I easily make enough to pay my eBay fees but it's because of the sales from my store. My auctions have not been doing well.

"So far as bleeding off to another site- sounds like an excellent plan to me, lol! (But I would think they should still plan on making a profit!)"

eBay is, without question, probably the world's best lead generation site. There are many sellers here who use it to make primary contact and then drive traffic to their own website and that can be a very good plan.

But eBay is also, for many, a good primary source of income too. There is nothing wrong with that. Some people don't have the skill, resources, or interest, to pursue off-eBay venues. There is nothing wrong there either. Each person develops the plan that works for them.

The key is, I suspect, developing a plan that works. That usually means working yourself, too. Several years ago we re-thought our plan, made some major changes, and re-factored eBay into the mix. We went from paying eBay hundreds of dollars each month to paying them only a few dollars every now and then. Over all we pay much less in fees then we did previously to eBay and we get more business over all.

That isn't o say we were wrong when we were eBay Power Sellers. We did good business and made money. We've learned more since then, done things differently, and changed the way we operate over all. These are also good things, other good things. But the important thing to note is that they are good things for us and they may not work for others.

YOU have to decide what will work for you and that usually means trying different things as has also been suggested in this thread. Research, study, learn, try, adjust, try again. It's like the kind of like the instructions on the shampoo bottle: "Lather, Rinse, Repeat" -- you just need to know how to identify when you get it right and stop. Of course, for some of us, we are always looking for better ways and never get out of the shower!

Flame,

That's a really good question. LOL

I closed the store when the profit didn't compensate me for the work I had to do. You know, revise this revise that. I was nowhere near being down to the ebay fees when I closed but had better things to do with my time.

An ebay store is a real workhouse so you have to make a good profit or you won't make minimum wage for hrs worked.

I tried listing more auctions in hope of selling more
no they did not sel

I'm not a business person like Carl and others (like to think I have some sense......but there could be arguments), but what I came to realize during my first summer on ebay was if the buyers weren't buying for whatever reason, increasing the # of listings in core (listing fees) was counter productive to bottom line.

Summers after that first one, I ran only normal core, and in fact cut back some, I sold less but profits were alot higher-

"Try tracking what is selling and when vs what is seeming to be at a standstill, then research what others in the same categories are doing. If for instance the type of widget you are selling is not selling for others, put it aside and try again at a later date"

Good advice regarding what seems to be at a standstill. And here's another idea- I look at what is listed, then list what ISNT. I try selling things out of season and do VERY well because others arent selling it. My biggest selling months for garden items are October, November, January.

You have to be flexible on ebay because it is changed so much. And I am positive they are changing/experimenting on things we dont know about, so it's impossible to try and stay ahead of the game. This board is so very helpful and kudos to everyone who shares and tries to keep all of us out of the abyss of loss!

i cant believe how much fees im paying.
i just paid 73.65 and now in my new balance it says already 65.55 ! this is ridiculous. i sell a pair of boots and they kept 8 dollars. i sold a camera and keep 20 dollar. and also paypal keeps fees 2.
how comes im paying so much fees?
(sorry my english)

to reply to the topic:

as someone else stated, people with a website or b&m might list here and consider it an advertising expense garnering them leads not sales.

for me, I always made money on ebay but left when I could make more per hour elsewhere.

I started selling here in 1997 and haven't sold since 2007. in those 10 years I hardly ever made money from june-sept. that was always my *off* season where I broke even at best.

every business has that. my family owned a convenience store for almost 40 years. we always lost money jan-march. but we couldn't close down those 3 months and keep our loyal customers.

I always looked at ebay the same way. even though I lost money in the summer, I stayed open for the other 8 months of the year I made money, to keep regular customers looking and coming back.

If you don't have repeat customers, this may not matter to your business and you could close the slow months. I sell vintage postcards of a type that is geared towards getting and keeping those repeat customers.