First post in community..multiple questions

[verasplace]

HI ALL...

New to posting, was a silent buyer/off and on seller for a few years. I am an ex engineer and currently a stay at home mommy for 2 toddlers.  I started selling on ebay because I wanted to feel like I am doing something for me and to convince myself that I have a "job" that I can do at my own time (when it exists that is). Sales have not been good. So I started thinking of buying a new high end camera instead of my smart phone camera.  I keep thinking there has to be an algorithem to this ebay. I am really wanting to reach a steady sales of 10 items a day. Whats the secret?. I just cant imagine that over 150 million users/buyers on ebay and my items are only getting 5 views in a month time....what am I missing?..advice needed here...really want to feel more successful doing this and want steady sales. Is there a magic number of items to list in order to get more sales?...

Thanks in advance.

[dhbookds]

guesstimating the weight

something everyone of us did in the beginning...........and eventually took a real bath doing it.

Put some of the $ for that camera into a postage scale.....you can get a new one for $20 or so..........

[zzydny]

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@dhbookds wrote:

guesstimating the weight

something everyone of us did in the beginning...........and eventually took a real bath doing it.

Put some of the $ for that camera into a postage scale.....you can get a new one for $20 or so..........

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Great advice.  Having a scale can save the day (not to mention the money in your pocket).

[verasplace]

First of all. What I am asking are simple statistics..how much to post to sell 10 items a day...

Second of all.YES..I really do think people help each other. There is enough business in the world to go around and the more you share the more you benefit and benefit others (believe it or not , you also benefit when you help others!!).  How many businesses out there keep to themselves?..Business is all about networking and sharing and growing 

[atikovi]

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@verasplace wrote:

First of all. What I am asking are simple statistics..how much to post to sell 10 items a day...

Second of all.YES..I really do think people help each other. There is enough business in the world to go around and the more you share the more you benefit and benefit others (believe it or not , you also benefit when you help others!!).  How many businesses out there keep to themselves?..Business is all about networking and sharing and growing 

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There are so many variables that giving an exact answer is impossible. Like I said, if you work hard and spend some time at it you can make money. But free advice is worth just what you paid for it. Don't expect to get detailed advice on what product to sell or how to price it, as it can take years for sellers to learn the fine details of profitable sales, and nobody will give that info out for nothing. Heck, I'd like to know that too.

[verasplace]

I wasnt explaining my point to try to get an answer from you 🙂 Just trying to help YOU out actually so you can start searching and asking and benefiting. Because yes people DO help eachother.

[dhbookds]

..how much to post to sell 10 items a day...

I suggest you assess your goals.  Selling 10 a day is certainly possible......if you post most at 99c....... and some sellers do that, with say cards, obviously their profits are alot less than many would want.   If, filling time is your goal (and there's nothing wrong with that as long as you realize what you are doing).....selling small items cheaply is the best way to go.... the only way to find out how many to source/list is trial and error.   With small margins, though, it's VERY important to keep good books, or you can slide into losses quickly. 

[*eponymous*]

If you want to use it, there's a spell-checker.  Click the ABC just above the text box.

[zzydny]

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@*eponymous* wrote:

If you want to use it, there's a spell-checker.  Click the ABC just above the text box.

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Thanksl that's a kind suggestion but I'd rather not.  If I keep working with the skills I have, I can hope to maintain and even improve them.  If I use spell-check, then that's an excuse for me to be lazy and it is likely to make matters worse.  Sometimes working harder is working smarter. 

[mr_lincoln]

@*eponymous*

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@*eponymous* wrote:

If you want to use it, there's a spell-checker.  Click the ABC just above the text box.

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No kidding ... all the posts I've done and never knew that ... I've been butchering words like a side of beef ... knoe wat I meen?

[rustictrollop]

A digital postal scale, same as the one used in my postal office, saved my sanity and took ALL the guesswork out of shipping (okay, except for once I've shipped and have to guess/hope that it gets to it's destination).    All the big box office stores in my area sell them.  Some pricier than others, but in the long run, money saved on my bottom line.  My husband bought it for my birthday as a gift to support my eBay endeavours  (I'm a practical gal who doesn't need baubles or useletss trinkets as gifts).  

As well, haunt your local retail stores on the days they unpack stock and have hundreds of sturdy empty boxes  FREE to take.   My local dollar store and drug store unpack twice a week, and I'm there to scoop up as much as I can carry, included oversized 'franken' boxes that can be broken down and turned into custom boxes.  Everyone who knows I sell on here, brings over clean packing materials when they find them, so sometimes I'll open the garage and find a treasure trove of packing supplies from the recycling fairies.  FREE stuff helps keep costs way down.

[oaklandmaryland]

Been selling for 20 years now and I have gone through cheap and expensive cameras and found it really didn't make a difference so I went back to using my $100 Kodak. I found that 5 things make a difference. 1 is that your computer has a good photo editing program. I use a Mac and it is awesome. Editing on a camera takes far too long as on the computer you can zoom through a big batch of photos. Next is a great light kit. I have a 2 piece studio light kit where the 2 lights are on their own pedestals and each has 6 lights. It runs about $100 from Amazon. Finally make a great title and make sure to include measurements in the description and every time you relist an item change the title a little bit so that it does no go to the bottom of the Ebay search list. This makes the item considered to be a new listing.
Of course I forgot to mention the most important of all-consider each buyer as the most important one if the item is $1 or $100, be extremely courteous and honest.

[femmefan1946]

I just cant imagine that over 150 million users/buyers on ebay and my items are only getting 5 views in a month time....what am I missing?

There are also 140 million listings every day.

Just do the math.

In Search, the new seller is reputed to get a bump for about a month, but after that the more sales you have the more views (and sales) you will get.

EBay supports the sellers who are making the most money for them.

See photos for measurements

NO!

Most of your buyers are shopping on phones.

If you have time to take a photo with a measuring tape, you have time to type those measurements in.

Describe as if you have no pictures, picture as if you have no words.

And noone shops by SKU number.

Are you sure you want to ship to Russia?

[femmefan1946]

and I was shocked with that feedback. Requested that they ship back and I would pay for return shipping but they didnt respond.

You can Respond to feedback.

"Offer to refund on return ignored." for example.

Any Responses should be used very carefully because the only ones who will read them are your future customers.

Calm and factual is the way to go.

[femmefan1946]

I was doing calculated mail priority and guesstimating the weight.

AAAK!

Run to the Canadian Tire (or whatever) and get a Starfrit digital scale. They're regularly priced at $20Cdn and often on sale.

You will be totally messed up estimating.

Canada Post changes rates on the centimetre and gram. Dunno what goes with USPS, but it's a tight difference.

I was told by 3 sources yesterday that free shipping drive sales

Yes.

Because it is easier for your phone shopper.

BUT

Free Shipping means the shipping is included in the asking price.

Which is cheapest?

$11 jeans with $10 shipping?

$21 jeans with Free Shipping?

Which total cos is easier for the customer to see at a glance?

[partial*eclipse]

OP is in the US, where domestic postage is priced per ounce for First Class up to 1 pound, and by the full pound for weights of 1 pound or more.

There are many places to get a good scale, including right here on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/My-Weigh-UltraShip-35-Digital-Scale-noAC-noSS-Postal-Shipping-Postage-Bench...?

When you charge a flat price (including zero) for a zoned service such as Priority Mail, you inevitably undercharge some buyers and/or overcharge others.