Items that do not sell. What to do?

[ted$95]

I have some items that just do not seem to sell. I have lowered the price, promoted the item, did a markdown with the item, changed to free shipping if it already was not offered with free shipping. I have then moved to auction as low as 99 cents. Any suggestions from other sellers? Am I missing something? These are items that are new with and without tags. I figure I can either put them away for a bit and try again, or just make a donation and move on? What strategies are others using?

[coolections]

---

@ted$95 wrote:

I have some items that just do not seem to sell. I figure I can either put them away for a bit and try again, or just make a donation and move on? What strategies are others using?

---

I use both. Some I list later and the rest gets donated. No reason to keep listing if they did not sell with a price that cost you money.

[ted$95]

Are the donations a tax right off for tax purposes?

[sharingtheland]

---

@ted$95 wrote:
Are the donations a tax right off for tax purposes?

---

Yes, donations to recognized organizations and charities can be used as deductions on your taxes.   The IRS has tables of amounts you can use; $1 for a shirt, etc (I made that number up without looking at irs.gov). 

If you are donating and then deducting items you have put in inventory on your Schedule C, it gets trickier.

[fashunu4eeuh]

---

@ted$95 wrote:
Are the donations a tax right off for tax purposes?

---

The answer is yes, under usual circumstances, donated goods can be figured into charitable deductions. Below is a link with more info:

https://www.amazinggoodwill.com/donating/IRS-guidelines

[kensgiftshop · Accepted solution]

---

@ted$95 wrote:

I have some items that just do not seem to sell.

---

How long have you had them listed?

Sometimes it takes awhile to find the right buyer.

[18704d]

Sometimes....

wait a few weeks

Then Raise the price in another listing.

Lynn

[ted$95]

Some things, especially the good quality items have been up to a year on and off or on a rotating basis every other month.

[turquoisetulips]

---

@ted$95 wrote:

I have some items that just do not seem to sell. I have lowered the price, promoted the item, did a markdown with the item, changed to free shipping if it already was not offered with free shipping. I have then moved to auction as low as 99 cents. Any suggestions from other sellers? Am I missing something? These are items that are new with and without tags. I figure I can either put them away for a bit and try again, or just make a donation and move on? What strategies are others using?

---

I've done everything you're doing and I made one whole sale all week . Even  some of my previous best sellers aren't even getting any views . I've always seen an increase in sales on Friday's when  lot of people get paid ,, but not tonight . 😞 - I'm out of ideas . The only ray of sunshine I can give is it took three years to sell the very first purse clip I ever made . It didn't look like it would ever sell ,, but I believed in it so  kept relisting . Finally I got a buyer . Some things take time  but if you can wait on it ,,   is another story . Tulips 

[femmefan1946]

@turquoisetulips 

Even some of my previous best sellers aren't even getting any views .

Sometimes a product just gets stale and is no longer fashionable.

Scrunchies, for example,  were big in the 90s then disappeared -- although they are making a comeback in 2019, but mostly for men.

I've always seen an increase in sales on Friday's when lot of people get paid

I have my doubts about that being the reason.

How many people get paid weekly? Or always on Friday? My last employer paid us every fourteen days by direct deposit, but even there a given worker's paycheque might arrive on any given day of the week. (ie- my deposits might be on Thursdays and the guy at the next desk get hers on Tuesday.)

Perhaps they are shopping on Friday because there's nothing much on TV on Friday nights.

With Paypal backed by a credit card, there is no reason not to buy when you are shopping.

My biggest days tend to be Tuesday and Wednesday.

YMMV.

[drive-faster]

I'd rather sell a video of me running a belt sander across my face than spend months or years dealing with no sale inventory.

Follow the path of big retailers who dump it in the clearance bin and if no one buys it there dump it in the dumpster. Spend your time and energy, devote your space,  to something profitable.

I also have trouble letting no sale junk go. I bought it, I cleaned it, maybe I fixed it, I believed in it, I still believe in it. Someone should want it.

But if you keep hanging on to every item the instant sale stuff goes away while the no sale stuff piles up. And eventually your making no money running your listings.

[disneyshopper]

I sell in a niche market, so the right buyer has to come along.  I list fixed price, and would rotate items as they ended relisting in a couple of weeks.  Now that all fixed priced listings are GTC, I'll have to move more items to auction style.

[femmefan1946]

@disneyshopper 

Pretty much what I do, and I think it works against us.

I do review my About to Close items and will End those which are not performing.

Cassini gives us a bump in Search for About to Close, and that includes GTC items who reach the end of the 30 day GTC period.

But we don't get the Newly Listed bump of 30 days and manual relist items.

Another seller suggested running 10 day auctions with a Buy It Now option but that calls either for using fewer listings than we have available at any given time (ie- only 36listings when 50 are available)  and realizing that most sellers believe the more items you have listed the more sales you will have, or paying for the BIN if you have a Store.

[ms.rodriguez*]

Or you can list a bunch to start late at night, mark your calender and close them before they relist.  

[dhbookds]

Have you tried make an offer?