Listings - Peer Review

[ericsells75]

Hi,

Again, pretty new here. 

I was just wondering if there was a forum or setup in place somewhere for peer-to-peer listing reviews. A place where we can help each other out with tips and tricks on our listings. I ask mainly because I've got a couple of things I thought would sell pretty quickly, is getting tons of views but no offers so I'm wondering what's wrong. (Perhaps it's the shipping cost issue I am facing with ebay.)

But I've done my homework and looked at comps. I'm priced very competitively, allow offers and similar items are selling consistently. I'm just not sure what gives. Is it no returns, low feedback (cause I'm new), shipping cost? When I search I find it at the top of results and it has the most views of any of my items. Just the natural ebb and flow of ebay?

I know I'm a little late to the coronavirus puzzle game but it just seems odd and would appreciate any words of wisdom from those more experienced then I.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Ravensburger-Puzzle-Disney-Fantasia-1000-pieces-New-in-Box-Sealed/1935022667...

[ericsells75]

Sorry, I just realized their is a user to user help group. My bad for posting in wrong place - Still learning. But it won't let me delete for some reason. 

[kawartha-ephemera]

This is as good a place as any to ask for opinions and help regarding any issue a seller may be experiencing. Ask for opinions here and you'll get em!

I agree that the cost of shipping is a major impediment for small  Canadian sellers. Heck I'm located not more than a 2 hour drive from your location and still that listing quotes shipping at just a few cents under $20. 

In my opinion your photos could use some improvement in terms of presentation. Could you find a nice cabinet or shelf to use as a background. I assume the box is still in it's shrinkwrap, if so I would definitely make a clear statement to that effect in the description. The statement regarding import duties, taxes etc. Is unnecessary, I would delete that entirely. 

Provided you have only one unit of the item to sell my best advice is to be patient. You could jockey the numbers around a bit by including a portion of the shipping cost in the item's asking price. If you truly believe the total price including shipping is competitive then just keep listing it. When the views start to decline and they will, Promote it.

[ypdc_dennis]

Your listing looks mostly okay.

Since you are just selling to Canada and the USA you do not need the 2 lines about import duties etc. because that just makes an American buyer nervous.

It is not needed for the USA. Their duty free is $800us and internet state sales tax is displayed and collected by ebay.

Title:

Ravensburger Puzzle- Disney Fantasia - 1000 pieces - New in Box - Sealed

perhaps this instead

Ravensburger Puzzle - Disney Fantasia 1940 - New 1000 piece Sealed Box

-..-

[reallynicestamps]

For shipping I'm seeing $15+ and I'm on Vancouver Island.

I agree with dropping the part about duty and taxes.

If you ever decide to ship outside North America,  you could add it in, but that's in the future.

I have a dislike for multiple shipping service offers. In my opinion, the buyer opts for the cheapest and expects the more expensive level of service.

Have you signed up for a Solutions for Small Business number with Canada Post?

That will give you discounts on some parcel services, including buying Expedited service for Regular rates.

I see you've had an offer on your sample item.

While you can accept or refuse or counter-offer, up to you, you should also know that you can choose an automatic acceptance or refusal of offers between your chosen parameters.

If you haven't found the Advanced/Business Sell Your Item form yet, the link is at the top left of the terrible Simplified form.

It's easier to understand what your options are with the Advanced form.

[esclyons]

you have only 31 items listed for sale,  take that into the context of over a billion items available for sale, and you are a new seller, and if someone who lives in the usa bought the same item from the usa, it would cost them much less to ship.. so many reasons, but keep chugging along,

[ericsells75]

Thanks all, have read and taken all feedback into consideration. I know I'm new so just trying to master the 'basics'

[kawartha-ephemera]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

For shipping I'm seeing $15+ and I'm on Vancouver Island.

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Here's the shipping rate quoted on my end, the OP would be shipping in province ... Waterloo to Toronto followed by a short scenic drive out of the city.

C $19.77  Canada  Standard Shipping (Canada Post Regular Parcel)

Are you sure the listing quotes just $15 to Vancouver Island? If so something is weirdly wacky with the calculator.

[reallynicestamps]

I was looking at the Ravensburg Puzzle # 193502266734, which was at the top of the list when I looked.

