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If you truly want non-emotional (what I call avoiding head-games) don’t use auto accept. Instead, use min to accept. $39 in your example and this should be your price your willing accept. Then you have 48 hrs to wait for other offers or accept the offer. Never counter on your highest offer or on an only offer. Think about it. Why counter if you get an offer that meets your minimum?
I would suggest going to the EB Community Forum.
http://community.ebay.com/t5/2017-Summer-Seller-Update-User/bd-p/2017SummerSellerUpdate
This is a hot issue and tons of Q&A going on. Even EB reps are (for once) chiming in. You certainly should find your information there.
I don’t read it as offering best search. Only in increasing conversions – turning shoppers into buyers. They will highlight those features to standout out in the ad rather than having to look into the return details.
Similarly, it looks like they will soon start enforcing business policies. Which I think is long over due. This will keep all the payment, returns, and shipping information out of the product description and into it’s proper place.
When I spoke of 50% STR, that was my goal. My actual is much like yours. When I source, those are the items that I like to focus on.
In a nutshell, the software that I run on my ecommerce stores is WooCommerce which runs on the WordPress framework. The plugin that allows me to cross list onto eBay and Amazon (haven’t used) is $149/year per site. What I like about this piece of software is that it allows me to manage all 11 of my ebay accounts from one dashboard. And that it synchronizes automatically. When an items sell on the website, it ends the listing on ebay and visa-versa.
Another plugin I use, onetime cost of $80, imports product information from Excel. And Excel is where I run all of my inventory from.
Word of caution though. Running an ecommerce store is not for the passive seller. There are different challenges unlike selling on eBay. But in one word… Full Control. Oops! that’s two words. That is why I prefer to sell directly than through eBay.
To be honest, I have not listed directly through eBay is probably 5-6 years. My primary selling channel is through dedicated online stores and my eCommerce software that I run allows me to list on multi-channels such as eBay without having to duplicate the listing. I do it once and that’s it. I can do a bulk relist in a click of a button or as a new listing in clicks of a button. Focusing and understanding SEO has really helped so I have been doing almost all relist as new listings to weed out the watchers.
Before relisting old items, I look at # of views and the date of the initial listing date. In that order. Anything with 10 or under views I flag to revisit. Anything older than 90 day I will change. Even it’s changing the order of the photo.
Mike,
On a similar note, I always wonder the pros/cons of the two insurance carriers offered through eBay. I’m always presented with the lower-cost option, but always use USPS since they are the one’s responsible for the package and I would prefer to deal with them directly rather than through a third-party.As anything dealing with insurance, I only insure what I can’t afford to lose. And price and likelihood of loss is also a consideration. I’ve been fortunate enough to have sold a few items in the last couple months for hundreds of $$. A book purchased for $4 sold for $500+, a tube radio purchased for $10 sold for $450 and just last week a bottle of perfume purchased for $1.00 sold for $400+.
As discussed on this forum earlier, I was forced into adding insurance to the book because it was $500. The perfume, I insured for $200 because that’s in the range of where the multiple offers came in. And the radio I think I insured it for $125 (what I felt I could quickly resell it at). Price paid really wasn’t a consideration.
T-Satt,
Yes. If I’m going to run a batch of relist, I generally find that I will not process those if they will end on a Friday. Just out of a habit and scheduling. New items, it’s not so much of an issue since I’m betting on my pricing to give me a STR of 50%. And those generally come within the first couple weeks of listing them. Friday is the only day I don’t list on eBay.
Besides the technical issues discussed earlier, being proactive with your listing and avoiding GTC will allow you to employ ecommerce selling strategies to your advantage. Like (specifically related to ebay),
Not listing or having a listing end on a Friday. This is well documented for eBay as well
as ecommerce that Friday’s are the least favored selling days.Also time of day is a factor. Avoid having listings that start after 10p or 11p EST.
Likewise, taking into consideration as well, that eBay’s Best Match search (default) favors items ending shortly. Potential buyers that are watching your item will receive a reminder 4-6 hours before the item ends.Also if you practice SEO, listing as new or similar will knock all of the watchers off your listing and your views can start anew.
The nerd that I am, the above bears it out in my own situation. Consistently, mid to high 60% of all my sales on eBay that have been listed for at least week occur during the same 3 days of the week – Tue-Thurs.
I’m a 30 day’er, for multiple reasons, but primarily it avoids dead stock and assures building of equity in the business. The short of it, is that I have some soft rules that I follow. A 50% turnover, moderate STR and min 5x ROI. Makes for more quality sourcing of items. That being said, the time spent to list an item that is $100 dollars is the same that is $10, so I prefer higher dollar or bundled items with greater value. When things are running smoothly, listing growth should be consistent with sales growth.
I’m not a believer of list and forget unless you have the STR and turn-over to justify it. The math just is not there. Having too much inventory will just sink you.
Equally, I use BO for various situations. But generally I use it when I don’t have a firm idea as to the items value. To avoid head games, I set the a minimum of what I would consider a BO. This is also what I’m willing to take. It’s avoids all the garbage low offers by immediately rejecting them and since I’ve set a minimum price, it also assures my ROI. Unless I have multiple offers, I will always accept a BO without a counter offer, near or close to the 48 hr mark.
Relating to the first question above… Taking a clue from eBay that will relist your item automatically for 3x is a clear signal that if it hasn’t sold or has low views it’s time to revisit the listing. Also I believe it has been documented that ebay depreciates your items within search that are 18 months or older. Personally, I never let an item relist more than 90 days without adjusting it and listing it as a new item (sell similar?). Likewise, I would never consider keeping something for 2 years. Even to break-even. The charitable deduction makes it a better investment rather than selling it.
Thanks Gompers,
I forgot about the $500 limit. In fact the issue with the buyer being upset was the one that had signature confirmation. I was confused why it had it on when I didn’t request it. Only after research did I find this out.
Don’t bother with signature confirmation. Delivery confirmation will suffice. Make sure the package is scanned immediately. Sometimes packages don’t get scanned until they reach their destination. Buy insurance for your piece of mind. Only buy what you feel uncomfortable about losing. And try not to focus on what you’re selling it for, only what you paid. Makes the decision making process a whole lot easier.
For that reason, I don’t issue partial refunds for separate purchases. Especially if they are seasoned eb buyers. I still will ship combined if within handling time.
It’s an unfortunate mistake. When you marked shipped, it should have given you a spot for tracking information. Looks like that may have been overlooked. To assure the cart is working, make sure immediate payment is not enabled on your listings. This will keep buyers from paying individually and will give them one combined invoice to pay from.
