eBay

dobo5250 · ‎12-07-2022

i have on dec 3 one sale-- before that three days no sales - all of my items before yesterday where at 35% off as of yestreday i have gone to 40% and 45% off -- last year at this time i was flush with daily sales at least three a week sales -- now nothing -- doesn't help all my expenese come out of the first of the month -- locker rent - post office box rent - ebay store tribute- this month so far iam in the whole quite a bit - will try 50 % off at end of week if nothing changes - but that is my bottom line cost -- anything lower than that with ebay fees i will get close to losing money on very sale -- hope there is turn around -- xmas will be as many others on other forums have said also ---very very bleak this year-- no extras for the grandkids and grandma

only bright news this week was that my penality points are down to 2.14% from 2.16% last week- so again slight improvement - that 1.99% rating keeps or seems to be so far off but then again when ebay put me in promo jail they started at 2.33% so maybe just maybe i can get back to 1.99 % and lower fees and using promo listings again- maybe sales will go up also and i will make a little money

dobo5250 · ‎12-15-2022

well got my stats for nov. 15 to dec 15 in front of me -- all my green indicators are now red -- but thats ok --- it xmas views are down and so is all the other factors

only thing that has a improvement is my cost of selling i got it now at 35% of sells so for every dollar i sell inluding shipping and storage and misc stuff it costs me .35 cents to do that- thats a major improvement over last time when it was at about 43 %

the biggest expense now is storage/ then ebay fees / then postage over runs includeing returns etc

and supplies i may get rid of the store fees but not till the new year have to do more calculations to see if its worth it---that would save me alot

with my profit way down due to all the sales i have to run just to get a few sales - that profit now is being just a few dollars a week - so i hate to look at my hourly wage at this job -- but i will keep going -- told wife very little under the xmas tree for her this year - she understands --

2nd-time-around-jewelry · ‎12-15-2022

My sales have not been good at all for this December. I sell vintage jewelry which usually does well around this time of year. But not this year. During the pandemic my sales were very good.

reallynicestamps · ‎12-15-2022

apraised by a local card collector two year ago so prices are out of wach for sure

Collectors are often poor appraisers.

Partly because they are used to paying retail and underestimate how much of a retail price is the dealer's overhead.

In the stamp world the lowest catalogue price will be 25c and that is entirely made up of the dealer's costs for having and selling the stamp. The stamp itself is effectively worthless. But the dealer will still charge the collector 25c.

And partly because they don't see very many cards.

A dealer will see thousands of doohickeys - more in a week than collectors will see in their entire time in any given hobby.

It's part of the reason for the advice we give new sellers "Sell what you know, know what you sell."

During the pandemic my sales were very good.

The pandemic upsurge was noted by everyone. Then in January2022 it stopped.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎12-15-2022

@dobo5250

Re: Supplies

Meaning boxes, tape, bubble envelops etc?

Not sure if you are purchasing boxes but another good way to save yourself some money is next time you are in your local dollar type store, ask if they have boxes going into the recyling. As for remainder of supplies they can be purchased there cheap compared to chain type stores like staples etc. Basically a win win for you and the dollar store. Unless you are selling something super custom purchasing boxes can be a major expense. If you need to add some extra strength to recycled boxes you can reenforce(when necessary) by just adding a bit of cut up cardboard folded to make a V.

-Lotz

dinomitesales · ‎12-15-2022

@dobo5250 wrote:
thanks for all the advice you sure went to a lot of trouble i really do appreciate the input-
i know nothing of videos - so your input helps - selling these for a friend who is very sick on death's door so just helping out - alot of my non hardware store items are like that for others that don't have the where with all to list or knowledge - but i do what i
most of your points are very good points - i will try to incorpate a couple of them when i can - some i can not

I recognize that very few of your listings are video games, but I just picked that one because it's what I'm familiar with. But many of the points I made can be applied to any of your listings, namely 1) proper keywords in titles; 2) more Item Specifics; 3) cleaning up your descriptions; 4) comparing your prices to what's currently available for sale; and 5) rethinking your shipping to remain competitive, even if it means shipping without tracking. And opening up your listings to at least the U.S. market if they aren't already.

You have a lot of listings up, which is evidence of a lot of work and you should be commended for that! I would recommend maybe sorting your listings from highest price to lowest price in Seller Hub, and picking maybe five of the higher-value listings a day to see if you can improve the title/item specifics/descriptions/price/shipping. Or even 1 or 2 a day, whatever you feel you can manage.

