Summer ending motivation?
I, for one, will be looking forward to the end of summer heat & the NFL starting up. No - summer does not end when the kiddies go back to school! lol It ends when my A/C is shut off until next June. 😛
Any motivation about a changing season & the challenge of improving sales? I'm not asking about your 'secrets' to advancing sales. Just if you plan on doing anything that builds your motivation? My thoughts are to list lots of a similar item (buttons / patches / press photo movie stills, etc.) with no offers & free S/H. Same for 'stand on their own' items. Work on methods I've never tried before. There has to be more out there. Online selling shouldn't always feel like a downward spiral. If I can sell a fair amount, locally, more options should exist on a larger playing field, no? Do you feel energized about a new season?
mantle1951
·1 year agoDown here in Miami we only have one season-summer, when the stores start getting their Christmas trees you can see the tears on their branches!!!
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoWe have two seasons: Rainy and construction.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoThis is a great thread, @sakic92710 !
I like fall and The Big Dark doesn't bother me. My motivation for this fall is to get everything listed and sell as much as I can (that includes blow-out sales), empty out the inventory so I can close down in mid-October. Not sure when/if I'll open up here again as I'll be gone for months. Depends on my mood when I get back from England, I guess, but I do use sales for mad money. So that's two goals I have - saving money and clearing out the store room.
It'll be strange because I'm training for the Honolulu Marathon, so I'll need to fly from London to Honolulu in December...then back to London (not staying in London - I used to stay there but it's just too crazy for me these days, though it's probably one of the most fun places on earth). 😖 I might do a layover at the house - our house sitter is also running the marathon and last year we flew over together.
sakic92710
OP1 year agoThank you. 🙂 Wow! You have a lot coming up in the near future. The flight from London to Hawaii will take a week! 🤣 My traveling days are long gone. UK for 10 days. My dad was born there - Shrewsbury. I ran a 'marathon in Ghana. lol Even after stopping for some walking time, I came 2nd. 😛 Only 1 guy was a practiced runner & he won. The rest of us were common folk. 😛 That was in 1981. The beginning & end of a success 'career.'
sell-more
·1 year agoI look forward to end of summer as sales tend to increase when people sit inside during the winter. My best months always was before Xmas & after tax season
lakefor94
·1 year agoI busted **bleep** inside on my eBay work in July and August while it was quite warm outside here in Texas. Will more than likely be motivated to fire up the boat and head to the lake to slam the catfish. The women here dig fried catfish. Happy wife, happy life they tell me.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year ago@sakic92710 I see your question was more about what will motivate me, rather than what I intend to actually do. My basic motivation is pretty straightforward: Get stuff out of the house, bring money into the house.
I find that sales themselves tend to be great motivator. It is hard to stay happily motivated when sales are terrible. I am thinking of joining a "listing challenge" to push me to keep listing (even through the slumps).
sin-n-dex
·1 year agoI'm gearing towards a trip (it's business for my partner) to Japan this fall... so the motivation is to finish running the auctions before I go.
I will not get any listings up this weekend, taking the weekend off to enjoy the last few days of summer. They're fixing the furnace next week so that I have heat this winter, kinda need it in Canada and all.
C.
meekamaye
·1 year agoMy energy is focused on vendor shows. I do the ones that are indoors, I hate outdoors because of weather problems so I quit doing those. Also, I am going to do a rummage sale in September to get rid of things hanging around in my garage for too many years. Furniture, snowblower, tools, books, glassware, flatware sets, plants I have split, jackets, hats, ... I need to finally face the fact I can get rid of my husband's things as he has been gone almost 5 years.
No major eBay changes as I won't have time.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year ago@meekamaye You have a neat variety of stuff...I'm curious, what do you usually offer at the Vendor Shows?
meekamaye
·1 year agoPretty much what will be on the garage sale. It is glassware, china, linens, books, advertising items, vintage cards, Valentines cards, framed vintage prints, tools,... pretty much whatever I find in the totes I can get to! LOL (I do only vintage, collectibles and antiques)
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year ago@meekamaye Thanks! Hope you get a lot of sales, and maybe make some good connections.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year ago@sakic92710 Adding to my main post: I'm also considering running auctions on a recurring basis....maybe "x" number of auctions every Sunday night, with "absolutely low as I'm willing to go" starting bids...mostly to try to clear out older inventory, etc.
I might or might not have much success with this, but in part I'm viewing it as advertising---trying to reach another segment of the market. We'll see.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year ago@sakic92710 Do I feel energized about the new season?
Somewhat. I think this could end up being a solid holiday season in the US. We have a thread here asking whether the election will hold back shopping, but if history is our guide, no, it won't. Also, my gut feeling is: many people are sick and tired of the campaigning and constant fighting, and so I suspect will look to the Holidays for some sense of normal---Decorating the house, going to church/watching the Hallmark movies (for those so inclined), visiting friends and family, and....SHOPPING.
