We are about to start selling on eBay Live.
Before the first show we did something we should have done before we started planning. We counted what we have.
What the count showed
Our store had 414 live listings on the day we counted, covering 426 units with a combined asking value of about $111,800.
| Group | Units | Asking value |
|---|---|---|
| Sneakers | 300 | $87,721 |
| Video games | 69 | $2,863 |
| Consoles and controllers | 7 | $6,999 |
| LEGO | 12 | $4,825 |
| Tech | 9 | $4,276 |
| Everything else | 29 | $5,132 |
Sneakers are 70% of the units and 78% of the value. Almost all of them are priced at $150 or more.
Only 85 lots are games, discs or small collectables under $150. Sixty-nine units in the whole store are priced under $50.
Why that matters for live selling
A live show has a pace. A common target for auction-style shows is a new lot every minute or two.
A boxed pair of sneakers does not work like that. You open the box, show the label, show the soles and answer a sizing question. That is five or six minutes a pair if you do it properly, which is about ten lots an hour.
So we worked out how many hours of show our shelf covers at different speeds, if every lot sold the first time.
| Pace | Hours of show from 426 units |
|---|---|
| 10 lots an hour | about 43 hours |
| 20 lots an hour | about 21 hours |
| 35 to 45 lots an hour | 9 to 12 hours |
Not everything sells, and an unsold lot can come back in a later show. So the real figure is longer. But the shape of the problem was clear before we had streamed a minute.
Split by type, it is starker:
- Sneakers: 300 units at ten an hour is about 30 hours of showcase.
- Quick, inexpensive lots: 85 lots at 20 to 30 an hour is three to four hours.
We have plenty of the slow, valuable stock. We have very little of the fast, cheap stock that keeps a show moving.
What we changed
Two kinds of show, not one. Sneakers get their own showcase: about twenty pairs, one at a time, with the box label on camera. We will not try to run them at auction speed.
The faster shows need feeding. Games and small collectables make one kind of show. Sealed tech, LEGO and one-off pieces make another. Between them they use up everything we have within a handful of shows.
Sourcing now has a specific job. We had been researching auction lots in general. The count turned that into one question: where do we find 40 to 60 inexpensive, quick lots for every faster show? That is a much easier question to answer than “what should we buy”.
If you are thinking about live selling
Count before you commit to a schedule. Three numbers are enough:
- Units by price band. How many under $50, how many $50 to $149, how many above.
- Minutes per lot. Time yourself presenting three real items, including the questions.
- Hours of show your shelf covers. Divide your units by your lots per hour.
If the answer is a dozen hours, you do not have a stock problem yet. You have a sourcing deadline.
How we counted
The figures come from our own store on 15 November 2026: every live listing, grouped by product type from the listing title, with quantity and asking price. Grouping by title puts a few items in the wrong row. Asking value is what the items are listed for, not what they will sell for. The pace figures are our working assumptions, not results. We have not run a show yet, and we will report what actually happens.