junglelord

I'm not trying to attack anybody, jungelord. But in all honesty, I am trying to get you to listen. There are plenty of sellers on EBay who list multiple items, the same one 100 times or more. They obviously do this to get more people to look at their items, which is understandable. However, a brute force effort like this can cause some people to turn away. Look at another seller, ronsrocks. I'll give you a link:

cgi.ebay.com/rle-LARGE-LORTONE-QT66-ROCK-TUMBLER-NEW_W0QQitemZ6596277327QQcategoryZ4843QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

First, he has a photo of the actual item he's selling. Second, he discribes EXACTLY what he's selling. It's a quality brand of item, new in the box, and under warranty. He also has other useful items, all from quality manufacturers. He has sold more than 3,500 items on EBay, and has a feedback rating of 99.9%, with 1 negative left in the last 6 months. To me, Ron's Rocks is a very successful seller who handles the types of things I look for in my hobby. He has a LOT of tumblers listed too.

Now let's take a look at a link from someone whome I would probably not purchase from. And no, this is not you, jungelord. The good thing is that you cared enough to come here and respond to what I had to say. But here's the link:

cgi.ebay.com/NEW-DUAL-DRUM-ROTARY-ROCK-TUMBLER-POLISHER-DELUXE-KIT_W0QQitemZ6597257492QQcategoryZ4843QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The item gets listed a hundred times over, and yes they sell belts too: dozens of them over and over again. I end up passing that one for other listings. Sometimes I have to block that seller because too many of one item is listed, and I need to filter them out so I can see other items.

Here's one who specializes in selling belts, and they show a Lortone tumbler to target someone looking for an actual machine to polish rocks with:

cgi.ebay.com/Rock-Tumbler-Drive-Belt-Lortone-3A-3-Lb-Belts-3_W0QQitemZ6597273446QQcategoryZ4843QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I pass on that one because my perception is that they're trying to lure me in to looking at the auction, and sell me a belt when I'm actually looking for a Lortone tumbler.

To give you credit, jungelord, here's one of YOUR listings that would make me consider a purchase if I were wanting a CE tumbler:

cgi.ebay.com/DUAL-2-BARREL-ROCK-TUMBLER-NEW-HEAVY-DUTY-SALE_W0QQitemZ6597251452QQcategoryZ4843QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

That's one of your better listings, because it doesn't have your water mark on it and it pretty much shows what's being sold. However, it can be improved by placing the photo further up the listing, just below where it says "discription". When you mention about being a platinum seller (nothing wrong with that), mention it with the customer's confidence in mind. It doesn't matter to the customer that you're a platinum seller as much as getting the item that was ordered, and in a reasonable amount of time.

You can purchase grit at a higher volume, and sell it in lower quantities at a reduced cost, passing the savings to your customers. Also, grit in a nice plastic container that can be re-used is a big plus! There is one dealer in Minnesota who sells grit like that, but he is prohibitively expensive for my tastes as I have a 36 pound tumbler that gets hungry quite frequently.

You have a lot of potential for buying in volume, jungelord. And a quick response to what customers want will help you sell more products and increase profits. You could offer a Lortone 3A kit, with 4 stages of grit/polish, and enough rocks to do one load of course. A 45C or 33B would be nice. They are not excessively priced units, especially when some of us spend well over $300.00 just for a tumbler alone.

Just to give you an idea of what selling quality equipment can do for you, take a look at this seller with a 97.8% feedback score:

cgi.ebay.com/LORTONE-QT66-Lapidary-Rock-ROTARY-Gem-TUMBLER_W0QQitemZ6597241339QQcategoryZ4843QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here is another listing:

cgi.ebay.com/Thumler-Ultra-Vibe-Rock-Tumbler_W0QQitemZ6597245713QQcategoryZ4843QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

They have made over 106,000 transactions on EBay, and they sell equipment from reputable manufacturers! On the Lortone rotary tumbler, I would likely pass and instead get it from Ron's Rocks. None the less, I do like the starting bid price on that listing. They even have a Lortone saw (178 available) listed here:

cgi.ebay.com/Trim-Saw-Model-FS6-C-Lortone-Lapidary_W0QQitemZ5069566223QQcategoryZ10323QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

What I don't like about findingking's equipment listings, is that they are all pre-sale. It would just take too long for the item to get to me, so I look elsewhere. But there is a possibility that they just have Lortone drop-ship to the customer, as many businesses do.

I'm not posting this to be offensive at all, jungelord. I like the fact that you responded to my messages here, it shows me that you have some concern for your business, and I don't blame you. But why not take some time to study and observe what sells, and yet is of good quality and usefulness? I would like to see you offer some equipment from other vendors. Man, I've been wanting to see a photo of an actual Covington Model 297 horizontal combo unit or 497 grinder/saw for a long time! There are people who would be happy if I could find that grinder/saw for less than $350.00 with a reasonable shipping rate. Good lapidary equipment sells, jungelord. You can bank on that.

MrCoffee