should there be a maximum number of listings per seller?

[HannaHolly]

I just saw an advert on the Tv for a disc cleaner for £9.99 and i though that looks useful, I'll see what the cost on line.
I checked the other side and I can get one there for between £5 and £10 depending on the make.
I did a search on ebid and found one (American) seller but the cleaner is £106.17 with P & P of £9.80 .
I went to the sellers profile and can see they have 37496 auctions ( available to all countries I think) on ebid just now ranging from an upmarket scanner for £9800 (highest priced item) to a 'toy' cast iron stove for £5.63 with £9.80 P & P.

In my opinion sellers like this can give the whole site the impression of being overpriced and will put off potentual customers for all of us. I'd prefer to have ebids 'available' listings figure drop than have it inflated by drop ship sellers dumping vast numbers of listings.

How can this problem be addressed? set an upper limit for listings maybe ? any other suggestions?

[madelaine]

Perhaps an upper limit related to feedback? Has this person actually sold anything?

[kedo]

I don't know, sales are coming in pretty well now but I'd like more. Increasing my number of listings is one of the most obvious ways of doing that.

[HannaHolly]

Perhaps an upper limit related to feedback? Has this person actually sold anything?

They've sold one item Madeleine, what concerned me was that with 35000 highly priced items their items are probably coming up regularly on searches and making ebid look overpriced.

Kedo you know my business plan is based on having lots of ( different) items for sale so i didn't pose the question lightly.
The seller I looked at is very likely using a drop shipper (or they live in a MASSIVE house!). What do people think about high volume drop shipper listings?

[madelaine]

personally, I'm puzzled by the whole drop-shipping thing. It doesn't make any sense to me at all. It feels (and anyone who uses dropshippers, don't take offence, please. I'm just saying how it appears to me.. without me having thought about it hard) as if big companies are hiding, trying to get the feel-good factor that comes from dealing with a small business, or something?

[HannaHolly]

I don't like buying from drop shippers. I'd prefer if it was compulsary for sellers to declare when they are using a drop shipper.

[kedo]

I work for a feebay drop-shipper occasionally, mostly checking profit margins (and trying to adapt his strategy supposedly). Theres no mystery to the process or the appeal. You get to sell hundreds, maybe thousands, of products without having to store, pack or post them. I don't get the overpricing thing though, sounds a bit like a 'hit and hope' strategy to me.

[Pete27]

personally, I'm puzzled by the whole drop-shipping thing. It doesn't make any sense to me at all. It feels (and anyone who uses dropshippers, don't take offence, please. I'm just saying how it appears to me.. without me having thought about it hard) as if big companies are hiding, trying to get the feel-good factor that comes from dealing with a small business, or something?

Nothing strange about it Madelaine, basically you get to sell hundreds/thousands of items without having to store them and the dropshipper sells large quantities of stock at a reduced rate without having to make individual sales.

I like your idea of maximum number of listings depending on feedback, HH is right there needs to be a limit but there cant just be a cut off point. I think X amount of listings then as u gain feedback you can list more. Sounds like a good idea to me but i dont sell here so wtf am i giving my opinion for lol

[kengillam]

I think drop shipping results in a lot of 'average' listings I mean it's basically repeating an Argos catalogue, what's the point, unless prices are really competitive I would probably get it from Argos personally. No offence to drop shippers but if you don't have enough faith in your business to hold the stock why are you listing on auction sites.

It would be like me listing a painting say an image of a Canaletto and then waiting for it to sell then painting it for the customer!

[shezz]

Depends what u sell as a dropshipper, i must admit when i first started with ebid i did dropship, i was able to offer goods that i could not possibly store at home not enough space.