Buying Apathy Or Have All The Soul Buyers Left Ebay In Their Droves?

[Larsc]

but the problem wont magically disappear on FB. people still dont want to see a bunch of 10 quid and under tunes on there either. its one of the most common moans alongside fantasy / timelord pricing.

 

There's a FB group dedicated to cheapies here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/THECHEAP45RPMRECORDGROUP/

Not for 70's and up tho.

 

Edited June 19, 2014 by LarsC

[vince ayres]

As the original poster on this subject i thought it seems only right that i should give a response to what's been said as the interest has been quite large.

Firstly i stopped listing for the moment and the last of my 45s finished last night. I must admit that the soul sales have been pathetic but like i say in the original post soul buyers appear to have dissappeared. From the posts i can see that an awful lot of people (not suprisingly) have lost all faith in Ebay and as a seller i have to agree with them, i genuinely feel that Ebay are screwing me whilst my sales are going down, a double edged sword!

   For the moment i will leave the soul 45s off Ebay and concentrate on the other stuff i have in at the moment, beatles, prog, metal etc as this sells well.

To be fair last night sales were not as bad as previous nights but i'm still amazed when a mint- copy of Lionel Robinson "Warning" does not even get a bid with a £9.99 start price and Sherm Nesbary on Cheri that didn't get a bid last week with a start price of £7.99 made £21 this week but that's Ebay for you!

  I will of course take on board all the wise advice from many of the collectors and dealers on here as it would appear i'm way behind on things like Facebook Discogs etc. although one thing that has not been mentioned in any of the posts is what i believe to be the huge drop off in foreign buyers. In previous months/years i would guess that around 30% of my sales would go abroad, now i would say it's more like 5/10 % this may be due in part to having to hike the postage rate as royal mail put their prices up or is it because there is no longer the interest there was on other shores?

  On a final note i hope that things will pick up and that there is a market for the under £50 45s as this is what built mine and many other collections, it would be a shame if everybody is chasing the same "Top 500" rarities don't you think?

 

Vince

[shuggie61]

Try the Hassle Free Record Selling group on Facebook. I've joined it but not sold anything through it yet cos I mainly use Discogs - haven't been on Ebay for at least a year.

[Guest john s]

 it would be a shame if everybody is chasing the same "Top 500" rarities don't you think?

 

Vince

Don't think they are, Vince, that's the point! 

Edited June 19, 2014 by john s

[Tattoodave]

I only buy on eBay US, and usually only from sellers that will put a low customs rate on the declaration.  I have picked up bargains in the past, but it's a rarity now.  I currently have only 11 items on watch when in previous years it would be pushing 100

[Jnixon]

Try the Hassle Free Record Selling group on Facebook. I've joined it but not sold anything through it yet cos I mainly use Discogs - haven't been on Ebay for at least a year.

 

thats one of the groups on FB where people get very vocal about being flooded with low end records people cant sell anywhere else.

 

like all groups it was great in the beginning, ie a few years back when it had a few hundred people on it. however its now has 1000s of members the quality has been seriously diluted. 

 

so i would suggest not the place for selling stuff you cant shift on ebay as that is exactly what has killed the group some time back. 

 

it is still possible to sell records under 40 quid and make a profit, you simply have to find things people dont know that are good quality tunes. if they are good and are priced right they will sell.  Des on here does it really well. good tunes rock bottom prices. 

[Jnixon]

. although one thing that has not been mentioned in any of the posts is what i believe to be the huge drop off in foreign buyers. In previous months/years i would guess that around 30% of my sales would go abroad,

 

get on Discogs quickly. its a nice feeling when you wake up and some fella from Japan has bought 200 quids worth of tunes that have been in a non sale pile for ages.

[Mike]

whats the commission discogs charge  - still 10% ?

[Chalky]

whats the commission discogs charge  - still 10% ?

 

8% fee with a minimum of $0.10

[Mike]

8% fee with a minimum of $0.10

 

ah yep ebays the 10%  with a £0.35 insertion ?

 

most  dealers 20% yep ?

 

take it people think these are good value then?

Edited June 20, 2014 by mike

[Chalky]

ah yep ebays the 10%  with a £0.35 insertion ?

