Im at a stand still

  • avatar

    by: Confusedmonky13
    SaleHoo Junior Member
    36 posts

    Im at a stand still

    Posted 3 Feb 09 7:36 am.

    Well i started out with my product and put it on an ecrater website(link hidden) I made two sales off of the website and was excited only being a week after and not it has frozen still. I have advertised on craigslist ads and got involved in several forums.
    I have shopped around at other websites and I know I have the best prices for my product, so pricing has not been a real issue for the most part. Is it an unsuccessful thing to sell Home Accessories and Bedding on the internet. I must say I have padded some of the shipping into the price of the good, because I was scared that the shipping would scare people away, do you think this is a mistake?
    All of my products are for your home such as Bedding Sets and Home Decor. I am looking for what the next step is...what is the best way and most efficient way of advertising. Should I open an Ebay Store and if so which package should I register for?

    I would appreciate any opinions anyone has to offer.

    If you want to personally email me it is
    link hidden
  • avatar

    by: singapore101
    SaleHoo Master Member
    318 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 3 Feb 09 12:04 pm.

    I use to sell end tables oak,cherry pine,Had no problems at all.Along with baby cradles.Small rocking type made from oak wood.Seems everyone who had a doll collection wanted to buy one.Even though they were suppose to be for human babies.
  • avatar

    by: Confusedmonky13
    SaleHoo Junior Member
    36 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 3 Feb 09 9:07 pm.

    Well I want to sell other types of furniture too, but I havent got any idea on what a good way to ship everything
  • avatar

    by: Confusedmonky13
    SaleHoo Junior Member
    36 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 5 Feb 09 10:00 pm.

    Hmmmm I guess this means no one knows what to do
  • avatar

    by: jimmy_huber
    SaleHoo Master Member
    2868 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 5 Feb 09 10:24 pm.

    Hard to get a straight answer as many are probably facing the same problem as you.

    Actually you are in one of the best markets online. Bedding and home decor is very profitable. Its just the economy sucks right now and its harder to make a sale. I would expect that by mid February your sales will increase as people get their tax returns.

    Also do you do auctions? or Buy It now? If you have allot to ship I suggest opening a store and listing the majority of your items Buy it now. Also consider opening a account with fedex to get business pricing as its much cheaper to ship.

    Then placing one of your best items on the main page of ebay for a 10 day listing. I think its $45 to do this but this will send a ton of traffic to your store. Also don't forget store listings also get on Google.

    Most shoppers now are getting tired of loosing auctions. So many are willing to pay a higher price rather then wait to loose and auction to a sniper. Ebay has also noted that this is a growing trend and the Auction format is loosing its luster. I have seen a heavy increase in Buy it now sales. And they sell for what i want them to. So give this a try. And let me know how it works.

    As far as craigslist your still at the mercy of the economy and less shoppers looking for items. So put your items on the highest trafficked sites you can.

    Wholesale Directory by SaleHoo

  • avatar

    by: Confusedmonky13
    SaleHoo Junior Member
    36 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 6 Feb 09 4:34 am.

    Ok that sounds like a good way to go only problem right now is that I am having issues with Paypal I wish there was a way on ebay to do google checkout, but unfortunately all owned by same company
  • avatar

    by: jimmy_huber
    SaleHoo Master Member
    2868 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 6 Feb 09 4:53 am.

    I hear you. I had problems with them over a year ago and had to sue them to get the funds in the account released. Funny my account was banned shortly after the lawsuit hehe. Anyways I have been using FirstData Merchant services. They are massive And worldwide. Contact them and tell them you want to use thier ebay checkout services and they will set you up very easily. They will set you up with sercurenetshop.com and you can use a shopping cart that links to ebay sales.

    Wholesale Directory by SaleHoo

  • avatar

    by: Confusedmonky13
    SaleHoo Junior Member
    36 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 6 Feb 09 5:07 am.

    hmmmm thats very interesting I will check that out, but ya paypal has never protected sellers very well and are just all about money and what they can keep
  • avatar

    by: ricosauve120
    New SaleHoo Member
    1 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 7 Feb 09 4:38 pm.

    From my personal experience, I think both eBay and PayPal are retarded. They Suck!!!.... The Truth of the Matter is, I really dont see how you can make any money selling on eBay. After you pay listing fees, Final value fees, shipping fees, and PayPal fees. All of your profits are eaten up like a scavenger. Not to mention, I have had some horror stories with PayPal. They will freeze up your account if any large transactions are being submitted. I had a relative of mine(Uncle) send $1200 USD to my PayPal Acct a couple of years ago and they put a limitation access to my funds. I was so outraged, that I had to call them and give them a piece of my mind!!! If you plan on making your own products or find any suppliers that are selling merchandise dirt cheap. Then maybe, there is a chance you can have a substantial profit margin.
  • avatar

    by: jimmy_huber
    SaleHoo Master Member
    2868 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 7 Feb 09 4:55 pm.

    Thats why I gave up searching for wholesalers and Suppliers of New items. Ive been selling liquidations and profits have always been there even on the slowest months. Buying a pallet for $800 with $3k in goods then flipping it for $1500 or more has been common practice for me and my wife on ebay. Sometimes we may loose on a pallet but most of the time we can rake in some very nice profits. And yes Paypal has to be the biggest scam site on the net. With over 2 million complaints and about 600K in frozen accounts and stolen funds while they soak up profits on money in peoples frozen accounts. I will never use them again. If ebay forced paypal I would quit selling on ebay.

