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New to eBay, listing, views and slow sales

Hello, I am new to eBay and have listed a few items. I am limited in how many I can list but have tons of stuff waiting in draft. The ones listed have lots of views but no bites. I had it on private listing but changed it because I don't think I need it. Sold $355 in two months but not much is moving. I wonder if my listings are insufficient? The prices have been researched and I have flat rate shipping. One thing I was wondering about was the no returns. I did that because I wasn't sure how to do returns and also wondered if it would be taken advantage of because many of the items are breakable. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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New to eBay, listing, views and slow sales

Hi, i took a look at your listings and thought they were very good overall. Your pictures are well done. Your prices seem well-researched. So in terms of what might need tweaking, these are my thoughts.

 

The holiday season is upon us, and folks want their packages as quickly as possible. As you are in Canada, there could be some delay with international shipping, and you have a 3 day handling time. It gives the impression with the estimated delivery dates, that the buyer may have to wait much longer to receive their item, that could be delivered in 3-4 days if they buy domestically. So if possible, you might consider a shorter handling time, if it makes sense to your circumstances. 

 

Your descriptions and Item Specifics could use bolstering. First, I would use a larger font, say a 14 point Verdana, for example, in your descriptions as they are too small right now and difficult to read (if you list with the Advanced or business listing form, rather than the Quick form in the app, you have more control over such details as font size). Next, describe in more detail and repeat the information from the title, condition field and Item Specifics. It may seem redundant, but many do not read the IS and the more details, the better understanding a buyer has of the item. (You are currently not in danger of over-describing.) Things such as brand, size, material, color, measurements, purpose of the item,  age or era, any flaws, condition, etc. need to be included. The Item Specifics are particularly important as they inform the Search engines. Inclusion on Google, Bing, and the like is very useful to direct traffic to your listings. In addition, eBay's own search engine uses IS and that informs it of your placement in buyer's search results as well.

 

You mention in some of your listings that should a buyer have a concern, that they should contact you to resolve any issues. I fall in the camp that believes it is a negative to say this a customer, because it infers you anticipate a problem with your transaction. Why suggest to a prospective or existing buyer that you expect any issue or concern? Of course a buyer will contact you if a concern arises, but no need to suggest you anticipate anything but a happy result. It's just Shopper Psychology 101.

 

You mention having a return policy, and I see you have added it to your listings. I agree it is very important to have a buyer-friendly return policy to express your confidence in your items and listings, especially for new sellers.  

 

Lastly, below is a link to eBay's suggestions for SEO that may be helpful as you grow your eBay business. Wish you much success and please come to the forums anytime you have a question.

 

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/listing-and-marketing/boost-traffic-with-seo.html

 

 

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Message 4 of 14
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New to eBay, listing, views and slow sales

All new sellers need to research everything they can about ALL area’s of eBay not just Selling and Listing.

.

It is not just a matter of list, sell, send - you need to learn what to do when a customer wants to return an item, (and if the seller is drop shipping this can be a headache) and what to do if a customer claims an item is not received - again a drop shippers nightmare. Research shipping costs for off shore buyers. Do a search of eBay and see what is selling well and make sure you can match the quality and prices.

 

I have a read a number of posts where the new seller has no idea and is getting hit with negative feedback and unresolved cases being handled by eBay (which dings a sellers account) because they do not know the processes to avoid this.

 

Read, read, and read some more is the only way new sellers will survive the first month.

 

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling

 

https://www.ebay.com/help/ship-track

 

https://www.ebay.com/help/returns-refunds

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Message 2 of 14
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New to eBay, listing, views and slow sales

Thank you for the information. I have been slowly making my way through these articles. They have been helpful. I am more of a visual learner but I am learning my way around the site. I had to finally just start because if I waited until I felt comfortable knowing everything, I wouldn't start at all lol. Each day I research subjects on selling with eBay and have not received any negative feedback or unresolved cases thankfully. 

Message 3 of 14
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New to eBay, listing, views and slow sales

Hi, i took a look at your listings and thought they were very good overall. Your pictures are well done. Your prices seem well-researched. So in terms of what might need tweaking, these are my thoughts.

 

The holiday season is upon us, and folks want their packages as quickly as possible. As you are in Canada, there could be some delay with international shipping, and you have a 3 day handling time. It gives the impression with the estimated delivery dates, that the buyer may have to wait much longer to receive their item, that could be delivered in 3-4 days if they buy domestically. So if possible, you might consider a shorter handling time, if it makes sense to your circumstances. 

