eBay

zee-chan-jpn-books · ‎12-25-2013

http://pages.ebay.ca/promo/2013/12_26.html#terms

bb_cool_stuff · ‎12-29-2013

I guess it all depends on the amount of similar items being sold in your category.

Friendly competitors swear by GTC Listings & it seems to work for them.

Of course some run auctions to draw extra traffic to their stores which could also result in additional sales.

I guess whatever works for you, however I think its still comes down to competitive pricing in regards to the item & shipping rates.

With the New Year on the horizon I believe we are going to have to take advantage of everything that comes our way to remain competitive.

i*m-still-here · ‎12-29-2013

Friendly competitors swear by GTC Listings & it seems to work for them.

That underlines the fact that each category is different.

I had no idea that GTC type listings would sell the item better than listing every 30 days (for example) for any item.

GTC listings never get the benefit of ending soonest boosts and only get the newly listed boost one time, so that's interesting.

bb_cool_stuff · ‎12-29-2013

Yes, it all depends on the category one is selling in, however there could be myriad of other factors.

I'm going to give this promo a shot & see what happens.

Might as well save a few bucks & I'll keep in mind time versus sales.

rose-dee · ‎12-29-2013

@pierrelebel wrote:
"what the advantage is to doing this"
Thank you PJ for answering the question. We were in Toronto today visiting our grandchildren and just returned.
Having three listings ending within a ten day period means a lot more visibility for the item. It may not be easy to measure but I know from experience that it works: more viewers - leading to more buyers!

Actually, I suppose I was asking the above question to see what your own point of view or reasoning was for suggesting it, since I had my doubts as to whether this would be an appropriate choice for my situation. I don't think it's a question that can be answered once and for everybody.

I have a few remarks I'd like to add to this discussion:

I tend to agree with "i*m-still-here" that listing a OOAK item over and over in quick succession, would have the effect of devaluing an item in buyers' perception.

However, my main concern about multiple short relists would be that I would lose the watchers. I don't know about postage stamps and other categories, but in my categories (vintage and antique items and related articles), something new and unusual quickly attracts a lot of watchers. I have found that the items with more watchers will sell faster and at a better price (I use "Best Offer" on many of my fixed price listings).

Now, if I were to use multiple short relists, each time a listing ended those watchers -- my potential serious buyers -- drop off the cliff. It then takes several days for buyers to find the item again and put it back on their watch list. Some just don't bother coming back (I know this because the numbers never recover the second time around).

I think there is also the irritation factor for buyers of following a particularly unique or unusual item that they are considering buying, and then having it relisted, and relisted, appearing and disappearing every few days. As a buyer I have found this very annoying.

Another aspect of this issue is that I'm not sure the comment about GTC listings not getting "ending soonest" boosts in searches is correct. My GTC listings are always shown in search results near the top as they come near the end of the 30-day cycle.

I can attest to the fact that GTC listings have worked far better for me than 30-day FP listings (and with a lot less monitoring and effort). I have experimented with 30-day listings on more expensive items however to see how they compare. Invariably what happens is that I lose the initial batch of watchers and never do recover the same numbers the second time the item lists.

To respond to Pierre in particular, my understanding from reading many of your posts on the subject of listing types was that you felt shorter list times (7, 10, 30 days) had no real -- or at least demonstrable -- advantage over GTC listings. Or does that again depend on the type of stock you're trying to move (which I imagine could be different in the case of a free listing promotion)?

In my particular categories, I don't need to worry about exposure too much -- the competition is pretty slim compared to some other overloaded categories, and 2 or 3 of my items are almost always near the top of page 1 on search pages, even on eBay.com. No, I have other problems. My challenge is not about getting a lot of attention away from competing items (the nature of the items I offer gets attention), but about keeping the buyers focused who do see my items, hoping they might browse my store, or see something else of interest.

The question of how to use up 60,000 free listings is ridiculously moot in my situation anyway, but for the sort of items I sell, I think I'd just end up frustrating and annoying potential buyers by rolling over listings every 3 or 4 days. I want them to stay and consider -- not run away.

pierrelebel · ‎12-29-2013

"my understanding from reading many of your posts on the subject of listing types was that you felt shorter list times (7, 10, 30 days) had no real -- or at least demonstrable -- advantage over GTC listings. Or does that again depend on the type of stock you're trying to move (which I imagine could be different in the case of a free listing promotion)?"