Even just going into listings you might not have touched for a long time and tweaking things can trigger the algorithm to potentially show your listings to more potential buyers - eBay likes sellers who are always working on their listings!

dobo5250 · ‎12-16-2022

again thanks for the helpful advice i will ponder about trying t o fix what you say are wrong with my listings -though i am have hard seeing that matters , maybe it does -- most people that i deal with don't even read the main body of the listing they just want cheapest price for a item they want -- i don't get many sightseers- you need a cartridge of said model you look it up and bang decide to buy or not to buy = you need a breaker for your electrical panel you look up model model and then decide if your cheap enough to buy it from me --

as far as item specific go - most of my customers don't even know what that is let along use it they just tick off cheapest ---then model number of item-- maybe sometimes they will descibe what they are l looking for -- then they email me always asking even when it's under wholesale for a cheaper price

so iam not sure the extra time spent there will increase any sales -- but then i will try a few just to see as you seem to have a handle on the listing side of this business model

my regular tricks aren't working to boost visibilty relsiting/running deep discount sales etc .-- so i should try what you say -- i getting tired anyways of listing pokemon cards 4/5 hours a day --and i have hundreds left to put on - just found another box of them my friend brought over - so maybe a break from that and get into relisting items and fixing them so they will work

neXt week on the DEC 20th when ebay again EVERY 20TH OF THE MONTH will tell me the are closing my account because i am not "A" RATED FOR 6 TIME IN A ROW---BY THE WAY ITS MY BIRTHDAY THAT DAY !!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME !!!THANKS EBAY -

after the 2oth going to try a few auction listings to see if they are better -- i don't know either way that will work

well off to nap ,meds keeping in. when i get up i will redo completely a few odd faucet listings just see if that will work--

even my almost giveaways aren't working -- $1.99 items ---bidets kits that sell for $39/$49 in many stores in the area - they aren't even getting look sees--

ah the frustration of it all - almost makes me want to go back to work -- i have had a few offers from home hardwares in the area-- but they want me for really odd hours and miniual pay rate my health not taking standing for long period of time -- so that might be out of the question

boy i know i sound pathic i know i know -- just really bored with all of this --wish i could just make it go all away

again thanks for your input its worth to read others i know will find invaliuable

ricarmic · ‎12-16-2022

I think maybe you missed the point that @dinomitesales was trying to make.

You mention people will look up the cheapest version, they have to SEE your item to know you are there. That was dinomitesales point.

For this item: PKG#1397-4-UNITS-FERRAZ SHAWMUT-(4)CRS30AMP TYPE DELAY$4.99 each

You probably are NOT going to be seen much because there is too much non useful words in the early parts of the title. Note also that (I believe) special characters like #, -, (, ) defeat the search algorithm in that NOTHING after the special characters is considered, or it is considered very much less. If I am correct, that means far far fewer people will see this item because of the #, or the - perhaps the ()s, and that will not help your sales.

Always try to put the most important 5 words first in your titles, if you have to have a packing number for yourself put it at the very end.

So for an example, for this item:

PKG#1397-4-UNITS-FERRAZ SHAWMUT-(4)CRS30AMP TYPE DELAY$4.99 each

Try a title like this instead:

Ferraz Shawmut CRS30 amp type delay 4 units Pkg 1397-4 and whatever else fits

or

Ferraz Shawmut delay CRS30 amp type 4 units Pkg 1397-4 and whatever else fits

(I don't know much about hardware so I don't know how important the word delay is to the buyers)

I don't know how important item specifics are, but you might as well put in as many as make sense there as well.

This is a simple and inexpensive way to probably dramatically increase your viewership now and after you reacquire your above standard status, which should also increase your sales.

kawartha-ephemera · ‎12-16-2022

@dobo5250
Fine tuning your title composition is likely to be time well spent. For example your Ferraz Shamut CRS30amp listing is currently excluded from Google Shopping almost certainly due to poor title composition.

Since others have made offered alternative titles may I suggest

Ferraz Shamut CRS30 Amp Fuse Type D Time Delay Lot of 4

The listing photos are very good, so good I noted the fuses are in fact labelled as CRS30amp, no space. Labelling like that obviously suited the company for whatever reason. However using that in a title is i think problematic for search engines. I highly doubt buyers are searching that term, most will look for CRS30 denoting CRS series, 30 amp.

Notice I have omitted the special characters in my suggestion, making sure there is a space between each keyword. Search engines are easily confused, the very best like google might correctly guess what you're after and point you in the right direction but that cannot be relied upon, not by a long shot.

