wondering if anyone has figured out how to get visibility on Ebay.

[van4653]

I have over 200 items listed, but rarely do they get looked at.. with the outreach of Ebay, they should at least be getting views.  Cannot afford to do a store yet, and at this rate, never will.  I offer some free shipping.  I keep relisting and adding new listings.  Ebay will only let me cancel an "order" when someone doesn't pay and out of the little I've sold, I have had a couple of those lately.  I tried to ask a representative when I called on another issue, and the guy just said I have to do my own promoting.  I have added my seller ID to my shop advertising.  But Ebay is supposed to be advertising.. all I ever hear in this part of Iowa is about Ebay motors which sounds like Ebay owns everything in it...  I have a wide variety of items, and I check if things are selling before I list anything...  what do you think??

[pickermall]

THAT'S an issue... what you are willing to sell something for and what someone is willing to pay are two different things...

If you do "Buy It Now" listings, buyers can send offers and negotiate prices. I would love to get the Superman figure... it was the one I never had as a kid, but pretty much twice you lost a sale as things are now.

Not trying to low ball.

I feel for me, stuff that is sitting on my shelves isn't making me money. I'm always open to offers.

[chapeau-noir]

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@pickermall wrote:

THAT'S an issue... what you are willing to sell something for and what someone is willing to pay are two different things...

If you do "Buy It Now" listings, buyers can send offers and negotiate prices. I would love to get the Superman figure... it was the one I never had as a kid, but pretty much twice you lost a sale as things are now.

Not trying to low ball.

I feel for me, stuff that is sitting on my shelves isn't making me money. I'm always open to offers.

---

I've said more than once I'm running a store, not a museum. 

[wastingtime101]

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@van4653 wrote:

 my problem is that the search engines rarely seem to pull me up... 

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Search engines don't often register auction-format listings because they're not active long enough. Auctions are fine if they work for you, but if they're not working for you and you want to appear in search engines then fixed price format will be a better option.

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@van4653 wrote:

 I  use my husband's ID to search and see if anything shows up when I type in something I have for sale. 

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Can you post a few listing titles or item numbers that do not come up when you search for them @van4653?

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@van4653 wrote:

 In some of my dropbox thingys when I am listing it says hack://  on some.. 

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What is a dropbox thingy? Can you describe more clearly or post a screenshot?

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@van4653 wrote:

 is someone holding me down???

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You got a lot of feedback on this already from pricing to format to descriptions to photos.

My 2 cents: your photos would prevent me from clicking on any of your listings if they appeared in my search.

I'd offer some advice to improve them, but it appears you're disregarding the advice that's already been offered. If you change your mind and decide you genuinely want help on what you can change to improve your traffic and sales - or if you want advice on one specific area (like how to improve your photos), let us know.

[earthdreamer]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@pickermall wrote:

THAT'S an issue... what you are willing to sell something for and what someone is willing to pay are two different things...

If you do "Buy It Now" listings, buyers can send offers and negotiate prices. I would love to get the Superman figure... it was the one I never had as a kid, but pretty much twice you lost a sale as things are now.

Not trying to low ball.

I feel for me, stuff that is sitting on my shelves isn't making me money. I'm always open to offers.

---

I've said more than once I'm running a store, not a museum. 

---

I think one of the problems of listing on ebay when you also have a B&M store like the OP does, is that you know that you could get more for your item in your store, so you tend to be more resistant to lowering your prices. 

It has taken me a couple of months to overcome this mental resistance. I just had to keep reminding myself that ebay sales are a needed addition to the revenue stream from my store, not a replacement for it.  

[this*old*attic]

When copying and pasting, sometimes invisible html comes with it. I’ve never had a problem, or a post changed, when I send it live anyway.

 I interpret that to mean harmless garbage that hitched a ride.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

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@earthdreamer wrote:

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@pickermall wrote:

THAT'S an issue... what you are willing to sell something for and what someone is willing to pay are two different things...

If you do "Buy It Now" listings, buyers can send offers and negotiate prices. I would love to get the Superman figure... it was the one I never had as a kid, but pretty much twice you lost a sale as things are now.

Not trying to low ball.

I feel for me, stuff that is sitting on my shelves isn't making me money. I'm always open to offers.

---

I've said more than once I'm running a store, not a museum. 

---

I think one of the problems of listing on ebay when you also have a B&M store like the OP does, is that you know that you could get more for your item in your store, so you tend to be more resistant to lowering your prices. 

It has taken me a couple of months to overcome this mental resistance. I just had to keep reminding myself that ebay sales are a needed addition to the revenue stream from my store, not a replacement for it.  

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Ya know, that makes sense & I get that.  Except for one thing.  If OP can get her price in her Brick & Mortar, why doesn't she?  

[simply-the-best-for-you]

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@this*old*attic wrote:

When copying and pasting, sometimes invisible html comes with it. I’ve never had a problem, or a post changed, when I send it live anyway.

