My items priced lower than the same items on ebay and not selling?
I have the same items listed as other sellers at a lower price and they are not selling or getting any views. 26 years on ebay , 100% feedback. Not sure why. Do I have to buy advertising? Something is not right on this site! Is it just me?
Thanks in advance for any help, Kazulak.
24 comments
luckythewinner
·2 years agoWe would need to know the nature of the items in order to try to gauge:
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoIt looks to me (from your Sold items and from your feedback) that the drop off in sales started about six months ago.
I agree that your pictures need to be redone.
Since they are flat have you considered scanning them instead of pictures? You can also easily emphasize special points (good and bad) with a scanner.
Have you looked into the new eBay envelopes for tracked domestic items that are lightweight? I'm not eligible to use the new service, so others will have to tell you about it.
Buyers hate to pay for shipping.
Have you tried listing some of your $10 items which currently have $5 shipping as $15 items with Free Shipping? Because your items are unique, even if similar to others, you have more flexibility in pricing.
And it may be worthwhile to use Promoted Listing Standard at the lowest level (2%) to increase your Views.
And if the PL item doesn't sell, you don't pay any fee increase which makes it a cheap experiment.
bill.purvis2012
·2 years agoYou'll get various answers. I never did understand the '4th quarter' hype. My sales always slip in Nov/Dec. Sales are slow for many sellers. I try all the tricks; sell similar, posting new listings, coupons, markdown, offers, free shipping, promotions.
One thing I might suggest is that your photos are dark. I increased my sales when I used the Ebay photo tool to brighten the picture. It really makes a difference. Try it.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoI think if I put a 200 dollar item for sale here for 30 dollars it would fly off the shelf. Some of the problems are there are way too many sites competing for business.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoThe traffic is lower on ebay now. That may be one of the problems.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoYeah, buyers have now dropped below 2018 levels and they also have a lot more choice.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoIt has to be a major part of what is happening now. This being for the average sellers on here not the people in the high end merch or other focused stuff. Heck, I AM one of those people with the enthusiast buyer stuff and I am having some problems this year.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoI don't think years here or 100% feedback make much difference. What I *do* think is that you're selling long tail items that really need the right buyer - not just the ephemera or ad buyer, but people interested in the type or industry of the ad.
Plus, due to the type of items, as others have said here, good photos are essential, and yours are not clear enough - they just look like the zillion of other kinda gray-brown dark photos on this site. I'd say that adjusting the brightness and contrast on your existing photos, something very easy to do in post, would help a lot - let your items pop!
But mostly, I think you just need the right buyer to come along, and they're kind of rare. I remember when ads DID sell popularly, but that must have been 15 years ago at least and what they mostly seemed to be used for was decoupage, shadow boxes and the like, some framing.
inhawaii
·2 years agoI sometimes wonder he exact opposite of you.
Why are people buying my items when I am the most expensive.
I've even posted here about it several times.
The answer to both our questions may simply be this...
Who knows why people do what they do???
It may not have anything to do with price/feedback/pictures/description/location/shipping/etc.
vintage-camerastuff
·2 years agoYour pictures are to dark. Use the tools that ebay provides and lighten them all up. It would only take about 10 seconds for each one.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoI suggest taking the photos of the items during the day when the sun is out.
Photos are rather dark. I never use light from a lamp or an iPhone if your taking photos from that.
Buyers want to see the color of these items...maybe for framing.
slippinjimmy
·2 years agoCan you provide examples of 1 or 2 of your items that are listed (and selling) for more than yours?
ebeths_eclectic_collectibles
·2 years agoThe only thing that really matters would be if there are any actual sales of these items. Are others selling these items at any price point. If they are selling at a higher price point you should revisit and edit your listing. If you price is lowest and still no one is selling you may have an item in very low demand. It may not be worth the effort to sell at all or at least not at this time. Sometimes it is a good idea just sell the items off in lots
yuzuha
·2 years agoThis. How many of a given thing are LISTED isn't what matters, what matters is how many of them have actually SOLD. If there are 500 listed but only 7 have sold in the past 3 months, you can't expect yours to sell any time soon.
meme6253
·2 years agoYou need to brighten up your photos!, Raise Your Price To Match Theirs!
toomuchstuffagain35
·2 years agoIf the other sellers are selling theirs at higher prices, look to see if you can tell what they're doing that you're not.
If theirs aren't selling either then it's the product.
redlinear
·2 years agoYou can't sell if you are not seen.
By not seen, I mean we are not getting the prime placement, WHEN you should be.
A typical search turns up a lot of Good Placement results that have little to do with what the "searcher" actually searched for.
This is due to: Promoted Listings, and Incorrect Information in Item Specifics. (much of the latter is intentional by sellers Just to be Seen SOMEWHERE).
Then if the "searcher" sorts from Low$ to High$? The cheapest stuff is hidden behind another Filter that's not easy to find unless you know it's there.
When it comes to Search vs Results? It seems similar to pulling a lever on a slot machine
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·2 years agoYour pictures are dark and blurry. Also what you are selling is probably not in high demand
dhbookds
·2 years agoI don't know anything about your category...... but just "viewing your items"..........the pictures are dark and frankly, unappealing.... I can't "see" what the ads are for...... May be the reason people don't click into your ad to check it out........
gwenscupboard
·2 years ago@kazulak
I agree with dhbookds. Your photos are dark.
I think if you want to take better photos of magazine ads, you should get a flatbed scanner. The pics will turn out better and in focus.
bennotbill
·2 years agoIt's the way things are on eBay. Buyers can't see/find your items they can't buy.
I had an item, excellent condition with some extras. It eventually sold.
But in the meantime a big seller was selling the same in well worn condition no extras at twice my price. While my item was just sitting there for weeks they sold half a dozen.
I can't help thinking that the more search savvy friends and family may end up saying - how much did you pay for that worn out piece of junk - there was one half the price you paid.
Will any buyers in that situation use eBay again? After being effectively steered to paying for a higher priced lower condition item.
laststopgeneralstore
·2 years agoAre those other items selling consistently every single day? When is the last time an exact item that you have, that someone else has had, sold? If they are selling everyday 10 times/day and yours isn't then you may have an issue. If the last one or few sold months ago and nothing recent then you just have a bad, non-desirable item.
I'm sorry but I can't see loads and loads of people purchasing mens & womens catalogs from years ago on a daily basis. This has nothing to do with the site and everything to do with what you're attempting to sell.
mike_jayroe
·2 years agoI also have several items listed cheaper than other sellers, and a shipping rate as low as I can go and still make a profit. My sales have been a lot slower than last years. In fact this month has been the best one since February of this year.
I have one item listed under auction, in which I know I paid well over $100.00 for and I have it listed at $10.00 for a starting bid. No bids yet and only 2 views.
So you are not alone.
4pawsup*
·2 years agoHow much is your shipping? As for advertising that is up to you but it seems like most sellers are doing some sort of ads.