Just How Much Effort Do "You" Put Into Getting Steady Sales?

[getitright1234]

There a saying:  you get out what you put into it; however, I do not believe that necessarily applies to sellers on eBay.    Its getting real tough to maintain steady sales, so:  Just How Much Effort Do "You" Put Into Getting Steady Sales?

[ymeagainlord]

I'm sitting here trying to list but reading the boards instead.

[castlemagicmemories]

You're taking a break!

That sounds good!

[ymeagainlord]

Well I HAVE managed 5 new ones LOL

(6 if you count one I did for the daughter)

[castlemagicmemories]

Any progress is good progress!

Everything is counted!

Here you go~a little reward is in order here

Wait, how about one for each listing?  I owe you these then

[ted_200]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

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@getitright1234 wrote:

There a saying:  you get out what you put into it; however, I do not believe that necessarily applies to sellers on eBay.    Its getting real tough to maintain steady sales, so:  Just How Much Effort Do "You" Put Into Getting Steady Sales?

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I believe the OP means that the saying, you get out what you put into it, does not necessarily apply to sellers on Ebay, because there is the possibility that the effort  you put in may not be commensurate with the success that you will see, for reasons that are possibly beyond your control.

Just my interpretation.  OP, my apologies if I have that wrong.  

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I believe that is what they meant.

I get exactly as much out of it as I put into it.  If I list 5 listings this week, I get 5 sales next week.  If I list 25 listings this week, I get 25 sales next week. 

[uzumakey]

It doesn't seem to matter what effort I put into it, honestly. Thank goodness my eBay revenue is just fun money...trying to make steady sales on here is such an impossible task that I'd be out on the street if I relied on eBay to pay the bills.

Instead of trying to make steady sales, I try to present my items as best as possible and protect myself from scammers. This means I take good photos, and take as many as I possibly can of an item at all angles. I take thorough measurements and am sure to photograph and describe any flaw, no matter how minute. If an item is at all used I describe is as accurately as I can. If an item sells, I pack it very, very securely. Anything that has any possibility of getting crushed or broken is sent with plenty of padding in a box. All of my envelopes are reinforced so they aren't ripped in transit.

Basically I try to cover all my bases so a buyer can't say "but you didn't mention this flaw." Yeah, I totally did. Or "your item shattered in transit." I mean, we both know that's impossible unless it was run over by a tank. Etc etc etc.

Despite my best efforts, I do not get steady sales. The best I can hope for is an influx of 4-5 sales over the course of a week when I upload a bunch of new listings at once. eBay is not a business for me, but I do put in as much effort as I can given what I'm selling. Still, sales are so slow that I never count on them. I make good listings, upload, then it's down to just relisting ad nauseum. Things do sell once the right buyer is found, but it literally can take 1-2 years sometimes.

[siayan]

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@getitright1234 wrote:

There a saying:  you get out what you put into it; however, I do not believe that necessarily applies to sellers on eBay.    Its getting real tough to maintain steady sales, so:  Just How Much Effort Do "You" Put Into Getting Steady Sales?

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I can do 3-4K in sales a month on 30 hours a week. It takes a little bit of effort to keep buying and listing, selling and shipping. I have been busy doing other things for the last six months but June 1 I will start fresh. See if I can get it going again.

[where*you*crowin]

Not near as much as I used to.  Everyone has a breaking point when it comes to jumping through all the hoops with the reward being having the lights turned out on you for longer and longer periods of time.  It used to be a couple days. Then it was sometimes a week.  Lately it has been two weeks or more.

I have been selling on ebay for more years than I want to admit.  At this point I am more convinced than ever that they do not want small sellers on the site--and it took a long time to get to that realization.

No, I now spend more time elsewhere and it is starting to pay off. When sales on the other site start to equal those here, that is saying A LOT because sales here with so many more users should be blowing the other site away. 

[irinahat]

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@southern*sweet*tea wrote:

**My own personal experience, YMMV**

When I make an effort to add new listings, even if it's only two or three a day, my sales increase. What sells may not even be new items, it could be older items, but fresh activity (not relists or sell similars) does absolutely increase my sales.  This has been true for me for the past decade and a half.  The more fresh items I list, the more I sell. Months that I consistently list at least two or three fresh items daily are always good months.

This month has been slow for me because I've listed less than ten fresh items, and it shows. I've just been relisting and using sell similar.  It's garden season, and I'll be outside most of the day from now until October, so I fully expect things to be slow unless I unlazy myself and list some stuff. (which is what I really need to be doing now lol)

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I would just like to add onto what this user is saying.

I usually try to list anywhere from 10-20 new items PER DAY, and sometimes I'll even do 30-40 items per day if I had a massive garage sale haul or something. And yes, I notice that items will sell (even older items) if I keep listing new items daily vs just doing relists / sell similar.

