Looking for some selling opinions.

[captain flintlock]

So we have been doing the yard sale (and some thrift store) thing for quite some time now. I sell to some local dealers and set up my own yard sale a couple times a year. Sometimes setting up at a flea market but not often. I don't sell on eBay and really don't have a desire to either. But..., I have been thinking of starting an etsy store and have a couple of friends who sell there as well. They do more craft things rather than vintage stuff. Just looking for some thoughts, opinions and maybe some experiences with this particular selling avenue as a way to move some of my nicer inventory that I may be scaring off my yard sale customers with. Plus, I want to maximize my profit margin as well. I've done the Craigslist thing for some larger items.

 

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[Baltimore]

I sell a lot on etsy. It's a great place, I love it, but nowhere near the user base of ebay, and therefore things sell a lot slower. If you're ok with sitting on things for a long time, then etsy is the place for you. You'll need to be prepared to have a lot of stock if you want to sell consistently, I currently have 900+ items listed and I do maybe 3-5 sales a day. Also you'll need good photography skills to sell on etsy. The fees are lower than ebay, for sure. Only things that are 20+ years old, prepare to be reported if you try to list modern stuff.

To be honest, I don't understand the ebay aversion that many people have. I sell a lot on ebay as well, and realistically it is an amazing resource. Millions of people on the site everyday, reasonable fees (10% ain't bad compared to a brick and mortar, you're paying for the exposure and it's quite worth it imo). These days you pretty much have to have an ebay store to avoid listing fees, but they aren't too expensive and they still have a fair amount of listing promotions. Customer service really isn't as bad as people say, I've never had a problem that didn't get fixed.

Look at it this way: When I have a yardsale, people turn their noses at a used pair of shoes priced at $10. Used shoes on CL, forget it. They're modern, so I can't sell them on etsy. Facebook yardsales, hit or miss, same problems as CL. But, I put those shoes on ebay, bam, $50, and to that person they paid half price or less for the shoes they wanted and are pleased as punch.

If you're interested in etsy, there's no reason not to ebay at the same time.

 

[captain flintlock]

Thanks for your thoughts Baltimore. I was aware of the 20+ year rule for etsy. I probably should have been a little more specific in my interest in selling online. This is something that I would only do on the side. I don't think I even have 200 items total! I thinking on the lines of say 20-40 ish items. Things like some vintage sterling jewelry and other sterling pieces. Some antique smalls and things that I can ship easily without having a warehouse. I'm always finding things that I know that I can get more for rather than selling at my sale or to a local dealer. (Which I don't mind being a middle man for). Strictly vintage and antique items.

 

[diggummup]

Thanks for your thoughts Baltimore. I was aware of the 20+ year rule for etsy. I probably should have been a little more specific in my interest in selling online. This is something that I would only do on the side. I don't think I even have 200 items total! I thinking on the lines of say 20-40 ish items. Things like some vintage sterling jewelry and other sterling pieces. Some antique smalls and things that I can ship easily without having a warehouse. I'm always finding things that I know that I can get more for rather than selling at my sale or to a local dealer. (Which I don't mind being a middle man for). Strictly vintage and antique items.

JMHO, Sounds like your a perfect candidate to sell on ebay. Your first 50 listings per month are free. Just set your selling preferences accordingly and you shouldn't have any problems. Though being a new seller you would have a temporary hold on your funds for week or so via paypal. I don't get the not liking ebay either. I'd rather list my items where I know there is a larger customer base. I've been selling casually for 12-13 years and can count the number of problem customers I've had on one hand, it's really not that bad. That goes for the fees also. eBay vs Etsy, that's a no brainer in my book. Nothing against Etsy, it's just not for me and I have a multitude of items that are at least 20 years old. Plus you can list something at auction for the lowest price you're willing to accept and it has the chance of going much higher, you can't do auctions on Etsy.

 

[captain flintlock]

JMHO, Sounds like your a perfect candidate to sell on ebay. Your first 50 listings per month are free. Just set your selling preferences accordingly and you shouldn't have any problems. Though being a new seller you would have a temporary hold on your funds for week or so via paypal. I don't get the not liking ebay either. I'd rather list my items where I know there is a larger customer base. I've been selling casually for 12-13 years and can count the number of problem customers I've had on one hand, it's really not that bad. That goes for the fees also. eBay vs Etsy, that's a no brainer in my book. Nothing against Etsy, it's just not for me and I have a multitude of items that are at least 20 years old. Plus you can list something at auction for the lowest price you're willing to accept and it has the chance of going much higher, you can't do auctions on Etsy.

I've just heard from some people I know (and don't know) that the fees were getting out of control and other problems. I used to buy on eBay many years ago but never sold. But I also know a couple of people who sell and pretty much like it. I've bumped into several people who sell on etsy and love it. Again, just something to make a bit of extra $$ without putting a ton of time in it. I do appreciate all the opinions and views.

 

[ethanfez]

I've just heard from some people I know (and don't know) that the fees were getting out of control and other problems. I used to buy on eBay many years ago but never sold. But I also know a couple of people who sell and pretty much like it. I've bumped into several people who sell on etsy and love it. Again, just something to make a bit of extra $$ without putting a ton of time in it. I do appreciate all the opinions and views.

Personally ebay is great. Gets people looking at your stuff from all around the world. Good luck finding an auction company that will charge less than 20% so compared to that the 10% ebay charges is great.

