The Two Different Types of Online Sellers

[mandy]

From an Auctionbytes editorial:

I received a letter from a reader who talked about two different types of online sellers - the small, recreational and occasional sellers, who sell antiques, collectibles, crafts and used goods; and the PowerSellers who sell gifts, electronics and new goods.

Those in the first group need a lot of help and need to be spoon-fed information, this reader wrote in her letter. "We relied on the ease of the early-day system of selling on Ebay. But as the rules got more complex and "the game" matured, a lot of us fell away and found it hard to keep up with the sophistication of selling online."...

full article: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y208...bu0220/s01

[sneakymagenta]

"We relied on the ease of the early-day system of selling on Ebay. But as the rules got more complex and "the game" matured, a lot of us fell away and found it hard to keep up with the sophistication of selling online."...

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[amy]

two different types of online sellers

That's been painfully obvious for years anytime I've read the eBay boards or the forums at any of the small eBay alternative sites like Plunderhere, YourHighBid, etc. 

"We relied on the ease of the early-day system of selling on Ebay. But as the rules got more complex and "the game" matured, a lot of us fell away and found it hard to keep up with the sophistication of selling online."...

The following quote is from a comment a visitor left on an Auctionbytes blog article:

the eBay of years ago empowered folks who did not have business plans from the start and are just now realizing it.

I am not trying to be cruel or condescending, just looking at reality.  The business world is tough and companies close everyday.  Maybe the folks we are hearing from about this are learning a lesson many of us in business have learned.  We adjust or perish.

It was inevitable that as the ecommerce world, and eBay, matured (and as the novelty of online auctions wore off) that the same rules of business would begin to apply to online selling as offline selling: 1. you need to run your business like a business and have a business plan if you hope to compete and survive-; 2. you need to adjust to market conditions if you hope to survive.  Many small sellers don't have a business plan/the necessary business experience, and are unable/unwilling to adjust to changing market conditions, and thus they now find themselves unable to compete.