Search question

[tweetystwades]

I'm searching for a small, black, vintage, guess purse I have posted, and it's not coming up in any search.

I selected small, black and free shipping, can't get it to come up anywhere. So my purse just gets lost and never seen?  

[swenson8781 · Accepted solution]

I got you... I typed in 'guess purse black vintage' and found it about 3/4 way down on 1st page.  If I search 'guess purse black vintage small' it's the 8th listing. 

My advice? Try adding more item specifics.  Like material, style, look, features, etc.  Anything you can add to item specifics that describe the purse will allow buyers to pull it up that way also.  When I simply typed in 'guess purse', and chose the color (black), and the size (small), I still had to choose from 474 listings. 

BUT, if I wanted a certain material (canvas, leather, faux leather, suede), the listings got less.  There were only 23 in canvas material.  And material is a biggie to search by for purses, as many want specifically leather, or canvas, etc.  Does that make sense?

[tweetystwades]

Thank you so much, my wheels are spinning. Trying to search for listings to see if they are showing up.

My sales have dropped so much, only sold 2 things this week.

[femmefan1946]

Try expanding your potential customer base by enrolling in the Global Shipping Program.

Once your sold item reaches the GSP plant in Kentucky, you are no longer responsible for delivery.

Your items are possibly a bit too low priced for the GSP to be useful, but if you also pushed multiple purchases (with the shopping cart) you could get over that $50 hump.

[swenson8781]

Your welcome.   I know your feeling, my sales have been sluggish too.  Hoping for an upswing when/if the weather ever warms up and spring comes closer.

[timemachine777]

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@tweetystwadeswrote:

I'm searching for a small, black, vintage, guess purse I have posted, and it's not coming up in any search.

I selected small, black and free shipping, can't get it to come up anywhere. So my purse just gets lost and never seen?  

---

7th down out of 32

[luckythewinner]

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@tweetystwadeswrote:

I'm searching for a small, black, vintage, guess purse I have posted, and it's not coming up in any search. 

---

black guess purse brings back 3,300 listings. It's hard to stand out, except by price - and there are 300 above you when I sort by lowest price first.

Many searches for purse generally switch the category to:

Clothing, Shoes & Accessories>Women's Handbags & Bags>Handbags & Purses

and filter out your category:

Clothing, Shoes & Accessories>Vintage>Vintage Accessories>Bags, Handbags & Cases

Does your item really belong in "vintage"?

[tweetystwades]

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@luckythewinnerwrote:

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@tweetystwadeswrote:

I'm searching for a small, black, vintage, guess purse I have posted, and it's not coming up in any search. 

---

black guess purse brings back 3,300 listings. It's hard to stand out, except by price - and there are 300 above you when I sort by lowest price first.

Many searches for purse generally switch the category to:

Clothing, Shoes & Accessories>Women's Handbags & Bags>Handbags & Purses

and filter out your category:

Clothing, Shoes & Accessories>Vintage>Vintage Accessories>Bags, Handbags & Cases

Does your item really belong in "vintage"?

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Hmmm...well, it's over 20 years old. What's your point? Do you think the "vintage" category is hurting or helping me.  

[tweetystwades]

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@femmefan1946wrote:

Try expanding your potential customer base by enrolling in the Global Shipping Program.

Once your sold item reaches the GSP plant in Kentucky, you are no longer responsible for delivery.

Your items are possibly a bit too low priced for the GSP to be useful, but if you also pushed multiple purchases (with the shopping cart) you could get over that $50 hump.

---

I turned off the GSP long ago. I sold a phone case once, and the customer claimed SNAD.  I had to refund for the full amount, customs fees and everything. I didn't think that was right. I sell clothing, and don't want that to happen again. 

[tweetystwades]

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@swenson8781wrote:

Your welcome.   I know your feeling, my sales have been sluggish too.  Hoping for an upswing when/if the weather ever warms up and spring comes closer.

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I see you offer "free 30 day returns", how do you do that with clothing. Do you get many? 

I was going to have to give up my TRS+ because I can't offer free return shipping.  

[swenson8781]

@tweetystwades...

Ah, my great 'free returns' experiment!  I'll let you know how it goes.  I, too, debated letting go of TRS+ due to that, but I figure I've done everything else over the years to comply, so why not give this a try.

Starting 3/2, my return rate percentage was 1.28%, and that's the date I added free returns.  Knock on wood, I haven't had any return requests as of yet.  The TRS requirement starts in May, so I thought I'd give this a trial run for the month of March.  On 4/2, I'll check my return rate to see if/how much it's increased, if none or minimal, then I figure why not just comply.

[tweetystwades]

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@swenson8781wrote:

@tweetystwades...

Ah, my great 'free returns' experiment!  I'll let you know how it goes.  I, too, debated letting go of TRS+ due to that, but I figure I've done everything else over the years to comply, so why not give this a try.

Starting 3/2, my return rate percentage was 1.28%, and that's the date I added free returns.  Knock on wood, I haven't had any return requests as of yet.  The TRS requirement starts in May, so I thought I'd give this a trial run for the month of March.  On 4/2, I'll check my return rate to see if/how much it's increased, if none or minimal, then I figure why not just comply.

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I'm nervous to even try,  my return rate has increased over the last 2 months.  I got bad smell (that smell was new), different color than expected, pants didn't stretch like I thought, ordered the wrong size.  I'm getting everything, except my cat hit the buy button. lol   

[femmefan1946]

Tehn you got took.

The import fees were given to PBI and should have been refunded by PBI, who run GSP for eBay.

All you should have been responsible for was, ON RETURN, the selling price and the shipping cost to KY.

Did this go through a Dispute, or did you get schmoozed into the refund?

[pburn]

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@tweetystwadeswrote:

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I'm nervous to even try,  my return rate has increased over the last 2 months.  I got bad smell (that smell was new), different color than expected, pants didn't stretch like I thought, ordered the wrong size.  I'm getting everything, except my cat hit the buy button. lol   

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I bet a cat would totally do that, though, just out of spite for some perceived slight or other.

[swenson8781]

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@tweetystwadeswrote:

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@swenson8781wrote:

@tweetystwades...

Ah, my great 'free returns' experiment!  I'll let you know how it goes.  I, too, debated letting go of TRS+ due to that, but I figure I've done everything else over the years to comply, so why not give this a try.

Starting 3/2, my return rate percentage was 1.28%, and that's the date I added free returns.  Knock on wood, I haven't had any return requests as of yet.  The TRS requirement starts in May, so I thought I'd give this a trial run for the month of March.  On 4/2, I'll check my return rate to see if/how much it's increased, if none or minimal, then I figure why not just comply.

---

I'm nervous to even try,  my return rate has increased over the last 2 months.  I got bad smell (that smell was new), different color than expected, pants didn't stretch like I thought, ordered the wrong size.  I'm getting everything, except my cat hit the buy button. lol   

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I tend to get returns in streaks too. I can go for a few months without, then end up with 2-3 in one month.  My best advice with that/those, is to truly try NOT to focus on them.  Deal with the return, then move on.  We all know returns are going to happen (for clothing or anything else), but in my experience it seems the more I focus on them/think about them, the more often they seem to happen.

And hopefully, you WON'T get any cats purchasing items in the near future!