I can't understand why I haven't sold any items in my eBay store except for books in several months.

[tigergirl1]

In Spring 2014 approx., I began adding my collection of books to my eBay store.  I was on ABE Books but they were very expensive, and my books on eBay started selling almost right away.  Unforunately they are all around $4 give or take, and with only 3 or 4 selling per month, it doesn't recoup the fee I pay for my eBay Store.

I don't understand why I have had almost no sales in any of my other product areas, once I put my books for sale on eBay.  There isn't some sort of thing that blocks out my other items now that I have books listed, is there?

I have to get some sales in my clothing, shoes, handbags and designer goods sections otherwise I'll have to go back to just a basic eBay store.  I can't live on sales of only 4 books at $4 each month.

[mapleleaf-collectibles · Accepted solution]

Over the 10+ years I have been selling on Ebay I notice that the summer months are generally the slowest months for sales. I found the books sell best in the fall, as people are retreating indoors and reading more. Kids are back in school, people have more reading time. There was a time a few years ago where I almost opened a store, but the way it is going on Ebay right now, if you have a good selling record, you receive 40 free listings plus usually Ebay puts on a promotion for 1000 free buy it now listings. So with over 1000 free listings a month, I have never found a need to pay extra for a Ebay store. 

[femmefan1946]

You have nearly 500 books in your Store listed as Antiquarian and Collectible, but most are just old. (Mine too.)

Perhaps you would do better listing them as Fiction or Non-Fiction.

You can use your Store to further refine the Books category: for example Militaria, Fitness and Food, Fashion , Children and Young Adult, etc.

If you can't make money selling a title at $4 either raise the price or donate the book back to Sally Ann (my personal favourite source).

You have a book (At The Top)  with a $2+ price tag and a $20+ shipping fee.

Look into Free Shipping for titles that can ship LetterPost/LightPacket. Don't panic. Free Shipping means including the cost of mailing in the asking price.

Free shipping domestically also has the benefit of making your shipping FVF on foreign shipments zero and of giving you an automatic 5 Star DSR.

In my opinion, the domestic shipping price of any item should never exceed the asking price.

Which is cheapest?

A $5 item with $10 shipping?

A $10 item with $5 shipping?

A $15 item with Free Shipping?

I did find that after a hiatus over last summer due to moving across the country, my sales did not rise until my listings went over 500 on this ID. On another active ID the magic number was 200. My other IDs have fewer items and fewer sales.

[femmefan1946]

Now ill and disabled, I want to sell everything to benefit animal rescue before it is too late

I noticed these claims in your Store header.

While BDR (Buyers Don't Read), I would like to encourage you to drop both.

Customers don't care about our personal lives. They want to buy stuff at a good price. Self-pity, no matter how true, will turn off buyers because there are way too many scammers using the same kind of tale of woe. Rethink and rewrite it.

You don't owe anyone an explanation of why you are selling your New With Tags*  goods.

And you can't advertise that you are supporting a charity without clearing it with eBay first. This could lead to having all your items closed. Again, this is because scammers have done the same thing.

Here's the policy:

http://ocsnext.ebay.ca/ocs/sc

I seem to remember you from postings a few years ago. I hope your life has gotten better since then. You were in some distress as I recall.

BTW- Your post encouraged me to clean up the 'aisles' in my Store. I was finding some pretty odd locations-- why would I have put a Vogue dress pattern in my 'Erotica, Sex and Sexuality' aisle, for example? Late night posting probably.   So thank you!

*NWT is a common Search. You use 'Tags On' which is not searched.

[tigergirl1]

Hi femmefan1946 (Elizabeth), I've come here to answer the wonderful long message you sent me on July 12, and I can't find it. Where is the thread with all our messages?