Hi MidwestLooks, I understand your frustration. I have been going thru the same thing myself. I was around those great years on ebay, those were the days weren’t they?
But ebay changed and times changed..And i think that requires new strategy as far as selling items…..I have so many great items that are also getting old….But I love listing online, it still brings surprises with nice sales sometimes, and you get to meet some pretty cool people online…..So my advice, have that garage sale and get the cash you need but put some items online also also…I think now you have to just spread it around a bit, have a garage sale, sell online, find other venues to sell at, weather online or local…Dont put all your egg’s in one basket as they say….Selling is so much different now than it was back in the day, but it still can be fun and profitable, if we are lucky. Good luck to you.

Depending on where you live, there may be Facebook “Groups” in your local area for Garage sales or yard sales. You would still have to take pictures to post to the group, but there are no listing fees and since you look for groups locally, no shipping. You can meet at a local place if you don’t want people coming to your home. I don’t generally sell on them because it it mostly younger people with children at home, but that is sort of the age group beauty products are aimed at.

I made $156.00 yesterday, not on this site unfortunately. Here I am still waiting for the first sale and giving up hope honestly. But for me the answer is yes.

I too was on ebay back in the day and did well there. I have not been there for a good 10 years. Only on occasion to rid my self of something that I would put in a garage sale or have to much of.

But I did spread out to other venues and I am building my second stand-alone web site.
If you spread out a bit and not rely one any of the so called selling venues to give a damn about you. Do not invest to much in any of them and depend on your self. You would be fine. When you have more then one, and one has slowed, the other will probably get a sale.

Shipping is always an issue. The prices soar every year. But I only sell items that are small and convenient to store. If its bigger then I do sell locally. So shipping is not a worry.

With over 14 years of selling on eBay, eBay is still the best selling venue for my items and I sell a wide variety of items, all of which are active on Bonanza when not listed on eBay or Etsy, although Etsy has gone to hell over the past year so not many sales there anymore either. Rarely encounter a problem on eBay and the way I see it, having consistent sales on eBay and paying a bit extra in FVFs is still well worth it, as compared to the 1 or 2 sales per year I may get from Bonanza…
Bonanza is what it is, not what it was…
whatever will be, will be…

Thanks for the replies! Some good points to ponder.

What I’ve heard about local Facebook sales groups (yard sales, makeup junkies, etc.) is far too often, someone wants something, a meet-up is arranged (a local police station offers their parking lot for camera monitored exchanges) and the buyer rarely shows. Frankly, Craigslist scares me. My area has had its own “Craigslist murders,” the apartment and real estate scams are endless, car jacking potential sellers or buyers seems to be a hot new trend … and car jacking is so 1990s! YMMV

Thanks again.

Hello [URL removed]

My advice about any pursuit is always if you love it, you’re in it for the long-haul. If it is who you are and not what you do, you will make it work. You’ll adapt, change, alter, re-invent, but you’ll never give up. No one, no changes, no shifts, the state of the economy, the condition of a website, etc., etc., will stop you.

Where is best place(s) to invest time/money to list IS something to consider regularly. But to answer your question, as long as there is an Internet/Internet2, and as long as I can manage it, online selling is for me. I agree with MissKeech; mix it up as time allows. The changes in the venues are frustrating and distressing, but they can’t stop those who are determined to be successful in online selling.

Good luck to you whatever you decide,
Sandi
EmbellishMart
“Embellishments for your crafting, your space & you!”

Agree with MaydaMart. Until the unemployment and economy situation changes for the better, online selling will not improve.

I do 1 to 2 items a month on bonanza and just that is worth it to me.And it took time for me to gain traction on this site. I feel that my sales are actually picking up on here.

Have you searched facebook groups in your area that for BUY SELL ect? Try that. We are also going to be parting from most of our belongings and move into a tiny home, I was once a big online seller and started getting back into it as a source of income. Bonanza never did compare to eBay or Amazon. I recently even tried the Bonanza webstore, ( 25.00 ) a month. But I canceled it. Not worth the money, Hardly any view and no customers.

Yes I agree Ebay has gone down the tube. They used to be helpful on the phone and sales were good even when they were bad. It used to be fun. They used to advertise everywhere promoting Ebay now it’s all about Amazon. And my Amazon sales are not real good either.

Wasn’t Bonanza Voted #1 Selling Site for 2 Years in a Row? I rarely get sales on Bonanza and I have 2 Booths. My Patterns do better when they get connected to Ebay then my Health/Nutrition Store does.

Things are fightenly slow.

I do advertise locally on Facebook sending buyers to my booth where I sell in town.

If anyone has answers I’d love to hear them.