eBay Sellers Concerned over Shipping Rate Changes, According to Survey

Seventy-seven percent of eBay and online sellers are concerned about higher shipping costs when new USPS rates go into effect in May, and 26 percent are concerned that postal tools they use may not be ready when the changes go into effect, according to a recent AuctionBytes survey.
Postal rates are going up in the United States on May 14, 2007, and will have a significant effect on online sellers (http://www.usps.com/ratecase). AuctionBytes surveyed readers to find out what they thought of the changes and how it would affect their business.
Most respondents reported they sell on eBay (98 percent); 21 percent sell on Amazon, 17 percent sell on Half.com, and 23 percent sell on their own ecommerce site or storefront. Other sites included Yahoo, other online auction sites, bookselling sites, classified sites, online antiques malls, and other.
Eighty-four percent of survey respondents were aware that US postal rates were changing on May 14th. The majority of respondents (68 percent) said the changes would have a net increase on their total postal costs, and 20 percent did not know how the new rates would affect their total postal costs. Ten percent said the new rates would not have an effect on their total postal costs, and 3 percent said the new rates would have a net decrease on their total postal costs.
In a question about which postal tools they used, 73 percent of respondents said they use eBay/PayPal postal tools; 18 percent use Endicia; 7 percent use Stamps.com; 5 percent use features provided by auction-management vendors; 4 percent use Pitney Bowes; 2 percent use Dymo; and 20 percent use other tools.
Half of the respondents (51 percent) use automated tools to help shoppers calculate postage costs on their items, but 55 percent did not know if those tools would calculate the new rates when they go into effect; 35 percent said the tools would calculate the new postal rates, and 10 percent said they would not.
Twenty-nine percent of respondents were concerned that current listings scheduled to end after May 14 would have old shipping rates, and they would lose money on those orders since they would have to ship at the new rates.
In a question specifically targeted at Media Sellers, 30 percent said they don't use USPS Media Mail, and 26 percent said they did not know what the new Media Mail rates were going to be. Twenty-one percent said they would need to raise prices on their inventory and/or eliminate low-margin items; four percent said they would stop selling inexpensive items that they had been sending out via USPS Media Mail; four percent said they would consider changing carriers as a result of the new USPS Media Mail rates. And 15 percent of Media sellers did not know how the new media rates would affect their business.
Full results for the survey can be found here: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/pages/survey_04152007
Survey respondents were brought to the AuctionBytes blog after completing the survey, and many left a comment about shipping issues. Please feel free to leave your own comments about the survey results: http://digbig.com/4sdbt
About the author:
Ina Steiner is Editor of AuctionBytes.com and author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). She has a background in marketing and research in the high-tech and publishing fields. If you have story ideas, comments or questions, send them to ina@auctionbytes.com.

Data Bytes: Capitalizing on Seasonal Demand on eBay

By Terapeak AuctionBytes.com April 27, 2007
In this week's issue of Data Bytes we'll be looking at category seasonality. While many sellers know that there are drops and spikes in demand at certain times of year for their products, they may not have considered that those drops and spikes could be at different times elsewhere in the world. For a seller open to selling internationally, this could be a good way to keep sales up all year long.
Consider, for example, snow skis and related equipment. While in the U.S., demand for snow skis seems to concentrate around the Christmas holidays, demand is high and steady from November through March in the U.K. and in Germany, where skiers get a longer winter season. Down in Australia, snow skis and related equipment reach peak sales from June through August, and remains low for the rest of the year. A smart ski seller anywhere in the world would do well all year by focusing marketing efforts on a different region of the world each season. Alternatively, this seller could add water skis to his/her inventory and round out sales for the year in his home country.We see similar trends in heavy clothing such as sweaters and overcoats. Women's sweaters, for example, see pretty low sales most of the year in comparison to the huge spike in December. There is another spike in February in the U.S., and then sales gradually sink back down to about 20 percent of the peak. While the pattern is similar in Australia, sweater sales peak in June. If you're a sweater seller, now would be a great time to ramp up your sales in the southern hemisphere.
Pool pumps and pool toys see spikes on the opposite ends of the year. In the U.S. they reach their peak each June, hitting a low of 10 percent of the high in December. In the U.K. and in Germany, August is the peak for pool toys. Last year in the U.K. there was a pretty big spike in April - to 80 percent of maximum sales (they must have had a warm front early in the year). In Australia these peak in November, although sales have been strong through late March of 2007. Apparently Australia is having an exceptionally warm summer.
While winter vs. summer items may seem obvious, another trend to take into consideration is that of the school year. In the U.S., school supplies like textbooks and calculators peak each August at 100 percent of maximum sales. We typically see another spike in January when kids go back to class after the holidays. Over the past two years this spike has gone up to about 65 percent of the maximum for calculators. In the U.K. we see less dramatic spikes - calculator sales are steadier during the rest of the year but the do peak in September. In Australia sales were pretty low throughout 2005 but have climbed steadily in 2006. Both years saw spikes in February.
Laptop computers, while typically see higher sales throughout the year, follow a similar trend. Peaks and valleys are tied to the school season in each country.
Of course, if changing your inventory or market with each season sounds like too much work, there are many items that don't see as much of that same seasonality. iPods, for example, have been pretty popular at all times over the past two years in all countries. However, they still peak in December here in the U.S. with the Christmas season, then seem to hover at around 40 percent of maximum sales all year round. In Germany, the trend is similar although sales remain at a consistent 60 percent of maximum most of the year. In Australia, demand for iPods has been steadily increasing over the past two years. They also show a spike in December, but this past August, sales were at the same level they were in December 2005. Judging from the past two years, this may be the big year for iPod sales in Australia (hint: video iPods are growing fastest).
So whether you're a seasonal seller or sell the same items all year round, you'd do well to open up your sales to buyers in other countries. You can always start small by adding a small amount of inventory to another country's site. Test it out and go from there.
Please send questions, feedback or article suggestions to databytes@auctionbytes.com. --- Terapeak is an eBay Certified Service Provider that specializes exclusively in eBay Marketplace Research. Terapeak helps you use the experience of other sellers to know when to list, which items are hot, and value your items on eBay. The Terapeak services offers research for eBay US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and eBay Motors Parts & Accessories. Terapeak accesses eBay Data directly from the eBay Market Data program. To learn more about the Terapeak please visit http://www.terapeak.com/.

