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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by deschane mdemt, What are you refering to, by "Super Ebay Stores"? I have found that the people with ebay stores (speaking in specific terms of model railroad products) ARE the local hobby shops. I asume this to be a "If you can't beat them, join them". This makes sense to me, as they have the wholesale distributors to draw product from. Also, I don't understand what you mean by the following; "On the topic of shipping. The Flat fees are often difficult due to location. USPS Priority allows for some of this, but specific locations can be VERY expensive due to lack of delivery routes. (Home delivery quotes can very wildly.)" I can go to the USPS website and find out exactly what all deliveries in the US will cost, if I have zip code and weight. There are no variations in home delivery, that I know of. [/quote] Good questions... First, Super Ebay Stores is referring to the trend for very large corporations to take their business direct to Ebay. For instance, over 80% of all business done on Ebay is done by 4% of their sellers. While they may be "hobby" shops in our world, in the other markets they are often giant wholesalers that are offering their products directly on the web. If you take only 4% of the businesses in your city and close the other 80%, how many workers would loose jobs? Of the remaining jobs, how many would be box clerks at Wal Mart? Well, if the national market is viewed with the same light, then it becomes obvious that fewer people are selling more product. They in turn hire fewer people to help. At some point it causes a serious economical issue. Your "middle man" that you want to cut out, goes out of business, his employees un-employed, or under-employed with the closing. Small businesses that are in your local area contribute more than you can imagine to the local infrastructure and economy. For instance, in Illinois, businesses pay over Half of all taxes to the state. Close 25% of them, and you are left with a serious dent in the economy. So, if the margins are so slim (and they are on Ebay,) then you have to cut your overhead. That means brick and mortar businesses can't compete! (We aren't even talking about the fact that Ebay sellers currently don't have to collect and pay sales taxes to the states.... YET.) On the topic of shipping, that is exactly what I meant. I was responding to the thought that the seller should have shipping included in the auction. Which is nearly impossible until you know the address of the actual buyer! In addition, not all shippers will deliver to homes, and not all neighborhoods get deliveries from all of the carriers. So, if you want to leverage all of your business through FedEx, then you will find that there are some neighborhoods and homes NOT served by FedEx (I ran into this shipping to KY, and a couple of other isolated areas.) That leaves many people to leave out shipping but include a line of what method they will use and where it will originate, so the buyer can get an idea of cost BEFORE bidding. Other than that, you have no choice as a seller but to respond to emails for shipping quotes, or come up with your best guess flat fee for shipping.
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