Collector’s Corner

Sellers Quickly Moving To Online Sales

By Jim and Bobbi Jeen Olson

Since March of 2020, there has been a massive migration by retailers into online selling due to circumstances created by Covid-19! Even before that, most retailers knew the Internet was the way of the future. However, with the stay at home orders that started taking effect in March, that learning curve was greatly sped up.

In interviews with several platforms that host online auctions for auction houses, all said they are the busiest they have ever been! A representative for one of the major online hosting platforms said that a number of auction houses he has never even heard of call him each day wanting to get set up to do online auctions.

Retail online platforms such as Etsy are experiencing similar trends. Etsy CEO Josh Silverman said in an interview that sales spiked 79% in April! He went on to say the company also sold $133 million worth of face masks during the month, which was not included in the 79% increase!

A business article in Fortune Magazine said that Amazon’s net sales rose to $46 billion for the first quarter of 2020, up from $35.8 billion for the same period last year. Nearly a 30% increase!

A Headline in Fortune also read: Walmart’s online sales surge during the pandemic, bolstering its place as a strong No. 2 to Amazon.

Even Social Media sites like Facebook and Instagram are also seeing a huge influx of individuals (not necessarily businesses) selling on those platforms. It is simply amazing the amount of people who have transitioned into online selling over the last few months. It makes you wonder how traditional brick and mortar retail will fare when things get back to “normal” (if they ever do and what ever that looks like).

When all this virus business blows over, will the new “normal” look like a hybrid of what we had before and what we are seeing now? Even though more and more items are being purchased online and delivered directly to consumers than ever before, there are some who would rather put their hands on it before they buy it. There probably always will be. However, things like trade shows and traditional brick and mortar retail will likely be in choppy water for a while. At least for those who don’t adapt…

Fortunately, Western Trading Post was already pretty well engaged in online selling before the pandemic hit. When things started shutting down in March, it was not a stretch for us to just close the front doors and double down our efforts online. It is probably something we should have done along time ago. By focusing entirely on our online efforts, sales shot through the roof! We actually had a couple of the best months we’ve ever had in April and May 2020. I tell you this not to brag, but as a testament as to what is going on.

How long will this virus thing drag on? God only knows. Will folks change their current buying habits when they are not scared to go out to crowded public places any longer? Probably. But it will never go back to the way it was before in my opinion. By all indications, there is a big recession or possibly even a depression looming. How will that affect things? Who knows. The future can be tricky to predict.

For the time being however, things are better than ever for those who are adept at selling online. The old timers used to say “it’s best to make hay when the sun shines.” It’s shining now for online sellers!