Sales on Ebid.

[MagnetsAndHangers]

Just been catching up on this thread.

Seems to be a bit of generalisation going on.

I believe that every seller should know how to sell his or her 'speciality' product.

I couldnt begin how to tell kedo how to sell collectibles, or tell al how to sell cymbals, or pink how to sell <fill in the blank..I cant remember now, and cant be bothered going back to the beginning to have a look>. I know nothing about selling those items. I have no interest or knowledge in these products whatsoever.

I do however know how to sell my own items.

I dont believe that the number of listings makes a difference.

Take 3 of the sites I use. 8,000 on one of them, 2,000 on another, and 600 on another.
The one with 8,000 sells a lot less than the others.
(I put a similar amount of advertising in for my stores in all 3 sites - and it isnt a lot!)

Also there are many sellers here with a lot less items than myself, and they sell a LOT more.
Why? Because they put the time and effort into promoting themselves and their items. They know their product. They also have an interest in their product.
Good luck to them.

Everyone has their own way of promoting items.

I keep seeing in here folks saying list more, list more, list more, you will sell more.
Personally I would tell them to gain knowledge of your product, promote in the appropriate forums around the web. Join in the chat on those forums, get people to know and trust you. And have a banner as your signature in those forums - linking back to your store.
Get yourself a url which describes your product. Then re-direct it at your store.
Put fliers in with every product you sell. NOT one flier per package if you do multiple sales. Put one in every PRODUCT. If someone is giving them away as gifts, then your fliers will be seen by more people.

Good promotion, knowledge of your product, an interest in your product....importance wise, these are 3 things I would put above the number of listings you have.

But hey - apart from dogs and pets - I know nothing, so the above is just my little ol opinion.

[adruml]

...and a great opinion.

[kedo]

I now understand that, thanks.

Well I'm not being rude. I just thought I'd condense what I've learned, write it out once and blog it. It's not just the forums, I get pestered via auctions "how you doing on eBid", "do you get many sales on eBid" and so on. It's a bit of chore to keep replying. It would be so much easier just to point people to one location.

[moonwitch]

I agree with this. Say you go to your nearby mall to shop. Which stores are you going to enter? The ones with empty shelves or the ones that are fully stocked?

Which of two market stalls would you buy from...the one piled up with cheap tat or the one selling a newly invented product that nearly everyone who stops at the stall takes an interest in?

[madelaine]

Moonie, it's not as simple as that. If I don't want what is for sale, I pass by. Each extra item on here makes it more likely that the buyer will a)find us using Google shopping and b)find something they want to buy.

[moonwitch]

Moonie, it's not as simple as that. If I don't want what is for sale, I pass by. Each extra item on here makes it more likely that the buyer will a)find us using Google shopping and b)find something they want to buy.

That is what I am saying...when someone comes here from Google (I have never used Google Shopping to search for anything) they might have a look round eBid while they are here once they have found what they are looking for.

While they are having a nose around the site....I was asking who would they buy from....someone with thousands of listings which are very nondescript...or would they buy from a seller who is selling few things but has more interesting listings?

I regularly buy from the closing listings so have no idea how many items a seller has when I first see that item on the list. I will buy from whoever is selling what I fancy ...whether they have 2 listings or 2000

I regularly browse sites after they come up on google and rarely buy stuff I would find randomly on another site.

[resalemadness]

If whining is posting 40,000 US Dollars of merchandise and selling one item in 6 months...so be it... The Boyz site needs some work or it will remain a social chat site for the few that think they do well selling 5-10 $5.00 items per month. I came here because I read that this was the number 1 competitor to the other site you all call feebay and being UK based. Alot of my sales come from the UK and Australia so I thought it was going to be a fabulous place to SELL. I priced all my items for less than on the other site because of the no listing fees and/or final value fees....then I came back on and slashed the prices 50-80% to see if that would spark up some customers...and it did...I sold one item that was worth 500.00 US Dollars for 149.00 in 6 months. I do not do this because I am bored...I do this to support myself and several employees. I am still here and "WHINING" because this wonderful site would be a great place to do business as an alternative to the other site thats out there. However if someone doesnt start "WHINING" then ebid will never be more than a social site (like facebook) for a few diehards that dont care if they sell anything. I like this site's concept and hope it turns into something, however if people continue to join thinking its an "auction site" and they think they will have real sucess and then find out it isnt working..they will continue to leave....that does the Boyz no good nor does it do me any good, because sellers are buyers, and most of us attempting to use this site need buyers.

Hello - I am an American seller, like you, and agree with what you are saying. I have posted 2 very controvercial suggestions in another thread about agreeing to let Ebid raise the sellers fees a bit, partularly on auctions listings and final value fees, that is getting a lot of flack, but some good suggestions in between insults.

The USA listings need to be improved, for one, and the promo on the home page to create buyer excitement for featured auctions is another great idea.