eBay

billchrests · ‎01-18-2018

Ebay Seller .CA since 2001 at "billchrests"

Jan 2018 has been very slow because can not get on Ebay.com Best Match

We were doing much better 5 years ago.

99% of my sales are to USA - 1% to Canada so Ebay.com Site is important

1800 Listings - 1600 on .COM - 200 on .CA

Till 2018 all .CA listing were automatically showing up on Best Match .COM.

We make a 150 mile round trip to USA every Wednesday and mail by USPS Priority,

so only offer 5 work day delivery for last 17 years.

Average ship cost approx. $7.50

3 long conversations with Ebay.CA and offer no help to fix .

Offer Global Ship but only given automatic costs to USA & Canada.

My Past experience with Global Sales were very poor and led to bad feedback.

Any Experiences would be welcomed

momcqueen · ‎01-18-2018

Have you tried Promoted Listings?

momcqueen · ‎01-18-2018

And Promotions Manager on all your ebay.com listings where you offer something like 'buy three and get the fourth free'?

momcqueen · ‎01-18-2018

I'll offer one last quick suggestion and then leave the rest to other users who might have more concrete tips but I think you could boost the lure of your store if you spent some time upgrading it to the new format. It immediately freshens the look of a store to do that.

femmefan1946 · ‎01-18-2018

I'm confused.

Best Match is the default Search on all eBay sites.

A bot called Cassini is charged with deciding which listings will appear highest.

Some of the identified criteria are previous similar sales, Defects (actually LACK of defects), TRS or PowerSeller status, long return periods, short handling periods, and Free Shipping*.

Feedback makes no difference to placement, and in any case , those negs should wear off pretty soon. Some buyers do notice negs and backbutton. Sigh.

The fewer items offered in a given category, the higher any given item will be, obviously.

A couple of thoughts.

Since you are already using Flat Rate/ Free Shipping, have you considered listing on dotCOM in US dollars rather than making your (let's face it, kinda provincial) US customers try to grasp the concept of another currency?

I actually think you spend more time trying to make excuses for being in Canada than telling the customer what she's getting.

It is even possible to open a US bank account, if you already bank with RBC or TDCanadaTrust. (Not just a US dollar account.)

Also, I read a lot of decorating magazines.

We were doing much better 5 years ago.

Wallpaper borders are.... kinda 1987. Sorry.

Perhaps it's time to find another product line.

Have you looked at your listings on your smartphone?

Have you made your listings mobile friendly? With over 1500 listings, and no way to bulk edit, my own spare moments have been spent updating one by one for the past two weeks. I get bored easily so 20 or so a day is my limit.

*which isn't of course. Free Shipping means the cost of shipping has been folded into the asking price.

hlmacdon · ‎01-19-2018

Ranking weighs handling time significantly. Cassini is about getting the item to the buyer as quickly as possibly with a high likelihood of a very positive experience (service and price) for the buyer.

billchrests · ‎01-19-2018

My price are extremely reasonable - lowest in almost every comparison - billchrest

billchrests · ‎01-19-2018

Tried my best selling border () about 10 a week) added 20% to pay extra commission - sold only 1 spool in 2 weeks - have reduced price 20% but no sales in 3 days - Buyer simply can not find me on eBay.com

billchrests · ‎01-19-2018

My 5 day handling time reflects the 150 mile trip to send out of USA. A 660 Kg. package USPS cost $6.75 $USA with 2 working day delivery. Canada Post Same package $36.26 $Can with 6 working day delivery, so mailing out of Canada is not an option.

billchrests · ‎01-19-2018

I know FREE SHIPPING is not FREE but eBay promos that TERM all day long

My average US Shipping cost is approx. $7.00 US so at approx. $30US and above I absorb it.

billchrests · ‎01-19-2018

1600 of my 1800 listing are .COM in USA Dollars

I have approx. 200 .CA listings in CAN$

Canada sales are maybe 1-2 a week

thanks billchrest

billchrests · ‎01-19-2018

Almost all postive feedback - maybe 2 negative a year - many times from newby who could not read instructions on installation.

billchrests · ‎01-19-2018

I was looking at listing on my phone.

Dumbed down so you can drive and buy

Left me wondering if the phone will hurt

sale on complex buying options - thanks bill

billchrests · ‎01-19-2018

Wallpaper Took a Huge Hit in the 1990s from Sponge Painting

so manufactures filled Box Store with Wallpaper - a big failure

and drove Local Wallpaper Store out of business.

Wallpaper Industry has turned to HIGH END Designers

so price in now $100 a Bolt and mostly Modern Designs.

Customer still want the Traditional Designs for Vintage Homes.

The only place to find them is on the NET.

I am 1 of approx. 30 major sellers on eBay

and sell approx. 8000 spools a year.

Hopefully, my eBay visibility problem can be fixed

May Try one of Listing Services offered.

thanks billchresrt

billchrests · ‎01-19-2018

Ebay Store Listing are always there, so why would Buyer search by Ending Soon or Newest Listed.

Auction Listing do not work in this category - if any sells- at opening amount - too much product.

momcqueen · ‎01-19-2018

You came here for advice, right?

You need to start thinking of eBay like Glengarry Glen Ross. Best Match is for closers. eBay gives it to items that: (a) have an established history of selling (b) with fast, fast delivery (c) probably free shipping and (d) for cheap.

The bottom line is you need to stimulate some sales to start to get noticed at which point you will get noticed and make it to Best Match. Which will create sales and keep you on top. New store. Markdowns. Much shorter handling time. Free shipping. Promoted Listings and liberal use of promotions manager.

Best Match is for closers. Period. It’s business, it’s not personal.

femmefan1946 · ‎01-19-2018

so why would Buyer search by Ending Soon or Newest Listed.

Because they are thinking eBay is still an auction site. (Less than 15% of transactions, and a lot of those end with Buy It Now).

And because they don't understand how Stores work.

Most of my listings are Fixed Price and in a Store, but it is noticeable that items tend to sell within a day or so of that 30 day automatic relist.

Which indicates to me (and anecdote is not data) that Ending Soon and Newest Listed are popular Searches.

Have you made your listings Mobile Friendly? It takes forever especially if , like you and I, you have HTML coding in every listing.
I had a bunch of code pushing customers to my Stores that had to come out PLUS the new meta-tags.

ypdc_dennis · ‎01-20-2018

@billchrests wrote:
My 5 day handling time reflects the 150 mile trip to send out of USA.

Pretty sure that for Best Match a handling time beyond 3 days gets a negative ranking weight when eBay does the calculation.

Plus if any of your competitors (American only) use eBay.COM's new Guaranteed delivery program they get an automatic boost for Best Match.

http://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/shipping/guaranteed-delivery.html

...

You've got some nice looking borders listed.

-..-

kawartha-ephemera · ‎01-20-2018

I viewed a few of your dot.COM listings, they all had a non compliant circa 2003 http:// image - text link to Andale Gallery... removing those links should be at the top of your to-do list. The links lead to a 404 error page anyway ... Listings that are not compliant with current ebay web standards cannot be a good These may very well be damaging your search performance.