sales

Question

I am paying more for my store, shipping, buy now fees, promoting fees, etc. then sales. Before I had a store, I sold more. Before the promoting fees etc., I sold more. I was told not sold -drop the price, I did on some items and had minus profit. I'm concern? What am I doing wrong? This is income for my household, not a hobby. Constructive criticism needed.

pls-consignments · Accepted Answer

Looking at your items (including the Beanie Babies), it would appear that you may be using eBay to supplement SS, or you may have a fixed income. I'm in my 60's, and have started and sold 3 businesses including an e-commerce store. The most most important thing I learned along the way is that you have to do the math. If the math tells you that you will have enough net profit to live on AFTER your sourcing costs, and AFTER your COS, which includes all of eBay's fees, and AFTER optional advertisin...

susanb1872 · Answer

I looked at your Colin Powell books and noticed you are not using Media Mail for shipping. If you change the category to "Books" then you can select Media Mail which will lower the shipping and make it more enticing for buyers.

tobaccocardyahoo · Answer

There are many points made by posters than I can emphatically agree with

The include

Close your store, you items are unlikely to get any clicks if there are any impressions. No one is going to every get to your store. Ebay has traffic statistics on your store, you will find out.

Stop promoting. Most of your items are not suffering due to search placement, they are suffering because few buyers want to buy them,

Stop cutting prices, most of your items are not price elastic. Unless you cut low enough for another seller to think they can make a profit, it will not increase your chances of selling, and will reduce the profit on what does sell.

Your poor inventory choices are more than the Colin Powell book and the Beanies, add to that the Norman Rockwell plates. The only market in the past 40 years for the Rockwell plates was as replacements for broken plates in a collection. And in earlier times everyone had a copy of Kovel's Antiques Price guide and priced at the prices for the plates which appeared in that guide. If you had ten for sale, you might sell one a year, but you would make more than you would selling one in an Ebay auction.

If you are going to use auctions, try to only list as auction items things that you believe will get more than one bid.

It is a pain relisting every 7 days when one bid was an overly optimistic item.

If are unwilling to dispose of items which generate no buyer interest, list more items. 250 items which have low sell through rates are not worth checking Ebay each day for sales.

onefootflipper · Answer

You need to completely rethink what you are selling. If you are trying to actually make money then you need to sell items that make money, not items that you are interested in.

Everything you have is in slow moving, oversaturated categories that I generally avoid like the plague, and the prices do not seem very competitive for those categories. Some of your items that you have real price tags on are truly worthless, the beanie babies and collector plates. Those can go straight into the garbage, they have no value.

I once made the mistake of buying some collector plates because someone had just purchased a set of the same ones for real money. 4 years later I threw them in the trash as my price on the set had declined from $100 to $5 and no one ever showed the slightest bit of interest. The person who bought the one before mine was apparently the only person on earth interested in the set. That is something I call a unicorn comp, where you buy a rare items because it had a recent sale, but apparently that sale was the unicorn and yours never sells.

12345jamesstamps · Answer

'I was told not sold -drop the price'...also but on my old listings.

I did something better...I took off all promoted of anything.

And my items from 2 years ago of listing are selling...

If I don't make anything...neither does eBay.

As for the monthly eBay fee..my 'repeat buyers' help with that.

Promoted basically means higher seller fee for each item.

rudy2828 · Answer

Many of your items show Free Delivery. Unless you are in the middle of the U.S. your shipping costs could be costing you big time. I am in NY and I almost never offer Free Shipping for just that reason.

Many of your items are heavy and breakable. I suggest you step back and really examine your strategy. Also, on calculated shipping I charge the full USPS list price and keep the discount offered through ebay. If all works out I can get the actual selling price after all fees. As a rule of thumb figure ebay to keep about 15% of the total you are seeing.

Also offer combined shipping - no need to put an actual calculation when writing up the listing. Buyers will ask and then you can calculate it.

And please, please stop using AI for descriptions. Take the extra minute or two to write your own copy. Include dimensions where applicable.

