This is our second week in a row where our sales are definitely higher than they have been all summer. I feel like the summer slowdown is now broken. Maybe eBay fixed things? Maybe it’s just buying time? If you’ve been listing hot and heavy for the past several months I hope you’re getting the same results. Anyway, people have been sending us interesting info I wanted to share.
Jeff mentioned an article detailing how the USPS is subsidizing all the cheap products from China. It gets deep into the numbers and is an interesting read. Another reason why selling one-of-kind items will always be a safe bet. We’re still interested in trying an Amazon FBA experiment, but the competition just looks fierce if you try to go big.
Justin from Selery.com advertises on this blog. He said he began selling shipping for a couple clients so decided to create a business out of it. After hearing about how people like the convenience Amazon FBA, he decided to try offering an FBA-like experience for eBay sellers at seleryfulfillment.com. Send in your items and they do the rest: photographing, listing, storing, packing and shipping. We haven’t tried the service yet, but Justin has always been straight up with us.
And lastly, Ryan at Online Selling Experiment just posted an intriguing question: Are you a business owner or just self employed? His hypothesis is you’re a business owner if you can walk away and the business runs itself. You’re self-employed when you do all the work, so nothing happens if you aren’t in the equation. This goes back to our continuing conversation about “building an empire” by renting a warehouse, hiring employees, etc. Is it worth it to go big? Or can you be successful staying lean and mean? It’s always difficult equation balancing costs vs. your time vs. what excites you.
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