A bit of Google trivia I learned today. Google Shopping is now ok with following a keyword with a comma followed by a space. I had noticed numerous ebayers composing titles in this way. Now I understand why! Google is also now ok with using ALL CAPS, they change those into lower case all on their own.

dobo5250 · ‎12-19-2022

thanks for the advice on ruff reused boxes - i have those covered now -- i was taking about post office prepaid boxes which you have to pay for up front thus you don't repaid for the boxes for a whole week till for me is tuesday -- and searching for them as they are becoming harder to find these days - i always buy them on mondays when the shipments come in at the post office they run out by thursday so i buy a week worth then if i need them latly having very little sales right again need not so much.

again thanks for the input always taken with thankfullness

reallynicestamps · ‎12-19-2022

You can also buy those PO boxes by mail- a dozen at a time , which is an investment.

https://store.canadapost-postescanada.ca/store-boutique/en/1015FRB/p/flat-rate-box-pack-of-12

But they are the same price as the PO.

flipistics · ‎12-19-2022

@reallynicestamps wrote:
You can also buy those PO boxes by mail- a dozen at a time , which is an investment.
https://store.canadapost-postescanada.ca/store-boutique/en/1015FRB/p/flat-rate-box-pack-of-12

But they are the same price as the PO.

They really need to add an option to pay when shipped for the flat rate boxes. Maybe charge $2 a box or something up front (to prevent people from doing stupid things), then the balance when you actually ship the item.

dobo5250 · ‎12-24-2022

its dec 24 th christmas eve and i just been back from the post office before it closes with two items shipped since i reduced all my items 50 % now i gotten one sale a day every day which is good for me - and my still in ebay jail required stint - is now down to 2.11% - even though iam lost a almost thousand dollars in usuable money in the month of dec -- these sales have helped - not quite enough still need to get to 1.99 % before the 20th of jan 2023-- maybe i can --maybe not -- hard to say -- starting selling coins also have about 25/35 more listings over the next two weeks to post have about 20 listed now - then back to finish my pokemon cards maybe 40 /50 collections left to list --

jan 1st all the bills come flying in but i think i have them covered just barely - just not enough left to really have a good xmas -- tighting the belt like everyone else -- just cheaper style irish mist instead of baileys- for my coffee

less imported beer for my few remaining friends that come over - and alot less loto tickets for scratching xmas day -and no cheese platters for xmas day -- i was hoping to scratch myself out this mess i got into selling on ebay i just have to do it with less tickets (ha h ah a)-- well thanks for all the help and info for the year you have given -- i hope the new year brings more happiness to all -- just thinking about all those people in war zones -- and maybe iam just lucky-- to be here --instead of there '

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-24-2022

these sales have helped - not quite enough still need to get to 1.99 % before the 20th of jan 2023

@dobo5250

I'm glad to hear that your numbers are going down. Keep in mind that although you are evaluated on the 20th, your seller status is based on the previous calendar month. On January 20th you are rated on your numbers as of Dec. 31.

postit4me · ‎12-27-2022

I noticed in my traffic report that almost all my views come from external sites. This has been the case for this year. As soon as eBay stopped a large number of free listings traffic here came to a haul for me. I have only sold maybe a dozen items here since then. On my other sites, I sell that in a month or less but they offer all the free ads you can place. Google search for any item and eBay is fifth or further down. I know people don't like large free listing offers due to flooding the market but that is exactly what needs to be done. Without items in the search engine in the top three postings, you have little chance of connecting with a buyer. eBay needs to wisen up and start getting the traffic it desires - offer free listings large like 5000 per month.

brettjet38 · ‎12-27-2022

We are in a global economic downturn...

...AKA

A GLOBAL RECESSION and in 2023 it hits everyone, including the rich...

flipistics · ‎12-27-2022

@postit4me wrote:
I noticed in my traffic report that almost all my views come from external sites. This has been the case for this year. As soon as eBay stopped a large number of free listings traffic here came to a haul for me. I have only sold maybe a dozen items here since then. On my other sites, I sell that in a month or less but they offer all the free ads you can place. Google search for any item and eBay is fifth or further down. I know people don't like large free listing offers due to flooding the market but that is exactly what needs to be done. Without items in the search engine in the top three postings, you have little chance of connecting with a buyer. eBay needs to wisen up and start getting the traffic it desires - offer free listings large like 5000 per month.

Remember that ebay also changed how they count traffic, so you probably want to look at page views more than impressions. If you aren't already, I would recommend promoting items (even at the minimum amount) and trying to reduce your shipping costs a little if possible (they look a bit high to me and I'm in Ontario, so I can only imagine what they look like to someone on the coasts)

Other things I noticed when looking at your listings is that you only seem to be including one picture. This might actually be hurting you significantly in the ebay algorithms. For things like dinnerware, ideally you should probably be showing at least 4 to 8 photos, and don't be shy about adding more than that. You can add up to 24. People want to see that there are no cracks or flaws. Improving the lighting a little where you take your photos wouldn't be a bad idea either. For items like your brown Pyrex coffee mugs (picked at random), maybe do a search and see what other people are adding in their titles because those might be keywords that people are searching for. For example, it appears that pattern is called "butterfly gold". It's unlikely that someone is just browsing the category. They're probably searching for a specific look, and they aren't going to easily find yours if all it says is "brown band".

