I spent the last 11 years selling and helping others sell on eBay while continuing my network engineering career. I saw many “Crank it out” fledgling eBay consignment shops chasing the money, so decided to wait it out. I knew I’d be lumped into “one of those stores” due to the sheer number of them cropping up everywhere. They survived because eBay was still fairly daunting to many individuals, and relatively new in the scheme of things. Those who “gave it a shot” found that just by being on eBay they could sell stuff, and at a surprisingly decent price.
Now it’s a different world on eBay. Those fly-by-night shops are almost all out of business, those still around usually have to supplement to make ends meet. There’s still consignment shops willing to hock your wares having almost no real technical or marketing background, and I’m comfortable not competing with them. I have no competition; there’s no one who does what I do , let alone at the marginal percentage I offer my services for.
Many in the eBay marketplace do not command a good selling price. A simple search for a very specific item will yield results that show more than half didn’t sell at all, the rest selling for wildly different prices. Most don’t know why.
I know why. And this is one of several reasons the decision to open my store was made. I’m taking a small risk by not “sticking to current thinking”, but I believe I’m spearheading what folks should expect from an eBay consignee. I know my medium, skill set, audience, limitations, realize I’m setting the bar at almost inconceivable heights, and results are already speaking for themselves.
Many individuals and businesses in the Pittsburgh area (Antique Dealers, Collectors, Estate liquidators, etc) with higher end valuables are unwilling to put stuff on eBay, unsure if they’ll get a good price — and there’s a good chance they won’t. Some only put their trust in traditional auctions requiring long drives where bidders number only in the hundreds (I grew up going to these type of auctions with my father). They could use someone locally who can virtually guarantee they’ll get a good showing online, at a final sale price that pays for itself and beyond. At the very least, a way to move stale stock at a good price to free up some cash. This is where i-Cellar fills the void, offering unparalleled technical services at a fraction of the commission. All designed to maximize visibility and final selling price, so you get the most money for your items on eBay.
I’m glad you found me, and invite you to experience what the next generation of eBay consignment will do for you.