Help! Nothing I have up is selling!!

[thefieryfairy]

So, this year I decided to reopen shop after Ebay wiped all of my listings from 2018 that had ended. Now, I sell use sheet music and books. I am NOT an expert seller and just a beginner. But I've had this Ebay account for 16 months and only sold maybe 5 or 6 items? This year, 0 items? And I know I'm not perfect at this, but it seems so slow and I have many items at a base price where with fees, I would make almost nothing if I went lower. 

I donno if it's me, but nothing's selling and I am up to 'here' with it.

Help me, please!!

Thanks.

[southern*sweet*tea]

---

@robot-hands wrote:

---

 Cookbooks here self replicate or something. I don't think they can throw them out fast enough.

Yep, they do if they're from the 1980s or later. Try to find some from the 1930s or 1940s in GOOD condition that aren't covered in food stains. Not easy to do.  If you do find them, they sell - not for huge money, but for a decent price, and it's safe money.  People want these for their collections, not to read and return.

I wouldn't touch a mass market produced book of any sort now, although I have sold a few in the past for a few bucks each.

[gracieallen01]

Old Junior League cookbooks used to sell well. 

[had2092]

Your prices are high, your photo quality is low, you're selling unpopular items, using parentheses makes some searches reject you

[craftysandy1961]

When I started off on ebay years ago, I went the books route.  I love books and I could find children's books at garage sales galore.  I figured if I could buy them for 10 cents each or so, then group then in groups of 10 (by age group, or topic) for about $10 (plus cheap shipping because media rate), I could make some money. And I did.  But the storage and shipping was too much.  It took over too much space and was a pain to ship because the boxes got heavy when I combined shipping. 

If storage is an issue, then I would look for light and easily shipped items. that's what I do now.  No breakables (or rarely).  I am into crafting, so that is a natural area for me to explore, but you need to find an area that interests you.  Be sure to look at sold listings though because people can list things at whatever price they want. What interests you as a seller is what they actually sold for.

[monster-deals]

Back 10-15 years ago any book was a good book to sell.

Technology like PDA scanners and book scouting software and re-pricing macros let even the most illiterate among us sell books. Now you don't have to know anything about books to make 50 cents, it's just a numbers game. Mega sellers buy shipping containers of them for peanuts and they don't care what is in there. 

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

---

@southern*sweet*tea wrote:

---

@robot-hands wrote:

---

 Cookbooks here self replicate or something. I don't think they can throw them out fast enough.

Yep, they do if they're from the 1980s or later. Try to find some from the 1930s or 1940s in GOOD condition that aren't covered in food stains. Not easy to do.  If you do find them, they sell - not for huge money, but for a decent price, and it's safe money.  People want these for their collections, not to read and return.

I wouldn't touch a mass market produced book of any sort now, although I have sold a few in the past for a few bucks each.

---

The ones covered in stains are the ones that were used (a LOT) which means they have good recipes in there = )

That's my criteria for my personal collection at least lol

[lovefindingtreasures2]

Sadly, it is not just you. I can barely give things away here now, I know, I tried it with .99c auctions and other moves.

I have more than one account on here, different items, not selling.

I truly hope it gets better for everyone, but I don't believe anymore.

[ohnojoey]

---

@fashunu4eeuh wrote:

---

@thefieryfairy wrote:
Thanks for the feedback. Any thoughts on what I can sell? I don't know clothing or tech well enough to sell it. I have been wanting to branch into a different niche, but I donno how or what. Please, help?

---

There is a website called WatchCount.com  that shows the hot selling items on eBay. That might help give you some ideas of what to sell. I would stay away from items you are not well versed in, but hone in on what you do know. Build on your strengths. 

---

Not that that site doesn't have merit, it does, and it can give ideas for what to sell, but some very common items listed there have tens of thousands of watchers, which I found odd, and I wondered why, then I found many websites selling watchers...so I wondered again?

For instance, A common flashlight, 11,000 watchers! a very common DVD might have 1500 watchers, 26,000 watchers for a cheap cell phone battery charger? Bottle of vinegar, 12,000 watchers! 15,000 watchers for a pair of $4 tights!  $9 Cotton bed sheets, 32,000 watchers! I don't think so! 

"You Can Buy eBay Watchers - But Should You? "

http://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2015/1/1420132915.html

[grumpus_otter]

Fairy, do you know about media mail?  That can be used for printed matter like you are selling and can lower your shipping costs significantly.   It's not fast, but you can offer that as a "free" option to sellers, and then offer that they can pay if they want faster shipping.  That could help keep your item price down.

When you list an item, under shipping, there's a thing that says "add another option" and then you can enter the price for expedited or first class.

[sakic92710]

eBay is only useful on occasion.  Last week was a decent week but, it's a rarity.  In the last 4 days, I've only sold on 1 of them.  5 sales in 5 days.  I've never seen it as bad as you have had it here.  My worst time was 7+ days without.  People want something for nothing.  It's only getting worse.  Sorry to sound like a downer but, eBay is depressing most of the time.  This site has been very inconsistent & unreliable if you hope to make a living here.  Just trying to be honest.  Some stuff can sell immediately & for good money.  Figuring out what that will be is a real task.  It is such a random system.   Good luck to all.    🙂

[njrtsr]

Unless you're on a posting account I only see a few items up for sale. In order to sell things FAST (like, within a few months) you need to sell either very collectible items that will attract lots of attention, or you need to price at the bottom of the market. Even pricing at the bottom of the market, undesirable books are still a tough sell.

Either way, you're still not going to have many sales with only 18 items listed. Want to sell more? List more!

[njrtsr]

---

@had2092 wrote:

Your prices are high, your photo quality is low, you're selling unpopular items, using parentheses makes some searches reject you

---

Absolutely correct.

[weschurch]

And then you have the biggest problem, Ebay doesn't have the buyers it once did

[southern*sweet*tea]

---

@weschurch wrote:

And then you have the biggest problem, Ebay doesn't have the buyers it once did

---

Ebay has far more buyers than it once had.

Problem is, it also has far more sellers than it once had. More sellers = less sales for everyone, irregardless of the buyer count.

[weschurch]

This couldn't be more wrong. It may NUMBER WISE have more sellers, because the cumulative numbers are always increasing but ACTIVE USERS is a whole different ballgame. I once had a list in of favorite sellers. The list was over 180 sellers. I searched the other day just for fun and you no how many are still activreely selling? 4! 4 out of 180. The sellers have left and took the unique vibrant inventory with them, buyers then gave up on Ebay because all they had left to find were Big Box sellers, China garbage and wanna-be Ebay business owners who jack up prices to profit and cover the never ending Ebay charges. 

Its been a sinking ship for years. While other E-Commerce sites flourish, Ebay  constantly struggles.  I have all but given up buying here because the inventory is just so boring and I go to other sites to find Big-Box stuff. To be honest I don't have a single family member or friend that buys or sells on Ebay. In the 2000'S they all did.