I Search with Highest Price +Shipping as my default, so that may be the difference. When I switch to K1A 0A6 (House of Commons, Ottawa) it RISES to $16.44 from $15.28.

Yeah. That's odd.

[lucitabby]

Shipping cost showing 15.28 to Calgary.

You might want to add Jigsaw to the title.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

I was looking at the Ravensburg Puzzle # 193502266734 ...

When I switch to K1A 0A6 (House of Commons, Ottawa) it RISES to $16.44 from $15.28.

Yeah. That's odd.

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Difference is probably the sales tax (based on destination) for Canada Post shipping. 

5% GST for BC and AB, 13% HST for ON

[ericsells75]

I have an ongoing issue with shipping calculator that ebay keeps saying is a bug but won't commit to a fix or more details then that. So yeah.... my shipping is out of whack.

tyler@ebay 

This has some details on my ongoing calculated shipping rates. You see some of the confusion it's causing?

[kawartha-ephemera]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

I was looking at the Ravensburg Puzzle # 193502266734, which was at the top of the list when I looked.

I Search with Highest Price +Shipping as my default, so that may be the difference. When I switch to K1A 0A6 (House of Commons, Ottawa) it RISES to $16.44 from $15.28.

Yeah. That's odd.

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Canada Post very quietly instituted huge rate increases for the rural postal codes in and around my local area in january 2017, might have been 2018. Afterwards the only service not impacted by the change was small packet usa. 

For example,

If I use my local post office's postal code I'm quoted ... 19.77

If I move over to the west 5kms using a north Durham Region code .... 19.35

If I use a College St., Toronto code ... 16.44 ... same rate as House of Commons.

Waterloo to Vancouver Island ... 15.28 ... wow.

CP really hamstrung rural shippers with their rural rate changes, this example illustrates what the change has meant for a lot of rural sellers. It isn't as if we're a far-flung remote location, far from it.

[reallynicestamps]

I think the suggestion that the difference is that a Ottawa resident buying from Waterloo pays both sales taxes , while I in Victoria BC, pay only the GST is probably right.

[ericsells75]

Sounds reasonable. Still doesn't fix my overall shipping cost issue but at least this doesn't add to it 🙂

[kawartha-ephemera]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

I think the suggestion that the difference is that a Ottawa resident buying from Waterloo pays both sales taxes , while I in Victoria BC, pay only the GST is probably right.

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Yes, I agree the shipping calculator integrates the GST/HST as appropriate province by province which of course accounts for higher shipping quotes in HST provinces. A shortcoming of the calculator is that it does not account for the various provincial sales taxes. They're still charged to sellers buying labels though …

I think you missed the point I was making with my rate comparisons … the point I was making was that according to the calculator the OP can ship the puzzle Nationally all the way to Victoria for 15.28. Meanwhile here I am in small town Ontario, an easy 2 hour drive from Waterloo and yet my rate comes in at 19.77.

In other words even after accounting for the effect of the HST I'm still quoted a rate 3.50 higher than to Victoria … that doesn't seem right does it? But, as I commented earlier, CP hit rural postal codes with a massive hike 2 or 3 years back … so I'm not all that surprised.

[kawartha-ephemera]

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@ericsells75 wrote:

Sounds reasonable. Still doesn't fix my overall shipping cost issue but at least this doesn't add to it 🙂

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I've no fix to suggest where shipping costs are concerned. If you happen to be located in a location CP considers worthy of their urban centre to urban centre pricing consider yourself a little more fortunate than rural sellers.

Having said that even those shipping from somewhere like Waterloo are still trying to sell to folks with  rural addresses and those are more expensive locales to ship to … the higher rates discourage sales for sure. 

[ericsells75]

Yeah - I hear ya. My shipping issue is that depending on what page you are looking at listings if it's Canada to Canada shipping ebay is pulling random rates. My Canada to US remains consistent and accurate.
For example search screen for my puzzle - from my house to my house says 11, then click on the listing and it jumps to 16. And that's only because I added a 30% domestic shipping discount. If I didn't have that it says 21. None of which make sense when doing a spot quote on CP website. It's frustrating. eBay has admitted a bug but nothing more then that for over a month now...