[Spridgets] Ebay - Analysis of Sales

[Jay Fishbein]

Author sounds like someone with nothing much to do.
 
Here's my proven facts:
 
I make money on my sales.
 
Some good stuff doesn't sell.
 
Some stuff I would describe as garbage is sold at very high prices.
(And yes I accurately describe each item.)
 
Most items sell but demand within categories is cyclical.
 
Jay Fishbein
Wallingford, CT

--- On Tue, 6/23/09, Tim Collins <thcollin at mtu.edu> wrote:


From: Tim Collins <thcollin at mtu.edu>
Subject: [Spridgets] Ebay - Analysis of Sales
To: spridgets at autox.team.net
Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2009, 10:01 AM


No LBC content unless you buy and sell LBC stuff on Ebay.

Ebay seems to have a "love / hate" image with Spridget listers so here's some
info to think about.

I just came across an analysis of Ebay selling by Don Lancaster, an engineer,
who concludes:

Around 75 percent of eBay sales lose money.
Less than 5 percent of eBay sales exceed $100.
Price and sellthru are only weakly related;
With an 0.4 sellthru being typical.
A buyer is nearly THIRTY TIMES more likely
to make a $20 purchase than a $100 one.
The eBay market for big ticket items is much
lower than most people suspect.
The "best" eBay selling price is $24.95. And
quite possibly the most profitable.

You can read his interesting analysis leading to these conclusions in a pdf
file at: http://www.tinaja.com/glib/ebaystat.pdf.
Warning: His paper is kinda "mathy" but if you stick with it and just read
around some of the equations, you might learn something about how to adjust
your Ebay strategies - from a mathematical perspective. I believe he has
several other papers on Ebay strategies that are probably good reading too.

If Ebay and math aren't of interest, you might find his biography interesting:
http://www.tinaja.com/glib/waywere.pdf
If you ever picked up an electronics, radio, or computer magazine you have
probably already read his writings. Maybe you even built one of his
electronics/computer kits!