Invest In More Inventory??

[meme6253]

With Sales as Sluggish as they are, & The Condition Of The World, Is anyone still considering in Investing In Even More Inventory, Or Just Try Revamping The Old??, Myself I would consider more Inventory, But only if I can get it Extremely Cheap, But I am Revamping Many Listings With Fingers Crossed

[iart]

30 new listings a day is impressive. We can manage, maybe, average 50 a week, and that's a struggle.

Though I'd disagree with your comment on old listings. We usually try to sell rare or scarce items or lots of similar items. They have limited interest and are usually higher priced than what eBay bots think they should be. This means that eBay doesn't like to show them as often as new items and they get buried on searches.

Still, at least a couple times a week, we sell items that have been listed for 3 or more years.

---

@dirk12955 wrote:

Tagging on:

Revamping old or listing new?    I do both.    Listings get old,   They've either been seen or there's something 

wrong with them to keep them from being seen.

I've been on a buying spree.    IMO new listings bring new buyers and also bring renewed interest from past 

customers that have seen what I have over and over again. 

I've made 200-300 listings recently and try to make 30 new listings per day.

December was terrible and I made hardly any new listings.     January was up 30% from December.     February is up about 22% over January.    List,   List some more.

So buying and  listing has paid off.    I see no other reason for an increase in sales of 52% from December to February.

You can't sell from an empty shelf.    The listings get stale and boring after a while.

---

[chapeau-noir]

I make money when I buy, so no, if I can find good items, I'll purchase them.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

I enjoy finding inventory, so I've been getting more, but I do need to take a hiatus, as I'm drowning in it right now.   That said, I almost never revamp old listings & I almost never remove them permanently (though I 'rest' them at times).   

B/C I always have plentiful inventory, I find my time is always better spent on new listings, rather than revamping old ones.   In my category, everything always sells eventually & those 'old' listings sell on their own on a pretty regular basis.  Obviously YMMV.  But for me, listing new items drives sales of both old & new items. 

[wildpitchsports]

I haven't purchased anything in months. Haven't sold anything in months either but that's another story.

Too much going on right now to even dream of anything being stable.

[divwido]

I'm always more  inventory, more listings, more more more more.  But, that's me, that's my whacked out personality.   It's not right everyone.   But then, I have more stores than most people too, I feel the need to list non-stop every day.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

Not really about whether to buy more inventory or not, but saw this advice today on a Facebook group and thought it was timely and worth sharing:

"look at your inventory and list anything you have that's warm, fuzzy, comforting, or nostalgic. Tell your buyers they deserve to treat themselves. Make your description feel like a hug.

Last, consider stocking things like survival straws, prepper food, camping gear and how to books. These sell pretty steadily any time, but I suspect sales will be higher than usual for a while."

[collectible-lots]

Circumstances are different for everyone. But me personally, I stopped buying `extremely cheap' new products unless they are unique because they just weren't selling as fast as I'd like. Instead, I've dug into my inventory for things that didn't sell 20 years ago (common then, rarer now). Also, dropping prices on some existing listings (as long as they are still making money) has worked for me as well. And last, before I buy merchandise, even at 98% off, I check Ebay/other sites I list on to see what/if others are trying to sell it for and if it's even worth buying.

[evry1nositswindy]

I just got a lot more inventory.  I am deleting items that haven't sold in awhile and putting them in my booth at the monthly antique shows.  Ephemera always sells at these shows.  I'm not the only one who loves old books, paper, and history. 

[chapeau-noir]

---

@divwido wrote:

I'm always more  inventory, more listings, more more more more.  But, that's me, that's my whacked out personality.   It's not right everyone.   But then, I have more stores than most people too, I feel the need to list non-stop every day.

---

Nothing wrong with that!  I'd be still going full time bang bang if I had more storage and more inventory sources.  

I don't see doom and gloom, just kind of jumbled rather scrambling times right now.  Eh - I've been through worse.

[katzrul15]

---

@meme6253 wrote:

With Sales as Sluggish as they are, & The Condition Of The World, Is anyone still considering in Investing In Even More Inventory, Or Just Try Revamping The Old??, Myself I would consider more Inventory, But only if I can get it Extremely Cheap, But I am Revamping Many Listings With Fingers Crossed

---

@meme6253 

We just committed to 3 more pallets and inventory to use for fall/Holidays about 3 weeks ago.

Not a better time to buy - freight charges/gas charges are on the rise and so is the potential overall cost(s) of most items.

Good luck - to us, anytime is a great time to buy inventory at the "right" price.  Especially, if you have storage space to accomodate it.. All the best!

[sin-n-dex]

---

@meme6253 wrote:

With Sales as Sluggish as they are, & The Condition Of The World, Is anyone still considering in Investing In Even More Inventory, Or Just Try Revamping The Old??, Myself I would consider more Inventory, But only if I can get it Extremely Cheap, But I am Revamping Many Listings With Fingers Crossed

---

I did some big inventory purchasing around November-December. Mainly I purchased postcards, which are not a very big investment. I got around 1200 postcards from a few vendors, some were as inexpensive as 20 cents each, my expensive postcards might have cost $1 each.

This will keep me very busy for the next four months. I also have six stamp albums plus some other purchased lots from last year to work on. So I don't need to buy anything any time soon.

I have other priorities right now and concerns about inflation and rising costs. So I don't think buying more inventory when I don't need inventory is prudent. Plus if I need more stuff, the brick and mortar store has boxes of junk all over the shop with stuff I can take if I want to try and sell it. But I like to buy inventory to have my own stuff that I keep 100% of, instead of the commission I make selling theirs.

C.

[katzrul15]

@meme6253 

Took a look at the items you have up - I would think based on many of your items, that as we inch closer to Easter and Spring, you should see some of your sales return to a more steady pace.

I do agree though - it is often said a Seller makes their money, when they acquire the product - I would not be paying a premium for the items you are selling ~ not unless waiting for your price is not a problem.  We sold 2 items yesterday that had been listed over 185 days.  Not certain if "waiting" for your price is viable for you, etc.

But unless you have a desire to wind down on here, securing inventory, at the "right" price, is something you certainly should always be on the look-out for.  Good luck!  Hopefully, better/more consistent sales for everyone soon!

[simply-the-best-for-you]

---

@divwido wrote:

I'm always more  inventory, more listings, more more more more.  But, that's me, that's my whacked out personality.   It's not right everyone.   But then, I have more stores than most people too, I feel the need to list non-stop every day.

---

There are always external factors to consider, both within our control & out of it, BUT that strategy makes total sense as I think it was you who said in another post, sales is a numbers game.  That has always been true & will always be true.  

[mr_lincoln]

@meme6253   Still moving forward with plans to continue to grow sales ... I seldom ship internationally.

Mr. L

[inhawaii]

The more I can list, the more I'll sell, the more I'll make.