Different Selling Venues??? Which is the Best???

[Kyle Boyd-Robertson / Paper Moon]

I have just shut down my store at Ruby Lane and am seeking a new selling venue. I am hoping you can share your successes and failures with other Auction and store sites so I may chose whats best for me. I specialize in Vintage Postcards and Ephemera. I do have my own Web Site I opened in November but I wish to continue to have a auction style format also. Thank You.

[UknowUneed Another]

You could look into either Etsy and or Bonanzle. Both are very economical.

Etsy charges 20 cents per listing, with 5 pictures and 4 months time per listing, and a 3.5% FVF. There is no monthly store fee and the site also offers google base and analytics to all the members.

Bonanzle has 3 possible plans. you can set up a "booth" free of charge and list with a reasonable sliding FVF. You have access to google base free of charge.They also have 2 optional monthly fee plans that will get you additional perks. Bonanzle has been open for less than a year but has been receiving good "cyber" write ups. There is an ability to have live chats with potential customers, the is a "best offer" feature allowing customers to counter offer and people have figured out ways to conduct live auctions via the live chat feature.

I feel that both sites are definitly worth looking into. My expenses for both sites have averaged out to between 8 - 10 % and this is with factoring in Paypal expense also.

I had researched Ruby Lane last year and found them to be pricey.

[Silkfair]

You can try out Silkfair. Free to set up shop, 3% selling fee only. Images & video showcase Googlebase automatic submission, etsy & ebay import included.

We recently launched landing pages for several categories (antiques, vintage, collectibles included each with special page). And our custom store's the next ecommerce big thing. 100% customized online identity (editable layout & design templates + personal, unique url & much more).

Good luck!
Alice

[Time Was]

I know no one has commented for a few days, but I just got back from a buying trip and have been out of the loop.

I closed my brick & mortar in 2004 after starting online webstores in 2002 and by 2004 they were grossing the same with about 20% of the overhead. I have never done much ebay unless really rare specialty item I knew would do well.

My main website is on TIAS.com and it has consisitently done well and out preformed the others I have had/have. VERY easy interface with many bells & whistles for $39.95 OR 10% sales. You can upload to auction there at ebay as well. Even in the down economy they have continued to function but I have worked hard at listing lots of items, specializing to a point, getting recognized, press releases, excellent photos, SEO etc.

I am thinking of trying out an auction site and have signed up for Bonanzle but haven't done anything with it yet.

[Julie Law, Orallo]

Welcome back Time Was! So glad to see you and always interested to hear what you have to say.

You know, the more time I invest doing "due diligence" for my own business and my time spent with other online dealers, I am becoming increasingly convinced that an effective strategy for online selling employs multiple venues and your own stand-alone Web site. The goal is to have as many points-of-contact with your prospective buyers as reasonable to maintain.

I just read a blog post from Seth Godin, marketing guru, that applies: "Jerry reminds me of a story from the launch of the Permission Marketing book.

I recall having a conversation with the marketing folks at Simon & Schuster. I complained that I had just returned from a road trip and didn’t see the book in a single airport book store. I insisted that business travelers were the ideal audience. They came back to me with a simple request: tell me where you or Seth were going to be flying and they would make sure that the book was in the bookstore in that airport...

So often, you are not the customer for your product. Yet you market it as if you were. Showing up in your world (or the board's world your staff's world) is not nearly as important as showing up in the world of the person you're actually trying to reach.

Creating a Potemkin Village (online or off) in which people who know you see your product pales in comparison with being present in the world where your customers live."

Do you know where your customers live online? Since we operate in this "fishbowl" called the World Wide Web, it should be easy enough to find out. There are a multitude of listserve groups, discussions boards and forums tailored to a particular collectible frequented by hard-core collectors.

And yet, all that said, my ultimate wish remains a viable venue with both an auction and fixed price format similar to eBay but specific to the AVC vertical. Sigh.

[Julie Law, Orallo]

I'm glad this thread has been revived. Kyle, do you have an update on your new selling venue? We'd be interested to here what choices you made and how you are progressing.

