Has eBay lost is 'sparkle'?

[Cary]

Not really. But for me, I can wake up every day and bitch/moan about my circumstances or I can face them head on with optimism, which is what I CHOOSE to do. YMMV obviously.

That's obviously great advice.

I was just explaining about the economy and wasn't really trying to bitch and moan about anything. I was trying to be illustrative and poignant and I succeeded in doing so. The fact that you saw my treatise as some sort of negativity says more about your politics and particular point of view.

I told the truth, sorry if y'all don't like it.

ROTFLMAO

[sw686blue]

Isn't that what the 14 year old girl in your class did to YOU last year? laugh.gif laugh.gif laugh.gif

Get it straight...that was 3 years ago, and trust me when I say that she would have kicked %99 of this boards ass. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

So, she was 11 years old at the time?

[Steve Haynie]

Here's a few ideas (aside from an eBay presence):

- Buy a mess of those "build your own guitar" kits, develop your own distinctive headstock, encourage/push pickup/string/electronics upgrades, and learn how to finish guitars so that ANY customer can have a custom guitar for less than, say, $300 (depending on options). The kits have some problems, but after you do 4-5 of them, you get where you can assemble them and overcome the problems easily.

This is happening locally, but the guitars are going to be closer to $600. The quality of the bodies and necks has to be something someone would want for a custom build. Upgraded hardware and electronics options add to the price. The customer will get something better than a typical low-end import, but the price is going to be close to mid-range guitars that are already out there. The fact that a customer gets to choose the options is going to be what sells the guitar.

Bringing this into an eBay context, giving the customer choices in guitar features really does not work out so well with eBay. Some sellers offer to give color or size choices on clothing, but for the multiple features of guitar components a deal needs to be done in person with everything there for the customer to see and try out.

[cmatthes]

If you are thinking about selling a $150 guitar kit that YOU are going to finish for $300, plan on LOSING about $500-$600 for every one you sell.

Finishing guitars on a commercial scale requires proper equipment, a facility, proper environmental controls and the blessing of your State's environmental protection department for the booth, ventilation, filtration and disposal processes/systems. This would all be before the actual man-hours involved in making something look passably less than amateurish, because nobody is going to pony up $200-$300 for something that looks like crap.

As Steve mentioned above, you'll already be way in the hole before you sell unit #1, and even if you were able to sell as many as even 10 of them, it would still be a losing proposition compared to selling an established lower/mid-range import line.

Not trying to rain on the parade, but the reality of that situation is that it just wouldn't be profitable.

Ask any dealer here (or elsewhere) - the best way to make $1mm in the music retail industry is to lose $2mm...or something like that! It's tough out there, and I admire those guys who are able to pull it off. It's not all fun and games.

[Punkavenger]

As far as the economy and ebay is concerned. You will always make more on ebay as opposed to the HFC or Craigslist, even though I don't do that anymore, its not worth it, the profit margin is zilch with todays economy, even on ebay.

And speaking of the economy, of course its better to save your money rather than spend it of frivolous items (flipping houses, Acuras etc.) that has been a given since the beginning of civilization, but I really don't think that is the reason the US is in trouble. Another urban myth like Reagans false example of the welfare mom with the brand new Cadillac.

Of all the hundreds of people I know only one that bought a house cheap to flip it and got into financial trouble. Whats that .25 percent, if I know 400 people? I do however know several good hardworking people (almost all of my close friends as a matter of fact, primarily in construction and electronics) that have been laid off and can't find work. I also know several people that have severe medical problems (unfortunately a lot of cancer going around, very sad and scary) and either had no medical insurance or insurance companys that refused to pay for this or that, thus leaving them in financial ruin. One friend went into the hospitat with pneumonia for four days, no operation, just antibiotics on a drip, $25,000, he will never be able to pay that back. I have a 45 year friend, a schoolteacher with several degrees, that just had to move back in with his Dad because he was laid off and not a Acura in sight!

[edgar_allan_poe]

Another urban myth like Reagans false example of the welfare mom with the brand new Cadillac.

You have obviously never driven through Northview Heights in Pittsburgh.

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

If you are thinking about selling a $150 guitar kit that YOU are going to finish for $300, plan on LOSING about $500-$600 for every one you sell.

Finishing guitars on a commercial scale requires proper equipment, a facility, proper environmental controls and the blessing of your State's environmental protection department for the booth, ventilation, filtration and disposal processes/systems. This would all be before the actual man-hours involved in making something look passably less than amateurish, because nobody is going to pony up $200-$300 for something that looks like crap.

As Steve mentioned above, you'll already be way in the hole before you sell unit #1, and even if you were able to sell as many as even 10 of them, it would still be a losing proposition compared to selling an established lower/mid-range import line.

Not trying to rain on the parade, but the reality of that situation is that it just wouldn't be profitable.

Ask any dealer here (or elsewhere) - the best way to make $1mm in the music retail industry is to lose $2mm...or something like that! It's tough out there, and I admire those guys who are able to pull it off. It's not all fun and games.

I'm not planning on doing anything at this time.

Maybe the problem with finishing guitars is scale. Dunno.

