eBay

copper.boom · ‎07-04-2017

Anybody else here tired of reading about slow sales? Since we can't control eBay's systems or their search engine, let's post about what we CAN do as sellers to have a better and more profitable sales experience. Even if they are things we all know about and incorporate into our regular business model, a little reminder never hurt anyone. Maybe in the process some of us can pick up new tips.

- Do regular research on your category(ies) to see if there are any new trends in price, shipping or demand.

- Do regular research on competitive pricing based on item condition and availability. Look at solds, not just actives, and do research across the 'net, not solely on eBay.

- If you are stuck with your category then add some variety to your inventory. You may even discover a new category you love & do well with in the process!

- If you have old, stale inventory that's just not moving experiment with different listing types (auction vs BIN), utilize markdown and promotional tools if you have a store subscription, and bundle things into lots. If you have to, sell at a break-even price just to move old items and use the funds towards fresh inventory (that you have hopefully researched before acquiring).

- Do a refresh of your listings from photos to description to keywords in your title.

Your turn! Share a tip if you've got one and let's encourage and motivate each other. What can I say? I'm having a Polyanna moment.

Anonymous · ‎07-05-2017

@yuzuha wrote:
- Diversify, diversify, diversify. If you only sell in one niche, you're completely at the mercy of the market for that particular niche, which can be a disaster for you if it ends up tanking.

- Do constant research on prices to make sure yours are in line with the going prices for what you're selling. We've all seen them-- those items that are priced so ludicrously high that they make you wonder if the seller has bothered to look at what that item actually sells for lately. You don't want to be that person.

- Don't make the mistake of purchasing large amounts of a particular item for inventory unless you're 100% certain that you'll be able to sell it all. You don't want to get stuck with a pile of duds that you have to practically give away.

- If you have something that you've had listed for a long time with no sales, give it a "vacation" for a while. Take it down and don't relist it for a few weeks to a month. That will make it look new and fresh when you finally do relist it and (in my experience) can often lead to sales.

- DON'T use GTC for anything other than multi-quantity listings that get regular sales because otherwise it will hurt you, not help. The longer a listing goes without a sale, the further down it sinks in Best Match search, which is the exact opposite of what you want. Use 30-day fixed price and then just relist/sell similar when it ends to give it that "New Listing" search boost-- I find that the majority of my sales happen either right before an item ends or right after I relist it.

I like those tips, Yuzuha! Especially the one about GTC listings. All my listings are GTC, and I do have quite a number of them that are oldies that haven't sold in a while. They're one of a kind items. I'll definitely give that 30-day fixed price / relist tip a try!

yuzuha · ‎07-05-2017

@Anonymous wrote:
I like those tips, Yuzuha! Especially the one about GTC listings. All my listings are GTC, and I do have quite a number of them that are oldies that haven't sold in a while. They're one of a kind items. I'll definitely give that 30-day fixed price / relist tip a try!

I know that personally when I used GTC instead of fixed price, my views/sales on those items just fell off a cliff after a while-- items that had previously been getting fairly steady views had the views slow to a trickle. So I ended them all and did sell similar to create 30-day fixed price listings after seeing that given as a tip by some of the boardies here and boom, they started getting views/sales again. I've never gone back to GTC after that.

tunicaslot · ‎07-06-2017

I ended up with a Valentino with a Maple heart tag - I could have sold it for over $1,000 - did I no - as I thought it would go up in price - ended up getting $100 for it. I learned my lesson!

siayan · ‎07-06-2017

@yuzuha wrote:

- DON'T use GTC for anything other than multi-quantity listings that get regular sales because otherwise it will hurt you, not help. The longer a listing goes without a sale, the further down it sinks in Best Match search, which is the exact opposite of what you want. Use 30-day fixed price and then just relist/sell similar when it ends to give it that "New Listing" search boost-- I find that the majority of my sales happen either right before an item ends or right after I relist it.

