Why are my listings not selling they are lowest-priced priced on ebay

[trevosmole-0]

Can anyone explain to me why my items are not selling on eBay I have done so well with auctions but found I was losing money I really don't understand because the items are priced lower than anyone else's on eBay

[trevosmole-0]

I generally do weigh them but often the boxes I use are bigger so I need to put newspaper in them But for some reason it tells me that it costs $20 to ship a 1 or 2 pound train car makes no sense to me 

[trevosmole-0]

Even once I remove my handling fee it still tells me a 2 pound package is gonna cost $16 to go to California???

[2013grotz]

---

@a_c_green wrote:
If you plug in a good estimate of the item's shipping weight and dimensions at listing time, buyers from all over will see an accurate price for Shipping to their doorstep before they bid or buy.

---

This is generally true: You can even use something like Shipping Calculator | eBay and play around with what shipping costs should be.  Even if you look at a 1 to 2 lb difference on Priority Mail, you're only talking a couple dollar difference (roughly).  But the rate is still far cheaper than what OP's listings are showing.  Which still makes me think they are vastly overestimating the weights of the items.

The catch is the jump between First-Class and Priority is pretty high.  Which makes it incumbent to use First-Class where ever possible and not overestimate into Priority Mail.  (The worst part of what a lot of sellers do is actually *force* Priority Mail on less than a pound on account of getting the free boxes.)

[wrong66]

You charge a "handling fee"? For what? You weren't going to handle it without being paid? Those kinds of hidden fees can be one's undoing over time.

[2013grotz]

---

@femmefan1946 wrote:

I don't understand the Priority boxes well enough to use those as part of the calculation.

---

Since it got brought up, the difference between First-Class and Priority (for USPS) has been described above by myself.  That's basically "Is it greater or less than a pound?"  

The catch is that USPS offers flat-rate boxes.  Basically it's one price for whatever you can cram into the box - they don't care how heavy it weighs or nothing.  For example, I can buy a Small Rate Box for $2.70 cheaper than doing Priority Rate.  The medium and large are exponentially higher than Priority Rate, though.

But the easy answer for most of the items we have is that first one: "Is it a pound or more?"  Priority.  If not, First-Class.  That's usually the big issue.

[onefootflipper]

Whenever I list anything that I am going to use calculated shipping on I go ahead and pack the dang thing up as part of the listing process, that way I can for sure put in the right dimensions. Plus it means I am not scrambling for an appropriate sized box later. 

[trevosmole-0]

Even with the appropriate dimensions and weight things seem to be overpriced for shipping Which is why I will probably just go to free shipping and raise my prices I don't know but that makes sense to me I like to list a lot and deal with shipping later

[trevosmole-0]

For an example someone just bought a train car from me it tells me the shipping is going to be $9 when they pay they paid 15 for shipping why is that

[trevosmole-0]

Another example is I have an offer it tells me it's going to cost 11 to ship it when I accept it charges more???

[trevosmole-0]

I was doing a handling fee because I was doing all auctions and I buy a lot of bubble wrap and boxes and boxes and some of the auctions did not sell for much I wanted to at least cover my shipping surprise but I also want to be an honest business and not overcharge people for shipping so I generally refund the people it just takes more time

[a_c_green]

---

@trevosmole-0 wrote:

For an example someone just bought a train car from me it tells me the shipping is going to be $9 when they pay they paid 15 for shipping why is that

---

Because, assuming that you are using Calculated Shipping and entering the package size and weight, the Shipping amount you see in your listing would be the cost to ship to your location (e.g. an address in your own ZIP code), but what the buyer sees (and pays) is the cost to ship to his address.

[trevosmole-0]

Omg ok yhank you im so silly lol

[lepke1979]

---

@trevosmole-0 wrote:

 see??

---

Is that a normal sizing for your packages?

