AAAARRRRGGGHHH! What Do I Need to do to Sell Clothes???

[yellow-snapdragon]

So I list multiple clothing items and CANNOT sell any clothes! I do research on SOLD eBay items of similar or SAME items that I have listed and I list for close to or LESS than sold items and I continue to watch my items sit and sometimes get watchers but NO sales! Please, anyone, help me figure out what is wrong? I used to sell a ton of clothes, when everything I listed sold. Now I'm lucky if I sell 1 of 20 clothing items. I've seen the responses that there are soooo many clothing items listed on eBay. But when I search for items the same as mine and see them as sold what am I missing??? Puzzled???

[this*old*attic]

Very competitive category 

Lots of the dealers are on social media

Specific brands drive the category more, now, than a “look”

[postingid7659]

eBay ruined search, driving buyers away.  

[yellow-snapdragon]

I totally get that clothes are a competitive area but many sellers are able to sell them. I'm too **bleep** old to try them on social media... I guess I'm screwed. Decent prices, quality items and perfect service ratings aren't enough anymore. Stinks! I raise my arms in surrender.

[ainpie-10]

Yes, I tried selling clothes but unless it’s designer brands that there are not many of that category is saturated.

[winterpalace25]

I'm actually doing better with men's clothes than women's clothes. I think men are looking online because they don't like to shop or try things on.

[coolections]

For every buyer of a dress there are 100 sellers selling dresses. It is a crapshoot when selling clothes.

[farmalljr]

You want the truth?

First, it's a competitive category. 

Secondly, it's because you have nothing special in your store, have few items listed, and you are not listing enough products EVERY DAY. 

It takes time and commitment to build a store. It will take you a year, at least, and serious investment in desirable products. You likely will not see many sales until you get in the 500 items range. 

[fashunu4eeuh · Accepted solution]

Hi, i took a look at your listings and found a solid effort put into them. Good pics, nice Item Specifics, strong descriptions, buyer-friendly return policy—all good. There is very little to critique, so i will throw out some thoughts for you to consider that might have some impact on sales.

With only 54 listings, it could be harder for buyers to find you. The more listings, the greater the chance for sales.

Many of the garments you have listed are off-season for US shoppers. Not a total barrier to sales as there are those needing resort wear, but something to consider.

Need more measurements. Bust, waist, hip, sleeve length, inseam, etc.

When pricing, be sure to use garment price with shipping costs included to compare with your competition. For example, your Danskin bike shorts are listed at $12.99 with $8.70 shipping for a total of $21.69. Shown on the same page as your listing is the competition selling the same thing for $16.99 with free shipping. So even if they clicked on your listing to buy, eBay may show them other alternatives. (PS-i would not show a pic of 4 bike shorts when only 2 are included in the transaction. Too many buyers don’t read.)

Pre-owned is a tougher sale during gift-giving time.

These two things could drop you in Search results: 3-day handling, poor SEO (like emojis and punctuation in titles). For a good explanation of SEO and how it affects traffic, see the link below.

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/listing-and-marketing/boost-traffic-with-seo.html

List more varied name brands. Victoria’s Secret, for example, has discontinued its clothing line which means that those garments are several seasons off from the latest fashion looks, possibly making them a harder sell. Some of the junior items had unfamiliar brands. Given that eBay is brand-centric, it is an important keyword and draw to a listing.

Good luck with your sales and hope things improve. Happy Thanksgiving!

[ddpro_43]

@farmalljr 

If only we could all be as awesome as you.

[maxine*j]

@fashunu4eeuh 

Excellent post.  All your comments and advice are thoughtful and useful. 

I would add that the use of stock photos in some of the listings is not a good idea, as people really do want to see exactly what they're buying.

=

[mr_lincoln]

@yellow-snapdragon   Run a Promoted Listing Campaign from now until December 31 and offer a 5% ad rate, ignore eBay's suggested rates, if you want stuff to move this should help ... with the basic question being, is there ANYTHING you have for sale right at this moment that you would let go for 5% less? 

If you can list more items (and I agree with others who have made the same comment) that would be great ... 54 items is a small number to help drive traffic with natural Search results.

Finding niches and strong categories is all part of a Seller's adventure on eBay ... to me the 80-20 rule even applies for internet sales ... 80% of your business will come from 20% of your sales or in this case items BUT, they have to get noticed.  Over half of what I have listed is at or over a year old ... yep, I also don't expect a good % of my items to sell BUT to me they lend credibility to the account by offering some diversity and interesting things for people to look at ... in time the long tail items get moved to other venues and replaced with other things ...

[mcbjb21520]

Hello.

I have the same complaint about clothing sales.  I appreciate the helpful comments other sellers have taken the time to put on this board. 

Question, though:  I just launched a 20% markdown on all men's and women's clothing. I have tried really high promoted listing campaigns for the clothing items that are aren't moving.  That doesn't seem to work either.  So I thought I'd give the markdown sale a try.  Do you have thoughts on higher promoted listings vs markdown sales? 

[princesspamela]

Wow, that was really helpful to me. Thank you!  If you have time for a quick look at my stuff, I’d appreciate any input ( I can take it🙂). My sells have dropped off almost completely for two months now but you have given me some things to consider such as the 3 day processing.  I can’t  do high volume but had been earning enough to help out the budget.  I started with books and those sold well enough then added things I like which is dishware. 
I tried to open the link you added about SEOs but couldn’t find the information. Also, someone mentioned you have to add merchandise  every day but I’m not sure how that changes my presence. I have a 100% rating but could use feedback to be higher. Maybe I should prompt them for feedback. 
Help and insight on how to be a better seller is appreciated. Thx

[fashunu4eeuh]

@princesspamela Hi Pamela, happy to take a look at your listings. Will do so later today. Sorry, about that link, eBay took it down. In its place, you might find some beneficial info in this link:

https://export.ebay.com/en/marketing/promote-listings/seo-promotion/

I just accidentally found your post today. Wanted to suggest you start a new thread and ask for help from the forum. Lots of experienced sellers ready to assist here.

Tacking onto the end of an old thread sometimes confuses responders, who post thinking the voice of record is the original poster, and they may completely miss your request at the tail end here. Just a thought!

Will take a look at your listings as soon as i can!