/gallery fee because you know if you wait you are going to get burned later.

Meanwhile, you keep plugging away, trying to reach that elusive summit that you have been trying to look out at the world from for years and keep a keen eye on the bottom line. My wife and I have discussed what to do with our eBay business almost daily for the last year it seems. When it doesn't cover expenses any longer, it's done. Unfortunately, eBay will go on. Either they will make the necessary changes to get back to the dream builder that "Mighty Meg" created or they too will fall. However, their fall will be a lot softer since there will be billions of dollars from the pockets of loyal sellers lying around to cushion the impact.

Until next time, keep your head up, fingers on the keyboard, and your eye on the prize! Someday, it will happen . . .and when it does, I will smile all the way to the bank.