Boosting Q4 sales: share your tips
On the Seller Calendar thread a seller brought up how bummed they were by their slow start to Q4. This is a discussion for sellers to share tips for boosting their holiday sales. I'll start:
Store subscribers: take advantage of your Store features and run promotions. Everybody is looking for deals leading up to holiday; encourage both repeat buyers and new buyers to hit that buy button.
For example, create buyer groups here (Seller Hub > Marketing > Buyer Groups), then generate a store newsletter here (Seller Hub > Store > Store newsletter).
Set up coupons and discounts here (Seller Hub > Marketing > Discounts).
Check to see what your competitors (the ones that are selling well) are doing that may be different from what you're doing.
21 comments
kibble-net
·10 months agoEarly Q4 is a great time for an "inventory tune-up".
Go through all of your unsold stock and see if anything needs a price drop, better pictures, added details, or better keywords in the title.
It's also a great time to get your backlog listed.
ed8108
·10 months agoReasonable pricing
dhbookds
·10 months agoMay seem obvious........but list the most expensive items you have first. People who have the money are willing to spend it.
Bundle cheap/inexpensive items.........kitchen gadgets/ceramic mice,cats, etc with "stocking stuffers" in the titles
If "Gift quality".......put that in titles.
wastingtime101
OP10 months agoWith one of my former product categories @dhbookds I used to do a "stocking stuffers" category in my Store and feature it on the front page, then I'd run a promo on those items with multi quantity discounts. 🙂
tobaccocardyahoo
·10 months agoSince early September, I have been offering a selection of items at auction.
The additional traffic and sales have apparently pulled along some buy it now sales of items which have been on the site a long time. Some to the same buyers who are buying auction items, some to buyers who have not bid on the auctions.
My store followers have increased, views increased and conversion increased.
Whether that continues is arguable.
mamacassidy
·10 months ago@sreu3058
I send out newsletters and have had limited success. They do not show up in ebay messages, but are sent in an email to the user's email address. They only show up to people who have SUBSCRIBED to your newsletter, not just people who follow you as a seller. This is an additional step that I'm not sure most people even know about. (Picture below)
I opened a separate email and ebay account awhile back so that I could see how everything looked on the other end, and it's not super user friendly.
And even if buyers do subscribe, they may or may not see it because ebay sends A LOT of emails, and it's pretty easy for this one to get lost in the shuffle of junk mail. (And for this reason, many people I know have changed their setting to not allow notifications, so they wouldn't see them at all).
But since it's free with your store, I'd still suggest sending them out. Even if only a few people see them, it's something 🙂
EDITED TO ADD: I might be wrong about who all it gets sent to. Just now when I went to create one, it says "select recipients" from a drop down box and has the option to add recent buyers and followers. I know in the past when I sent one to myself/ my other account, I didn't receive anything until I actually Subscribed, so I don't know if this is a new thing or not...
wastingtime101
OP10 months agoeBay expanded "buyer groups" @mamacassidy and there is more flexibility. Follow the link from my OP and explore buyer groups for more targeted newsletter recipients.
mamacassidy
·10 months agoThank you, I'll check that out!
sreu3058
·10 months agoOkay- I could try a newsletter, I have never received one from the shops I follow- do they show up in messages? I could put my ‘testing, testing 1,2,3 is it Q4?’ sarcasm to work and see if my ‘followers’ are humans with a bank acct. or bots to massage my ego.
I AM offering Free Shipping until December 17 in my stores-
Promoting my listings here thru the season, paying for advertising on the other site thru the season.
Good pics, accurate descrips.
All ready to ship.
Crickets.
Maybe November will be insane. Hope so. Cheers.
meme6253
·10 months agoI'm doing most of what you suggest, Can't really complain.
herway
·10 months agoI am booking every antique/collectible show that I can find in my area…..
luckythewinner
·10 months agoThis is a discussion for sellers to share tips for boosting their holiday sales
Focus 90% of your effort on sourcing better inventory.
hartungcards
·10 months agoMake sure you're well-prepared for each and every Pokemon Friday.
johnrj1226
·10 months agoSoon after Halloween - Christmas shopping has just begun - me thinks must have stuff will be pop - nice to see gas as low as $2.40/gal in Monroe GA and $2.67 very popular - makes folks want to move from those high cost states - made the move in 1982 (to TX) then to Ga - 29+ years ago.
inhawaii
·10 months agoTip: Sell good stuff that people want to buy.
wastingtime101
OP10 months agoSourcing: the first and most important step.
homerunrally002
·10 months agoI set up a 2 week sale for Halloween and Black Friday and have been getting many sales! I recommend running a 15% Off Sale for your store this month!
nyr134
·10 months agoDon’t include any political references in your listings or marketing. If you can’t resist doing that, half of your potential buyers may go elsewhere.
hartungcards
·10 months agoMake everything $1.00 with free shipping. And don't forget to promote it either.
carip17
·10 months agoExcellent advice. I will be sure to pick up your Ebook: "How to make $5 by spending $10."
hartungcards
·10 months agoIt's out in paperback now too. I'm selling it for $1.00 with free shipping.