Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I wouldn’t mind paying a higher promo fee if they hadn’t changed the attribution rule….but I really don’t like paying the fee when there is no real reason to believe that the promo triggered the sale. But I am considering going higher just because its the holidays. Presumably more buyers, so shouldn’t need to increase the promo fee, but on the other hand, more buyers means nothing if ebay isn’t really showing my stuff because they aren’t happy with my 2.3%.
I’m guessing people are using Pirate Ship because buyers think it is the cheapest, whether it is or isn’t….but I’m not going to rush into it. The IG learning curve will be steep enough without it LOL
Yep, thanks for the like on my post!
ebay has a Webinar scheduled for this Thursday about ebay Live…I suspect they are going to announce that they’ve expanded the categories and have opened Lives up to more sellers…they clearly want to push a Very Live Christmas this holiday season. I’m going to try to attend the webinar, mostly just out of curiosity.
I too am considering increasing my promo rate for the Holidays.
I use calculated shipping on ebay with a 50 cent handling fee and a 20% discount from the rate charged to the buyer (recently increased from 15%). I might increase that rate again….or maybe even just give up the full seller discount and pass the savings on to the buyer….shipping is crazy expensive. ebay would be wise to provide some sort of real reduction for the Holidays, but I’m not holding my breath.
I’m also thinking of providing an ebay coded coupon —5, maybe 10%—to anyone who buys an item on IG. Run the coupon through the end of the year. (Of course, coupons stack into any regular discount sales I run on ebay, so I don’t want to go too high….just hoping the coupon gets them to at least look at my ebay store.
I have some of that pottery , I was buying it years ago, but have no idea where it is stored LOL
Will definitely keep my eyes open for more. Thanks for the tip.
I’m still trying to figure out just how I’m going to handle IG. For now, I’m planning on taking PayPal and using PP labels to ship, but I might end up opening a Venmo account as well. Also, on ebay I have one day shipping, but I see a surprising number of IG sellers have 50 to 10 day handling times, and I’ll probably go with something like that, but try to ship much faster. I’m definitely not going to promise one day handling, if ebay actually gets busy for Q4, I could find myself in trouble with that (I do all the shipping for both of us, so even if I have no sales, if Better Half has sales, I need to get them in the mail.)
I also see a lot of people using Pirateship. I don’t have an account with them…have you used them? (I have also seen sellers saying I ship through Pirateship, but if you prefer, I’ll list the item on Vinted and shipping will be 99 cents….Gotta love resellers’ ability to adapt LOL)
I’m kicking myself for passing on a bunch of unframed watercolors at a yard sale this weekend. But agree about sourcing online. I bought an 1860s cookbook the other week on depop for I think it was $14 — I’ll probably ask $100 or more for it once I’m done researching it.
I put up a short reel and a post with a few items I’m going to include in an Instagram Claim Sale on Wednesday night. Hopefully, this preview will act as a teaser to whet buyer appetites LOL My understanding is IG basically shows the reel to non-followers, and the post goes to followers feeds. (Of course, whether anyone will actually see it, I don’t know, but IG does have analytics, so I can check later.)
My ebay Labor Day sale is ending in a few hours, with nothing to show for it. As you said, Labor Day weekend is probably not the best time to run a sale, since a lot of people are busy actually doing things, rather than shopping online.
Here’s hoping I get at least a sale or two from IG, but even if I don’t, I’ll keep posting more stuff. If ebay were going great, I wouldn’t bother.
I agree about ebay. There IS a market for a lot of what you and I sell….but ebay isn’t doing much to attract that market, or to make it fun to shop for this stuff on ebay. I have said for years that ebay could be doing much, much better if they would give store sellers better tools and more freedom. You know, ebay Motors got its start because a few hardy souls decided to try selling their cars on ebay. Management was pretty much dumbfounded to discover that people would buy used cars online. That sort of seller based innovation has been missing from ebay for years…everything is top down now, with Management convinced they know so much more than sellers. Instagram might flop for me, but the more I’m looking at it, the more I see sellers with the freedom to innovate (I don’t know about Instagram Stores, I’m talking direct sales, where the seller gets paid through PayPal or Venmo, etc.)
I remember I was excited—well, a little bit—when ebay first introduced their “Social Tool”…and I recall talking to an ebay team member about it, and she too was excited….all sorts of plans, what do sellers want? etc etc. And then….ebay seems to have basically forgotten about it, and it is poorly designed etc. (I suspect the same thing will happen to the new bundling tool).
I’m not about to abandon ebay, but I’m definitely looking at alternatives. ebay could still announce some new changes that will make me say “Wow! These could be game changers!” But so far….I’ve pretty much given up even hoping that ebay will really do anything that will excite me (as opposed to, maybe exciting Live sellers or Trading Card sellers….)
So, I’m selectively listing some stuff on ebay this afternoon, and tonight I’ll try putting up some things on IG. And I’ll keep pushing both and see what happens.
I wasn’t aware of the Vinted limitations. Will keep that in mind. I’m thinking it might be good for sourcing right now….not that I really need more stuff. LOL
Keep on plugging!