Additionally, I want to caution selling venues that choose to participate in our group to "temper" their "advertisements" and instead provide us with solid information so that we can make informed decisions - too often, posts appear "spammy" and "canned." If venues would like more information about my recommendations for reaching us, please contact me via e-mail.

[Country Joe]

Hi all,
I'm a believer in having your own website / online store and have always felt that way. Probably goes back to about thirty something years ago when I decided that I like being my own boss.
I've tried several online malls, R/L, Tias etc. Actually R/L was good until they decided that you had to do it their way, blocked and censored dealer forums, started raising rates etc.

Tias at the time I was there they were having server / speed type problems but otherwise I actually liked it and made $. Have played around with Bonanzle but it just doesn't work for me.

Have found out doing my own thing is the way to go, of course there is more work to do promoting yourself and doing SEO but that's part of being in business.

See ya, Country Joe

[Julie Law, Orallo]

Hey Country Joe! So glad you are back - I hope you are feeling better! Do you find that having your own Web site is ENOUGH to sustain your online business? I know that many AVCOSA members with their own Web sites are also listing on some of the venues you mentioned because of the additional exposure and opportunities for sales. Do you find this to be the case?

[Country Joe]

Back and ready to rock 'n roll !
I believe that you can do enough with your own website, but one has to work at it. This business is a full time thing for me (35+ years) so I have to push it. But I do sell at the flea markets, run a live auction about 8 times a year and list on a few other places that do bring a few sales. Plus a few things on ebay to help the cash flow. 90% of my sales come from my own website.

Nothing wrong with having other venues for additional exposure, but believe you should put your main energy into your own website.
Remember that the 'online malls' are subject to the whims of the owners and they can change the rules, rates etc. when they desire. (ebay anyone?) You are just a tenant. They also can shut down. But they also can help if your allowed to link to your own website, remember you can't advertise to much.

See ya, Country Joe
Country Joe's Vintage Collectibles
Country Joe's Blog

[Arctic Rainbow]

Hi Papermoon,

I've just started a similar discussion. I list at www.specialistauctions.com There is a postcards and ephemera dept there. It is free to list, free to have a shop, free images and you can list in any currency you like... plus many other advantages.. see my thread: http://avcosa.ning.com/forum/topics/what-sales-outlets-do-fellow

Good luck!

[Cheri]

I dont think there is a best lol. It seems some work better than others for different sellers at varied times.

Currently my Ruby Lane store remains my most profitable venue, followed very closely by my eBay store & own website (a ProStore)

I am pleased to see sales beginning on Etsy for some of my vintage stuff,(still a very undeveloped store for me there) and tho I have had some sales on and thru Bonanzle, and really like it as a venue in terms of the tools given to sellers...... and it's free with low FVF......yet sales have been very disappointing for me there Everyone always leaves nice comments, but it seems more visitors to my booth there are sellers out browsing or doing handpicked lists, than buyers. I do think they need to have more name recognition for serious antiques & collectibles buyers to buy with confidence there. Most everyone outside of the biz that I have spoken to have never heard of Bonanzle


It always puzzled me that TIAS was not a more successful venue for me as I really liked the set up to have a store there. It was my first venue after just starting out on eBay, and I was a greenhorn with not much specialization then lol so that could have played a part too ;)

I used to really like Go Antiques as an outlet, retail and Live Auctions, but closed my store in April, having been there successfully since 2003, but a big decline in business since management changed IMHO & since the eBay live auctions ended. they tried other live auction platforms but it was a dismal failure and they shut them down completely.

Trocadero/JustGlass was ok for a while for me but then seemed to drop off the customer radar for my stuff and became too cumbersome to maintain.


I am curious to know why you left RL, Kyle? if that isnt too personal to ask?
I have only been there since Sept 2007 but so far a happy camper :)

[Julie Law, Orallo]

Wow Cheri! You've certainly had experience with all the major venues so your feedback is valued. Have you found that some venues are better suited for certain types of vintage products? I know that you specialize in vanity items but thought you might have some insight...

