Aye! I am resident in China, use 3 warehouses, 3 different 3PLs - 2 in USA (Dallas and Florida) and 1 in Shenzhen, China. Most of my inventories are however in Shenzhen, China although I make sure to correctly represent the item location.
I only mentioned the issue about accurately representing item location because it is a very sore point around here (Chinese sellers listing US locations, but shipping from China). Many buyers are very upset that it happens.
Would using multiple item locations impact sales or ranking negatively?
I'm a small seller, don't worry about search ranking, and have never looked into it. If I had to guess, I would say no.
I always declare inventory lower than 3 although I have more than 50 of them in each warehouse, this is done to avoid overselling as I use others outlets for selling off inventories in USA. In a case I oversell an SKU (though the chances of this happening is below 0.001%), will shipping from China impact ranking or cause troubles?
Inventory < 3 is a good approach to minimize/reduce out of stock issues if you are selling in multiple channels.
Yes, shipping from China for an out of stock item listed as being in the USA will cause troubles. It is technically an eBay violation (accurately represent item location), but the problem will be upset buyers who don't receive a USP tracking number and instead receive a China Post, SpeedPak, or DHL tracking number, and a longer delivery time. You will get negative feedback from some, and that could impact future sales as a result
(if I saw multiple negative feedbacks indicating that seller was claiming item in USA and shipping from China I would close the page and purchase from another seller.)
Does location affect sales? if yes, which warehouse would you recommend I stock up? My guess is USA.
I believe so. I search US only, and don't buy from directly China even if a listing slips through the US only filter through misrepresentation. I check feedback, seller location, and everything I can to be sure I know my seller. Many other experienced buyers also do so. Newbie buyers don't, many end up surprised and unhappy, and newbie buyers have less reservations about leaving negative feedback immediately or opening a return case.
So, having said that, I would recommend selling out of a US warehouse.
I am an amateur here on eBay and will appreciate any advice, suggestions or recommendations?
I've been a buyer here for 17 years and a seller for 14 years, but I'm the wrong person to ask. About the only advice I can give is be honest, accurately describe your items, don't try to look for eBay loopholes or game the system, be aware that many US buyers do not like to purchase from outside the USA, and leverage the US warehouse locations as much as you can.
You might do better asking search ranking and item location type questions on the Selling board.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/bd-p/selling-db
Back to the original reason for your post here:
Did you solve the problem with visibility of your items in search and in your store?
