eBay PR Dept Feeds Local Press Articles as Sellers Receive Breakfast In Bed

[mandy]

eBay's public relations department was busy feeding articles to local newspapers last night after eBay honored 100 top sellers with breakfast in bed and eBay logo merchandise. 

Bra company thrives with help of eBay

The eBay power seller runs Bramania, an online seller of bras ranging from 34A to 54J, from a self-storage unit in Wixom. There he and employee Sandra Nelson ship out about 450 bras and panties a week all over the world.

Howell received a cheery holiday greeting Tuesday from eBay as part of a breakfast-in-bed appreciation program for 100 top sellers across the country. He was served a continental breakfast on a tray and received an eBay apron, slippers and a copy of the Free Press.

With the breakfast, eBay hopes to call attention to the people who are trying to make it through the holidays often single-handedly running their small businesses.

full article: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...5/1120/RSS

LI family top eBay seller

For the Warshauers of Ronkonkoma, "small" business has a very different meaning: Several employees of their home-based eBay business are just a few feet tall, including Daniel, 7, their youngest son.

But together, they sell more than a half-million dollars' worth of goods a year on eBay. At 10-percent to 20-percent profit, that surpasses Alan Warshauer's annual salary as a printer.

Tuesday, eBay recognized the business as a top eBay seller, bringing the family breakfast and goodies, including slippers, with the eBay logo.

...EBay spokesman Hani Durzy said eBay receives about 7 percent of its sellers' revenues, far less than what a business would spend for rent, marketing and other overhead.

full article: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longis...-headlines

[iron_chick]

I know I'm not a top seller, but all I asked for was a stupid IP address . . . .

[bargainbloodhound]

He was served a continental breakfast on a tray and received an eBay apron, slippers and a copy of the Free Press.

So basically it was eBay (and contrary to what Auctionbytes said not the sellers) who contacted the media . This publicity stunt doesn't seem to have generated as many articles as the USPS eBay Day ones did... 

I asked for was a stupid IP address

I asked for 5 IPs the other day and they gave me the wrong ones!*


*5 IPs for a server that is...whoever the person was who filled the order allocated them to the wrong server. :

[catholicemporium]

10-20% profit????? I HOPE that is AFTER eBay fees.  If not, hummmmmm....we don't touch anything unless we can make 1000% GP.

[bargainbloodhound]

EBay spokesman Hani Durzy said eBay receives about 7 percent of its sellers' revenues

7%...except for all of the sellers who sell low priced items and are paying eBay almost 30% of their revenues. 

10-20% profit?? I HOPE that is AFTER eBay fees

10-20% is good compared to what many people make selling on eBay.  I'm always surprised when tax times rolls around and people post on the eBay boards "I thought I was making money, but after finally adding up my expenses and doing my taxes I realize I lost money/broke even last year".

[catholicemporium]

Laying all kidding aside, do people REALLY just mark up 10 to 20%?  How can you run any business on 20% GP?  And then you see all of the folks who run, BOGOs or Buy five, get one free even?  At 20%, you would be giving your product away for free on a Buy Five, get one free special. Those numbers have to be after eBay/PP//MA fees.

Or are they, so the saying goes, "Making it up in volume?"  Even selling $70K a year, with 20% GP, you are only talking about $14K GP.  Then the costs TO sell.  I know it has been 20 years since I took Accounting 201 and 202 at the U. of Ga., but accounting can't have changed that much since I was there.

Chris

[bargainbloodhound]

do people REALLY just mark up 10 to 20%?  How can you run any business on 20% GP?

I think the 10% to 20% is that seller's net profit, so they're making $50K-$100K yearly after all expenses.

There are a lot of sellers however who also are making under 20% net profit and who don't have gross sales over $500K.  A bronze power seller ($1000 gross sales monthly) with those net profit margins would only be making $1,200-$2,400 per YEAR from their eBay sales

[xppman]

I don't make $500K in sales. :-(

If I did....
I'd be pretty pissed off because I would have to actually work for a living.