I've been here 27+ years and have sold over 8k items working alone as a part time hobby, so I'd like to think I've learned a lot in that time. Best of luck.

lb23cavaliersmvp · Answer

I'm afraid that your store is similar to those of other sellers who complain about low sales/profitability; too many overpriced and highly competitive items. As indicated by others Beanies, like the vast majority of Funko Pops that aren't signed, are basically worthless. Signed copies of Colin Powell books, regardless of the printing, are in a similar category. Clothing and mass produced jewelry are extremely competitive. Seems to me the key to success is the same for all of us, know the market for your items and buy at competitive prices. Receiving a 10% return on savings is fantastic but selling on ebay at a 20-30% premium, before fees, gets you nowhere.

logical_collection · Answer

I would say its your items. I used to have 2 stores. 1 for my gun parts and another for collectibles like what you are selling. I found that to be a dying business, unprofitable and many items prone to breakage. Honestly i dropped that so quickly and it was a relief. sorry to say but if you want sales you need to drop your prices more and promote. its not profitable unless you are buying at a great deal when it comes to collectibles, clothing & junk. ebay is not like it used to be for vintage/antique items.

soh.maryl · Answer

Why have you listed shipping as something you are paying? Aren't your buyers the ones who are paying the shipping?

Or, if you're offering free shipping, are you not building shipping costs into the item price?

johnrj1226 · Answer

Just do what you we doing before you following some advise. for example having a store does not bring more sales but can increase more free listings at a cost

ed8108 · Answer

@sunshinequest wrote: This is income for my household, not a hobby. Since the past is now history & we are living in the present Locate an additional source that will supply you with income

1786davycrockett · Answer

@sunshinequest

@inhawaii is 100% on the mark with all those Beanie Babies -- they are only "rare" because Ty Warner marketed them as "rare collectibles." In reality, they were manufactured in a Third World country in quantities numbering in the hundreds of thousands. They only became "rare" when retailers couldn't sell them, and Ty Warner decided to announce that those items were being "retired" -- resulting in tens of thousands of "investors" descending upon those stores in droves to stock up on "rare collectibles."

Today, every flea market, garage sale, antique shop and thrift store has boxfuls of those "rare collectibles" gathering dust -- because no one wants them anymore.

You have so many nice items in your store that are actually quite beautiful and worthwhile -- but those Beanie Babies are an eyesore that makes your store look trashy -- donate them to some police station or firehouse or Toys For Tots, and give your store the class that it deserves.

And that "first edition" of one of the Colin Powell books is not actually a "first" -- the number above the words "First Edition" read "2468753" -- that's the actual edition indicator -- so not a "first."

luckythewinner · Answer

Before I had a store, I sold more.

You are the one who chose to have a store.

Before the promoting fees etc., I sold more

You are the one who chose to promote your listings.

I was told not sold -drop the price, I did on some items and had minus profit

You are the one who chose to lower your prices.

What am I doing wrong?

It sounds like you are choosing things that cost you money and sales.

inhawaii · Answer

I'm no expert but your Beanie Babies seem a bit overpriced. Beanie Babies are not worth anywhere near what they used to. Good luck to you in 2026.

ryry-jj · Answer

Remember, eBay gets paid on everything that sells, you only get paid on what makes money...those can be two conflicting goals...you need to look out for you! Stop doing things that do not make money for you & only you knows that

caldreamer · Answer

I would keep your EBAY store, this way your customers can look at all your items (hopefully they will purchase several items). If you get rid of your store, you will also have to pay for monthly "listing fee".

Since you rely on EBAY for your income, I would get rid of "best offer" and price items at lowest price you are willing to accept.

I would also get rid of the "free shipping" because if customer returns item (you will have to eat the FREE shipping costs).

If you are selling "same exact item" as numerous other Sellers, then it makes sense to promote your items (so they will appear on Page 1 of EBAY search). If your items are "one of a kind" I would stop paying for promotion fees.

Good luck to you!

hartungcards · Answer

" Before I had a store, I sold more. Before the promoting fees etc., I sold more. I was told not sold -drop the price. What am I doing wrong?" Ditch the store. Ditch the promotions. Stop lowering your prices just because eBay thinks you should.