Overstock.com Auctions GMV Down 42 Percent in Q1

Overstock.com reported on Wednesday its quarterly financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2007. Total revenue was $157.9 million, down 11 percent from the same period in 2006. Gross profits were $25.3 million, up 7 percent from the same period in 2006. Overstock said auction gross merchandise volume (GMV) was $4,695,000 for the first quarter of 2007 compared to $8,079,000 for the same period in 2006, a decline of 42 percent.
The average registrant acquisition cost for auctions was $0.35 for the quarter compared to $2.94 in the same period last year. Average customer acquisition cost for shopping was $24.58 for the quarter compared to $19.49 for the same period last year.
The company also announced it had completed the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary OTravel.com and has integrated Carfax Vehicle History Reports into its newly developed Cars Program (http://cars.overstock.com). The Carfax reports are available for free to anyone shopping for a used car on the site. Overstock.com will also identify automobiles that have only had one previous owner with a one-owner icon.
http://www.overstock.com/

vFlyer Rolls out Mobile Version of Classified-Ad Service

vFlyer said it is "mobilizing" online sellers with the launch of vFlyer Mobile. The company provides a system for creating managing and submitting listings to online classified ad sites. Now vFlyer Mobile enables business account users with a Web-enabled mobile device to access, view and distribute their flyers to prospective buyers via SMS or email messages. All of the important details about goods or services that are for sale, including photos, pricing, maps and directions, contact information and more, can be quickly and easily sent to recipients, who can then access and view goods and services for sale on any Web-enabled mobile device.
vFlyer said its new mobile features will benefit both online sellers and buyers in the following ways:
Access: vFlyer users can access their vFlyer accounts through their mobile phones to conveniently view SMS and email flyers.
Distribution: vFlyer business subscribers can quickly distribute their flyers to prospective customers using SMS or email messages.
Reach: When vFlyer users distribute mobile flyers, prospective buyers, who are on the road away from their computers, can now easily access flyers and view pictures, descriptions and contact information for products and services being sold, as well get maps, directions or even place calls to a seller.
Reports: vFlyer users can also track flyer page views, visits and prospective buyers on their mobile device.
vFlyer CEO Aaron Sperling said, "A growing number of online sellers, such as realtors and other sales professionals, use mobile Internet-enabled devices, such as Blackberrys and Treos, to conduct their business. As mobile adoption continues to grow, vFlyer is committed to helping sellers connect with clients or prospective buyers - even when they are away from their offices or computers."
vFlyer has coupled its "create once and post everywhere" capabilities with widget and RSS-based distribution to relevant blogs, websites and classified ad marketplaces such as Google Base, Oodle, Vast, eBay and Trulia. The company provides a free ad-supported offering as well as several subscription plans (http://www.vflyer.com/main/Pricing.jsp).
http://www.vflyer.com/

Former eBay, PayPal Exec Jeff Jordan Named to LiveOps Board

LiveOps, a distributed contact center, appointed Jeff Jordan to its Board of Directors. Jeff Jordan was formerly President of PayPal and General Manager of eBay's North America business. Jordan may have been brought on by a former colleague - eBay's former Chief Operating Officer Maynard Webb joined LiveOps last year in the role of CEO.
LiveOps also named Nanci Caldwell, former PeopleSoft EVP and CMO, to the board. Maynard Webb said of the two new board members in a press release, "We are extremely pleased to have executives of Jeff and Nanci's caliber join the LiveOps Board. Their extensive experience and leadership in building successful high tech companies will be a real asset to LiveOps as we move aggressively forward in building an enduring, world leader that is changing peoples' relationships to work through our distributed call center platform."
The press release quoted Jordan, "LiveOps reminds me a lot of eBay in its early days. It harnesses the power of technology to fundamentally change the way people interact and work. And in doing so it has empowered a robust community of people to earn their living on their platform."
Jordan has kept a low profile since leaving PayPal unexpectedly last year.