Personally, I have always felt that GTC listings are best for fixed price listings - whether a seller has a store or not - more so if multiple quantities are offered in the listing as eBay keeps track of sold items (that does not work if you relist where eBay automatically defaults to the original quantity).

However, I was answering to the very specific question of using a ten day promotion where a seller can list the same items four times - original listing on first or second day of the promotion and three relists. In this specific example, there is no question in my mind that four fixed price listings (three short duration) are better than one. A seller gets four times the exposure.

If a seller feels one listing is superior to four - whatever your reasons - feel free to ignore the comments above based on my experience.

i*m-still-here · ‎12-29-2013

If a seller feels one listing is superior to four - whatever your reasons - feel free to ignore the comments above based on my experience.

All right. Will do. (Obviously, as you yourself point out this is based on your experience (with stamps) and does not generalize to all categories.)

rose-dee · ‎12-29-2013

Thanks for your reply and clarification Pierre, much appreciated.

Yes, I am a bit of an odd bird where eBay is concerned, being both a designer/manufacturer and a seller -- I know my competitors, and there are few of them. We probably attract many of the same people, so for me a bird in the hand (i.e. a watcher) is worth two in the bush. Still, I may experiment with this promotion on some smaller items and see how it works for those.

pierrelebel · ‎12-29-2013

When I look at "free listings" promotions, I think a bit differently.

If a buyer looks at the item over the first three days and makes the decision NOT to buy it at that time (and many of my listings are OOAK), it does not matter if the listing is added to the watch list. What counts is that the buyer decided NOT to buy.

Will having multiple short term relists of the same item affect that decision NOT to buy? I do not think so.

As far as "watchers" are concerned, over the years I have seen very few watchers converted to buyers when dealing with "fixed price" listings (auction listings work differently). Once again, if a viewer decided not to buy when the first opportunity was given, I do not see why that same viewer would come back and buy it at a later date from the same listing.

Instead of concentrating on the same viewers who are always watching a specific category or group of items and did not buy my item when first offered, I would rather target the vast majority who come to eBay from time to time (or find the listing through a search engine) and see my listing for the first time! Once again, I prefer to have four "free" opportunities to reach those viewers than care about those who have already made the decision not to buy.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-29-2013

I'm sure that we each believe we know what is best in our own categories...and in most cases,we probably do. However, I think that it is a good idea to keep in mind that ebay and online sales in general are constantly evolving so what has worked in the past may not work as well now. I notice that many posters...myself included..have commented on how sales have slowed down. So does one continue as before and hope that sales go back to the way they were? Or is it better to try different ways of increasing sales? I know which way I have chosen.

As far as the comments about 3 or 4 '3 day listing' degrading the attractiveness of the product...I still find that difficult to believe. How can a total of 12 days of listings hurt a product any more than a 30 day listing?? I have to agree with Pierre that the more people that see an item, the greater chance it has of being sold. Let's say I sold vintage purses...right now there are more than 100,000 listed on .com. Even if I narrow the search to beaded vintage purse, there are still almost 10,000 listings. It's unlikely that I am going to look at them all. It is more likely that I will see the ones closer to the beginning of the search...those soon to be ended or those newly listed.

I also think that watchers very rarely equal sales or visibility. I probably have about 40 items on my watch list right now. I haven't looked at any of them recently and don't plan on buying any of them so the fact that I'm watching them does not mean that I am a potential buyer. If I notice that an item has ended and I still want to watch it...it's easy enough to do.

i*m-still-here · ‎12-29-2013

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
I'm sure that we each believe we know what is best in our own categories...and in most cases,we probably do.

........... and that is exactly the point. Right On!

I couldn't sell a postage stamp for it's true value no matter how I list.

On the other hand, I know exactly how to get top dollar for my "stuff."

Sellers who list and re-list OOAK items tend to lose the hard core collectors but they probably do better with new buyers.

As a seller I do both depending on the quality of the item.

I noticed all the re-listing of items before I stumbled upon this thread and found it odd.

I didn't understand what those sellers were thinking until I saw the comments above.

