small time seller of family collectibles for three years 2017 worst year ever what to do

[prflood]

3 yr member, very small time seller of collectibles, 100 percent positive feedback,2017 worst year ever for sales, my prices very low  cannot stay at ebay at this pace , all suggestions greatly appreciated

[emerald40]

This seems to be coming up more especially for sellers of clothes and collectibles.

There is another thread where posters are commenting that our kids and grandkids are just not collecting things like the older generation did.

[cargo11]

Ebay has changed - we all know that - in the early 2000 - you could sell 95% of anything you posted - now - it's 5% a year does not matter if you post 50 or 500 - 5%, if you are selling more than that - you are on a good rotation - for a while - enough to entice you to open a store and GUESS WHAT - your sales fall out the door - it's a GAME - it's what Ebay does and Nothing you say or do will ever change their Game Rules.  JUts post 50 free and be happy with any sales you get - don't worry, don't fret, enjoy the life outside ebay!

[emerald40]

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@cargo11 wrote:

Ebay has changed - we all know that - in the early 2000 - you could sell 95% of anything you posted - now - it's 5% a year does not matter if you post 50 or 500 - 5%, if you are selling more than that - you are on a good rotation - for a while - enough to entice you to open a store and GUESS WHAT - your sales fall out the door - it's a GAME - it's what Ebay does and Nothing you say or do will ever change their Game Rules.  JUts post 50 free and be happy with any sales you get - don't worry, don't fret, enjoy the life outside ebay!

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Back in the day you could sell air from the concert of a famous singer and it would sell.  Yes, very true.

Online buying was new and interesting and fun so if you listed it, they would come.

And with so few sellers when I started you had the platform practically to yourself..

I started selling a coin collection with no pictures.  Did not know back then how to load them.

Now with a glut of sellers and ebay freebies making it 10 times worse together with ebay no longer being the only venue on the block, and of course things have changed.

And to make it even worse you have the thieves who used to do the 5 finger discount discovering ebay and how easy it is to steal here.

[mistwomandancing]

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emerald40 wrote:

This seems to be coming up more especially for sellers of clothes and collectibles.

There is another thread where posters are commenting that our kids and grandkids are just not collecting things like the older generation did.

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Many sellers of antique and vintage glass and collectibles of many sorts are saying they are making fewer sales on eBay this past year or so.

So, if it is because fewer buyers are into collecting these days, then all sellers are having to compete for those few available sales to those few buyers.  And when the competition for those few sales becomes more intense, as more sellers are very anxious to move inventory, buyers have a great deal to look over, to pick and choose among the sellers who give them the best deals, the most for the least, etc.

But there ARE still buyers for almost anything out there!  Put up listings that are priced well enough to entice them, of quality merchandise that makes it desirable, and you will still be making the sales.  Some sellers may not be making sales, but it doesn't have to be you.

[reallynicestamps]

If the 5% turnover cited above is true, then to make a living from eBay you need enough items listed that 5% of them selling pays your way.

Not five items, but 50 or better 500.

Break out all those older listings that didn't sell. You have 50 Free Listings every month. Put them up as Good Til Cancelled if you are pressed for time, 30days if you have time to baby your account.

You should have at least one new item listing or relisting every day.

There is a constant poster whose signature line is "If it doesn't sell, raise the price."

Which is counter-intuitive unless you understand how "aspirational" branding works.

When you say 'family collectibles' do you mean you are cleaning out the basement, so to speak?

[odditiesandantiquities1]

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@prflood wrote:

3 yr member, very small time seller of collectibles, 100 percent positive feedback,2017 worst year ever for sales, my prices very low  cannot stay at ebay at this pace , all suggestions greatly appreciated

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I'm so sorry you are struggling right now.  The number of sellers on eBay has increased greatly and with that comes the competition. I do believe the up and coming teens will be buying what their parents won't. I would suggest to hang in there, but I understand the frustration.

If you could just up your listings to say 50, I'm sure you'd have a better result. I'd hate to see you go. 

[emerald40]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

If the 5% turnover cited above is true, then to make a living from eBay you need enough items listed that 5% of them selling pays your way.

Not five items, but 50 or better 500.

Break out all those older listings that didn't sell. You have 50 Free Listings every month. Put them up as Good Til Cancelled if you are pressed for time, 30days if you have time to baby your account.

You should have at least one new item listing or relisting every day.

There is a constant poster whose signature line is "If it doesn't sell, raise the price."

Which is counter-intuitive unless you understand how "aspirational" branding works.

When you say 'family collectibles' do you mean you are cleaning out the basement, so to speak?

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Listing the same tired inventory that no one wanted yesterday, last month, or last year is just clogging up the categories making other things harder to find.

I disagree that if you list it it will eventually sell.

Maybe 10 years ago, but not now

[nawlinsron2]

To quote the immortal Yogi Berra...
"it's too crowded...nobody goes there anymore."
The man was prophetic.

[*eponymous*]

@prflood

While it is true that changing lifestyle preferences (and a fast-aging population) account for a large part of decreasing sales of MCM merchandise, I had another thought and compared sold items with your "Ratchet Brace" listing.

395 successful sellers of the item included the words "bit", "hand", and "drill.  Your price is comparable to items that did sell so I cannot help but think that the search terms used by buyers resulted in 395 successful sales, while your item did not sell.  Check sold listings for descriptors to use as the first 3-5 words in your title, e.g. "Ratching hand bit drill"

If that doesn't work, drastically lower your prices.  "If it doesn't sell, raise the price" was good for the 1990s, not for the 2nd decade of the 21st century.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Ratchet+Brace&_in_kw=1&_ex_kw=&_sacat=0&LH_Complete=1&_udlo=&_u...

[bubbleman2010]

You have nothing invested except your time. If you are spending a huge amount of time maintaining five listings you might look into working parttime somewhere for minimum wage... I handle 2500 listings and spend on average 10 hours a week....

[ripcityresell]

Isn't there always a best year and worst year? Have you sold the exact same year after year? What was your worst year before this one and did you come to the forums and post that it was your worst year then?

Just curious.

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

1. The first 4 words of an item title are the most important -- be sure they are meaningful keywords that people use to search. 2. Remove punctuation from titles. Be sure there's a empty space between words. Capitalize acronyms and avoid plural forms; e.g., LP, not Lps. 3. Think of a title as a vertical list of keywords, most important at the top. Arrange remaining words in natural phrases; e.g., blue wool shirt, not shirt wool blue. Spell correctly. 4. "Vintage" is a popular keyword, but it requires a year, decade or era. 5. As applicable, include the product's brand, color, size, material and other physical attributes, including the generic name of the item. 6. Include all major keywords and attributes in the title, Item Specifics and description. Yes, redundancy counts! Bottom line: Messy titles = lower search visibility. ~~C~~

[mjohank]

I like one of your listings.

edit-----sorry, can't do local pick up.

Too far away.

[outofroom]

How many hours did it take you to list the 2,500 items? I'm sure it was more than 10 hours.  Maintaining and listing are two different things. And don't under value a person's time. There are many people unable to hold a job outside their homes, frequently for health reasons. Suggesting they get a minimum wage parttime job isn't an option for everyone.

Many reasons can account for low sales, no matter how many items one lists.  Most of the Boards agree that the small time sellers are having a much tougher time today than several years ago, through no fault of their own. The whole market place has changed. Can't fight it, so must just flow with it and not get upset by it.