I'd recommend downloading the "Listings Quality Report" which is under the performance -> traffic tab (and is going away at the end of February 😢). It should provide you with some great additional insights.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎12-27-2022

@flipistics wrote:
@postit4me wrote:
I noticed in my traffic report that almost all my views come from external sites. This has been the case for this year. As soon as eBay stopped a large number of free listings traffic here came to a haul for me. I have only sold maybe a dozen items here since then. On my other sites, I sell that in a month or less but they offer all the free ads you can place. Google search for any item and eBay is fifth or further down. I know people don't like large free listing offers due to flooding the market but that is exactly what needs to be done. Without items in the search engine in the top three postings, you have little chance of connecting with a buyer. eBay needs to wisen up and start getting the traffic it desires - offer free listings large like 5000 per month.
Remember that ebay also changed how they count traffic, so you probably want to look at page views more than impressions. If you aren't already, I would recommend promoting items (even at the minimum amount) and trying to reduce your shipping costs a little if possible (they look a bit high to me and I'm in Ontario, so I can only imagine what they look like to someone on the coasts)
Other things I noticed when looking at your listings is that you only seem to be including one picture. This might actually be hurting you significantly in the ebay algorithms. For things like dinnerware, ideally you should probably be showing at least 4 to 8 photos, and don't be shy about adding more than that. You can add up to 24. People want to see that there are no cracks or flaws. Improving the lighting a little where you take your photos wouldn't be a bad idea either. For items like your brown Pyrex coffee mugs (picked at random), maybe do a search and see what other people are adding in their titles because those might be keywords that people are searching for. For example, it appears that pattern is called "butterfly gold". It's unlikely that someone is just browsing the category. They're probably searching for a specific look, and they aren't going to easily find yours if all it says is "brown band".
I'd recommend downloading the "Listings Quality Report" which is under the performance -> traffic tab (and is going away at the end of February 😢). It should provide you with some great additional insights.

@flipistics

For smiles and chuckles I downloaded the listing report for my 1400 + listings

Suggestions as follows

Increase promotion rate to 5/6 %. (0ften when creating a promotion system suggest much higher than those.)
Promote listings that were not promoted
Add more photos for DVD's, PB Books, Magazines, Sports Cards - From 4 to 8 photos
Add EAN numbers to items that are used without package
Add Best Offer to low valued items..10 bucks +-

Personally have had limited luck using eBay's Terapeak. Before and after listing an item. Rarely finds any information other than my current listing. Possibly awesome for anything new in box or in high demand.

-Lotz

dobo5250 · ‎01-01-2023

i getting close to getting back to good graces with ebay ---- iam now as of jan 1st down to 2.04% defect rate so maybe by jan 20 th i will be out of the dark hole dungenn ebay put me in -- and back to promo listings and lower final sale rate -- the money i have lost so far running ridiculous sales costing me hundreds of dollars will be over soon -- and i will be back to normal way of doing things -- i hope i hope i hope

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎01-01-2023

@dobo5250 wrote:
i getting close to getting back to good graces with ebay ---- iam now as of jan 1st down to 2.04% defect rate so maybe by jan 20 th i will be out of the dark hole dungenn ebay put me in -- and back to promo listings and lower final sale rate -- the money i have lost so far running ridiculous sales costing me hundreds of dollars will be over soon -- and i will be back to normal way of doing things -- i hope i hope i hope

@dobo5250

Unfortunately the eBay feedback/rating system is very archaic considering it really hasn't been improved much. Penalizing sellers that haven't sold much so they easily go into the negatives and the converse, sellers that sell tons that have a bunch of bad ratings they barely make a blemish on towards their record. Throw in the fact those negs/neutrals/bad ratings hang around for a year. Takes what seems like forever to move back up in eBay's good graces. It's a catch 22 for the newer sellers. Most of the bad ratings are caused by a transaction going off the rails due to no actual fault of the seller. Like can I control a parcel being late or having a set of weights fall on my package? Probably not. All you can do is sell to the best of your ability and hope (pray) for the best outcome each time. And ALWAYS be proactive when there are problems. If/when you see some one elses nightmare experience on these pages, final it away for your own use...So you don't by chance make the same mistake inadvertently. Merry Christmas to all...and to all a good night!!! Yayyy eggnog!!!

-Lotz