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I appreciate all of the advice, thank you! I’ve been selling on eBay for 15 years (albeit in a PT capacity), so I already send out offers, sell similar items that haven’t sold in 30 days, created a coupon, and use promoted listings (I changed it from 2-4% now) and try to take professional quality photos on a mannequin.
I was hoping there was another tip or trick I haven’t heard yet lol. I think, ultimately, it’s a numbers game, and I just need to be listing a whole lot more and ensure what I buy has a good STR. That really good week was a fluke. I asked a representative at eBay, and they said it was related to the algorithm, but they couldn’t say what I had done to trigger the flood of sales ( I was selling 3-4 high ticket items per day versus my usual 1 or 0).
@craig rex I’m actually going away tomorrow for the week, but I will do your challenge when I return. In the meantime, I’ve pre-set my listings to have 3-4 items go up on eBay per day (but I don’t think that’s enough).Hi everyone,
I’m a long time listener but haven’t posted on here in years. I just wanted to chime in on the clothing conversation. I live in NYC, and lately, I feel like it’s become more difficult to find things to sell that aren’t clothes. Prices at estate sales and thrift stores have gone up (or the products are picked over and don’t ever hit the shelves). They’re also just a pain to store in my tiny Chinatown apt.
I have about 1030 items in my store (mostly high-end or contemporary brand clothing, some shoes, and a very small amount of housewares or perfume from before), and I try to list consistently, but I can only manage about 15-20 items a week at best. I still can’t eke out a full-time living doing this. Jan 21st-27th was my best week in a long time I sold $1800 (gross) worth of stuff. Of course, now I’ve been hit with the most returns I’ve ever had for things like “this jacket fits well but is scratchy in the shoulders” 🙄, and it seems all the high ticket sales I was so happy about finally selling are all coming back. I’ve had 5 returns and counting.
I’m wondering if any of the clothing resellers have any tips for me. I got laid off from my job about 8 months ago, and since then, I have been trying to find a new job while focusing on eBay for now. (I’m a freelance writer and this year has been rough)
Is there a specific number of listings I need to hit to make my sales more consistent? For example, last week, I only sold 2 items for a total of $237 dollars, and this week, I haven’t done much better. I’ve only sold 2 things so far for a total of $200, but one buyer has already started a return because she “couldn’t find a belt that worked with the dress.” I’ve dealt with clothing for a long time and I always point out any flaws and include measurements, but the returns are out of control lately. I’ve never had so many! Gah 😩
I do cross post to Poshmark, Depop, and Mercari. But I’ve only made a handful of sales on Depop and one on Mercari, Poshmark I’m lucky if I get two sales a week. Thanks in advance
Unlike everyone else I’ve had an extremely slow January which worries me (down 77% from this time last year). With about 1075 items (I primarily sell clothing) the most I’ve ever had…no offers, no sales. This week I sold 1 pair of sunglasses. Yikes. Hope the tide turns for me.
Suzy
Hi Jay,
To clarify my stance on social media I’m not saying it’s necessarily why things sell at the rate they do for your store but I do believe they help sellers that I follow on IG and YouTube. Not sure if it’s kosher to mention them by name but the two I’m referring to both have very different business models. One sells nearly everything free ship and tries to put up 100+ items a day while the other one sources more expensive brands and puts those up at higher prices and charges for shipping. The first one’s sales are definitely helped by her social media presence bc people that follow her are now emotionally invested in the lives of her and her family. How do I know this? They refer to her by name in the Ebay feedback and openly discuss how happy they are supporting the family. It works for them so good for them but I’m just saying I have no interest in doing that. The Second seller There’s no direct evidence but the amount of followers she has on Ebay (propelled from IG) probably help sales and occasionally she will sell on IG before posting on EBay.
Suzy
It’s unfortunate so many of us are experiencing slow sales,but I’m glad we can all commiserate together without having the tone of this post become negative.
Paul- I would KILL for $800 a week in sales right now. How many items do you have listed?
OmFug- I too tried to do an auction for the L.L. Bean duck boots (saw a similar pair do well recently so I figured I would do the same with mine). They had 16 watchers and sold for their opening bid of $24.99 🙁 (never again.) Don’t think I have any super hot items so to speak.
Suzy
Hi So Cal Joe,
I don’t know if others will agree with me but I really feel like social media is not something that you can decide if you want to use for your business, it’s pretty much a necessity. All of the Ebay power sellers I follow have a strong social media presence and I know that there is a strong correlation between this and their sales on Ebay. I know in the past, people have said otherwise but as far as clothing sellers- I definitely see that their participation on platforms like Youtube and Instagram seems to be driving sales to their page. I remember the old days when I started and had no problem making sales without linking to my Twitter (5 years ago).
I just don’t think I’m willing to start a social media presence related to my store in order to sell old clothing. I also do not want to be associated with clothing, as Ebay was always supposed to be a way to make money so I could focus on something else (writing projects,etc.). Seems like that’s the only way now. Having a buyer find your items organically through Ebay’s search seems like it happens less and less frequently. Just my 2 cents.Suzy
Thanks for the input everyone. Jay- I’m currently paying her $2 per item and giving her about 40 items a week. This is just extra $ for her as she has a day job. My initial goal was to give her double that weekly but it’s been difficult to find clothing (as I do the other things myself) for a reasonable price here in NYC that are of the quality that I need.
I was able to purchase about 20 items during a President’s Day sale at one of the local Goodwills but that’s not enough. I don’t understand how people that go to the local Goodwill Outlet here in Long Island City do well there- I have gone on occasion but it’s difficult to find quality items in large quantities. I don’t know how others do it but I walked out with only 3 items after digging for hours. I don’t bother buying just so-so clothing anymore as I find it takes too long to sell and space is at a premium (I recently discussed moving all of my inventory into a storage unit near my apt).Suzy
Hi Jay,
I live in a rent stabilized apartment so my rent is actually pretty cheap as far as rents downtown and in the outer boroughs go. I pay less than most of my friends pay and they have roommates. I give up access to an elevator and space for location,location,location but I see your point.
Was hoping someone else that actually lives in a small space in a metropolitan city might chime in.
Suzy
I hate that I have to keep going back to check on this forum topic but my sales have been abysmal the past 2 weeks. I think I had 1 this week and I have had only 2 low ball offers and no matter if I mark down inventory or offer free shipping on items- nothing seems to be helping.
I have 890 items in my store, and while that is not a whole lot of inventory i have been listing consistently and it doesn’t seem to be helping.
This November is really turning out to be a bummer.
No sales in going on day 6. With 895 items listed in my store. Eek.
I also bought a ton of the Kenzo x H&M stuff but I could tell this collection wasn’t going to be very popular after the dismal line I encountered at 6am at the mall. Blah.
I did read that lines were long in London so maybe British buyers want my stuff? Disappointing to say the least.