But I doubt it costs $800 to paint a guitar, which is what it is if your math is correct (To lose $600 off of a $300 price, the total cost has to be $100 for the guitar + $800 for finish).

The point is, you can always find reasons to keep doing the same old thing. If things are bad, just double down on what you're doing, and maybe things will get better.

The problem is, working harder doesn't mean working better.

Society changes. Just watch how food trends sweep across the nation and subside. We all know the same thing happens with music styles. Why is it so hard to accept that the instrument business is also subject to trends that sweep and subside?

Blockbuster went bankrupt because they didn't look forward enough. They didn't want videos by mail to cannibalize their store sales. Then it got even worse with streaming video. Netflix didn't care if streaming took customers from by-mail orders. They embraced it, and Netfllix is still doing great. And I'll bet they'll be on top of the next wave.

Find the wave. Surf it. Stay solvent.

[BCR Greg]

Find the wave. Surf it. Stay solvent.

I am always amused when those that have never owned a business think that a catch phrase can sum up the whole experience.

I don't have the time nor the inclination to educate you poor souls on how to run a successful biz as the retail climate changes(my track record for the last 16 years shows that I know SOMETHING about which I speak).

Nathan, no disrespect intended but you have a better chance of becoming a famous basketball player than you have of becoming a successful guitar dealer.

Feel free to find more cute phrases, though. They sure are fun.

[elduave]

Amazon has a Call Center in Costa Rica that's hiring...

[BCR Greg]

Amazon has a Call Center in Costa Rica that's hiring...

BAM!!!!!!!

[elduave]

Amazon has a Call Center in Costa Rica that's hiring...

BAM!!!!!!!

Not a slam on anyone, BTW. I meant that I would very much consider going to work for Amazon in CR.

[BCR Greg]

It's a gorgeous part of the world, I could spend SOME time there but not live there.

[elduave]

It's a gorgeous part of the world, I could spend SOME time there but not live there.

They're hiring holiday Call Center help, too!

[Willie G. Moseley]

Be careful! There's a coupla islands off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica that's gotta buncha them genetically-engineered dinosaurs, and they may have made it to the mainland by now!

[juanferdiaz]

I have felt sort of the same "detachment" with the whole eBay thing, and recently even have found myself actually walking into a local music store to look for a price on a new guitar I'm interested in and even leaving with a good dealer price on the guitar that made getting the guitar on eBay absurd (here you have to ad a 18% VAT plus a 3% customs of the declared value plus shipping plus distress with the wait).

But... having said so, I live in Madrid, Spain and second hand market here is pretty narrow and for me eBay is unbeatable. Thanks to this interface I have owned several guitars that I could have died waiting for them to pop up on a forum or the equivalent spanish Craig list. Although the honeymoon is far behind, it is still my first reference when looking for gear (the currency war nowadays makes buying on eBay.com more interesting).

Cheers

Juan

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

Find the wave. Surf it. Stay solvent.

I am always amused when those that have never owned a business think that a catch phrase can sum up the whole experience.

I don't have the time nor the inclination to educate you poor souls on how to run a successful biz as the retail climate changes(my track record for the last 16 years shows that I know SOMETHING about which I speak).

Nathan, no disrespect intended but you have a better chance of becoming a famous basketball player than you have of becoming a successful guitar dealer.

Feel free to find more cute phrases, though. They sure are fun.

No offense taken.

If all I did was amuse you, I'm glad I at least did that.

[gorch]

Back to the start. I just bought one used UK made greenback for a reasonable prize. Bought a pretty nice Framus FR112 cabinet including a Celestion G12T 100 for an evenly reasonable prize. Swapped speakers and now sell the speaker that came with the cabinet.

It couldn't be faster and easier as opposed to my trial to sell my Princeton Recording over many online places like German craigslist style Quoka and many gear forums.

I wouldn't have made the two deals without the hassle of frequently searching a ton of gear forums and craigslist style pages. I have been tired of querying ebay lately, but now made two nice deals.

With the deals I am very happy as I am firing the cabinet with the Princeton Recording now and enjoy great Princeton sound through 12''.

[HamerHokie]

I love board drama! Keep it up.

Back on topic - I seldom use Ebay anymore. It's seasonal for me - I sell my leftover football tix there. That's it. Were I to try to pare down my musical inventory, I'd probably sell there because I've had zero luck selling anything here.

But ever since they shifted the checks-and-balances to favor the buyer, I've been wary of using it.

[Brownsound]

eBay used to be a great place to find a bargain, good deal or fair price. They still exist there if you know what you are looking at and use some common sense. However the bidding process has a tendency to over-inflate the price of items due to the competitive nature of the "Game".

...Also eBay is now litterally crawling with fraudulent vendors and crooks trying to cheat people out of their goods and money. When I say crawling I would place a conservative guess at 15-20% of posted items. Some are so obvious as to be laughable (hear me China?) Its what I call a post-appocolyptic market-place where anything seems to go within the loose rules of eBay which seem to be "If you are stupid enough to fall for the ruse then you get what you deserve"

[gorch]

Ebay still is the largest place to go. However, there might be a chance for another competing shooting star like Google passed Alta Vista and Yahoo some years ago.