 

most  dealers 20% yep ?

 

take it people think these are good value then?

 

 

Free to list on discogs Mike...just realised you can add audio clip as well.

 

https://www.discogs.com/help/marketplace/mp-sellprocess

 

As for value, it is certainly better value than ebay but not better value than say here or FB, I guess it depends what you are selling and if it sells?

[Mr Outsider]

The obvious advantage of discogs is that if you list something on here or on facebook you basically have one shot at selling it, a day or two of exposure before your post gets buried by new ones. Whereas on discogs people are constantly using the site in a different way. It can sometimes take a while but that's sometimes quite nice - I've sold stuff on there that's been listed for a year or more and I've near forgotten I had. 

[Jnixon]

The obvious advantage of discogs is that if you list something on here or on facebook you basically have one shot at selling it, a day or two of exposure before your post gets buried by new ones. Whereas on discogs people are constantly using the site in a different way. It can sometimes take a while but that's sometimes quite nice - I've sold stuff on there that's been listed for a year or more and I've near forgotten I had. 

 

 

all true.

 

if you post up a few thousand and keep it topped up you can pick up a fairly steady stream if you keep your prices in check.

[Hammersoul]

I used to be a big buyer on ebay international (not uk) ,i even used to buy off Vince on a regular basis . While there are still bargains to be had,it`s too much hassle now with high postage/Customs fees etc. Plus in the old days you could build up orders on ebay,now you get hassled(not from the seller) to pay for them next day even if you told seller your doing an order. I`ve got my contacts on there and i ask they pull it so i can build an order over a few month to offset against the postage. Buying cheap £5/10/15 even £20 45`s now ain`t worth it anymore from overseas with $11-15 postage. Eve worst with lp`s at $19 a pop,most times the postage is more or double what the lp is.

 

I use Discogs now,sellers are better at gradings and it`s s more user friendly. I`ve even bumped into a few Soul Source members on there lol. I still use the sales on this forum but last few months it`s crazy trying to keep up anymore.In fact i would say there`s more people selling then buying now with the age group,lot of people are due to retire etc in next 5-10 years. Also  wages don`t stretch to what it did 10-15 years ago so less income about.

 

Other problem is so called hard to find/rare records are now turning up every week so now people are `wiseing up` a bit and holding back for the bargains/better priced items. The cheapies/easy to find,it`s even easier to be patient,i`ve been doing really well in this market.Plus i  get so many emails /lists etc,i can`t keep up and hear any i don`t know or look for the more unknown tracks. It`s too time consuming ,i would`t go to work or sleep if i tried to do every email. So now i try to select the best if poss and delete the rest.

 

 

 

Vince: get on discogs ,your do well on there,let me know what your id is  .Re the Smoke 45,reason that might not sell now is cos it`s on the lp with i`m so glad you came along which for me is the killer /far better track plus there`s others. Downside is you have to pay a bit more then £15    .

[Guest northernsoul62]

I honestly don't know how people can expect to get Mint Northern Soul records anymore. These are 50 years old, have probably been in several collections and been played a few dozen times in most cases. Unless it's unplayed U.S. Stock, then the chances of a classic being Mint are negligible IMO....

Ian D

Ian 

thanks for agreeing with me...i got into northern in the 8ts by a strange quirk of fate (will tell if interested).My memory is getting bad but were you not involved in compilations back in the day if so you must remember Lorraine trent and steve ripley cbs/columbia ..sony 

[Ian Dewhirst]

Ian 

thanks for agreeing with me...i got into northern in the 8ts by a strange quirk of fate (will tell if interested).My memory is getting bad but were you not involved in compilations back in the day if so you must remember Lorraine trent and steve ripley cbs/columbia ..sony 

 

Yes, I knew Lorraine and Steve from the CBS days in the 80s. I haven't seen Lorraine for a while but Steve is an independent promotion guy these days and does a lot of work with contemporary black music acts. I'm still involved in compilations for Harmless records, a division of Demon Music Group which is now part of BBC Worldwide. Have we met?