I always use GTC simply because I have so much stuff to list I don't want to mess with old listings for a while. When I sell something it always seems I sell an old listing or two with it. You are probably right that I should not use it,

Some posted a while back that they used to have a store with 1000 items and the closed it and they do better keeping 100 listing and constantly tweak, let expire. relist and add new stuff. I am leaning in that direction. I had 1000 listings and a few months ago dumped them and started over. Sales were better after I did that. Now I am slowly going back up. I think eBAy and their search encourage low listing numbers and high sales activity, or high sales ratio.

Another thing I have been toying with but haven't really done anything with is log out and do a seller search. It comes up best match. The bottom listings are the dogs. I have been thinking of pulling the bottom 5% every week.

____________________________________________________________________
Prov 20:14 It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.

retrose1 · ‎07-06-2017

@tunicaslot wrote:
I ended up with a Valentino with a Maple heart tag - I could have sold it for over $1,000 - did I no - as I thought it would go up in price - ended up getting $100 for it. I learned my lesson!

Back when the craze was at it's highest, I walked into McDonalds and there must have been a couple hundred people in there standing around. When one of the cashiers asked if they could help me, I asked how long was I going to have to wait for food and he told me they were waiting for the teeny beanies that were to be released at noon. So I walked up and ordered my food and they asked if I wanted to buy a beanie. They had a cat so I bought it and when I got it I pulled the tag off the ear and there was an audible gasp from the crowd.

Now I make Beanie art with them. All it takes is imagination and maybe 50 cents for the materials as beanies are cheap. I occasionally gut them and make things, like I killed a bear and made a coat and trophy for a Ken doll, or will create new origins for them, like a hilarious old school definition for the crab.

I occasionally list them on ebay. They don't do well.

(*Bleep*)

timemachine777 · ‎07-06-2017

@tunicaslot wrote:
I ended up with a Valentino with a Maple heart tag - I could have sold it for over $1,000 - did I no - as I thought it would go up in price - ended up getting $100 for it. I learned my lesson!

I have no clue what any of the ones I have are worth. It just seems like lately I'm getting more an more in my lots. I do see 134,000 listed and about 33,000 sold, which means it's a buyers market. I also noticed some fake stupid high sales. I don't get why people do that.

I did see some of my error ones in the sold section for a couple of hundred or less. Anything I get for these things is all gravy anyway, since I never price them into a lot, and more than half the time I don't even see them, since they are usually packed in a box.

yuzuha · ‎07-06-2017

@siayan wrote:
@yuzuha wrote:

- DON'T use GTC for anything other than multi-quantity listings that get regular sales because otherwise it will hurt you, not help. The longer a listing goes without a sale, the further down it sinks in Best Match search, which is the exact opposite of what you want. Use 30-day fixed price and then just relist/sell similar when it ends to give it that "New Listing" search boost-- I find that the majority of my sales happen either right before an item ends or right after I relist it.
I always use GTC simply because I have so much stuff to list I don't want to mess with old listings for a while. When I sell something it always seems I sell an old listing or two with it. You are probably right that I should not use it,

Some posted a while back that they used to have a store with 1000 items and the closed it and they do better keeping 100 listing and constantly tweak, let expire. relist and add new stuff. I am leaning in that direction. I had 1000 listings and a few months ago dumped them and started over. Sales were better after I did that. Now I am slowly going back up. I think eBAy and their search encourage low listing numbers and high sales activity, or high sales ratio.

Another thing I have been toying with but haven't really done anything with is log out and do a seller search. It comes up best match. The bottom listings are the dogs. I have been thinking of pulling the bottom 5% every week.

Yeah, that's why I give stuff vacations if it's been hanging around for a while with no sales. My experience has been that everything does sell eventually, but if it's a real slow mover, sometimes it's best to give it a break for a while and list something new instead. I personally try to constantly add new inventory whenever something sells just to keep things fresh and take advantage of the "New Listing" search bonus. It seems to keep my sales steady enough, at any rate.