I began selling on eBay in 2001 like everyone before me,
if we are being completely honest, by buying wholesale lists and wholesale
website memberships. It was a complete waste of time with the only one
making money being the owner of the lists/websites. I finally got an epiphany
one day after a shower when I happened to look at the bottle of lotion
I was holding. I noticed that there was an 800 number for Customer Support
and an address for the distributor of the lotion. That's when it hit me;
most of the manufacturers of consumer goods post their contact information
directly for the public. I began calling book publishers, distributors
and wholesalers that very day.
A seller account on eBay was next and, of course, every doodad and whatzit
I could find to "enhance" my listings. I purchased Andale
checkout, Andale Gallery, set up a PayPal
account, and added every eBay feature to my listings. By the end of the
month I was in debt and hardly sold a thing. I began to list a few culinary
textbooks from my personal collection to make up the difference and started
over. This time I opened an eBay store and minimized the amount of features
that were depleting my meager resources. Away went the Andale after a
mighty bill of $90 for the month and a surprise bill of another $90 for
the next month due to my canceling on the 1st of the month. Very expensive
lesson learned unfortunately.
I visited other bookseller stores and auction listings to see what prices
they were charging and set mine accordingly. Most of my listings were
Fixed Price listings with gallery only. The fixed shipping rate with insurance
included quickly followed after many email correspondence back and forth
with customers who wished to bargain down the price of the item. At the
end of the month, I was in debt to the tune of a few hundred dollars with
no idea why. Completely discouraged, I closed my store. There had to be
a way to figure out where the "hole in my bucket" was and the
best way to plug that hole. I sat down and created a nice spreadsheet
that I called my Fee Calculator in Microsoft Excel. I quickly saw what
the problem was. I had not factored in any of my expenses.
I had eBay listing fees, eBay final value fees, PayPal transaction fees,
cost of goods, shipping expenses, refund expenses (damaged/missing shipments),
office expenses and packaging. Well, no wonder I was losing money. I seemed
to have missed the point between happily listing items and collecting
funds that I was running a business with expenses. So I set up my spreadsheet
and calculated what price I had to sell an item at in order to still have
a profit. I then began working on branding my store with a listing template.
My store reopened just as I found the eBay
Stores Board. During one discussion that I remember, smart_blonde330
mentioned stocking your store in order for folks to have something to
shop for. I quickly saw the benefit of that advice and began stocking
my store, making sure to check my profit margin with the spreadsheet before
listing.
After a few months I saw a steady increase in sales and invested in Selling
Manager to keep track. I customized my customer service emails, created
a Return/Refund Policy, switched to the USPS for shipping (free packing
supplies) and kept my customers updated with any transaction changes.
International shipping followed after a 24-hour stint on the USPS International
rate calculator page and business quickly picked up. By the beginning
of 2004 I began switching my listings from Fixed Price listings to Store
Listings and am now selling 100% store listings only. My store listings
are now branded, I enclose an Invoice for the customer's records within
every shipment along with a Returns Form that is printed on the back with
a convenient Return Label.
I recently expanded to include a Children's Store and combined monthly
sales are now averaging around $2000 - $2900 a month and I can honestly
say that I'm finally not losing money. During another discussion on the
eBay Stores Board, I invested in an Accounting Spreadsheet, courtesy of
Katiyana,
to keep track of all revenue and expenses that will be needed once tax
time rolls around in April. Once I began treating my store as the business
it is, the turnaround was immediate and I credit the eBay Stores Board,
and my wonderful customers, for helping me make this possible.
Jodi Legall
