Does B&S seem slow to you lately?

[harry2quinn]

Originally Posted by KenRose

Paypal absolutely ***** foreigners. Really discourages sales actually. Almost 10% in currency exchange on both sides.
There's an easy way around this - have the buyer designate that the fees be charged to their credit card (Paypal hence does no conversion). You can lower the price to benefit the buyer for taking this hit. Fees for US credit cards are typically 2-4%. There are a handful of cards that charge no fees (such as my Charles Schwab).

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

I've given up on selling partly because the market went cold and partly because I just haven't found much to sell. I keep hearing about these huge sales, but I'm not seeing them, at least not on stuff I want to buy ... or that would fly here. Beyond that, I've mostly gotten out of the game. I never made much selling -- mostly did it to pay for items I'd buy for myself when I bought the sales stuff -- and it eventually became more of a hassle than it was worth.
+1 on both counts for me. Typically now the only thing I resell are things that I purchased that don't work for me (fit or style).

 

[brlfvr]

Originally Posted by MalfordOfLondon

It's definitely quieter out there in the sales and the main reason is that there is a lot less merchandise. Maybe the downturn of the last few years prompted companies to make a lot less in terms of qty of product runs. I think I have heard this is definitely a fact with regards to RLPL for example.

Less stock at the end of a season = less items in the sale = less need to discount drastically = less for sale on eBay and B&S.

At least that's my take on the situation.

This is a very big part of it.

 

[Gus]

All retailers cut back in a huge way on inventory, especially the higher priced items. That means manufacturers made less stuff and overall have less to close out, put on sale or send to outlets. You just don't see much for sale compared to previous years so less makes its way to B&S.

The mgr at Neimans said his biggest problem this past fall was running out of things. The mgr at a major men's store said "get used to seeing only one per size and you better buy it if you like it". Good B&S activity requires a steady flow of cool stuff that you can't resist in your size.

 

[RJE]

Seems interesting this thread is going at the same time as a thread complaining about people buying to flip.

Maybe less stock to go around - but Malford has put up huge quantities of ties. And nothing sitting in my basket has become any cheaper

! There are a lot of TF ties sitting around too, sellers not open to offers.

Huge Mabitex sales a few months ago, and TF sales this year have been pretty good. Business can't all be bad - C&J has put a hold on orders; Trickers and Lobb are close to doing the same.

More partly off-site vendors eg Will at ASW; The Cordial Churchman; Malford.

For B&S to remain active requires a turnover of buyers, and possibly of sellers. Buyers who don't already have 15 knit ties/3 blazers/8 suits/4 overcoats/8 sportscoats/6 SAB umbrellas. You spend a bit of time here, you've already bought those items so you pay less attention when similar items come up. Based on changes I'm seeing in WAYWRN, B&S is trying to sell to the same people as a couple of years ago.

 

[mkarim]

Originally Posted by chasingred

I've been talking to some other sellers and everyone has noticed a drop in activity. Does B&S have sales cycles? I have a few suits I'd like to list, but would rather not post it during a slow season and then do continual price drops until I get robbed.

For older sellers here - are there hot and cold seasons on B&S?

Is that a sign of an improving economy (people don't want/need to sell)?

 

[DocHolliday]

I don't think so, no. It was easier to sell when the economy was better, and there was less risk of getting stuck with stuff that didn't move.

If I needed more than mad money, flipping stuff here wouldn't be how I'd get it. Selling in bulk on SF offers a relatively poor return on the time, energy, and financial investment required. Plus, you get to enjoy being told you're a jerk for not doing it for free.

 

[NewYorkIslander]

For the most part I sell, at very low prices, what doesn't work for me fit/style wise. I use these "closet cleans" to help fund new purchases. I don't see why people schkeeve second hand clothing. We all take care of our **** here, not like eBay where who the hell knows what these people did to items. Been slow for me too, surprisingl with my denim pea coat, Trickers Boots, and BR DB Suit. I guess tax season will get people buying again.

 

[ndw]

From a primarily consumer standpoint as someone who used to check B&S all the time (and got some great deals), I never look at B&S anymore because of the amount of shear crap that you have to wade through (this includes things posted by regular sellers). Too many people list pure junk and then continuously bump and it gets to be too much to wade through.

 

[lee_44106]

-lack of quality merchandise

-many thread selling used JUNK

 

[MalfordOfLondon]

Originally Posted by lee_44106

-lack of quality merchandise -many thread selling used JUNK
Well one man's junk is another's treasure. I rarely sell used stuff (apart from my clear-outs). I remember when I first joined - I purchased a lot of stuff I'd probably consider junk right now but it was a good starting point and allowed me to experiment with sizing / cuts etc. Possibly a subforum for used clothing may be a way to go but obviously that's a can o' worms.

 

[TRINI]

Originally Posted by NewYorkRanger

surprisingly with my denim pea coat

Not so surprising.

 

[NewYorkIslander]

Originally Posted by TRINI

Not so surprising.

Dude, I had two people offer to buy it from me before I even checked out with it at the sale. Talk about easy money I pissed away.

 

[KenRose]

No dude, that won't work for us. I'm Canadian so even though I have US money and a US bank account, Paypal forces me to buy things with my Canadian $ and then they transfer in into US $ with an exchange rate that should be illegal. Then, when I sell goods and am paid in US$, they convert it to Can before they transfer it to my bank account. Between the fees and what they **** us with on exchange, it adds up to 10%.

There's an easy way around this - have the buyer designate that the fees be charged to their credit card (Paypal hence does no conversion). You can lower the price to benefit the buyer for taking this hit.

Fees for US credit cards are typically 2-4%. There are a handful of cards that charge no fees (such as my Charles Schwab).

 

[Dewey]

Doc had his own epic threads -- lots of good stuff, very well edited, very low prices.

It's not that B&S needs only this kind of seller, but that when there were 3-6 people bringing the deals on an irregular basis, it was a lot more interesting to check B&S a few times a day. Chorse, edmorel, Doc, and some others helped other sellers move their merchandise.

Thanks, Doc, for being such a great contributor.

And there definitely is something to the argument that B&S now reflects the dramatically reduced inventories of luxury goods since the stock market crash. Most every day I celebrate my good fortune in that I was able to make the most of buying opportunities in the '07-'09 fall from excess.

 

[Dewey]

I would also add that I think it helps a seller a great deal if he also posts pictures of his dandy self and/or headless body in the appropriate threads. People would rather buy from a fellow practitioner than from an unknown outlet haunter.