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??

[dbfolks166mt]

@earthdreamer wrote:

@chapeau-noir wrote:

@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.  

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?  

     I tend to look at it from the other optic. While I don't have a B&M store I do list across multiple sites and venues which all have different fees. I know what I want my ROI to be and I price on those sites based on the expenses I will incur on the individual forums. The prices I have to list an item for on eBay are generally in the upper range given the fees. That variance can be up to 15-20% more on eBay than what it is on some other forums depending on the item. From the buyers perspective several of the forums are local so there is no shipping involved it's all pickup or delivery so the buyer does not incur the shipping cost as well.

[coolections]

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@van4653 wrote:

If they actually got to mine,  the odds are against not having anyone curious enough to look..

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Even if they get on a page that has your listings, they can see the price. Why would anyone actually click the listing and look when they are not willing to pay the price they see. Even you do as you say and change to BIN, the odds are still about the same that the results won't change.  Sorry you paid too much for your items to make a profit.

[van4653]

I make a profit on other venues...  just strange that Ebay apparently is no longer about auctions according a lot of the replies, and that with the customer base it should have, doesn't seem to have results that improves a person's income.   With winter coming, just trying to figure out how to balance, cost of shipping vs cost of merchandise, etc...  thanks for the input tho..

[onefootflipper2]

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@van4653 wrote:

I make a profit on other venues...  just strange that Ebay apparently is no longer about auctions according a lot of the replies, and that with the customer base it should have, doesn't seem to have results that improves a person's income.   With winter coming, just trying to figure out how to balance, cost of shipping vs cost of merchandise, etc...  thanks for the input tho..

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What I sell crosses over with what you sell. I make more on ebay then I ever did in a regular job. If I was able to get your prices then I would be a millionaire in roughly 3 years.  

The only thing that is holding you back (other than photos) is a focus on your sunk cost on your existing inventory which you are not going to be able to recover unless something changes vastly. I don't see anything in your store which couldn't be found at a garage sale for $1-$2. Acquire all future inventory that way and look at existing prices rather than guessing and you will be profitable. Remember, if someone else's set of 1959 Nasbisco Shredded Wheat State pins with better photos hasn't sold for $50 then yours is not going to sell for $85. 

[femmefan1946]

Auctions are eBay's brand.

They started as an auction site and have kept that format alive, mostly by defaulting naive newbies into it, because it is how they are known.

I was having dinner with a cousin who was formerly on the Board at Jack in the Box, and she was telling us about the decision to revive their extremely creepy clown mascot after their food poisoning disaster. She was one of those against it, along, I gathered, with the entire marketing department.

Sometimes companies do things that don't actually help.

And while there are some sellers, mostly in the collectibles field, who believe themselves successful with auctions, for most sellers working in an overcrowded market, who find Fixed Price works better for them in the long run.

Are there any other generalist sites that are auctions?

Full disclosure: Our family have been having specialist auctions for decades including live internet bidding and just ended the latest one on Saturday.https://sparks-auctions.com/auction-43-44/sessions-viewing-hours/

[mozartbach1971]

I see a lot of ads for Ebay Motors on Youtube.

[chapeau-noir]

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@van4653 wrote:

what does impression indicate?? It isn't anyone looking..  just in a list somewhere?? Someone searched like items??  If they actually got to mine,  the odds are against not having anyone curious enough to look..

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An 'impression' is when your item shows up in a search.  It will be on the search results page along with all the other search returns when someone inputs their search query.  A long list of photos and titles.

One reason they're not curious enough to look (or "view") is your photos are so bad.  Another is probably price, another is that it's an auction on a possibly common collectible.  You're a minnow in a big sea and we keep telling you that you need to clean up your listings so people WILL get curious enough to look.

You keep telling us we're mean.

[aprilmoviebuf2000]

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@van4653 wrote:

what does impression indicate?? It isn't anyone looking..  just in a list somewhere?? Someone searched like items??  If they actually got to mine,  the odds are against not having anyone curious enough to look..

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Yes, impressions indicate your items are being returned in search results.  And you are right, the odds are not in your favor for your listings to even be clicked on and viewed.  But there are reasons for that.
Let's get back to brass tacks...to your original post:  "I have over 200 items listed, but rarely do they get looked at".

