Will the new Ebay flat fee comission change your selling strategy??

[Runscott]

Ebay continues to encourage the 'store with free shipping and no-question returns' model.

Doubt I'll run any more straight auctions on ebay, other than to clear out junk inventory.

[sports-rings]

I spoke with a large ebay vintage seller yesterday. He doesn't know what he is going to do but is looking at maybe doing a small auction...as so many others are now doing. I don't sell on ebay but if I did I would have to re-evaluate if it was worth my time.

I see more and more that the small and mid-size auction houses in our hobby are using simpleauctionsite.com for their auctions.

Anyone have any knowledge or idea what the threshold is, where it makes sense to start your own auction website using their software?

[drc]

Sterling Sports Auctions and Love of the Game Auctions would be considered big on eBay, if that helps.

If you don't have a lot of stuff for auction, I don't think starting your own auction would be good, though a sales page might work. For the average eBayer, I don't think it would work to start up their own auction site. I'm also sure its tough to get people to sign up for you auction.

Love of the Game started off well, in part because they had quality stuff the first auction. Sterling has been around a while so its new owner had a built in audience.

[Exhibitman]

The problem is audience. Ebay cannot be beaten for its audience--you get a lot of eyeballs on every listing. That may not be needed to sell a T206 Cobb but it sure comes in handy for more esoteric items.

Candidly, the new fees should not be an issue for a casual seller because what Ebay has done is to move its fee structure into line with the lower end of AH consignment costs. Even if you get a 0% commission, you are still 'paying' the BP, which runs anywhere from 10% [Lew Lipset, who is running his last auction] on up to 20%. It just depends on the items. Sterling [15%] and LOTG [18%] were mentioned above; from where I sit, both of them charge more than the combo of Ebay final value fees and paypal fees. Not criticising them--far from it, I consign to both and find both to be exemplary in every respect and worth the cost--just referencing the math as a counterpoint. The thing I appreciate about Ebay is that I can use the free listings to fish for sales on rare items. An AH wants to sell the items outright, not let me roll them through for months in the hope of finding a buyer.

Starting an auction of your own is a nice idea but not exactly a viable one if you work full time.