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Dear eBay Queen;

 I’ve been hearing a lot about Black Friday and Cyber Monday. What is it? Is this something that affects eBay?

I’ve been thinking about selling items on eBay again.  I really don’t have anything here in the house to sell. It’s only a week until Thanksgiving, is there any way I can get some stuff to sell before the Christmas rush? Do you have any suggestions on where I could buy things to sell?

 Old Seller

 Dear: Seller;

Black Friday is the kick off to the big Christmas shopping season. Black Friday falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  The term “Cyber Monday”, refers to the Monday right after Thanksgiving. Cyber Monday is supposed to symbolizes a busy day for online retailers. The idea behind it is that buyers would go back to work on Monday after the Black Friday weekend, making purchases online that they were not able to make in stores. Cyber Monday first came to life in 2005; many people think Cyber Monday is a fake day, invented by internet retailers.  

Traditionally, this time of year has always been good for me on eBay.  With the economy down, it might not be as good as it has been.  I go out every Black Friday to purchase Christmas presents for my family.  I’ve also been known to pick up stuff to sell on eBay when I go out early the day after Thanksgiving.  If you think you’d like to acquire some stock that way, you can always check out what toys retailers think will be hot this year hotchristmastoys.org and compare it to the Black Friday retailer sales circular; blackfriday.info.

You can also acquire stock to sell by going to thrift stores, vintage shops and antique stores.  I have a friend that purchases a good portion of her stock from the Dollar Store.  I believe she shops first; making a note of the items she thinks could sell well, then goes home and looks to see what the completed listings are ending for.   There are also liquidators or wholesalers.

I think the week after Thanksgiving has always been a good week for me on eBay.   I wish you lots of luck finding your inventory and Happy Thanksgiving.

Dear eBay Queen;

 I’ve been buying on eBay for six years.  I have 2489 buying feedback.  Normally I ask my seller to send my items out via USPS parcel post, that way I can save money on shipping.  Lately I’ve had quite a few sellers give me a hard time about doing this.  Do you have any idea why?  My latest seller absolutely refused to use parcel post shipping.  What is the problem?

 Barb; Ottawa

 Dear Barb:

 I think the sellers are concerned you will be unhappy with the rate and speed of parcel post shipping.  Since eBay has instituted the Detailed Seller Ratings, a buyer can express their feelings like never before! I believe the sellers feel you could ding their DSR stars, or give them a negative or neutral for slow shipping. 

 Some sellers use only priority mail because they receive boxes free and it is so easy and quick to use. It could cost your seller more time and money to ship it parcel post.  Depending upon what you are buying, your seller may have to purchase a plain box or packaging, clear tape and labels.

 I know I would be afraid you would be unhappy with the time it takes to send an item via parcel post.  I have had buyers ask for parcel post and I upgrade them to Priority because of this. I think to alleviate a seller’s fears, I would let them know upfront that you realize it will take 5-10 days for your item to arrive, and you will not grade them on the post office’s shipping time.

 Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 280282939567

 (Enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page) Have you ever wondered what it would cost to sit in the Grandstand at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? Wonder no more! Here is a set of 6 tickets sold for $3000 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item280282939567 

 Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul. Do you have a question for the eBay Queen? E-mail: questions@asktheebayqueen.com.

By Jason Simpkins
Associate Editor
Money Morning

Steep holiday discounts and bargain hunting boosted Black Friday sales, but a dour economic outlook leaves analysts skeptical that Americans will be able to sustain their buying frenzy for the duration of the holiday season.

Spending over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend rose 7.2% from a year ago to about $41 billion, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). However, a shorter holiday shopping season and frugal shoppers could soon drive retail sales back down to their pre-holiday lows.

“Pent-up demand on electronics and clothing, plus unparalleled bargains on this season’s hottest items helped drive shopping all weekend,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “Holiday sales are not expected to continue at this brisk pace, but it is encouraging that Americans seem excited to go shopping again.”

The NRF continues to forecast a mild 2.2% jump in holiday sales, the smallest gain in six years

Several details in the NRF report underscored the group’s apprehension. For instance, more than half of the 110 million holiday shoppers that braved the elements this weekend went to discount retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT). Shoppers also took advantage of so-called “door buster” sales that offered products at extraordinary discounts to early morning customers.

More than 23% of the 73.6 million shoppers that hit stores Friday were in the door by 5 a.m. More than half, 57.6%, were at stores by 9 a.m.

Early-bird specials may have provided a nice boost to Black Friday sales, but offering goods at such cheap prices could backfire by marginalizing profits.

“You’re looking at discounts of 50% to 70% off,” Matthew Katz, managing director in the retail practice of advisory and restructuring firm Alix Partners, told the New York Times. “You have to sell two to three times as much to break even.”

Retailers cannot continue to offer shoppers such steep discounts, and consequently, will find it difficult to keep their attention. That is especially true this year, as thrifty consumers have taken a more targeted approach – swooping into stores for the things they want and retreating without taking the time to browse for additional items.

“Shoppers definitely have a mission this year,” Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst for NPD Group, told CNN. “They are serious about finding the best deals. They are very budget conscious, they’ve done their research and then they’ll go home.”

Also, this year’s holiday shopping season is five days shorter than last year. Consumers have just 27 days to shop this year, as opposed to 32 in 2007.

Analysts will get another glance into the psyche of the American consumer tomorrow (Tuesday) as sales data emerges for “Cyber Monday,” the unofficial kickoff of the online holiday shopping season.

Initial results showed a 2% increase in online sales over Thanksgiving and Black Friday, and the NRF said it expects another 84.6 million people to take their bargain hunting online Monday. According to a Nielsen Online survey, 36% of consumers will spend half of their shopping budgets on the Web, up from 32% last year.

Internet vendors are prepared for the online rush by offering discounts of their own, as well as free shipping, to potential customers.

The NRF’s eHoliday Survey showed that nearly 84% of online retailers will offer a special promotion on Cyber Monday, up from 72% last year. Nearly 39% of online retailers plan to offer specific deals, while 33% will offer e-mail campaigns and 25% one-day sales. About 23% will offer free shipping on all purchases.

“Online retailers have been planning their Cyber Monday promotions for months and are eagerly waiting to debut these deals to shoppers,” said Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org, an online division of NRF. “As shoppers focus on price this holiday season, online retailers will be extremely competitive to offer the very best deals. Americans who are looking to put a dent in their holiday shopping will be able to find thousands of bargains on Cyber Monday.”

Of course that’s not to say it will be any easier for online outlets to draw a crowd. Consumers may be planning to spend a greater portion of their budgets online, but overall those budgets have shrunk

For the first 23 days of November, holiday online spending reached $8.2 billion, a 4% decline compared to the corresponding days last year, when online sales hit $8.5 billion, according to online marketing research firm, comScore.

“There was an optimism going into the holiday season that online would weather the storm a little bit better,” Jessica Ried, associate director of research for Resource Interactive, an online-marketing consultancy told TIME magazine. “But this year in November we’ve seen the first online sales decrease ever.”

“I don’t know that this is the only prediction to go by,” Ried added, “but a dire prediction from an organization as big as comScore does give retailers pause.”

To read the complete article click here.

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