TIAS - a whole lot of nuthin' going on

Well, since our online store's debut at TIAS, just over a month ago, we've had a few inquiries for items that we don't carry; a request for valuation on an item that a person thought was over 100 years old but wasn't manufactured until 1957; many friendly "hello's" from far and wide... and not a single sale. I've made use of the internal press release system to promote the store within the TIAS website, doing so twice weekly as we're allowed; but to no avail.

I've considered putting one or two items up for auction at eBay - yet another arena in which I have zero experience - but the most recent postings on the dealer forums are certainly discouraging, from a seller's point of view. More and more, it would seem, eBay is becoming a buyer's delight, and not in the least a seller's. The cost per transaction has been restructured, and from some of the calculations I've seen it's a bad deal unless you're what they call a "SuperSeller", doing a really high volume of transactions - not a small business person like myself. So I'm not at all certain that it's the right venue for me to be trying, especially such a novice as myself.

So instead, I turned on the feature at the TIAS store that allows a prospective buyer the option of making me an offer on a item. I'm hoping that this at least will be the start of potential conversations with customers that's not otherwise happening right now. It will give people the option of bidding on an item without having to go through eBay - they'll be able to deal directly with me, and I'll evaluate whether or not to accept an offer or not. I put out a press release that Time Travelers is Now Making Deals!! on the main TIAS page.

We'll see if this change has any impact. It sure would be nice to sell something from the store (she said wistfully).....