Those items just sit even though some are great pieces at good prices and should be selling well.

rose-dee · ‎12-29-2013

@pierrelebel wrote:
As far as "watchers" are concerned, over the years I have seen very few watchers converted to buyers when dealing with "fixed price" listings (auction listings work differently). Once again, if a viewer decided not to buy when the first opportunity was given, I do not see why that same viewer would come back and buy it at a later date from the same listing.

Pierre, I think this comment explains the difference between buyers in your category and mine.

My experience could be summed up in almost opposite terms: over the years I've found that the more watchers an item attracts, the faster it will sell, and at a better price. I doubt these are competitors or "window shoppers", or buyers who have decided not to buy. I really don't have many competitors. A couple of buyers have even told me after the fact that they were watching and hoping no one else would buy the item until they were financially able to make the purchase, so I like to give them that time.

If I list an item that attracts a dozen watchers in a day or two, chances are good it will be snapped up within a few days. Also, eBay's new display of the number of watchers is helpful as an incentive.

I still maintain that for antique and vintage items of value, or items that can be found nowhere else, there is the risk of creating a perception that "something may be wrong" if the item is listed over and over again in a short period.

I feel such quick, successive re-lists can also give an impression that the seller is either desperate, inexperienced or, at best, lacks confidence in his/her items, especially if an item of some value is involved. Of course I have no way of proving these negative assertions, except that I can say, from the point of view of having been a frequent buyer on eBay, such short re-listing can raise questions in a buyer's mind.

Again, I think there can be quite different "best" solutions for one category, where a seller is trying to get their head above a crowd of tens of thousands, and another category, where there really may only be a few dozen similar items.

i*m-still-here · ‎12-29-2013

Rose: I agree with all of that. You said it well.

On the whole what is happening in a lot of categories due to these free listings is that sellers are listing and re-listing their run of the mill common items here.

I have to admit that I'm doing exactly that myself. Why not?

However, this is just another feature that is driving buyers of high end items away from eBay.

I no longer sell high end items here.

On eBay, the best items still do well and sell fast but prices are low.

The rest: Well, it's a tough go on eBay and getting more challenging all the time.

i*m-still-here · ‎12-29-2013

@rose-dee wrote:

I feel such quick, successive re-lists can also give an impression that the seller is either desperate, inexperienced or, at best, lacks confidence in his/her items, especially if an item of some value is involved. Of course I have no way of proving these negative assertions, except that I can say, from the point of view of having been a frequent buyer on eBay, such short re-listing can raise questions in a buyer's mind.

That is the one comment that is different from what I see.

I see a lot of very good experienced sellers re-listing constantly and taking advantage of the ongoing promotions.

They are catering to inexperienced buyers and selling off their junk and to me it's all so obvious. (After all, I'm doing it too.:))

rose-dee · ‎12-29-2013

i*m-still-here wrote:

On the whole what is happening in a lot of categories due to these free listings is that sellers are listing and re-listing their run of the mill common items here.

However, this is just another feature that is driving buyers of high end items away from eBay.

On eBay, the best items still do well and sell fast but prices are low.

The rest: Well, it's a tough go on eBay and getting more challenging all the time.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

All quite true I think. For me, each successive year has meant critical adjustments to be able to stay afloat. I also always fear that one new eBay policy change too many is going to be the death knell for me. Overall I get the impression that eBay really doesn't want "boutique sellers" like me anymore.

By the way, what type of items do you sell? I get the impression you're in antique furniture and collectibles, which would be a difficult area to be in, with sinking prices and skyrocketing shipping costs.

i*m-still-here · ‎12-29-2013

Rose, I sell antique and vintage clothing type items a little like you do except that yours are reproductions.

That's my main thing, but I use eBay to sell off everything else and I still have a lot of everything else.

Once "Everything Else" is gone I'll probably be all but done with eBay selling as well. (Hope it's OK to say that here: Leslie?)

When my stocks crashed some time ago I decided to go into on-line sales in a big way. I only dabbled before that.

I specifically chose a category which could be shipped easily without a high risk of damage and which is also heavily collected and with prices starting around $100 with no real upper limit.

.

In other words: I chose what I love, but I also purposely chose to specialize in what works well on line.