 

[Baltimore]

Ebay's market is pretty flooded without a doubt, that is one downside. Sometimes it seems like unless your item is crazy desirable theres always someone willing to sell it for $5 and undercut you. But, realistically speaking, the etsy market is super saturated too, especially for jewelry.

I would describe Etsy as a place where looking like a business is beneficial and it is less friendly to casual sellers, while ebay is a much better environment for a person only trying to sell a few items a month where there's no pressure to appear like anything more than casual.

I'm not trying to discourage you from using etsy, it's a great platform and it is true that people will spend a lot more for something that is well presented on etsy vs the same object on ebay. I re sell stuff from ebay on etsy all the time. Just want to make sure you have the facts. My biggest piece of advice is don't be discouraged, I hardly made any sales in my first year, now it's 2 years later and I broke 2500 sales, so it can work out.

Also if you haven't opened an etsy store yet and still plan to, I can refer you and we can each get 40 free listings (which last for 4 months). Shoot me a message if you're interested.

 

[Beachkid23]

Let's see in the last two years I have sold on Amazon, etsy, bonanza, eBay, facebook and offer up. Bonanzas horrible from my experience easy to list stuff and you can actually transfer over all of your eBay listings or any other listings on to their site so you can have all your listings from one site, on two sites but it didn't matter because nothing sold on bonanza.

Facebook and offer up is great because you can get just as much for common things like iPhones or a gold ring or even earrings that you would on eBay except for you don't have to pay any fees. You just have to go meet some stranger And hope there not a criminal.

Etsy I have listed a whole lot of things on there being like 40 and sold I think 4 over four months so I just stopped with that.

eBay- I sell an average of 160 items a month. Not gonna going to specifics but I make more money than most of my friends. And a lot of them are teachers. My wife has been in the school district for 15 years and I crush her income every year. With that said though I work 60 to 70 hours a week. Constantly looking for new things becoming a hoarder and having piles of stuff I don't know if I'll even ever get to. Answering emails, dealing with strangers driving all over the place but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

I guess basically it's the same as everything else. You get out as much as you put in. If you're going to take the time you're going to get the reward no matter what. I mean they're all good sites just some are better than others. I think to be totally honest it has nothing to do with what site you so on. Has more to do with your knowledge of stuff and what it's worth and how much you pay for versus how much you can sell it for. Holy crap that was a rant. See that's what happens when you get four hours of sleep last night. If that was horrible just kick me off the site for a couple days we have family coming in town anyways have a good night! Lol.

 

[captain flintlock]

Personally ebay is great. Gets people looking at your stuff from all around the world. Good luck finding an auction company that will charge less than 20% so compared to that the 10% ebay charges is great.

Good point on the auction %!!

 

[captain flintlock]

Let's see in the last two years I have sold on Amazon, etsy, bonanza, eBay, facebook and offer up. Bonanzas horrible from my experience easy to list stuff and you can actually transfer over all of your eBay listings or any other listings on to their site so you can have all your listings from one site, on two sites but it didn't matter because nothing sold on bonanza.

Facebook and offer up is great because you can get just as much for common things like iPhones or a gold ring or even earrings that you would on eBay except for you don't have to pay any fees. You just have to go meet some stranger And hope there not a criminal.

Etsy I have listed a whole lot of things on there being like 40 and sold I think 4 over four months so I just stopped with that.

eBay- I sell an average of 160 items a month. Not gonna going to specifics but I make more money than most of my friends. And a lot of them are teachers. My wife has been in the school district for 15 years and I crush her income every year. With that said though I work 60 to 70 hours a week. Constantly looking for new things becoming a hoarder and having piles of stuff I don't know if I'll even ever get to. Answering emails, dealing with strangers driving all over the place but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

I guess basically it's the same as everything else. You get out as much as you put in. If you're going to take the time you're going to get the reward no matter what. I mean they're all good sites just some are better than others. I think to be totally honest it has nothing to do with what site you so on. Has more to do with your knowledge of stuff and what it's worth and how much you pay for versus how much you can sell it for. Holy crap that was a rant. See that's what happens when you get four hours of sleep last night. If that was horrible just kick me off the site for a couple days we have family coming in town anyways have a good night! Lol.

No rant at all! I appreciate the honesty and view points!! I just need to decide which avenue to travel down and actually do it!! I have done the Craigslist thing with larger items and meeting with strangers and have had good luck, but that was just a few random sales of some larger items. Not something I want to do all the time.

 

[Auriemma]

Besides CL and Ebay, there is Letgo. It's a free app that allows you to sell (or buy) easily, as well as communicate with your buyers. Simple to use. Best part is, you can set your searches up to be local, unlike CL with is a much broader area.

 

[bigcaddy64]

I would go the ebay route, especially since it can be used in such a casual manner. If you sell lots of similar items, like jewelry, you can have templates saved and easily modify them to suit individual items. Since i sell such a variety, i rarely use them.

The exposure is very high and, as long as you have good stuff, it will sell. In the last 4 years, i have sold hundreds of items and have yet to sit in front of a computer. All of it is done on my ipad in bed or outside on the patio. I really don't get bothered by the fees either because i realize that i might go spend 100-200 bucks on a weekend but get 6-800 back. All i have to do is take some pictures with a description and ebay does the rest from insurance to settling disputes and advertising.