AC Dickson: eBay Power Seller

« Tonight on PBS! | Main | Tori Spelling's Life for Sale »

Summer Vacation
by acdickson

It's been an eBay-free summer for AC. Other business has allowed/forced AC to shut down the store. Which isn't a bad thing. First off, summer is a notoriously slow time for eBay sellers. Swimming, road trips and beating the heat are just a few of the reasons shoppers put off eBay shopping until the back-to-school rush. And I'd be lying if I said the routine of posting auctions, emailing buyers, packing up items and going to the post office hasn't been nice to get away from awhile. And finally, with eBay recently jacking its fees yet again, I don't mind shutting down sales in convenient, silent protest.

In case you haven't been paying attention, the minimum insertion to post an auction is up to 35 cents from .25. And eBay now takes a final value fee of 8% from store sales, up from 5.25%. Don't forget that auctions that sell get a final value fee tacked on, and store sales have an insertion fee. And old man PayPal gets a piece of most of your sales to the tune of 3.3%. So it adds up. Still, AC believes there is plenty of money in them thar eBay hills.

Any eBay sellers out there who want to vocalize their annoyance can sign this online petition. 27,000 sellers and counting.

Sellers who want to be called whiners for being annoyed at the fee increases can get an earful from Terry Gibbs. For those of you who don't know Terry, he's a piece of work. While AC is a seminar man with a closet full of antique postcards, Terry is the go-to guy for all things model railroad and a juggernaut when it comes to musings on the philosophy of online auctions. Serious sellers might consider getting on his email list; he's got many a trick up his sleeve so long as you don't mind his sometimes-superior tone and the constant hard sell for his $20 downloads. I mean "E-books."

As for AC, I'm getting back in the eBay saddle.

Why, you ask? AC and the lovely Susan Beal are headed to Holland as the AC Dickson: eBay PowerSeller show makes its Dutch premiere later this month. Next stop, the Noordorzern festival in Groningen, Holland. If you have any friends in or around the Netherlands, please let them know.

The festival looks remarkable, with performances from past PICA TBA festival artists like DJ Spooky and Daniel Bernard Roumain, and some of this year's roster on tap as well, Stan’s Cafe and the Nature Theater of Oklahoma to be exact.

Comments