I Fancy A Very Extended Break - eBay and Amazon - What Is Possible

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I have worked hard in my ecommerce business in recent years and had some good times and some bad times - so about the norm I suppose

But I have realised that the 24/7 nature of it all and constant change - while fun at first has slowly made me step by step a bit jaded by it all

To the extent that I was wondering whether after the xmas period I could have a very long extended break in terms of months - hey maybe even over a year - and help see if it gets my mojo back
And then back into it with gusto

I was wondering if other people had done this and if so whether they had any comments/advice
Or even if they had not done so

And also what if any - are the options around ebay and Amazon if I wanted to do this

I feel with ebay I could just take the listings down and then come back

I have vague memories of Amazon having a holiday mode or some such - but would rather not be paying them £25 a month for this pleasure

I know it will mean taking a hit and maybe quite a big one but I like to enjoy my work and be looking forward to it each day - while accepting that some days are routine and some days are lots of fun

To myself it would seem better to put things into some sort of suspension and take that hit and then come back than shut down and start again from scratch

Comments - ideas - and input welcomed

 

[Raw Rob]

I have vague memories of Amazon having a holiday mode or some such - but would rather not be paying them £25 a month for this pleasure

Switch from "Professional" to "Individual" before activating Holiday mode. The fees for "Individual" are higher when you do sell something, but there is no monthly fee. Although you can't list in certain categories (including food, don't know what else) so you might loose listings in those categories (I've never switched so I don't know). To switch, go to Settings -> Account Info. Then click on "Manage" by Your Services on the left (just below the holiday settings).

 

[Iain_Henderson]

I'm on both eBay and Amazon and would worry about lost search rankings. When you relist I'm not convinced they'd come back with the same sales rank.

I do feel that when I've ran out of stock for a couple of weeks (on my own listing) it doesn't come back on the same page as it's 'space' is now occupied by a competitor.

Could you put everything to FBA and let them deal with any sales? I know you can get Amazon to fulfil all (including eBay) orders but don't know how to achieve that!

Best of luck as a bit of time away sounds very appealing

 

[ecommerce84]

I agree with Iain that I think it would effect your search ranking when you come back.

Is your business profitable enough that you could train and pay someone to run it for you whilst you are on your break so the business is still there when you come back?

 

[Mr D]

I'm on both eBay and Amazon and would worry about lost search rankings. When you relist I'm not convinced they'd come back with the same sales rank.

I do feel that when I've ran out of stock for a couple of weeks (on my own listing) it doesn't come back on the same page as it's 'space' is now occupied by a competitor.

Could you put everything to FBA and let them deal with any sales? I know you can get Amazon to fulfil all (including eBay) orders but don't know how to achieve that!

Best of luck as a bit of time away sounds very appealing

FBA would give currently about 11 and a bit months before must recall stock to avoid long term storage.
Anything going out of stock would suffer lost rankings same as taking stock off.

And still need to keep an eye out for buyer messages. Even at 100% FBA stock on amazon there are still buyer messages and any problems crop up then need to deal with quickly.
Rather messes up idea of taking time away though would reduce involvement quite a bit from merchant selling.

 

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Amazon long term storage fees now kick in at 6 months

Staff can do so much

But I fancy the full cut and then pick up

Even with lower rankings

A number of things have gone wrong in recent years and hard work has put them right but also drained me
And I think I am now past that time where a 2 or even 3 week holiday would sort me

And I would be looking for 6 months or more ideally

 

[Mr D]

The long term storage would kick in mid August next year. So could be done for 6 months plus, would not suit you if you decided to extend the break to 12 months though.

 

[groovyjon]

Did you come up with a viable solution? I'm in exactly the same position as you. I could have written your original post word for word!

 

[Pish_Pash]

I think we're all in the same boat...that'll be the claustrophobic nature of 24/7 e-commerce (Amazon can pull it off, but it takes its toll on the one man band) ...perhaps there's a gap in the market for a person who can run someone's business for them 12 months!

 

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Did you come up with a viable solution? I'm in exactly the same position as you. I could have written your original post word for word!

Sadly not - yet

 

[Mike Godwin]

I'd recommend you outsource to another smaller fulfilment company who can manage your business whilst you get on and enjoy your life. The right one can handle pretty much everything for you at a relatively small cost if you choose and negotiate correctly. Maybe worth it to get your mojo back. Happy to supply you with recommendations and good luck for the future.

 

[jjscruff]

i can definitely relate to this. have worked in e-commerce for 7 years and not gone one night without answering emails :/
even on "holidays" spending hours keeping on top of things, keeping in line with metrics.
E-commerce businesses are very complex and you can't just hire someone to pick up running the company for a few weeks while you relax somewhere.

 

[Mr D]

i can definitely relate to this. have worked in e-commerce for 7 years and not gone one night without answering emails :/
even on "holidays" spending hours keeping on top of things, keeping in line with metrics.
E-commerce businesses are very complex and you can't just hire someone to pick up running the company for a few weeks while you relax somewhere.

Use technology. Send autoreply that you are out of the office until Monday (or whenever back if away longer than the weekend) and that you will be in touch then. Take the weekends off from answering emails except during busiest times.

Or alter your product pages such that you don't get as many emails if the ones you get are about stuff that should be on the site.