Selling an e-Business

[Apache]

Think I mentioned before that Vicki is stopping her footwear business cos she's training as a bean-counter... err... I mean accountythingy.

Has anyone heard of selling a primarily eBay based business? There is an unfinished website too, but the huge majority of the business has been via eBay.

I guess the sale would include rights to the name, the remaining stock (probably about £1k at wholesale worth of boots and shoes so around £2k-£3k at resale), the feedback and customer base - as a lot of it is returning trade. A lot of knowledge would be passed on too, regarding wholesalers etc.

A steady increase in turnover up to about £55k last year (less this year cos she's been winding it down) and the potential for someone who can put more time and effort into it could turn over significantly more. She's been doing it part time.

Anyway, as I say, would it be a goer or would she be better just hanging on to the rights to the URLs etc?

[yoshie]

All sounds perfectly normal practice to me the only issue with it being ebay is the feedback rating could not be transfered as the username getting re registered to a differant ip address would be fine until they spotted the isp users name was differant.

[Albannach]

Personally, I'd hang on to it all. Never know what the future holds. Only issue with hangigng on to a sleeping e-bay business is that your customers won't hang around.

If you do decide to sell, I can't see any problems. Might even be interested in it myself!

[da SLUG man]

i'm thinking of starting an ebay business... only drawback is the prices they charge!!... do you get discounts if you're a business??

[Apache]

That was one Vicki's gripes. eBay do want their pound of flesh, and given that all they're providing is webspace, is pretty steep. No you dont get discounts as a business user. Their customer support is absolutely atrocious too.

Vicki has decided to hang on to the account etc for now as she'll probably run it for a few months during the lead up to Christmas through to february (which are by far the busiest months for kinky footwear!)

[Albannach]

Vicki has decided to hang on to the account etc for now as she'll probably run it for a few months during the lead up to Christmas through to february (which are by far the busiest months for kinky footwear!)

Dark nights and all that?

[Apache]

Hehe, you could be right!

[da SLUG man]

surely you'd have to stay in on dark nights??

i don't let Mrs Slug were shoes in the house!!




how do listings for cheap items work?.... my last listing was about £2... how do you make a profit on a £1.99 item??

[darkdezigns]

but if she gives it up will she still modelling on here time to time?

[Albannach]

how do listings for cheap items work?.... my last listing was about £2... how do you make a profit on a £1.99 item??

Postage, eBay don't charge fees on the postage.

[da SLUG man]

Postage, eBay don't charge fees on the postage.

it's not as easy as that!

[Albannach]

it's not as easy as that!

If you're selling cheap items, postage is the only way to make money. For every 50p you increase your postage fees, your profit increases by over 40p.

On an item you got free and sell on eBay for 99p with postage costing £1.00 and you charging £1.00 postage, using PayPal as payment method, you'll get 47p profit. Increase your postage to £2.00 and, assuming everything else is the same, your profit increases to £1.44.

Trust me, on low cost items, postage is your friend. Or at least it was until recently when they changed the rules!

[murph]

Hi,
sent you a pm, something to think about.......maybe...?

[sv1000spilot]

Have pm'd you