Also, I've done some recent research on traffic at the major venues (i.e. compete.com) and noticed that Tias traffic has been off in the last few months. Note that Ruby Lane was the most visited and shows a 16 percent increase YTD.

Other than comparing traffic numbers and costs, what kinds of "due diligence" do you do before selecting a new selling venue?

[Cheri]

Julie, I definitely find Ruby Lane to be best suited to my higher end vanity, Deco & Depression era glass, handbags, jewelry etc. So when I find really special items, I always list them there first. I have all my stuff on offer there, and seldom reject offers as most are very fair. I also get many sales where customers just buy at my price, which is great!

I do also find serious collectors still via eBay and my website at ProStores.

The thing I like about the eBay store/ProStore set up, with both being eBay owned, is that I can redirect my eBay customers to my ProStore for checkout, and that often brings me steady repeat customers on my ProStore website. I have learned to just ignore the eBay nonsense, much as it irks me.....I stick with store/fixed price inventory there, using their 5 free auctions a month more for clearance stuff and advertising, as I definitely get more traffic to my store when I run auctions. It seems eBay store customers are also willing to pay fair price and tho I sell most stuff there via "best offer", I still sell at decent profit.
Being able to import my eBay listings directly into my ProStore is also a plus.
The downside of ProStores is cumbersome software and typical eBay management..........

Bonanzle seems to be one big happy chatty fleamarket, :) and I do think it has potential to also attract more buyers as it develops and matures. The "Boyz" who run it do seem to be so tech savvy at providing easy to use tools for sellers. My few sales there have been items under $100 mainly. My Bonanzle booth stuff is showing very well on Google base, and I occasionally use the Twitter feature from there too. I tried their craigslist interface but all it brought was scam and spam!

I am going to definitely expand my Etsy vintage store, as after no apparent interest initially, it seems to now be getting noticed, I sold a couple of depression glass pieces, jewelry and a handbag there so far, so a varied selection.

I honestly cant speak re what sells best on TIAS anymore as I closed there in 2004. I did make sales there, mainly Depression Glass and collector plates. I just felt it wasnt a profitable enough venue to warrant more monthly fees and time, and I did not get on well with one staff member there ;) so switched to Trocadero/Just Glass, which was fine, till it seemed their traffic dissipated, at least for my store.

Which was when I decided to give Ruby Lane a try for myself, having heard a lot of negatives about their management in the past, and have been very pleasantly surprised at so far a very good experience all round

re Go Antiques....I opened there in 2003, and it became by far our most profitable venue. We stayed till April of this year, and really tried to absorb the changes, but things just went downhill real fast following their purchase by Worthpoint IMHO
In addition to a total plummet in revenue that caused me to shut down, I have a major gripe at them as they have marked ALL items that I ever deleted from their inventory as SOLD nomatter the reason for my deletions. So all the inventory that I deleted and STILL have available for sale elsewhere, is marked Sold on GA, with some of it even being in their Worthpoint database. I have tried unsuccessfully to get them to correct this, and am told they will "forward it to management" but it is still there, live not cached (have heard from other dealers also annoyed by this)
I feel this not only corrupts the info in the Worthpoint database (eg showing something I may have listed there for $300 as "sold" via Go Antiques at that price, even when I still have it, and may by now have reduced asking price to $175....
but also IMHO that is just plain WRONG of them to do. I get very irked when I find my items currently Google from Go Antiques and then click thru to what is a live listing marked "sold"
Not sure if you feel this is something for a new topic, but I really think it to be reprehensible and dare I say less than honest that they are showing these deleted items as "sold" via Go Antiques when they were not and are still available for sale in my other venues

*rant over* ;)

anyways, that's my experience with the places I have tried so far.

Input from other dealers has been the major factor in my decisions to try places, tho in terms of RL it seems to have been a mistake for me to have let that deter me for a number of years.

Still, as mentioned before, I really do think the various venues are themselves subject to flux, so impacting various sellers at different times and in different ways. For some, a certain place may be a perfect fit...for others it just wont work.
Trial and error is the only way to find out I guess, and a venue that works today may not next year

I sure have learned such a lot along the way tho, thanks mainly to so many helpful other dealers :)