You'll have to play with it, but have you tried seeing if the packed boxes or item itself will fit in flat rate bubble mailers? If in a box, can try going as far as ripping out the bubble wrap. Can also look into cubic shipping with bags or boxes (would have to get it off site; Pirate Ship or XPS Ship for instance). But for some examples, I can mail a 7"x4"x4" package up to 20 pounds with cubic rate from California to New York/Puerto Rico for $10.43. Or put a box or item in a 15"x12" Tyvek bag (or use a 8"x6"x4" box) for $12.67. And cheaper the closer it is to you.

Another option is maybe to look into UPS/FedEx flat rate. I don't know what UPS has, but FedEx has One Rate. They have different sizes and most aren't worth it to me. But the padded or large pak bags with my discount is cheaper for me than cubic once stuff starts going beyond Texas (I'm in California). Takes some encouragement, but am able to stuff a 8.75"x6.75"x5.75" box into the padded ones. But again, for those, you'll have to buy shipping off eBay and maybe get in touch with FedEx to get a discount. Of course, if you send packages to the territories, you'll have to go with USPS.

And worse case, while it can make it not worth it because of lost time, can always try frankenboxing to get the package under a pound. Or maybe cut off or trim down the inner flaps of the box you use a little. Stuff like that.

[rosachs]

---

@trevosmole-0 wrote:

My prices are lower then almost every one else's 

---

Prices are only one piece of the puzzle.  There's also the listing information issue -- does your listing provide enough information in the form of pictures and text to entice the buyer to purchase?  Are you offering free (included) shipping or is shipping a separate charge?  If it's separate, does your total purchase price (cost + shipping) put you out of the running?  Are the other sales also auctions or more Fixed Price (no wait purchasing)?  Do you have excessively negative terms ("if you aren't going to pay, just go away and don't bid", "I don't know if these clothes will fit or the parts are right for your car, so don't ask me", etc)?  Do you have an over-abundance of terms (more than one desktop screen is too many)?

People don't always shop by price.  I've seen instances in my career where companies have raised their prices, sometimes as much as 33%, and increased sales!  By having too low a price for what they were selling, they appeared 'cheap' and were passed over.  When they raised their price, they were compared more favorably with other products in that same price range -- they started selling, at the higher price, to companies that equated price with quality.  Not a bright thing for a buyer to do, but "nobody ever got fired for buying IBM" as the saying goes. 🙂

Look at what's selling.  Look at what the original listing looked like, comparing identical items (yours and theirs) whenever possible, and see what they are doing differently that you might be able to do in your own listings.  Look at the keywords they are using.

One thing that could be mucking up Search right now is eBay's tendency to muck about with search ranking to favor those sellers/listings that are using whatever new "feature" eBay says everyone should be using.  Way back when, it was pictures.  Then free shipping.  Then Promotions.  Then Promoted Listings.  Then Managed Payments. Now it's Videos In Listings.  It's an old trick used by companies to make the new feature look like a success -- they change the presentation to the customer (search results sequence) to favor anyone/anything using that new feature so that they generate more sales, thereby allowing the company to follow up the launch with "sellers saw a 30% increase in sales when using XYZ Feature!".... because their listings were being shown 50% more than before, and higher in placement.  They're not lying... but they are cheating at how they come about the raw numbers.  It's like saying your canoe can go 30% faster if you add a trolling motor to your paddling.  Duh!!

Check what's different between your listings and those that are selling.  Find it (and it may be several things), determine if you can use it or do something similar, and move forward from there.

-Bob.

[fondrememberings]

yep, eBay is not satisfied with 18%, they want 25% or 30% via Promoted Listings or your items are not made visible/ Etsy here we come!!! can anyone provide any insight on Etsy as a successful selling platform (or not)?.. are things selling on Etsy?... I have some very rare Minton Porcelain Ball Dinner Plates for example (in perfect condition) that others sell for $70 to $200 each that I can not get $32 each for?!?....many other similar examples also?!?.. something is Rotten in the Sate of Denmark!!  A big brain drain coming from me, but my loyalty to eBay is toast at this point!!  Because their loyalty to us is toast..after 25 years...the folks who made eBay who they are are being thrown under the bus..