Diminishing Marginal Returns...

I was throwing away some very old financial paperwork and it reminded me how much business has changed since I first started as a seller on eBay, in 1998.

Well, at least my business...

It is not a pretty picture.

The TL;DR version can be summarized as:

25 years ago, each $100 in sales would net me about $92 after fees; listing $1,000 worth of new collectible items would result in about $250 in sales within 48 hours.

Today, each $100 in sales nets me about $83 after fees; listing $1,000 worth of new collectible items results in about $75-$100 in sales within 48 hours.

Meanwhile, the cost of living has more than doubled during the same time period... which all adds up to small wonder the past 25 years have been a journey from somewhat comfortably middle class to the gaping abyss of poverty.

Of course, my situation is not unique in any way and the above — more than anything — also illustrates the fact that online marketplaces have increasinly transitioned from being havens and opportunities for small individual operators to just another type of outlet for "big box" operators.

Of course "poverty" is a relative term: I'm definitely not living in a cardboard box under a freeway overpass. However, we have become part of that segment of the population for whom every cent gets used only for absolute essentials and sometimes the next tank of gas ends up being paid by credit card at 34.99% interest... or we can walk the six miles to town for groceries.

My point here isn't to have a pity party, but to talk about the way numbers — even entirely factual ones — can easily lie about reality.

We might well live in some "age of prosperity and abundance," and it may be absolutely true that we "have more than any other time in history," but what do we have to DO in order to maintain that prosperity?

And is this often cited "more" actually representative of what people want, or is it a sort of forced demand foisted on people by legislation and FOMO peer pressure?

Consider, for example, that our county has mandatory annual Septic System Inspections which cost $350 every year.

Which we never used to have.

Annually? And does it really serve much purpose? And $350? And what if you live in a brand-new house with a brand new system?

The broader point being that the cost of living keeps ramping up, but much of it comes from things I haven't even chosen to have in my life.

Regardless, the number of labor hours required to obtain "One Unit" of what we might consider a standard basket of goods and services required to be alive — only in a basic sort of way — has increased substantially. Perhaps we can point at the basket and say "But look, it has far more benefits and treats in it than it used to!" but the point is that most of us actually didn't ask for a bigger basket.

I'm open to the possibility that it's just my "European Roots" showing, but frankly I'd rather have less stuff and shiny objects and keep my 6-8 weeks of vacation every year!

Maybe that mindset identifies me as a "hairy libtard" and so be it... but I consider myself a Human BE-ing, not a Human DO-ing or a Human HAVE-ing.

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

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Created at 2025.04.06 13:06 PST
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