 I interpret that to mean harmless garbage that hitched a ride.

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Yes, as Chap mentioned, that can happen too.   For me, the problem is almost always special characters & I have always actually had to change my post.  I've never gotten the 'hitched a ride' HTML personally 🙂 

[this*old*attic]

🤷‍♀️

How misogynistic. The board only has a boy shrug, and adds a Venus mirror for a female. Lame. What are we talking here? Two seconds of programming?

[van4653]

Character Family~ 1.3K searches

Ziggy   .Hack//    A Certain Scientific   Railgun S

Show all   

This is one line of the additional details that Ebay asks for, including the word Hack:// which appears..  I don't understand who puts it there and why...  That is why I wonder if someone is controlling the visibility or lack of for my listings..  It is in a row on the listing page,  so I copied and pasted it here...  does this show up on other's?  They were in boxes, but ebay removed the color boxes as invalid HTML when I copied and pasted here..

[wastingtime101]

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@van4653 wrote:

Character Family~ 1.3K searches

Ziggy   .Hack//    A Certain Scientific   Railgun S

Show all   

This is one line of the additional details that Ebay asks for, including the word Hack:// which appears..  I don't understand who puts it there and why...  That is why I wonder if someone is controlling the visibility or lack of for my listings..  It is in a row on the listing page,  so I copied and pasted it here...  does this show up on other's?  They were in boxes, but ebay removed the color boxes as invalid HTML when I copied and pasted here..

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.Hack// is in the Character Family field because it's an actual Character Family.

https://dothack.fandom.com/wiki/Characters

Just like Disney is a Character Family and Mickey Mouse is a Character.

That has absolutely nothing to do with your listings or visibility.

[yuzuha]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

---

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I've said more than once I'm running a store, not a museum. 

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So true. Heck, as a personal story, a while back I had a great big plush horse from Frozen II that I'd won from a crane game. This horse was BIG. It took up a lot of space in storage. I figured what I would like to get for it and listed it for that price, but no bites-- it just sat around for months.

Then, one day, I got a message from someone asking if it would be possible to lower the shipping price a bit on it because she really wanted to get it for her granddaughter but was on a fixed income. And you know what? I said "Sure." I lowered the price, buyer bought it and left me lovely feedback, and I assume her granddaughter was thrilled with her great big plush horse. I didn't get quite as much as I'd wanted for it, but I did get money for it... and most importantly, I got it OUT so then I could dedicate that space to new inventory.

[yuzuha]

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@van4653 wrote:

Character Family~ 1.3K searches

Ziggy   .Hack//    A Certain Scientific   Railgun S

Show all   

This is one line of the additional details that Ebay asks for, including the word Hack:// which appears..  I don't understand who puts it there and why...  That is why I wonder if someone is controlling the visibility or lack of for my listings..  It is in a row on the listing page,  so I copied and pasted it here...  does this show up on other's?  They were in boxes, but ebay removed the color boxes as invalid HTML when I copied and pasted here..

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.hack// (technically .hack//SIGN) is the name of an anime TV series. That's why it's in the "Character Family" item specifics section.

[wastingtime101]

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@van4653 wrote:

I don't understand who puts it there and why... 

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eBay puts it there because it's a legitimate choice for Character Family.

Just like eBay puts red, blue, black and white as choices in the Color field.

[van4653]

You got a lot of feedback on this already from pricing to format to descriptions to photos.

My 2 cents: your photos would prevent me from clicking on any of your listings if they appeared in my search.

I'd offer some advice to improve them, but it appears you're disregarding the advice that's already been offered. If you change your mind and decide you genuinely want help on what you can change to improve your traffic and sales - or if you want advice on one specific area (like how to improve your photos), let us know.

GLORIOUS!

I have just gotten to read through the msgs...  how do you come up with the disregard part????  You seem to think I have a ton of time to relist and redo everything in one afternoon or something.   Nothing is instant, and I am digesting the information.  My responses aren't arguing, just telling the things I have done/tried.  If I change my mind????  Judged and I haven't even had time to read all this...  interesting approach... like a threat...   

[earthdreamer]

"If OP can get her price in her Brick & Mortar, why doesn't she? "

I can't speak for the OP, but for myself, if I sell a widget on ebay in a day, that is one extra sale that I did not make in the B&M store on that day. 

As I have very limited traffic coming into my physical store on any given day, it is highly unlikely that anyone would have bought that widget on that same day, so it is a sale I would not otherwise have made.

And that is the point of people like myself listing on ebay. 

Generally, I find that items that are slow sellers in the physical store also will not sell on ebay, so I focus on listing better selling stock or more niche items which have a limited appeal.

Most items I offer quite a bit cheaper on ebay, as buyers do not have the advantage of handling the item themselves. Also, the overheads on an ebay store are a tiny fraction of my physical store, so even at the lesser price, I am coming out OK relative to the net profit from B&M sales.