 

Ian D 

[Hill868]

It's the beginning of summer proper and the worst time of the year for selling records in my recent experience. Other priorities multiply at this time of the year and less time is spent pouring through listings. Plus e-bay is a pain in the ass and takes too long to list for too little return. I haven't listed anything on there for over a year now.

Ian D

Think you're right, this time of year is not great for selling on Ebay, plus there is the significant distraction of the world cup / Wimbledon.

[Guest northernsoul62]

Yes, I knew Lorraine and Steve from the CBS days in the 80s. I haven't seen Lorraine for a while but Steve is an independent promotion guy these days and does a lot of work with contemporary black music acts. I'm still involved in compilations for Harmless records, a division of Demon Music Group which is now part of BBC Worldwide. Have we met?

 

Ian D 

No we have not met but i used to be  in a relationship with Lorraine and we have 3 daughters together she now lives in cambridgeshire

[JOE TORQUAY]

what is amazon like for selling 45's, is it still free listing ?.

joe.

[Swifty]

Well just got £2.20 for The Lovelites - My Concience vg+ , in fact sold 10 records for the amazing amount of £42.32 all originals and a some W/D all in vg+ - Ex as I tend to under grade    , right where are those boots ??

[Britmusicsoulfan]

I just moved my listings over to Discogs -- too many records sold for a minimum bid or not at all.

[Swifty]

I just moved my listings over to Discogs -- too many records sold for a minimum bid or not at all.

Are you getting better results ? I'm not trying to make a massive profit and I don't mind getting back what I paid but bloody hell some of the prices are stupid.

I know I could up the min bid but I just thought they would sell at a reasonable price. 

[Britmusicsoulfan]

@Swifty,

 

What I have been doing is culling out some of the VG and lower soul 45s out of my collection.

 

I listed some on eBay at first, and a bunch didn't sell, but some did.  I had a second round that had the same result.

 

I took about 100 records and shifted them over to Discogs.  I had several that sold for what I tried to get for a minimum bid, but some that sold so far went for twice or better what they were bringing on eBay.  

 

Regardless of the price I list them on Discogs, I also accept offers.  I would say 90% buy at the listed price, which is great!

 

I had a bunch of traffic the first week, but this last week was slower, but just had a chap buy three records today.  

 

It suits my schedule (and my wallet!) to sell on Discogs -- I was doing okay on eBay a couple of years ago, but it just dried up.  Just trying to shift some bits to get more records.

 

Cheers.

[Swifty]

@Swifty,

 

What I have been doing is culling out some of the VG and lower soul 45s out of my collection.

 

I listed some on eBay at first, and a bunch didn't sell, but some did.  I had a second round that had the same result.

 

I took about 100 records and shifted them over to Discogs.  I had several that sold for what I tried to get for a minimum bid, but some that sold so far went for twice or better what they were bringing on eBay.  

 

Regardless of the price I list them on Discogs, I also accept offers.  I would say 90% buy at the listed price, which is great!

 

I had a bunch of traffic the first week, but this last week was slower, but just had a chap buy three records today.  

 

It suits my schedule (and my wallet!) to sell on Discogs -- I was doing okay on eBay a couple of years ago, but it just dried up.  Just trying to shift some bits to get more records.

 

Cheers.

[paultp]

Are you getting better results ? I'm not trying to make a massive profit and I don't mind getting back what I paid but bloody hell some of the prices are stupid.

I know I could up the min bid but I just thought they would sell at a reasonable price. 

 

The thing with eBay is that you are trying to find buyers in about 7 days. There might be only one buyer for your record in that time so if you start it off at 99p that's what they will buy it for, if you start it at £4.99 then that's what they will buy it for (unless it is only worth 99p!). You really need at least 2 or 3 people who want your record to get a record up to a decent price unless you put a decent price on it first.

 

But if you put a decent starting price on a record on eBay (i.e. what you want to sell it for) it may not get any bids at all in the 7 days.

 

eBay is really only for records that are massively in demand/rare when you know there will be a good few buyers who will bid them up or for unloading records cheap.

 

I've found with only a limited number of records on discogs I've sold things that have sat for a year on my web site (sometimes for more than they are listed on my web site for) and you can just leave the listing there for months at no cost until they sell.