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Hello!
I’m just curious how other’s Ebay businesses have been doing lately? I’m finding that our sales have really been poor since before the holidays. Sure, there is always a slowdown around Christmas, but the last month has been terrible. We did have some high value returns lately which also knocked us back, but bouncing back had been tough lately so it’s been hard for us to purchase new inventory. We usually do an average of about $15k a month in gross sales – we do this as a full time job and we sell mainly grocery/restaurant gear now.
I’m wondering if there is a trickle-down effect from government people not spending as much money, so businesses that depend on them are hurting, therefore nobody buying from us.
It’s been frustrating.Tom
Ebay: bluestskiestradingpost -
I feel there’s definitely a growing sense of unease among US citizens a our government gets more and more dysfunctional. Creates an atmosphere that it could affect more and more parts of our lives.
Looking at your store, how are you grossing $15k a month on under 400 items?
–Do you specialize in commercial kitchen equipment that sells for big money?
–Do you have a source where you can reliably buy these items?
–How much do you pay for the commercial kitchen equipment? But for $500 and sell for $1k? -
My sales for Jan have been down 25% according to my metric. I list daily and it’s like crickets.
From an article I read: 800,000 federal workers not being paid and a potential delay in tax refunds, the economic effect of the partial government shutdown could be at least $2 billion per week, according to Wells Fargo retail analysts.
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I’ve heard from two Federally employed buyers who want to purchase but are waiting for the shutdown to end.
A little slower last week and so far very slow this week.
As a buyer I’m not hesitant to get something I want so it may just be that mid month slow down that seems to occur. No panic yet. -
I can’t believe that people still show up to work without getting a paycheck…..I don’t understand why different jobs are considered essential by the U.S. government, but the jobs that issue the checks aren’t essential…
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In talking with the Assistant US District Attorneys I deal with each month, they aren’t even allowed to call in sick or go to doctor appointments during the shutdown.
All vacation and leave was cancelled over the Holidays.Ughhh….that is major suck-atude right there.
I hope this is resolved soon. It isn’t good for anyone…should have never come to this.
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The government workers are still getting paid for working, it’s just going to be delayed, until this issue is resolved. If history is an indicator, the furloughed workers will probably get paid too.
They just missed their first pay check last Friday. Evidently this is causing a burden. Is every government worker living paycheck to paycheck?
This too shall pass.
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Most Americans, not just govt workers, live paycheck to paycheck:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/29/us-economy-workers-paycheck-robert-reich-
That is truly a sad statistic..
I would think that a government job is more stable than most. How much effort does it take to have an emergency fund with a least 30 days household expenses in it? A 3 to 6 month fund ( or more) is something everyone should have.
It appears Dave Ramsey will have a supply of steady customers for some time to come.
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I’m with Steve, I’m not in panic mode, but I do think a combination of people not getting paid AND the potential for a serious reduction in consumer confidence could hurt us all. Not to mention the additional competition as furloughed employees start selling off stuff to make ends meet. I think a lot of people weren’t paying much attention to the stock market volatility or any other economic indicators during the Holidays, but the longer this impasse continues, the more I think people will begin to grasp that the economy is shaky, and that many of the economic wounds are largely self-inflicted by a dysfunctional government. I’m afraid 2019 might be a pretty rocky year. My plans haven’t changed…yet. Mostly comes down to: List More, and hope for the best.
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We have done $15k average gross on our good months. Mostly high value/margin stuff, but competition has become very tough with that area now. We used to get something for about $300 and turn it into $1200, that same item is now found for about $500 and lucky if we can get $750 now. The market has also become flooded, so we are seeking other options of things to sell and buy. At one time we had 500 items (last year before purging and moving to a new state) but a lot of that was lower value “smalls” which 10 of those is still less than 1 big piece of equipment.
The last month has been really bad. -
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Is it in bad taste to post this listing during a government shutdown, or perfect timing? I know the price is crazy…
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we just sold this today, very appropriate timing–
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A franchise selling “killer prawns” has just opened up here in the premises of a recently bankrupt music shop. In the UK restaurants and other feeding/watering places have to display a sticker rating their hygiene from 1 to 5. This prawn place scored a ‘4’, despite their brand-new kitchen equipment. Guess the prawns failed inspection.
