I'm going to add a few suggestions, disagree with some, and give my views on your questions.
First, paying for listing upgrades (like bold face) may not be a wise idea until you have more items with more sales to cover your fees. It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem -- spend more money in the hope of making a sale? I see it as a somewhat unwise risk given your present situation, with the few listings you currently have, especially if the enhanced listing ends up sitting for 3 or 4 months. I think there are other ways to try to boost sales.
I listed on .cafr (the French side of eBay.ca) for a couple of years, and overall the free subtitles did help with sales, but there are two caveats: 1) obviously you'll need to have a reasonable command of French; and 2) be prepared that since .cafr is a different listing site, revisions, etc. can only be done on that site. This can make for some complexity until you get used to it, especially if you don't use Selling Manager. Personally my view would be that if you're a relatively new seller, it's best to stick with listing on one site for the time being and doing the best you can to perfect your listings.
I have to disagree about the explanatory text.
I sell a lot of garment items, most of which aren't "stock" commercial items that people are familiar with. It's important -- actually critical, in my view -- to remind buyers to check both the pictures and the measurements before buying. Much frustration and disappointment can be saved on both sides by doing so.
Similarly, I see nothing wrong with displaying a note reminding buyers to contact you if they have any questions.
First, having been on eBay for over a decade I can tell you I get far more "newbie" buyers now than even 3 or 4 years ago. I'm not sure why that is (I have theories), but it can only help to give them polite guidance about the transaction in advance, as you are doing. Just keep it factual, courteous and friendly-sounding. Although I'd generally say avoid all-capitals text, you are using a "quiet", smaller all-caps font, without bold, which comes across without the edge. Still, you might want to try experimenting with a lower-case font for your selling terms, but one that is different from the rest of the description (see below).
For the same reasons I see no problem mentioning that you don't accept local pickup, although I'd word it a little less bluntly, for example: "We're sorry, but we don't offer local pickup". Stating this in your listing could help to avoid problems with buyers (especially new ones) who hit the "Commit to Buy" button thinking they can make arrangements after the fact, only to see that shipping has been added to their invoice.
I would also recommend leaving the "Shipping" title where it is. It's a good idea to highlight it as a separate section.
You seem to be using the photo gallery well. The one important suggestion I would make is to use a somewhat larger font for your text description, i.e. make it the most prominent. You want buyers to be drawn to that first. Don't go overboard with enormous lettering, but something larger than you currently have. use a slightly smaller, different font for the notes you want to add about shipping. You could also add a bit more detail in the descriptions if possible.
As for how to increase sales during a time when a lot of us are experiencing a slump, my best advice would be to list more items, as many as you can, in as short a time period as you can. I found that 10 to 15 new listings is the minimum to do the trick. More is better. This will get you a boost in search visibility, hits, and watchers, which is the best guarantee -- if there ever is one on eBay -- to generate sales.
I'm not convinced that sales alone are the driver of more sales. If this were true, none of us would experience those gaps that seem to occur after a sudden flurry of sales. In this regard, I personally would strongly discourage you from offering $5.00 loss leaders, $0.99 auctions, etc. Unless you have a wide, large selection of other items on offer, these sorts of near-giveaway listings are guaranteed to attract what many sellers refer to as "bottom feeders", the something-for-nothing crowd, who are more likely to cause other kinds of trouble for you than buyers who are willing to pay a fair price for a decent product. Offering such items when you already have relatively few listings will tend to cheapen the rest of your listings.
So, my suggestions would be to:
1) Try to list at least 10 new items in a group within the next few days, before it gets too close to Christmas;
2) Choose new items to list that are of good quality, easy to ship inexpensively, and price them reasonably but not at fire-sale prices;
3) Pick 2 or 3 of your higher-priced, more attractive items and use Best Offer on those. Decide in advance what your minimum selling price will be on those and don't get entangled in multiple back-and-forth haggling. I'd avoid over-use of Best Offer, especially on lower-priced items, as this can backfire in buyer expectations of getting everything on the cheap, and can make you look desperate (i.e. signal "fire-sale").
4) Reconsider your shipping strategy on the more expensive items (I see you're offering free shipping on some of your items, which is good). For example, on the Garneau shoes, your price is $30.00 Cdn plus $18.81 shipping domestically and $16.65 to the U.S. I'd recommend rolling some if not all of that shipping cost into the item price, and/or absorbing some of the shipping cost yourself to make it more appealing. The Garneau shoes could be listed for, say, $46.00 Cdn with free shipping and Best Offer. Free shipping should also get you a boost in visibility. Many buyers will be searching by items with free shipping first.
5) Do switch to fixed-priced, as you've said. And use 30-day rather than shorter duration, to collect more hits and watchers. I find the display of watchers by eBay can in itself facilitate a sale -- human psychology at work.
6) Instant Payment may be a problem. There are differing opinions on this. Personally I'm happy to allow buyers a couple of days to pay if necessary, but these days I find most buyers pay immediately anyway. Offering combined shipping can only help -- it's always a good idea!
7) Are you just planning to sell off some personal items, or really jump into selling as a business here? If the latter, you may want to consider a store subscription once your sales improve and you have most listings. I'd say 75-80 is about the minimum to be successful with a store.
😎 Be patient. I see a lot of reports from sellers who have been selling for years stating they've had a very poor few months, including myself. Because I sell on other sites and am seeing the same thing, I believe there are external (i.e. non-eBay) factors involved.
Sorry to make this such a long post, but I hope some of these ideas will help. They are gleaned from many years as both buyer and seller on eBay. You're doing most things right, so a few changes may make a significant difference.
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