Summer Seller Update

[rroader94]

My excuse is being a senior but I lack a lot of patience when it comes to reading eBay enhancements.   It seems that Catalogue Numbers associate with Brands; at least NEW merchandise.   If I'm listing used English bone china for example, is there any new requirements for such a Seller in Canada?

On an aside I've very few items on eBay because of no sales and thinking my items are not being found in Search, it's hard to get motivated to list more and more.   Do people see hope in the Summer Seller Update?   

Thanks in advance for sharing any comments that might help a small seller sell some collectibles on eBay.   

[femmefan1946 · Accepted solution]

As a senior myself, I think a lot of the problem is in changing tastes.

I began here 20 years ago selling vintage science fiction paperbacks.

I sell fewer and fewer of those, and more and more of my secondary line, sewing patterns.

And I almost know why.

When I go to science fiction conventions, most of the (under 40) fans are talking about movies and TV, rather than books. And there are dozens of cosplayers, young women (and a few men) who have designed and sewn their own costumes to masquerade as their favourite characters, from those shows.

Times change. Sales of unpopular items will drop. My daughter owns no teacups, at her house you get a coffee mug. She doesn't even own a set of good china or any silverware. Look at most decorating magazines and they feature bare, spare, colourless houses. (They don't look like homes.)

And while the Millennials actually outnumber we Boomers, they don't live the way we did. Which is not necessarily a bad thing or a good thing.

It's just different.

As retailers, it's our job to figure out what our customer wants and supply it.
But I still buy every John Wyndham title I see anyway.

[rroader94]

Thanks very much. Going to Estate auctions still appeals to me and like you I still buy figurines, glassware and fine china when whatever it is that tickles my fancy and the price seems right. My source of pricing and what people seem to be buying is eBay, however, so far my inventory continues to rise and our son and daughter shiver at the thought of what they will eventually do with it all. Seriously I can't help believe whatever changes have been made by eBay to "searching" has not helped my "views" count let alone, sales. I've experimented with .com vs .ca with no noticeable improvement. Thanks again for reinforcing the fact that what I've been trying to sell is of little interest to eBay buyers who are browsing on their iphones. Don't you feel eBay has been gearing up in hopes that more and more people buy NEW and that those purchases will be through eBay. Thanks kindly; always appreciated your input to Members questions and comments.

[ricarmic]

What I do in my world, is look to see what is out there and how it is selling.

I took your: "Royal Albert Tea Cup and Saucer Silver Birch" item and did a comparison shop (by the way this is my Mom's favourite pattern).

There were about 28 of them running at this time, yours was almost if not the best priced.

I looked at what had sold, 7 since the beginning of April, the lowest half your price, a few as much as over 3 times your price.

What I would do if it were me, is look at the practices of the ones selling for 3 times your price and emulate/experiment to try to match their style, if you can.

I get quite excited when I have something that I cannot find running or sold as there is no comparison shopping happening then!!

When my sales slow or stall, as they seem to have at the moment, I watch, observe and try to find things that I can do differently than others (because some eventually copy me and I have to go and find something new again) through experiments etc.

Given 7 of those tea cups have sold in under 2 months, there is still a market, you just have to figure  out what the sellers have done differently from you to get noticed......

[rroader94 · Accepted solution]

Thankyou very much; you hit the nail right on the head. It's true young people in general may not buy English bone china but you and I know that if the item is really pretty, good prices can be realized.
For a few years I did my best to embed quality photos in to my auctions; that seemed to work for a time and then when more browsing was being done on iphones, those photos seemed to become a negative for some. I experimented with Etsy; had some success but a few items I have on there have had no activity for months even though they tell us the importance of Tags when it comes to Searching. Rarely have I copied other Sellers' listings or even parts thereof but you have given me some encouragement to take a look at why comparable items to mine have sold. Maybe I'm not using those flowery words in describing my china; envying those who do have excellent writeups.
Thanks for the time you've taken in an effort to help me and my frustration. Having been a member of eBay since 1999, for several years selling on there was gratifying, but a lot has changed that's lessened the Fun it once was. Kind regards, Reg - Retired railroader in NB

[ricarmic · Accepted solution]

Hi again! 

As a note, there is a lot of aspects to observe amongst other sellers:

-sure style of listing is important

-do they have run sales

-do they have/run promoted listings

-do they run both auctions and fixed price

-how "big" are they compared to you in terms of sales, # items running etc

-description style

-picture style

-price (I almost NEVER try to be the cheapest)

-probably other things I'm not thinking of at the moment.

(a couple hours observing what others do and stuff that might work for you is time very well spent)

In  my experience, as one example, if I find a "new" way to picture/display something it generates some excitement and extra sales. Then other sellers see what I'm doing and 3 months later there's a pile of the same style pictures/display out there from others and again I have to go figure out something new again.....

That's an unfortunate consequence of competition, continual evolution is required.....

[rroader94 · Accepted solution]

Thanks again. This time I printed off all the replies to my Post so when the time is right I'll follow through on your points / suggestions. I browsed some of your stamps both on my laptop and on my Apple iphone and while on my laptop I could see you have a Store. I never seem to be able to see everything I want on my iphone; that is, compared to my laptop. By that I mean the mobile App doesn't have everything in view like I'm used to on laptop. I have an aunt somewhere around Brantford who married a gentleman with your surname; he has since deceased and I believe was originally from Sussex area of N.B. Cheers....

[ricarmic]

Generally my mobile sales are about 15% of sales, desktops 85% (according to the business report PAYPAL sends me). Given the likely average age of my buyer base is higher, this does not surprise me.

I've not perceived my selling style on mobiles to be an impediment to my sales so far. I've been managing by exception for a long time now so till I figure mobile sales is a problem I'll leave things as is. (I already have 2 unrelated experiments just started/running at the moment, there's only so much one can do!).

I'm from a very very small family, local to my area (a long family story behind why). There are other stamp sellers here in Ontario with the same surname, I'm always getting asked if I'm related to them, which I'm not, and I always come back with the comment that I hope as many people ask them as ask me! (We know each other, and they do get asked although I doubt as much as vice versa, they're a lot "bigger" than me).

[reallynicestamps]

Don't you feel eBay has been gearing up in hopes that more and more people buy NEW

They like big sellers, who are a steady income stream, but unlike many, I don't think they actively work against smaller sellers or sellers of vintage over new.

The big sellers are likely to be sellers of new, if only because procurement is easier for them.

And even small sellers report that the more items they have listed the better their sales.

If you have one piece of Royal Albert Silver Birch, you may be found in Search.

But if your customer is looking for a dessert plate and your only piece is a dinner plate, you won't get the sale.

If another seller has a full service, broken up into individual pieces, she is likely to have that dinner plate and get the sale.

And then since she has more sales than you, she moves higher in Search for the next customer.

and that those purchases will be through eBay.

Well, yes to that part.

Have you ever looked at Ruby Lane?