I’m going to have to look a little more closely at Vinted. What’s your user name there?
I’m currently running a sale on ebay for Labor Day, 20% off a lot of stuff. So far, one absurdly low offer, that’s it. I have always felt ebay has neglected ebay Stores and Store Sales, and of course, now they want us to pay per click to advertise our stores or sales.
I’m going to try to list a few things on ebay this week…we picked up some decent stuff over the weekend at a town wide yard sale….but I’m also going to bite the bullet and put up my first IG direct sales….I’m not expecting much, because I’m just starting there, I’m hoping if I start posting now I’ll be able to develop a bit of a following by Q4.
With Q4 comin up, ebay sales should increase on their own, but I just don’t have much faith in ebay’s efforts on our behalf. IF I were doing ebay Lives and selling, say, Pokemon cards, yes, I would probably be all in on ebay. But my gut feeling—could be totally wrong—is that for a lot of my stuff (not all of it)—buyers aren’t looking at ebay the way they used to….they are on IG, or depop, maybe Vinted, etc. ebay has thrown away so many opportunities to be THE place to shop for this sort of stuff, and at this point, I don’t think they will ever get that market back….it’s just too diversified now, and I don’t think ebay is really interested in it.
I would love to remain ebay only, but I’m not ebay’s preferred type of seller….
I finally got some new listings up and did get a sale…not the new stuff, but as you say, ebay’s also seems to like seeing new stuff. I’m also giving the new “bundle” thing a try, even though I really think it’s not exactly well designed. It does get me a row in my listings above the promoted listings.
I don’t have a lot of followers on IG, but I’ve decided I’m going to try some direct sales on there…Of course, there’s a learning curve….I wish I had started months ago. Going to a small town wide yard sale this weekend, if the weather cooperates. This one runs hot and cold, but I usually do come home with some decent stuff. It tends to draw a lot of resellers though, so a lot of competition.
Glad to hear sales are picking up a little…I would really like a strong Q4, but ebay has been so sluggish, I feel I’ve got to really start pushing. And frankly, the state of the economy is worrisome….I do think buyers are going to continue to buy, but I don’t think it would take much to get a lot of wallets snapping shut….
I think what the PL fee gets me is some— limited— exposure on other seller’s listings. But I find many of my views are organic, which I attribute to people actively looking for the item and finding it in search results (where ebay is showing it organically because they are showing my competitors higher percentage fee listings as promoted). I think even with 2.3% ebay is not necessarily showing my items on other seller’s listing pages, not if there are similar items they can show with higher rates.
So, you are pretty happy with Nifty?
That’s why I use the PL at 2.3%….it might not give me a very big boost, but I figure it prevents me from vanishing altogether. And my tactic of removing from PL before accepting offers etc as certainly kept my PL fees low….but of course low PL fees aren’t much good if my low PL rate is preventing me from getting much higher sales velocity. I’m just not convinced that a higher PL —like 10% or whatever—would help me as much as ebay likes to claim, and of course, with the new attribution rule, there is no way to really know whether it is helping much or not.
One thin I’m thinking about is a variant I guess of the list without PL for 30 days tactic….I’m considering offering items directly on Instagram…payment through PayPal I guess…for the first ten days (or whatever number)…with a notice that the item will be going into my ebay store at the end of ten days (at a higher price). Even if I don’t sell very many items that way, it will hopefully increase the number of people clicking through to look at my ebay store to see what I already have listed.
I do think people are buying our kind of stuff, I just don’t think they are shopping on ebay as much as they used to. Add to that the fact that ebay clearly is pushing eBay Lives and certain favored categories, and I think it might be worth trying to push before my stuff goes up on ebay (or at least some of it…some things I’ll probably still put up on ebay first.)
@ChristineR I’ve been promoting pretty much everything as listed at 2.3%. But if I get an offer and take it or counter, or I send an offer, I first remove the listing from Promoted Listings. So, if the item does sell, there’s no PL fee. This has kept my PL fees pretty low , despite ebay’s “Attribution” rule. But I suspect it has also helped to keep my sales low, because 2.3% is not getting me a lot of visibility. I have a lot of older listings, and , like you, I think ebay really downgrades them.
I suspect there are multiple reasons for slow ebay sales, much of it tied to ebay’s refusal to recognize just how effective their competition has become, and much of it tied to ebay’s inability to focus on anything beyond ad revenue, ebay Lives and ebay sales centered on a relatively few categories (trading cards, designed handbags, etc).
I think the only way I’ll be able to keep this up is to go nulti platform and to push social media, Waiting for ebay to wise up is a losing proposition.
@ChristineR I think you mentioned it before, but which cross listing tool are you using?
ebay apparently had a strong Q2, but you wouldn’t know it from my sales. ebay is definitely putting its emphasis on Livestreaming and its focus categories, especially the higher end stuff like designer handbags, watches etc. But for a lot of what I sell, I’m not sure ebay is top of the buyer’s lists anymore….and ebay is doing too little to change that. So as much as I kind of hate to complicate things by going multichannel, I think I probably have little choice. How do you handle taxes for multichannel? Do you combine all your revenue and expenses as one business?
