eBay is Not a Threat
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Comments
Most direct sales companies prohibit consultants from selling their products on eBay. On any given day you can do a search of just about any direct sales product and find them for sale or bid on eBay. Hmm. Go figure.
Many direct sales companies also have someone(s) at the corporate level who is responsible to attempt to shut down these prohibited auctions. Sometimes they are successful, sometimes not. If some consultants want to sell on eBay badly enough it’s not too difficult to have a friend list the items or to conceal their true identity.
All too often I see forum posts and hear consultants complain and whine about the eBay sales. These very consultants spend far too much time trying to bust eBay sellers and not nearly enough time concentrating on selling their own products to their own customer base. I tell ya – if these very people would invest as much time and energy in their own business as they do into the eBay sellers, they’d have more time to figure out all the places to spend their commission checks.
Consultants should really stop worrying about eBay sales and consider all the reasons why eBay is not a threat:
- eBay bidders shop there to get a bargain; not to pay full retail. Direct sales customers typically don’t mind paying retail; and if they don’t want to, most sign up to become a consultant. Ebay shoppers are not our customers. They will likely never be our customers and therefore eBay is not taking away our sales – they never were our sales.
- Consultants who sell on eBay typically lose money, or at best, break even. Consider all the costs involved with the initial cost of goods sold. On average, consultants get items at roughly 25% less than retail. Then there are eBay and PayPal fees to consider. And don’t forget that many items sell for less than retail anyway on eBay.
To illustrate, let’s look at a $30 item. And let’s assume that it sold for $20 on eBay (which may be generous depending on supply and demand). Based on our assumption of 25% discount/commission, the consultant was able to purchase it for $22.50, but let’s just round up to $25 to include tax and shipping the consultant paid. The consultant would need to pay $.25 basic insertion fee if the starting price was $9.99 or less, and 8.75% final value fee of $1.75; plus don’t forget PayPal fees of $.88. So now the consultant has $27.88 invested into the $30 item that sold for $20. The consultant lost almost $8.00 by listing it on eBay.
Tell me again why consultants are worried about these folks?
But… but… it’s just not right! We’re not supposed to sell on eBay and she’s doing it and it’s just wrong; she out of compliance and corporate better do something about it and and and …
Knock-knock
Who’s There?
Scot
Scot who?
Scot nothing to do with you, so go sell your wax (or jewelry or kitchenware).
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Leslie Truex is the pajama-clad work-at-home mom dedicated to helping other moms live and work comfortably. She's the author of The Work-At-Home Success Bible and owner of 
Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Star Director with 
In Story Time Felts we actually are allowed to sell on eBay as long as it’s a fixed-price buy it now sale. This works well to avoid undercutting other consultants but you are right, it isn’t usually profitable except the bigger ticket items like Bible felts which are saught after occasionally. But if 1 out of 10 sells, you lose all the listing fees and add-ons from the others too. I haven’t found it to be worthwhile at all. People too often are looking for the easy way out (avoiding the phone) but it’s called direct sales for a reason!
Karen
I don’t get the limitations some direct sales companies put on their consultants. While I know the companies want to protect their image, asking people to sell but preventing them from using their ingenuity and creativity seems counterintuitive. Most companies were very slow to come online; and some still won’t let people market online. Do they want to sell stuff or not?
But you’re right, some consultants worry so much about what others do and blame their bad business on those other consultants when its their own fault. As I tell my kids, don’t worry about what other kids are doing, just do what you’re suppose to do.