Lynn’s eBay e-zine Volume II, issue number 9

I was so happy at eBay Live after the Keynote address when I realized that eBay was not going to be raising prices this year! Well, that good news is now in the past.

The email from Bill Cobb yesterday has certainly rocked my world and I am doing a major overhaul of my eBay selling strategies. My store business accounts for quite a large chunk of my income. It varies between 20 to 40% of my sales, so the increase in store fees has really hit me hard.

Here is the new pricing structure that will be effective August 22nd, 2006:

• Some Store Inventory format final value fees also will also increase, effective Aug. 22, 2006:

• For more detailed information on these fee changes, please see eBay’s fee changes overview.

eBay believes that this price hike is only going to cost sellers (on average) 6% extra in overall selling fees. I took a look at the fee increase from my perspective and it is going to affect me a lot more than that.

Most of my items are $9.99 and they sit in my eBay store for one year before selling. In the old days this cost me 3 cents per month (2 cents insertion plus 1 cent gallery) — so 36 cents per year. Plus, when it sold it cost me an additional 8% or about 80 cents. $1.16 to sell a $10 item or about 11.6%. Not bad.

Now, if I let it sit there for one year it will cost me 6 cents per month (5 cents insertion plus 1 cent gallery) — so 72 cents per year. Plus, when it sells it will cost me an additional $1.00. $1.76 to sell a $10 item or about 17.6%. The fees have increased 70 cents — so when I divide .70/1.16 (the old price) I calculate a 60% increase in my store selling fees. This increase multiplied by an average 30% of my business being done in the stores results in an 18% price increase. Ouch!

I have over 3,000 items listed in my store. At an additional 70 cents per transaction, this translates to another $2,100 per year for eBay. Quite frankly, I can’t afford this.

However, then it dawned on me that eBay is helping us to get streamlined. They have given us the swift kick in the butt that we need to move our slow turning merchandise. I would never have let an item sit for a year in my brick and mortar store without marking it down. Why would I let my items sit for up to two years in my eBay store gathering dust — and costing me money?

My strategy has always been to let eBay store items sit for two years before pulling them out. This is going to change. I will only let items sit for one year and then they will be marked down. If they don’t sell after being marked down, I will take them off eBay.  I am going to completely clean house after December. I don’t want to take down any listings with my best months coming up — November and December.

Another great idea that came from all of this is to hold a 1/2 price store sale. I am going to email my eBay store mailing list and also all of you and hold a 1/2 price sale in January. What a brilliant idea! I am so glad that eBay has forced me take a hard look at my business and stop being so lazy. I will start running it more like I would a brick and mortar store. Thank you eBay!

P.S. Is there a way to run a 50% off eBay store sale through the eBay system? Does anyone know if that is a possibility?

One Seat Just Opened for my July 28th Seminar in Palm Springs

My intensive 3 day eBay Strategy Seminar in Palm Springs is approaching. As many of you know, the ten seats sold out in four days! One of my students had to transfer to an overflow seminar due to a scheduling conflict. What this means is that there is one of the coveted seats available!  If you are interested, please email me ASAP to see if it would be a good fit for you. I want to help you take your eBay business to the six-figure level and this intensive seminar will do that!

The Power of an Hour book promotion

Some of you may have received an email from me today about Dave Lakhani’s new book, The Power of an Hour: Business and Life Mastery in One Hour a Week

The book is amazing. Dave teaches you how to focus on the 18 most important things in your business and life that will increase your success instantly. His Fearsome Focus program and Power Hour programs are revolutionary. Rather than wondering what to work on, Dave gives you an exact plan for what to work on for one hour each week and exactly how to work on it so that you maximize the results.

I strongly recommend this book because I know how important each hour is to our eBay businesses. An hour wasted can mean 100’s of dollars in lost sales.

You know that I rarely endorse books so this is a big deal and I hope you’ll grab a copy today. Dave has also put together a massive group of bonuses that are valued at over $8000.00 just for buying the book now.

One of the bonuses is my $49.99 two hour audio course! Click here to get the book and bonuses now.

I will be on eBay Radio with Griff next Tuesday, July 25th at 12:08 pm

I am thrilled and honored to be on eBay radio next week with one of my favorite people, Griff (Jim Griffin — eBay Spokesperson)! I will be interviewed as part of a series on how to cut eBay selling costs. How timely! Anyway, I hope you tune in online at http://www.wsradio.com/ on Tuesday, July 25th at 12:08 pm Pacific time. Griff and Lee always put on a great show!