One thing about multi channel and using social media….while it will be extra work (especially due to the learning curve)…it might revive my reselling enthusiasm, which has been on life support with ebay. I still see so much potential at ebay, but it’s been ages since they’ve really done anything that made me say : “Now, this might be a real game changer!” So, maybe trying new stuff will revitalize things?
I’ve been spending the last few weeks organizing listed inventory….I realized I was WAY behind in doing that, and we were getting sales that resulted in me spending far too much time trying to find something in this mess. Progress has been slow, but I’m getting there. Q4 is speeding my way, and I want to be much better organized before that arrives. Better Half has been listing , but I haven’t been, because of the organizing, but I need to get some new listings up as well. And maybe work through older listings that could be updated.
Since ebay’s purchase of depop has gone through, I’m thinking about trying to list some stuff there….while it is geared towards clothing, they do allow other stuff as well, and I’m going to see if I have some stuff that might fit the depop vibe. I’m hoping ebay itself might make it easy to cross list but even if they do, I suspect it will not be till next year at the earliest.
Multiple platforms and social media are goals for Q4, but I’m not pushing any of that really until I get the place reorganized. That isn’t just the inventory, it’s also improving the shipping station and photo station. I figure that will take up most of August. (I’ve cut back on sourcing, which is hard to do at the height of yard sale season, but I’ve still managed to pick up a few decent things. Also, just did a little sourcing on WhatNot…I’ve never been big on online sourcing, but between time constraints, the cost of gas, and not getting any younger, it is making more sense.
I too an trying to lose weight. No drugs. I seem to have hit a plateau right now, but I think if I can add in more exercise it might move the needle again.
Here’s to better sales soon!
Ebay has been pretty slow for me. Listing new stuff does seem to help, sending offers helps a little bit. ebay claims that non-Live sellers get a boost from buyers who come for the ebay Lives, but , while that might be true for some types of inventory—Pokemon, designed handbags, etc….the stuff ebay pushes with its Lives—I suspect ebay’s new emphasis on Lives is actually hurting some sellers rather than helping.
I am finding that being part of a community helps my morale—-just like back in the day here as trash elves—-there are no local ebay groups (now called “circles”) for me, but I am part of the RVA circle which is based around Richmond VA, but has members all over the country (and international, too, if I’m not mistaken. Most of their meetings are online, with one at the leader’s home that is for the locals, but is also streamed live, so anyone can attend even that one.
I recommend it….
@ChristineR Congratulations on paying that off!
I definitely find that listing new stuff on ebay triggers sales better than most anything else I’ve tried. I’m trying to get on some sort of schedule, so I list “x” every day that isn’t an “away” day—away days are days we go sourcing, grocery shopping, etc, and are gone much of the day. In my younger days, I would have said “Well, list wehn you get home!” but I’m at a point when it’s much more likely to be “Take a nap when you get home” LOL
I’m on a CPAP for sleeping, and frankly, would much prefer medicine….what are you taking, if you don’t mind me asking?
I don’t know if anyone here uses Auctiva, but tonight they are hosting a free online webinar with ebay about collectibles. I’m sure it will also be a pitch for Auctiva, and ebay’s definition of collectibles tends to be “trading cards and comics”, but I’m going to give it a try (the webinar, not necessarily Auctiva) Details and sign up here: https://www.auctiva.com/webinar.aspx
And it looks like they are having another one in June all about ebay Lives….
Also, I’ve been attending an ebay “Circle” (they used to call them “Meet Ups”—this one is based in Northern Virginia, but they are virtual as well, so you can be from anywhere to attend the virtual.) I’m finding this to be great fun: informative, great people, and very casual….drop in for a few minutes or stay for a few hours. You can either treat it like a Zoom call, and have your camera and/or mic on, or—like me for now—just type in the chat area. Very welcoming to new folks. Next session is tomorrow 5 to 9PM (ET). You can sign up here: https://sellerevents.ebay.com/events/details/ebay-rva-seller-circle-presents-rva-seller-circle-co-working-session-33/
Any Trash Elves here who might be interested, come check it out…And that includes our original Trash Elves, if you two are still reading this!
That was one of the things I liked about Griff’s ebay podcast—ebay supplied a transcript — I can get through a podcast a lot faster if I can read it—skimming the stuff I’m not interested in—and nice to be able to go back and re-read something I maybe didn’t understand the first time.
For those who might be interested: ebay will be running monthly one hour online webinars on various topics beginning this month. Naturally, the first one is about using ebay ads LOL March will be Stores and AI. The others don’t have designated subjects yet, but in a rare move for ebay, they have released the dates and times for the entire year. May and Fall will have two hour “Seller Check-Ins” instead of the Webinars. You can reserve a spot for Feb, or the entire year….I went ahead and signed up for all of them.
More info here:
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/Announcing-the-eBay-for-Sellers-Webinar/ba-p/35460427
