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Hello! I just joined PSU. I've had a 'real' antiques/collectibles booth for many years but closed last year because of time/health concerns. I tried Ruby Lane for a while then made the mistake of switching to an eBay store. The fees are killing any profits. I also donate a small percentage of my sales to charity.

I'm looking around to find a spot to move my items - 150+ at any one time, maybe more. I found a site called CyberAttic that only costs $9.95 per month with no commissions. Does anyone have experience there? Any other suggestions?

Thanks SO much!!

Jody

Sent you a PM Jody....

BTW never heard of CyberAttic but someone should come along that may have...

Good Luck

Jody welcome to PSU...there are many options for antiques and collectibles. I have a large variety of vintage items and sell well on eCrater and buyitsellit. My BISI store is $10 a month, and eCrater is totally free. Etsy is another site where collectibles, vintage, and handcrafted items do well. Atomic Mall is yet another site that seems to be doing quite well for sellers. There is also Bonanzle...no upfront listing fees and pretty small FVFs. You might consider trying a few out and see how well they work for you. I try not to put all my eggs in one basket...one month my eCrater store is doing great and the next month it's BuyItSellIt.

Good Luck!

Oh, thanks so very much!!!! I'm going to switch to another site tonight. Just got home from work and haven't checked them out yet. Then I can branch out to other sites once my listings are safely off ebay. I feel great knowing I have an option without doing all that work again! Whew!

Jody

Best Advice Ever I Copied Form LurkeyLou With His Permission

“if you depend on your eBay income at all, you'll want to continue selling there while you create an exit strategy to establish yourself independent of eBay.

I don't recommend starting with finding "the best" auction site beyond eBay. I recommend setting up a store for yourself as a first step. PSU offers an inexpensive option for the intermediate to advanced tech type. BuyItSellIt.com offers a free option for the non-tech type. Yahoo offers stores, not the easiest to set up but millions use them. ZenCart and OSCommerce are free for the more advanced tech type.

Once you get set up I recommend using "alternative" venues for additional M&P. The reason is you're going to work 10X harder for 1/10th of the sales (if you're lucky) you got on eBay with the "alternative" venues. The "alternative" venues do little to no advertising; traffic is much lower than eBay.

Folks will tell you this venue or that venue is better for this reason or that reason but the majorities seem to have between a 1% and 3% sell through rate. Essentially, if all the sales for the entire venue were counted most would not qualify as a Silver PowerSeller on eBay. There are exceptions but nothing consistent. A big-ticket item here and there might make the numbers look better for a month but the stats are a bumpy ride at best.

The alternative to eBay on an income replacing level doesn't exist unless you're willing to do the work that the fees you pay to eBay pay for, the marketing and promotions (M&P) - getting buyers to your goods. If you're willing to do the work, then I recommend investing in yourself first and then using the "alternative" venues as a means to increase your own M&P.

If you start by using venues first, you're going to invest a lot of time trying to make as many sales as most sellers make by accident on eBay...your own store will be hard going, too, but you won't be at the mercy of anyone elses changing business plan or some owner pulling the plug in the middle of the night without warning.”

cohibastore.com

Excellent advice!