It takes the same amount of work (or less actually) to sell a $500 item as it takes to sell a $10 item.

rose-dee · ‎12-29-2013

@i*m-still-here wrote:

It takes the same amount of work (or less actually) to sell a $500 item as it takes to sell a $10 item.

Another truism that I can attest to as well. The only reason I sell ca. $10 items is to be able to offer a variety, and bring in different buyers. The exception is my antique pattern line, which is a "low maintenance" product that I'm happy to be able to offer at reasonable prices. Like you, I have had to focus on items that do not involve unusual shipping challenges -- anything to reduce costs and complaints.

pocomocomputing · ‎12-29-2013

@rose-dee wrote:
@i*m-still-here wrote:

It takes the same amount of work (or less actually) to sell a $500 item as it takes to sell a $10 item.

Another truism that I can attest to as well. The only reason I sell ca. $10 items is to be able to offer a variety, and bring in different buyers. The exception is my antique pattern line, which is a "low maintenance" product that I'm happy to be able to offer at reasonable prices. Like you, I have had to focus on items that do not involve unusual shipping challenges -- anything to reduce costs and complaints.

One advantage of selling some low priced items in addition to high priced items is that you can use them to pad your total sales in a year to pass the minimum 100 sold for TRS discount of 20% on FVFs (assuming you meet other requirements).

Just another trick experienced sellers will do to save some $$$ when using eBay.

rose-dee · ‎12-29-2013

@pocomocomputing wrote:
One advantage of selling some low priced items in addition to high priced items is that you can use them to pad your total sales in a year to pass the minimum 100 sold for TRS discount of 20% on FVFs.

Just another trick experienced sellers will do to save some $$$ when using eBay.

Yes, of course, I forgot to mention that! It was actually one of the big reasons I branched out into selling items of lower price.

I probably wouldn't use the term "pad" , because there's nothing negative about arranging your offerings in such a way as to take advantage of discounts. It's true that it is far easier to increase the number of monthly sales if you have items with a variety of pricing - another trick is to ensure those "little items" are as small, light, easily packed and easily shipped as possible, i.e. not time-wasters and trouble-makers.

The nicest thing for me is that the 20% TRS discount on just one major sale can make up for a lot of other little losses (on things like shipping subsidies or free shipping promotions to my buyers on the smaller items, something else I do in order to bring in more of the smaller sales). So the bigger items support the smaller ones, and vice versa.

You're right that it takes some time and experience to really "get with the programme" on eBay.

pocomocomputing · ‎12-29-2013

@rose-dee wrote:
@pocomocomputing wrote:
One advantage of selling some low priced items in addition to high priced items is that you can use them to pad your total sales in a year to pass the minimum 100 sold for TRS discount of 20% on FVFs.

Just another trick experienced sellers will do to save some $$$ when using eBay.
Yes, of course, I forgot to mention that! It was actually one of the big reasons I branched out into selling items of lower price.

I probably wouldn't use the term "pad" , because there's nothing negative about arranging your offerings in such a way as to take advantage of discounts. It's true that it is far easier to increase the number of monthly sales if you have items with a variety of pricing - another trick is to ensure those "little items" are as small, light, easily packed and easily shipped as possible, i.e. not time-wasters and trouble-makers.

The nicest thing for me is that the 20% TRS discount on just one major sale can make up for a lot of other little losses (on things like shipping subsidies or free shipping promotions to my buyers on the smaller items, something else I do in order to bring in more of the smaller sales). So the bigger items support the smaller ones, and vice versa.

You're right that it takes some time and experience to really "get with the programme" on eBay.

Another reason to sell low priced easy to ship and sell items is that they can get a lot of all 5 DSR to "pad" the DSR numbers received minimizing the hit that a lower DSR that might be received. Use free shipping on the low priced items to get the shipping cost DSR up with the auto DSR 5.

Of course more sales means more opportunities to get less than 5 DSRs. So far it seems to get more 5's than lower than 5 DSRs. Especially for shipping cost DSR which has to be the hardest DSR for a Canadian seller to keep high. Even with subsidized shipping for lower rates and using free shipping whenever possible, the shipping cost DSR is hard to keep up at 4.9 to 5.0.