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Post by stardiamond on Oct 17, 2020 13:27:32 GMT -5
I usually offer excess slabs here for the cost of shipping. I may want to sell some online. I use my experience as a buyer to sell.
For the two main sites, with the exception of altamont, I buy slabs on ebay; larger selection and generally better prices. Selling on Etsy seems simple for me. eBay looks like a lot more work. Etsy involves a few pictures, description and shipping information. eBay looks like it requires a lot more information. I haven't looked at eBay fees but I know for slabs there would be a lot more exposure.
Thoughts?
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Post by jasoninsd on Oct 17, 2020 16:28:30 GMT -5
I used to buy and sell a lot in eBay. I stopped selling, but continue to buy.
The reasons I stopped selling was due to the fees for selling (both eBay and PayPal) and in any dispute, it seems eBay favors the buyer over the seller.
I agree your marketing exposure would be far greater with eBay over etsy, but really take a look into their fees for selling...
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Post by stardiamond on Oct 17, 2020 17:11:03 GMT -5
I guess the best approach would be to list a slab on Etsy and see what happens. I've sold only one of the two unpolished slab listings.
When something is nice enough to list, I'm probably going to cut it. I cut slabs to make cabs not to sell them. I bought a large piece of rough that if is what I expect, I will have more than a lifetime amount.
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Post by stephan on Oct 17, 2020 17:37:09 GMT -5
The competition is fierce on both sites. Listing is easy on Etsy. For small time sales, fees seem reasonable. Like you, I’m not trying to make money. Sales are pretty slow, probably because I don’t do a lot of advertising on social media. I haven’t tried eBay, basically for the reasons you cite. It seems like a lot of work if I’m not going all-in.
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Post by jasoninsd on Oct 17, 2020 17:44:47 GMT -5
I'll be honest folks, I had never heard of Etsy until I joined this forum. So, obviously eBay will have a greater customer base along with the possibility of listing auctions as well as buy-it-now pricing. This would allow greater income for higher demand pieces...
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Post by stardiamond on Oct 17, 2020 19:40:28 GMT -5
ebay is where the cabs were and then most of the U.S. sellers left. Lots of stuff from India and China and is a completely different market. I bought material and didn't sell until last year. When I decided to sell, I studied what was on Etsy. I buy a lot on eBay beside rocks. I don't advertise or promote on Etsy. I started making cabs 20 years ago and had thousands sitting in boxes which didn't make a lot of sense. The best part of selling is being able to by any rocks and supplies I want without spending grocery money.
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Post by taylor on Oct 17, 2020 22:47:58 GMT -5
eBay is considerably more expensive in terms of fees...without a store (monthly fee), their commission is 10% on sale AND shipping. (plus fee and percentage to PayPal.)
eBay gives you more decisions to make...auction or fixed price, how many days to list. Also gives you many places to spend money on "upgrades" and promotion
In the last year and a half they have stopped treating their small sellers like inferior beings. More respect if you need to call in and the seller doesn't always take the blame. For a number of years it seemed like they changed the rules at least once a year. That seems to have slowed down. The major change taking place right now is the gradual switch to eBay handling the banking and phasing out PayPal.
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Post by Pat on Oct 17, 2020 23:13:18 GMT -5
A friend used to sell his slabs on etsy. Did very well. Then he started to sell his slabs on Facebook, and dropped etsy. Did better! I don't think he used eBay.
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Post by jasoninsd on Oct 18, 2020 19:11:18 GMT -5
eBay is considerably more expensive in terms of fees...without a store (monthly fee), their commission is 10% on sale AND shipping. (plus fee and percentage to PayPal.) eBay gives you more decisions to make...auction or fixed price, how many days to list. Also gives you many places to spend money on "upgrades" and promotion In the last year and a half they have stopped treating their small sellers like inferior beings. More respect if you need to call in and the seller doesn't always take the blame. For a number of years it seemed like they changed the rules at least once a year. That seems to have slowed down. The major change taking place right now is the gradual switch to eBay handling the banking and phasing out PayPal. This is good information. Thanks for sharing this! It's been years since I've sold on eBay, so it sounds like they've addressed some of the things that drove me away. This is a side note: I was just looking on eBay for "Rough for Cabbing" and under the item condition they had both "new" and "used" rough. I just find rocks being described as "new" as being rather funny! |
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Post by taylor on Oct 18, 2020 22:08:52 GMT -5
I've laughed about that, too! Years ago 'new/used' was a required field, now in certain categories it can be left blank.
And then there is the region/country of manufacture. Not manufactured, so where was it mined, or where was it cut?
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