Are Canadian sellers dropping of the map or am I just losing it

[brandeentertainment]

It just seems like every few months their are less and less Canadian sellers is it just me or are their number somewhere backing this up ...

[cumos55]

Reply 19

Xena is such a narrow focus on eBay... with lots of competition..at over 1000 listings on eBay.com

Did not check pricing... but sold  listings are in that less than $5.00 range...with very few sold.....looked at about 125 completed listings

The market for Xena is super saturated.

Expectation for any sales  is very, very low

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

I was looking. Cumos, yer a ten year seller and Stark is a one year seller. I have been around for over ten years. The vagarities of selling take years to get used to. Stark has not seen any changes, not compared to what we have seen.

Stark, you are having an immediate reaction to an immediate scenario. Trust me, that will not work. Sometimes, sales drop off just because they do. Other times, I cannot keep up. I have had $500 weeks and I have had $700 days. I cannot explain it.

[cumos55]

Seller opens an account on eBay... They list  and they sell.

and then things go dead....inventory goes stale

One thought ....  No new buyers...  may mean no new sales.

Your market has become saturated...

The key to maintaining sales is to diversify.

Add inventory to complement what is already been sold... effectively opening up new markets, for new buyers

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

That is exactly what I am saying, lateral thinking.

My time is divided between listing, acquiring, and researching. Researching consumes most of my time. Knowing what is selling, for what, why. Some widgets fall off the map and become worthless. Some that were worthless have suddenly become rare.

Where I started, nine years ago, is not where I am now. Where I was two years ago, is not where I am now. A year from now I have no idea where I will be.

[nuvistors]

Well for me sad to say,  all my overseas suppliers whom I purchased and have done trusted business with in hopes of making sales. have now become my competitors.

So: Do you think that just because you bought from them that they should not sell to anyone else ?

[lady.stark]

Cumos, yer a ten year seller and Stark is a one year seller.

I may be a one year seller on this account, but I've been an eBay member since 2000 😉  I sold some items on the other account, but not on a regular basis.

But it is true that my reaction may be too immediate. I'll try to find another line of products, but Xena really is my force. I know when an item is rare and when it is not. I know my product very well. As I often saw, "know what you sell and sell what you know". I don't know yet what else I could sell that I know enough. 🙂

[cumos55]

Where I started, nine years ago, is not where I am now

Sounds familiar.....

Ten years ago books were the last things I thought could be sold on eBay...  as a Canadian seller

 Then I found my primary niche,, and have added several categories complementary to the primary niche.... Because  I continue to find good inventory.

Sales build like a house of cards....

Old inventory is sold at a local auction

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

I attribute that quote to Pierre. I believe I saw him use it about eight years ago.

You obviously know magazines, pictures, signatures. You know how to acquire, value, list, sell.

I started with car dome lights at around $9. I now sell the odd $250 engine computer. Hence my remark, where I was is not where I am. Oddly, the ECU costs me about the same in time and money as the dome light. Let's do the math on that.

I started in Camaro and Mustang. I am now heavy into Nissan Sentra, Honda Civic, Toyota. Imports have a far higher failure rate for parts than domestic.

 I know when an item is rare and when it is not. I know my product very well.

Rely on that knowledge.

The last six months has been a roller-coaster of sales for me. I trust nothing. Not the time of day, day of the week, time of the month.

In the past, oddly, weekends were poor. That changed to busy weekends and slow mid-week. That changed to slow middle of the month and busy month end.

[lady.stark]

Thanks inuk! You've been really helpful! I will think very seriously about what you said during my Holidays vacations and will probably come up with a new line of products in 2013 🙂

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

You are welcome, although some folks do not like my "attitude". I tend to shoot from the lip. I have been accused of giving direct answers to direct questions.

Ya wanna know what I think, don't ask, because I will tell you, directly.

Also, like a lot of long term sellers here, I am not so much a half full of half empty glass kind of person. My glass is always full. Successful sellers have earned that as they have succeeded where many have not.

To be successful there is a certain amount of "Hold me beer and watch this". You are re-vitalizing yourself to delve into new product lines. Ask yourself this: How many people do you know that cannot even do this at all let alone switch lanes?

Nan, Pierre, Femme are three names I have known forever. They have forgotten more than I will ever know. Things they do not do? They never blame, never finger point, never accuse. They look, listen, learn, investigate.

Each one of us is a self-employed business with total control over what we do and what happens. The finger pointers will never understand that.