I commented on your photos before.  But I feel compelled to again.  (I'm not even going to touch on your prices, that horse has been beaten enough)
An example, your Nabisco Shredded Wheat advertising flags.  Say I'm a buyer (which I am)...I do a search for those.  I'm happily scrolling and sipping my coffee looking for something to add to my collection.  And there is your listing.  What's that in the gallery photo?  Is that a body?  Out of curiosity I click on your listing.  And the photos make me want to immediately hit the back button.  Are those feet?  Yep, they're feet. 

Other photos have legs/knees, both bare and clothed, and multiple photos with hands/fingers.  I don't know about anyone else, but seeing that is an immediate turn off.  You say you have a B&M store, and do shows.  In that case, you should know how important presentation is.  Think of your listings coming up in search as the doorway to your store or booth.  If it looks messy, cluttered, and unprofessional before anyone even goes in...that is a problem.  Not only do the gallery photos need to be appealling, all of the listing photos do too.  

I'm guessing you will probably view this as a personal attack, based on your previous comments.  It is not meant to be.  Wishing you luck.  

 

[wastingtime101]

An impression means your item appears in front of a buyer - in most cases, through a search. You have impressions (listings are seen in search), but a lack of views (people clicking on them). Let's look at a couple of your listings.

Search for Norman Rockwell Unexpected Proposal:


100 search results. Look at others' pricing. Look at others' photos. If you were a buyer looking for this plate, would you click on your own listing when it's shown in search with these other options?

Let's narrow it down to just the auction format listings of which there are 7 results:

With those 7 options, looking at photos and price in search results, would you click on your own listing?

That same plate shows exactly 1 sold in the last 90 days. Terapeak shows that it sold because the seller sent out an offer of $6.00.



Impressions tell you that your listing is being seen, but nobody is interested enough to click on it. This particular item has practically zero demand so it's not worth listing in the first place. Keep it in the B&M and find an item that actually does have demand and sales that's worth the time to list.

[wastingtime101]

Let's look at the Nabisco flags.

7 search results. One result has 51 pins listed at $50 or best offer. Another result has 41 pins plus the state map for $25. If you were a buyer shopping for this item, would you click on your listing or would you click on those other 2 listings?


I mentioned this upthread, but eBay has a photo editor embedded within the listing tool and it would only take a minute to crop your photo and make it more presentable.

Sold results:

[inhawaii]

I think i figured it out. 

The more popular (in demand) my items are, the  more views they get.

[wastingtime101]

I'll do one last example. The pie tins. Most listings have pie tin or pie plate in the title. You have pie pan. To get your listing to pull up in search I limited my keywords to: Pies by Fasano

As a buyer, if I was searching for this item I would type in Fasano Pie Plate or Fasano Pie Tin.

With these search results and considering others' photos and pricing, would you click on your own listing?

Would the dirty chair, pillow, grocery bag and legs in the image put you off and give you the impression the seller didn't care, therefore that same lack of care from the photo may also translate to a lack of care in describing flaws on a vintage piece and a lack of care in packing? I'm not saying you don't care; I'm saying the photo gives that impression.



I took the time to post all this because some people don't do well with words - they need a visual. Visually, this is how your listings measure up to the competition.

If you were the buyer, what would you think of your photos and pricing as its seen next to all the other listings? That's a question you should be asking yourself.

[wastingtime101]

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@inhawaii wrote:

I think i figured it out. 

The more popular (in demand) my items are, the  more views they get.

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Research before listing is important. Otherwise one is just wasting time on items that might sell fine in a B&M but have no demand in the online market.

[sub-woofer]

I'm sure you have already heard but to be honest eBay expects people to pay extra to become "visible"

I've heard all.slrt of lies from customer service as to why this is going on...

Ultimately eBay runs the show..  however, don't be stupid..

Do not pay extra for something that was free a year ago.. they set this all up.  Now they gonna learn this ain't the way to do things .

[sub-woofer]

Tags, keywords, whatever you wanna call them, it's all lies.  I tried it all. It's lies .

The best way to get your item sold in here is 2 ways..pay the ransom note eBay expects you to pay 

Or. 

Do a bin for the item, it won't sale. But I'm a month after you got a few watchers, ksenthe binnand turn it into a bid auction at the price or around a few bucks lower than the bin price.. those poor who watched are now forced to bid or they may lose the item forever cause others are gonna bid. 

Good luck.