    Wholesale Directory by SaleHoo

  • avatar

    by: GRBoutique
    SaleHoo Master Member
    289 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 7 Feb 09 10:53 pm.

    Nowadays, the only way to be competitive on eBay is to sell liquidated stocks. For the year 2008, I paid eBay listing fees of $1700, Final Value fees of $3800, and paypal fees of $3400. As you can see, this is alot of fees but I cannot complain given the profits I made plus these fees are my expenses which I can declare on my income tax. I still use paypal but I also have a merchant account through first data just in case my paypal account gets frozen. I keep it open to use it as a back up. I pay $34.99 monthly for my merchant account but this is also an expense =). The only bad part about first data is when a buyer pays for the item with a credit card that has a reward program, the fee for that transaction is 4.34% which is high. But for safety issue, you can't really beat merchant accounts.
  • avatar

    by: jimmy_huber
    SaleHoo Master Member
    2868 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 8 Feb 09 2:45 am.

    I have to agree with you on the use of a merchant account. I have not had any problems since I dumped paypal and actually my ebay sales have increased dramatically since getting rid of them. I think many consumers are starting to realize that paypal does not live up to their so called protections. And scammers use them frequently to screw over sellers.

    We have done Very nice on ebay this year as far as sales. But I was very disappointed that I screwed myself over for the holidays. We got so busy with our samples which are not even remotely profitable to us at $45 dollars. We didn't have time to list any of the sporting goods we have climbing the walls or the pallets of Macys items we have sitting in the corner. Last year I closed 22K in auctions in November/december. This year we did less then 6K. Ebay has been the lifeblood of my family for 5 years. Even when I was working a regular job. And with the growing pains of my new company and all the losses we taken to grow this company. Ebay has literally paid the bills for most of 2008.

    Wholesale Directory by SaleHoo

  • avatar

    by: GRBoutique
    SaleHoo Master Member
    289 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 8 Feb 09 2:56 am.

    I have one customer who refuses to use paypal and told me if I can send him an invoice directly through my merchant so I did and he was happy with the service.

    More people nowadays prefer to pay their sellers through their merchant because they realize how they are protected. Last year my gross sales was over $143K and net profit is over $27K and all expenses has been paid for which is more than $39K =) which includes my salary of $20K. So it's pretty good =). Hopefully this year will double that up =)
  • avatar

    by: fudjj
    SaleHoo Staff
    2969 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 8 Feb 09 3:27 am.

    Seems that it is all pastry, and only very little meat. Definitely need a better recipe for that pie : )

    Marc Ransom

    Community Manager
    SaleHoo.com

    About the Community Manager

  • avatar

    by: GRBoutique
    SaleHoo Master Member
    289 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 8 Feb 09 3:45 am.

    I think it's pretty good because all my expenses has been paid for which includes my salary LOL! =)
  • avatar

    by: jimmy_huber
    SaleHoo Master Member
    2868 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 8 Feb 09 5:52 am.

    Me and my wife have a goal for 2009 and im not sure how well it will go but I know the profits will soar as soon as I Dump the sample program in march. We are going full scale on all 3 of our ebay accounts and we will post some on amazon too.

    Trying to build a steady base of pallet buyers on our site using the profit pack and sample was costly and did not generate revenue for the site. But the experience did get us a steady stream of pallet buyers, not massive but steady and more then enough to pay the warehouse expenses. And we got a couple truckload sales too.

    So letting go of the sample program will be a blessing. As we are loosing some money on them. Not massive yet it is a small monthly loss once you figure in the product amounts we send vs shipping them and the amount generated. I can personally make more money on the samples then most of my buyers can because I have way more experience in selling this kind of merchandise.

    Another salehoo member noted that dropping the sample program would also weed out the people not willing to put work into liquidations and expecting the small orders to generate massive point to click riches. Generally the more serious buyers are the pallet buyers, and they are the most inclined to make money from liquidations. So I tend to agree with his assumption.

    Our goal for ebay is to get over $150K in sales and for the site $200-250K in sales.

    Im actually going to try and work with a Manufacturer in brazil. since the economy is down and work a deal with them for a steady stream of one of my niche product lines, and also sell my liquidated products from Macys and Bloomingdales on my other accounts.

    So yes I do have high hopes for 2009 but only time will tell. I do hope the economy gets better as I have noticed a considerable 20% slowdown in sales since november when the recession problems deepened.

    Wholesale Directory by SaleHoo

  • avatar

    by: planes
    Forum Moderator
    843 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 9 Feb 09 6:59 pm.

    Ok that sounds like a good way to go only problem right now is that I am having issues with Paypal I wish there was a way on ebay to do google checkout, but unfortunately all owned by same company
    I can direct you to an excellent source to help you with you Paypal issue.

    PM me.
  • avatar

    by: lsb.123
    New SaleHoo Member
    3 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 10 Feb 09 9:55 pm.

    What is the alternative to Paypal in Australia?
  • avatar

    by: jimmy_huber
    SaleHoo Master Member
    2868 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 11 Feb 09 2:18 am.

    What is the alternative to Paypal in Australia?
    I think its called Paymate.

    Wholesale Directory by SaleHoo

  • avatar

    by: electron6
    New SaleHoo Member
    4 posts

    Re: Im at a stand still

    Posted 22 Apr 09 2:18 am.

    Jimmy, are you still selling the sample packs? I bought 2 on April 8th 09. But, have not heard anything..I want to make sure I didn't fall between the cracks. Thanks Bill