 

Your descriptions and Item Specifics could use bolstering. First, I would use a larger font, say a 14 point Verdana, for example, in your descriptions as they are too small right now and difficult to read (if you list with the Advanced or business listing form, rather than the Quick form in the app, you have more control over such details as font size). Next, describe in more detail and repeat the information from the title, condition field and Item Specifics. It may seem redundant, but many do not read the IS and the more details, the better understanding a buyer has of the item. (You are currently not in danger of over-describing.) Things such as brand, size, material, color, measurements, purpose of the item,  age or era, any flaws, condition, etc. need to be included. The Item Specifics are particularly important as they inform the Search engines. Inclusion on Google, Bing, and the like is very useful to direct traffic to your listings. In addition, eBay's own search engine uses IS and that informs it of your placement in buyer's search results as well.

 

You mention in some of your listings that should a buyer have a concern, that they should contact you to resolve any issues. I fall in the camp that believes it is a negative to say this a customer, because it infers you anticipate a problem with your transaction. Why suggest to a prospective or existing buyer that you expect any issue or concern? Of course a buyer will contact you if a concern arises, but no need to suggest you anticipate anything but a happy result. It's just Shopper Psychology 101.

 

You mention having a return policy, and I see you have added it to your listings. I agree it is very important to have a buyer-friendly return policy to express your confidence in your items and listings, especially for new sellers.  

 

Lastly, below is a link to eBay's suggestions for SEO that may be helpful as you grow your eBay business. Wish you much success and please come to the forums anytime you have a question.

 

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/listing-and-marketing/boost-traffic-with-seo.html

 

 

Message 4 of 14
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New to eBay, listing, views and slow sales

This was incredibly helpful and I am currently making some of those changes. With regard to shipping, would you suggest my usual Standard Shipping and add a second option for quicker shipping with the increased cost? Would you do 1 day handling?

 

Thanks

Message 5 of 14
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New to eBay, listing, views and slow sales

Anonymous
Not applicable

First of all, very bold move to start out here selling. Most new members buy here for awhile and get some experience for a bit (even years) before trying to sell.

So another thing that might help quite a bit is to get your feedback score up to instill more confidence in your buyers. Buy some little low value trinkets (not out of China !) or your office/shipping supplies here.....stuff you actually need and will use.

I would suggest working on getting your score up to about 20-25 as soon as possible, which will make you look more experienced when you have more transactions under your belt.

You are certainly off to a great start, just realize things are a bit slow here right now for many, but should be picking up going into the holiday season.

Message 6 of 14
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New to eBay, listing, views and slow sales

Thank you, I have thought of buying something to boost score. I thought two of the sales might comment but I might have screwed that one up because I had every listing in private. I didn't know what it was and still am not sure if it would affect comments. I changed it anyway going forward. Your encouragement is well received!

Message 7 of 14
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New to eBay, listing, views and slow sales

I have made multiple revisions in the last 12 hours lol. However, most of them latest ones are not showing. Is there a time lag between when you accept revision and when the change goes through?

Message 8 of 14
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New to eBay, listing, views and slow sales

 

 

Hi, @vickiinc, you are most welcome.  


@vickiinc wrote:

This was incredibly helpful and I am currently making some of those changes. With regard to shipping, would you suggest my usual Standard Shipping and add a second option for quicker shipping with the increased cost? Would you do 1 day handling?

 

Thanks


I felt your shipping costs were reasonable, so using Standard Shipping seems a solid choice. But having the faster method and allowing the buyer to choose is a good idea as well. I do the same here in the States. Each of my listings offers Expedited shipping as an option for those who do not wish to wait. In addition, I use 1 day handling as well, and if it presents no hardship for you, then it would be a good way to get the estimated delivery date more in line with the competition, and show your customer service qualities to your buyers. 

Message 9 of 14
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New to eBay, listing, views and slow sales


@vickiinc wrote:

I have made multiple revisions in the last 12 hours lol. However, most of them latest ones are not showing. Is there a time lag between when you accept revision and when the change goes through?


Revisions can take up to 24 hours to appear as the listing gets re-indexed, as i understand the process. Most happen quickly, but it sounds like yours are taking a bit longer. 

Message 10 of 14
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New to eBay, listing, views and slow sales

Thanks again, great information and very helpful 🙂

Message 11 of 14
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New to eBay, listing, views and slow sales

Okay that makes sense. I just checked and some have gone through while others are still the same. Thanks, I am a bit impatient when it comes to getting it done lol

Message 12 of 14
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New to eBay, listing, views and slow sales

eBay's Money Back Guarantee for buyers is very important to sellers as well, so ALL sellers should read it carefully, preferably BEFORE beginning a selling career here.

Basically, what it means for you, as a seller, is that if a buyer opens an item not as described case, you, the seller, will be either sending the buyer a prepaid return label, or reimbursing him in advance for the cost of return shipping.  If you thought "no returns" actually meant that you did not have to accept returns, that was an error.  

Message 13 of 14
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New to eBay, listing, views and slow sales

Thanks you, yes this was one of the articles I read. There is a lot of information to get through but I am getting there bit by bit. All of you who have been helping me with my questions are a very important part of my journey into selling and becoming successful at it.

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