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The commercial gear certainly is starting to flood the market. We have held off on listing a few things we have until the current sellers have sold and the market is smaller. But, it seems other sellers are just lowering their prices until things sell. Eventually we do the same, until we realize that we are lucky just to break even on our cost. We have researched sellers and items, and we know they are competition buying from the same sources we do. I won’t go into details about our process, I don’t want to give out ideas! 😉
I’m not worried about the government workers having their “garage sales” since they are most likely selling off collectibles and “smalls”. Totally not our market anymore. I just think that a lot of the places that buy this stuff are cutting back since they depend on the government workers to support their business, no support, no new equipment, no sales for us – just the occasional insulting low offer.-
We see the commercial kitchen equipment being sold at auctions, but we’ve avoided buying them because we’re not equipped to know how to fix or check for proper working condition.
But like anything, I think any item will get flooded onto the market of other scavengers see it sells well. IMHO its a dangerous game to sell a very tiny niche unless you can guarantee you can control the supply.
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Jay,
Yes, it is a dangerous niche, but there was a time it was pretty good. Like everything, things change, the market floods, and other factors. It is a huge risk buying items from auction for resale since many of these businesses never take good photos, bad descriptions, and no standards for palletizing fees. Many of these places are quite sleazy too. We have seen it all, and have a list of places that we need to be very careful with. For the most part, it’s been good but the last months have really been a downturn. We have done a lot of “smalls” too in the past as “mortar” but even that is starting to flake a bit. -
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2 very important articles from the NY Times worth reading about the impact of the shutdown:
Shutdown’s Economic Damage Starts to Pile Up, Threatening an End to Growth
and
A Typical Federal Worker Has Missed $5,000 in Pay From the Shutdown So Far
The 800,000 federal workers who haven’t been paid during the government shutdown have each missed more than $5,000 in wages on average so far, according to a New York Times analysis. Combined, that’s more than $200 million per workday.
WASHINGTON — The partial government shutdown is inflicting far greater damage on the United States economy than previously estimated, the White House acknowledged on Tuesday, as President Trump’s economists doubled projections of how much economic growth is being lost each week the standoff with Democrats continues.
The revised estimates from the Council of Economic Advisers show that the shutdown, now in its fourth week, is beginning to have real economic consequences. The analysis, and other projections from outside the White House, suggests that the shutdown has already weighed significantly on growth and could ultimately push the United States economy into a contraction.
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Another article with a negative prognosis for the economy. https://www.businessinsider.com/government-shutdown-trump-democrats-standoff-damaging-us-economy-2019-1
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I started hoarding money about 6 months ago instead of paying off a few things. I didn’t do it for any particular reason so it must have just been general uneasiness – I can’t be the only one. It’s a good thing I did – husband is currently working without pay. Interesting fact – some federal agencies are actually fully funded and have the money in their budgets to pay their employees but have been ordered not to (my husband’s agency for example). I think high ranking politicians on both sides want as many workers affected as possible because they think the headlines are helping their side (800,000 workers without pay versus say 1/2 of that).
As a former federal worker married to a current federal worker – these shutdowns have gotten really old. It feels like every 3 to 6 months we’re threatened with a possible shut down. There needs to be a law passed that in the event a budget cannot be reached by a deadline, gov’t agencies function at the prior year’s budget level. Then when the budget is passed, they can add or subtract whatever dollar amounts need to be adjusted to fit into their new budgets. But of course then politicians can’t use us as pawns so they probably won’t go for that.
Sorry for the rant – I feel better. 🙂
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Instead of working for the government, they’re applying for unemployment benefits and driving for uber:
Driving Uber, freelancing, babysitting: shutdown workers scramble for cash
As the shutdown drags on, government contractors are struggling to afford medication, baby formula and other necessities.
Also, some are selling their belongings on Ebay to make ends meet:
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