Is Selling on EBay Still Profitable in 2008?

Profitable

Thank you for reading this article! Let me first say that this article is written as of September 2008. As you all know, America is suffering from the largest economic crisis in decades. According to CNN news, over 159,000 jobs were cut this year and internet spending is clearly down at the moment. With that being said our focus today is on the auction giant “eBay”. With over 147 million members worldwide eBay is currently the largest and most popular auction site in the world. I myself was once a member of this auction site, however, escalating fees and unreasonable new policies have drove me and thousands more away from eBay. It seems that more and more people are becoming aware of eBay’s shortcomings, but the question is:

Is selling on eBay still profitable in our current economy where retail and even internet spending is declining Ebay Argentina?

Well, to answer that question you have to ask yourself a question! Are you prepared to pay eBay’s fees whether your items sell or not? eBay charges a host of fees including, insertion fees, starting price fees, “buy it now” fees as well as fees for special features like highlighted borders and featured gallery. If your item does not sell, you are still responsible to pay these charges. A poll conducted by Thesellingwizard.com revealed that 54% of auction items listed on eBay receive no bids and thus do not sell. According to Auctiva.com(A partner site of ebay), 60% of fixed price(Buy it now) items don’t sell either.

This doesn’t mean that you have no chance of making a great income on eBay, it just means that it will not be easy. There are many sellers who make a great 5 and even 6 figure income from selling on eBay. These sellers are called “powersellers”. Many of these powersellers will tell you that they began their eBay journey when eBay first opened it’s doors in 1995. eBay was a very different place in those days. In the nineties you were free to sell whatever you wanted with very few restrictions. There was also great customer service then due to the fact that eBay hadn’t grown so large yet. All in all, eBay has changed and the site has become over-saturated with sellers. If you browse the collectibles section you will find over 2 million listings. If you’re looking for an Ipod in electronics, you have your choice of over 94 thousand listings. The idea of being able to make a great income from the comfort of your home was too good for the common dreamer to resist. eBay offered just that, a great way to make extra money from home. Over the years, many people have jumped on the eBay band wagon and eBay is now overcrowded.