Of course, all this could go out the window depending on events, not just in the US but elsewhere. But I think a lot of people just want to have a nice holiday season. And those who can spend, will spend. And they are my target audience.
chevymontecarlo88
·1 year agoAny motivation about a changing season & the challenge of improving sales? I'm not asking about your 'secrets' to advancing sales. Just if you plan on doing anything that builds your motivation?
Get outside and enjoy nature more often. (if you are not already) Many times a good walk or bike ride can reset your outlook and can keep you motivated. JMO
silverstatetreasureboxes
·1 year ago@sakic92710
Yes I will welcome the cooler weather but I see the next 7 days are still going to be 105, 107*.
Hottest summer ever, I'm tired of getting up at 4:30am to beat the heat and racing to clean inventory and pricing, running to the store, preparing lunch all before 9am.
On the other hand I've never seen so many donations coming into our thrift as I have this year ( been there 10 yrs).
It's been good pickings for some of our local resellers especially sporting and camping goods.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year agoHere in the States, most people view Labor Day weekend as the "end of summer".
The change of season itself is not much of a motivating factor for me, but the fact that the change represents the approach of the Holiday shopping season is a factor. (Of course, categories matter....not every seller sells items that are likely to benefit from the Holiday shopping season. My own stuff is kind of a mixed bag.)
It is worth noting that some pundits are now referring to "Black Fall" rather than "Black Friday" because so many major retailers are starting their big Holiday push long before the traditional Black Friday Sale days. I've seen a number of optimistic projections, especially for ecommerce (a little less so for B&M). But, as usual, who benefits will depend on a range of factors: we can expect that Amazon will dominate online sales, and newer businesses like Temu will also take share. So, while overall sales might be good, that doesn't mean all sellers will share in the uptick. Competition will be fierce.
As to changes I'm making? I've changed most of my listings (it would be all, but the bulk editor was balky) to same day handling (from one day handling) and 60 day free returns (from 30 day free returns.) I will continue to experiment a bit with PLS (now "General Ads) and continue to avoid any pay per click ads. I have been reviewing older listings and editing them, and I'll be running discount sales (real discounts, not "increase my price, then lower it" discounts). If I can get time, I'll try to drive more traffic through social media, and I am experimenting, in a very minor way, with multi channel selling. However, most of my effort will be spent on listing more inventory, in part, to take advantage of the Holiday season, and in part, because I really need to move stuff---space is at a premium. I'm going to simplify my store category structure so that I can more easily create sales by category and so that I can provide category links within listings, since ebay has pretty much ruined that as a listing feature supplied by ebay. I am also going to be encouraging more repeat buying/multiple item buying, and using coupons and newsletters in that effort (although how useful that will actually be, I'm not sure).
hartungcards
·1 year agoI, for one, will be looking forward to the end of summer heat & the Canadian Football League ending.
sakic92710
OP1 year agoCFL should end permanently or stop acting that it is a PRO league. lol
jg.mason
·1 year agoFall is my favorite season. I will definitely be motivated to have the a/c off and the doors and windows open all day and get out for more walks along the canal with my dog.
Sorry lost my train of thought, Ebay motivation. It will be the opposite for me, much less time will be spent on Ebay activities.
fbusoni
·1 year agoI'm retired and have never felt better or more motivated in my life. 😊
But if retirement is not an option... how about offering 24-hour shipping and paid returns (as we discussed in a parallel thread this morning)?
sakic92710
OP1 year agoUnfortunately, I cannot offer 24-hour shipping. The PO is almost an hour return hike for me & I cannot rely on the weather always cooperating in that short of a time frame. eBay dictates we pay for return shipping anyway so, what difference does it make if I offer it? eBay already overrules that business decision.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year ago@sakic92710 "eBay dictates we pay for return shipping anyway so, what difference does it make if I offer it?"
This is about buyer psychology. Tests have shown that buyers who see something like "30 day free returns" feel more confident in the seller, because they view this as proof that the seller stands behind his merchandise. And also, that they won't get bogged down scrapping with the seller. I've been using 30 day free returns for years---before ebay began pushing it---and my own experience is that it has not increased my returns and does seem to make buyers happy.
Of course, if I were selling other types of merchandise, it might not work as well. But it has never been a problem, and I recently extended it to 60 days, and don't foresee a problem with that either. I think some buyers will really appreciate seeing 60 days during the busy Holiday season, and so few sellers offer it, that it will likely help me stand out a bit.
One more thing: I belive surveys have also shown that a longer period can work in the sellers favor...with 60 days to return, buyers set aside the item ---plenty of time to get around to returning it---and then forget about it.
fbusoni
·1 year agoThe difference it makes -- along with offering paid returns -- is substantial. You talked about the benefits, and I added some thoughts here.
ed8108
·1 year agoIf online selling was providing you with a positive result for your investment of time & effort, you wouldn't suspect it on a downward spiral
Have hope & good luck
Some sellers are likely anticipating a Christmas buying frenzy this year