How to gain a follower base/is it something worth focusing on? All advice appreciated.

[amamon-8948]

I stumbled upon some Q&A, and did some "price research" - which led me further down the rabbithole and I began to find my interest very piqued in viewing other buyers that sold similar items for 2-5x what I have. This is also when I noticed for the first time that some buyers have a number of followers listed on their page.

Is this the key I never knew about?

What is the best way to gain a follower base? Is it similar at all to Posh? Or is is even all that important?

While we're here:

• Do you recommend using the 'Promoted Listings' features?
• Will becoming a "Top-Rated Seller" change the game? Or is it just another trivial badge of honor?
• How soon/often do you guys make offers to watchers? Or do you?

Any advice/insight/tips is much appreciated!

Thank you in advance 🙂

[jennispear-0]

I know exactly what you are talking about when it comes to doing research for the item you are going to sell.  After I do the research for the item I am selling, I usually price the item somewhere in the middle.  If the item is in very good condition, I will list it for a higher price.  I like to list my items as "buy it now" items and then when someone watches your item, you can send them an offer if they are interested, or you can always give them the choice of buy it now or best offer.   I do not recommend using the promote listing feature because it can be costly, especially if you have a lot of items to list.  With regard to "Top-Rated Seller", it may change the game if you ship on time, sell lots of items and have no negative feedback.  However, since Ebay constantly reviews your account, you can quickly earn top rated status if you are meeting their standards.  You can also go from top rated status to above standard status quickly if you do not perform to Ebay's standards.    When it comes to followers, you can gain them fast if you provide good customer service, ship timely, leave feedback and keep the lines of communication open.   Lastly, try not to get discouraged if someone leaves you negative feedback.  This was a hard one for me.  Some people are just difficult not matter what you do.  At least  now you can ask them to change the negative feedback.  

[onlinecentral]

Has anyone experimented with Promoted Listings? 08-07-2020
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Has-anyone-experimented-with-Promoted-Listings/td-p/31124698/

[kensgiftshop]

---

@amamon-8948 wrote:

• Do you recommend using the 'Promoted Listings' features?

That's a choice you'll have to make. I tried PL a few years ago and didn't notice much difference.

• How soon/often do you guys make offers to watchers? Or do you?

I don't do offers.

---

[luckythewinner]

This is also when I noticed for the first time that some buyers have a number of followers listed on their page. Is this the key I never knew about?

It seems common sense that having more followers is probably better than having less followers. But I have no idea whether there is any effective way to "attract" more followers - because after all, they are the ones who have to choose to click the button. 

[doubledz-a2z]

Somehow I just knew that you would be listing clothes.   Over saturated catagory with tendancy for lots of returns.    I was a flea market seller before ebay back in 1997 and one thing holds true.   XS S/P size gals have LOTS OF CHOICES.    Focus on the 3x or 4x and your sales will be better.    Spending extra money on PL is a waste.   Your promoted listing may only be one or two items apart.   

[amawhi_8835]

The community is so full now. If you were back in 2014 and had good content, it would be easier for you to gain followers. These days nobody cares if you upload good or bad content, and gain 10-20 followers per moth doesn't make any difference...Back in 2016 when I started taking  seriously i uploaded quite often good travel content and by using the correct hashtags etc. my account went pretty good in gaining new followers. The last 2 years and after so many updates on algorithm and so many new users that also want to gain followers, my posts, despite they are 500% better than older ones don't take so much impressions!

The only thing you can do is collaborate with new people so their audience will see your work, use relative hashtags and interact with people you may or may not know.

Good content will take you nowhere! www.networthplanet.com 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

You have a store. I would add custom store categories to your store (or at least use ebay categories). Right now, if I go to your store and look in categories, you have one category: "other". Not helpful.

Just glancing at your store, you appear to sell primarily womens clothing. Are followers a good thing? Sure. But there are many, many clothing sellers on ebay. Ask yourself, what makes MY store stand out? WHY would a buyer want to follow me rather than another seller? The basic idea is you want followers to become repeat customers. Give them some reasons to do that.

Promoted Listings. Some people swear by them, some swear at them. Experiment with them, to see if they can work for you.

Top Rated Seller: There are perks with TRS, such as an FVF discount and discount on ebay shipping labels. Is it a game changer in terms of increasing the number of sales you make? I don't think so. You aren't likely to , say, double your sales because you are a TRS. But, for me, I've been a TRS for years, I've never had a problem maintaining the status, and it's worth it for the perks if nothing else. And it certainly isn't going to hurt your sales.

Seller Initiated Offers. I have no set rules about sending them. I have low expectations, in part because with what I sell, I know many of my watchers are probably just other sellers doing price research---they aren't really interested in buying...but I do get some sales from doing it, and it takes very little time, so I'll continue to send them out. 

We're all different. What works for me might not work for you (and visa versa). Try experimenting with this stuff. ...it's the only way you'll figure out what works for YOU.