eBay

ishan_online_store · ‎09-19-2020

I m a new seller to eBay. i listed items by two categeries. my some auction items sell. but fixed items didn 't sell.is there any effect of using two categeries on that?

mam98031 · ‎09-19-2020

It can be an expensive way to sell. I don't do it. But others may find value in it. You just need to do your research. Which of course asking questions here is a great way to start that research. And make sure that both categories are legit for whatever you are trying to sell.

It can be a mix of how buyers search for things. Likely when they first come in they just do a search of all categories. To fine tune it if the list is long they may go by specific category and/or use the left hand filters more.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

m60driver · ‎09-20-2020

I very rarely list in two categories and only do so when I have a higher priced item that has equal appeal in both categories, otherwise it as an unnecessary expense. If you put the correct words in the title then the search engine will display the result to all who look for your widget regardless of which category you list in.

hawkwind5454 · ‎09-20-2020

I have never done it, and I don't feel it would really help if I did. It's not cost-effective, and is a convoluted methodology.

fashunu4eeuh · ‎09-20-2020

Hi Ishan, I took a look at your completed listings. For the items you are selling, having a second category will likely not be beneficial in generating more sales.

You said that your auctions are selling better than your fixed price listings. I think that is because you are setting your opening bids very low (under a dollar) and offering free shipping. So of course people will spend a few cents to get the item, it is not costing them hardly anything. But I'm worried that you cannot make a profit off of selling the items this way. Is it a supportable business model for you? I do recommend you limit the auctions unless you set the opening bid for the lowest amount you can accept and still make a profit.

You are in Sri Lanka, selling to the USA by drop-shipping unbranded low-end merchandise from China. What brought you to eBay? I have seen a number of your fellow countrymen using this same method to reach the American market. Have there been Chinese vendors advertising in your market on how easy it is to sell on eBay and turn a strong profit by drop-shipping?

There are difficulties I've seen among this subset of sellers. It can be very hard to get established as a seller doing this because when selling on eBay we must use keywords to draw buyers to our listings. There can be an absence of unique keywords when describing inexpensive, generic, mass-produced items that hundreds of other sellers are also listing.

There are limited other ways to compete as well, those mainly being price, shipping cost and shipping time. In some cases the Chinese vendors are also selling the same drop-shipped items and undercutting most other sellers on price. Then there is the issue of how long it takes these items to reach their American buyers, up to 2 months in some cases. Meanwhile there is already a seller in the US selling the same item in hand, and he is able to deliver within days.

I have also seen there is an issue of English as a secondary language, and cultural differences, that may be challenging to overcome in these circumstances. What made you decide to sell on eBay, @ishan_online_store?

hknumismatics · ‎09-21-2020

Without looking at you items I can just tell that from my own perspective I only ever list in a second category if it is highly relevant.

Something like a German colonial coin for circulation in Kiau Chau (Chinese territory that at the time was German). That may get listed in both "Germany" and "China" but is likely an item worth several hundred USD.

For cheap or generic items there is very limited value in listing in multiple categories and the cost will quickly outweigh the possible gains.