Help Interpreting Product Research Data
My sell-through is significantly lower than that of other sellers. Am I interpreting the data correctly to indicate that buyers are no longer interested in buying my items? It seems buyers are still buying Christmas ornaments, even though it is out of season; they just are not buying mine.
Broad search with filters set to apply to my type of items:
Narrowed Search with the same filters:
Further narrowed the search. This is me:
24 comments
tobaccocardyahoo
·4 months agoThe data does not reflect condition or aesthetic appeal. It is useless for many of the items I sell.
It also reflects the combination of ignorance and desperation some sellers drive their Ebay business with.
mcdougle4248
OP4 months agoDoes my store (listings) reflect ignorance or desperation? I certainly have some of both 🙄 I try to hide it.
tobaccocardyahoo
·4 months agoI can't say what it reflects other than it does not meet the standard I apply to how much money I have to make on an Ebay sale to make it worth the risks of having a customer and a transaction. Every sale is a risk to one's future ability to sell or the fees you way on your future sales. And it requires too many transactions to meet my modest monthly sales goal.
dhbookds
·4 months ago@mcdougle4248
Me and my not so bright ideas......lol
Could you make a strip from the cans.......put little hooks for keys/measuring spoons/cups.... ? A beer theme might sell to beer drinkers......or their friends for gifts. If screws are pointed, might want to back them with felt so they don't scratch a wall..... magnets for refrig also...but probably not enough $$ in that.
mcdougle4248
OP4 months agoGreat ideas! Thank you!
caldreamer
·4 months agoIf you do an EBAY search for your "exact item" and click on "sold" (this will show if your competitor sold any and at what prices).
mcdougle4248
OP4 months agoHmm...I tried your suggestion, and it looks like my competitors did not sell any of their ornaments in the past 90 days.
redlinear
·4 months agoNot my thing, So just rambling here.
I'd end those listings for the Christmas stuff (save the listings though). Then re-submit back on eBay in October.
Make some multi dangly things for Patio Parties. Each out of a Patio Party persons favorite beverage.
Add a bit of Summer fun to the patio!!!
mcdougle4248
OP4 months agoWhat about flip-flop sandal ornaments? Or are they not a thing anymore?
redlinear
·4 months agoOh, there's a following for EVERYTHING.
mcdougle4248
OP4 months ago@onefootflipper
Do you keep your Ganz ornaments listed all year? If so, do you end and sell similar on some sort of schedule to keep the listings from getting stale?
onefootflipper
·4 months agoApparently most of them somehow accidentally got ended and sold similar last month. Which means the inventory counts are now wrong. All the more reason for me to get rid of them.
redlinear
·4 months agoI build up my inventory of Heater Elements during the summer. Throw em in a box and save them for winter.
List them all in November....they sell quick.
If I list them as I get them (two per month). They will not sell in warm months, and many won't sell the whole year.
Same with A/C compressors. Can't list them as I get them. Have to wait until June
onefootflipper
·4 months agoIn my case I don't think it matters. My customers who buy these ornaments are looking for the exact ones and I have no competition for most of them (I am the only one who even has blank stock of most of them). However they take up so much space, the price is so low and the sales just decline every year to the point where I am not sure it is worth dealing with them at all anymore.
redlinear
·4 months ago@mcdougle4248
You say others ARE selling but yours are not.
Same items? (probably yes)
Are the ones selling cheaper, same, or more expensive? (all of the above probably)
Same quality? (probably yes)
Others ARE selling but yours are not....no real rhyme or reason that you can figure out?
My best guess: The powers that be, eBay's AI, algorithm, whatever you want to call it.........have decided it's just not your turn right now. Don't worry though. It will be your turn again....some day.
mcdougle4248
OP4 months agoMy items are fairly unique on eBay (Etsy has quite a few sellers making the same type of ornaments). So, I researched by category, condition, format, and price range to see what is selling. The only thing I can figure out is that there is very little buyer interest in my items.
redlinear
·4 months agoQuite often, I'll walk past a shelf, see a $300 item sitting there, been there for a few months, and wonder WHY is that still here? Those usually sell pretty fast? I must be too expensive.
Go to eBay and search it, and can't find it.
Check my search (sold) and the same thing from other sellers is selling (higher).
Go back to searching and eventually I find it. Usually down under items matching fewer words, even though the search is exact. And there is is, cheaper than everybody else.
Few weeks later, it sells. (just my turn for it to show up in a search where it's supposed to be I guess)
onefootflipper
·4 months agoChristmas sells all year round, but not all Christmas sells all year round. Your ornaments are a classic case of something that is never going to sell super-well off season.
However, you have sold 41 of them in the past 3 months which is exactly 41 more ornaments than I have sold (I have a stock of thousands of personalized Ganz branded ornaments). My ornaments only sell at Christmas and directly after and basically never off season.
I am actually really considering getting rid of them entirely despite the fact that I have thousands. They have names preprinted on them (or I can put the names on most of them). However my NEWEST variety is now 9 years old and the oldest ones are going on 20 years old. At this point there just are not many new babies being born into the families that are already started on one of the ornament varieties that I sell, and people matching existing ones was most of my sales.
tarotfindsandmore
·4 months agoThere's also the added complication of it being May, which isn't exactly a hot month for selling xmas tree ornaments. You might want to look at the product research page to see when the highest/lowest prices are occurring for sold ornaments. You can also compare this year to last (in your own data), which will give you a better idea of when your specific items are selling or not.
mcdougle4248
OP4 months ago@tarotfindsandmore
Yes, I agree this time of year is not great for selling Christmas ornaments. Even so, I usually sell a few here and there, even though they are out of season. This quarter's sales are down 103.1% compared to last year. I have only sold 4 ornaments this quarter. The last sale was on April 20th. So, I am nearing a month with no sales.
I guess I am trying to figure out if I need to come up with an exit strategy now. If buyers don't want my items anymore, I have to stop making them now and hope I can move them out come Q4 with aggressive discounts.
tarotfindsandmore
·4 months agoOof, yeah, that's a pretty significant drop. You could try a sale now, and hold back inventory for later in the year...just to see what happens. Also, is there any way you could create similar items for other holidays or just general decor? I'm not much of a decorator, but they're cool ornaments and it seems like there should be a way to capitalize on your talents with related items.... even something as simple as those little pop tab keychains or jewelry might help to bring back some traffic.
I could be totally wrong here, but you've had so much success in the past, it seems you had a decent market. Maybe they just need something new to bring them back.
mcdougle4248
OP4 months ago@tarotfindsandmore
I have tried making ornaments for other holidays, including Valentine's Day, Easter, and Halloween. Unfortunately, most of the ornaments did not sell well, and I ended up lotting up the leftovers and selling them for next to nothing. I need to put on my thinking cap and think about what I could add that might spark some attention from buyers. Thank you for the suggestion!
caldreamer
·4 months agoI don't pay much attention to EBAY sales data, it can be wildly inaccurate because this is only general information and does not apply to your exact Christmas ornaments.
While your ornaments are lovely and a very creative use of tin cans, I as a parent worry about sharp edges. If the metal has been treated and does not have sharp edges, I would definitely mention that in your description.
Good luck to you!
mcdougle4248
OP4 months ago@caldreamer
Thank you!
Maybe there is another way I can determine if my items just temporarily suck, or it's a permanent thing.
The edges of my ornaments can be sharp. I have called this out in my descriptions. I also state they are for adults in both my description and in item specifics.