How are your eBay sales? If you sell antiques and collectibles, the answer to this question is: not as good as a year ago.
AuctionBytes obtained a copy of a recent report that antiques mall TIAS sent to its merchants. The report shows that the average sale price of antiques and collectibles sold on eBay by TIAS merchants is down approximately 33% from a year ago. This number is not surprising to us. We published a study in May that showed that the average price for collectibles had dropped 25% over the past year. Several weeks later, TIAS showed that average prices over the same period had declined 39.5%.
The recent TIAS report also showed that the average sell-through rate for antiques and collectibles was 37.5% on eBay from January to October of this year. We have read published reports that eBay's average sell-through rates are between 47% and 52% for antiques and collectibles. Because eBay guards its numbers jealously from the press and from its own members, we're not sure what to believe.
eBay frequently mentions it is not a seller or a middle-man - it is simply a venue. Yet it will not share numbers with the ACTUAL sellers on its "venue." If sellers knew some basic information about Average Sale Price, product breakdowns, sell-through rates, seasonal performance and traffic, they could be more successful, which would benefit eBay as well. It would be a win-win situation.
Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and AuctionBytes.com and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter at @auctionbytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com.
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