05-16-2007, 08:19 AM
Quote:The results of our recent research, shared below, appear to confirm the conventional wisdom regarding eBay and competing channels. Specifically...
1. Margins on eBay are very tight. Taking into account all costs of business, including listing fees, fixed overhead, product sourcing costs, etc, the average net margin on eBay is 8%. Product sectors such as cameras, cell phones and consumer electronics are particularly fierce with net margins falling to the 2-4% range.
2. Diversification across non-eBay channels has become the norm...
3. Net margins on off-eBay business are significantly higher than on net margins received on eBay. Of the 2/3 of merchants already diversified off of eBay, profitability nearly triples, as eBay net margins hover around 8% and off-eBay margins increase to 23%...
full article: http://blog.swoda.com/blog/2007/05/ebay_merchant_e.html