In fact, over the past three days, I've been feeling under the weather so I haven't listed anything and I noticed an immediate drop in sales that is never there if I list new and fresh things daily. 

To really notice good sells, I encourage everyone to try to list at least ten items daily. It's not very hard if you have the inventory to do it. If not, I think five new items daily will still offer a steady increase in sales, but of course, the more you list, the more drastic it'll be.

I think I'm almost over my bug, so, once I feel a bit better later on today or tomorrow, I'll go back to listing anywhere from 10-20 new items daily, and that keeps my sales very steady, and gives me very good sales and profits.

[ymeagainlord]

Or is it more that the system rewards "activity" with "visibility"?

I was told that quite a while ago and it does seem to follow.

(this is aka making sure the hamsters are turning the wheels)

[siayan]

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@irinahat wrote:

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@southern*sweet*tea wrote:

**My own personal experience, YMMV**

When I make an effort to add new listings, even if it's only two or three a day, my sales increase. What sells may not even be new items, it could be older items, but fresh activity (not relists or sell similars) does absolutely increase my sales.  This has been true for me for the past decade and a half.  The more fresh items I list, the more I sell. Months that I consistently list at least two or three fresh items daily are always good months.

This month has been slow for me because I've listed less than ten fresh items, and it shows. I've just been relisting and using sell similar.  It's garden season, and I'll be outside most of the day from now until October, so I fully expect things to be slow unless I unlazy myself and list some stuff. (which is what I really need to be doing now lol)

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I would just like to add onto what this user is saying.

I usually try to list anywhere from 10-20 new items PER DAY, and sometimes I'll even do 30-40 items per day if I had a massive garage sale haul or something. And yes, I notice that items will sell (even older items) if I keep listing new items daily vs just doing relists / sell similar.

In fact, over the past three days, I've been feeling under the weather so I haven't listed anything and I noticed an immediate drop in sales that is never there if I list new and fresh things daily. 

To really notice good sells, I encourage everyone to try to list at least ten items daily. It's not very hard if you have the inventory to do it. If not, I think five new items daily will still offer a steady increase in sales, but of course, the more you list, the more drastic it'll be.

I think I'm almost over my bug, so, once I feel a bit better later on today or tomorrow, I'll go back to listing anywhere from 10-20 new items daily, and that keeps my sales very steady, and gives me very good sales and profits.

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Your point is spot on, new listings produce sales. The search likes action. I am taking a little different route this time. I had the larger store (1000 listings), I cut down to the small store and will work 250 BIN and 250 auctios per month.  It always seemed that only a small percentage of items listed moved and most sat dead. I will work items on 30 day cycles in and out and purge the chaff. See how this works.

[cadexample]

Does that effort improve your number of sales?

[allstar-comics]

I think all full time sellers feel this sooner or later.  I try my best to stay motivated to get more items listed or tweak listings when they are stale.  Its tough because when its slow you dont feel motivated but when its busy and you are motivated then the  time isnt there.  The thing not to  do is agonize when the power is off and waste time on things not in your control.  Its been very slow so I plan on cleaning/re inventorying and listing fresh items in the weeks ahead.  I tend to build up a lot of listings over the summer when its generally slower.  

[ted_200]

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@uzumakey wrote:
It doesn't seem to matter what effort I put into it, honestly. Thank goodness my eBay revenue is just fun money...trying to make steady sales on here is such an impossible task that I'd be out on the street if I relied on eBay to pay the bills.

Instead of trying to make steady sales, I try to present my items as best as possible and protect myself from scammers. This means I take good photos, and take as many as I possibly can of an item at all angles. I take thorough measurements and am sure to photograph and describe any flaw, no matter how minute. If an item is at all used I describe is as accurately as I can. If an item sells, I pack it very, very securely. Anything that has any possibility of getting crushed or broken is sent with plenty of padding in a box. All of my envelopes are reinforced so they aren't ripped in transit.

Basically I try to cover all my bases so a buyer can't say "but you didn't mention this flaw." Yeah, I totally did. Or "your item shattered in transit." I mean, we both know that's impossible unless it was run over by a tank. Etc etc etc.

Despite my best efforts, I do not get steady sales. The best I can hope for is an influx of 4-5 sales over the course of a week when I upload a bunch of new listings at once. eBay is not a business for me, but I do put in as much effort as I can given what I'm selling. Still, sales are so slow that I never count on them. I make good listings, upload, then it's down to just relisting ad nauseum. Things do sell once the right buyer is found, but it literally can take 1-2 years sometimes.

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Selling is about being on offense, not defense.

eBay is a trainwreck.

[postingid2017]

Here lately, none .  I just do not have the time anymore between caring for my father and being his in house "Uber" driver.  After running all day, driving, cooking, dr appoitments, I need a nap after I feed the cats. 

I really wish that I could do more, but right now it is just not feasible 😞

And at the rate that eBay is tighening the rope on Sellers, I just don't want to list here.