eBay Community in action - rethinking selling strategies post 7/19

Like the blogosphere, the eBay Community discussion boards contain a wide-spectrum of posting activity.  I know that people who don't use public boards themselves usually wonder who could possibly find the time to spare (waste?) hanging out "chatting with friends" and defending themselves against the "trolls."  On eBay's forums, I admit that at first glance it's hard to tell what's out there.  (there are lots of boards, thousands of threads and zillions of posts to wade through.)  But then again -- for those naysayers out there -- I'd argue that until you immerse yourself in a neighborhood anywhere, it's hard to get a sense for the people and the culture and what they have to offer.  Scanning the boards in a cursory way is sorta like going to New York City and trying to get a sense of things by walking around LaGuardia for a few minutes.   

So, since you might have missed the conversations -- Bill Cobb's Resetting the balance of the Marketplace message on 7/19 has prompted a lot of discussion on the Community forums.  Some of the activity has been primarily an expression of angst or frustration, but what might not be as noticeable is how much constructive, savvy advice sharing is going on out there.  Many sellers have been using the boards to debate the changes and the rationale, but many have also been getting down to business with developing an action plan of concrete changes and new ways of thinking about how to make a profit on eBay.

A great illustration of this is a thread I found on the Building an eBay Business board.  If you are seller who is looking for some practical advice, read the thread titled Lets share ideas on Building an eBay Business dealing with the increase .   There's a lot of good suggestions, including this post by cumos55:

"The following is my list of things to do ( and some thoughts) in the store.

(1) Adjust prices of inventory where needed, both up and down.

(2) Adjust lower priced items up....most definitely.

(3) List new inventory in format and price in relation to new fees. Store pricing is not auction pricing.

(4) Plan for 30-day listings of groups of items .. ie 50 or more Vintage knitting books for 30 days....like an auction listing but costing 5 cents for 30 days. Wait for some time and then relist for another 30 days if desired.

(5) List items in auction format selectively... auction items that will do well in auction format. Refer to (9) for an auction/stores option.

(6) Diversify.....There is enough diversification in the store that will allow for a relatively balanced number of sales per month.

(7) Use the store as a basis for sales, and top up with auction sales.

(8) This is not necessarily for me....but others may choose not to list everything as GTC...Rotate stock on a 30-day basis. List some GTC...List other stock for 30 days at a time. During each 30-day period sell at auction in a way that auctions are a lead in to inventory in the store.

(9) Inventory seasonal items at the right time of the year...not applicable to me...

The key will be management....not just GTC.

(10) An Optimistic final comment .... And finally this seller feels that this fee increase is a lead into a search protocol that would give stores exposure the same or very similar to that achieved in March... eBay has to give stores the exposure, partly in response to the fee increase. "

There's a lot of general business perspective being shared out there, too.  Agree with it or not, it's great food for thought.  Take this example from fairies_finest which I've excerpted:

"Last night, my partner and I were discussing the whole fee increase things. We talked about our numbers and we talked about the ebay marketplace in general and how this could impact it - both positive and negative. ...

"In retail there are two main ways to add value to a product - either create some sort of a kit or break bulk. A kit is when you buy lots of different pieces and bundle them together cohesively. For example someone selling baby items might bundle a bib burp towel, spoon, plate and cup together into a 'baby's first meal' kit. Breaking bulk is when you buy in very large quantity and then sell in small retail units. This can be done by buying large quantities of individual items - like 1000 televisions - and selling individual units or it can also be done thru repackaging. Part of our business is break bulk - I purchase 15 kilos of an essential oil and repackage it in 1 ounce bottles for retail sale.

Part of the problem on ebay now is the huge amount of dropshipping. A dropshipper is a VAR. They handle huge amounts of merchandise and basically finance a virtual inventory and ship it for you. This is where the dropshipper makes money. They sell the idea that by using their services, you will make money. You might but using a dropshipper is not adding additional value to the customer. This means that you are severely limited in how much you can charge in addition to what you are paying the dropshipper. In this scenario, even a fee increase of 1% can have devastating impact.

This is also why some people complain that they can't compete with other people selling the same merchandise. If you are using a dropshipper to sell a candle (for example), you will have a very small markup. If you are able to buy 1000 of those candles and sell them (breaking bulk), your mark up will considerably more. For you, the 1% is not as devastating to your bottom line.

Successful selling has lots of parts. We talk a lot here about the marketing aspects - writing good listings, designing a good store, creating a unique look, advertising your products. However, all of that has to be built on a foundation of your product offering. This starts with good purchasing and goes into value added services.

So if you need to increase your profit to cover the increase of selling on ebay, what can you do? Can you purchase differently? For some, that is less of an option - particularly those in the vintage markets. Is there a way to add value to what you are selling - by creating kits or breaking bulk?

That's the thoughts that have been rumbling through my head during the night.

At eBay we use the word "community" a lot.  This thread is just one reason I feel it's justified, and not just marketing hype.  And even if you are just a "lurker" (one who reads regularly, but never posts), you are an active part of the Community in our eyes.  All that active and passive activity amounts to a lot of learning and perspective-shaping out there, which influences the marketplace.