Disheartened with ebay

mrs_tooti-frooti

I've been putting quite a few things on ebay but have only sold a couple and I'm getting really disheartened with it.

What do I have to do to get a sale?

I've tried to describe the item with lots of quirky descriptions and tried my very best but still nothings moving. Is this just for me or is it the general outlook at the min?

Is it better to wait for a fee free weekend and pile it all on then or pay the money to list when you've got the time and patience to do it?

Any advice would be appreciated.

soolin

Stuff does move on ebay but the old idea that everything sells is no longer true.

People are much more likely now to use ebay as just another venue and if it ebay is not the cheapest then just buy elsewhere. Clothes for instance are so cheap on the high street that it is only the very best or the quirkiest items that still sell on ebay.

However have you looked at completed listings for similar items to the things you are selling? If not go and take a look, see if it is all of those items that go unsold (in which case don't bother listing them) or if it is just yours look to see why your auctions differ from other peoples.

I assume as a private seller these are second hand goods, that means they need excellent photos so that any wear or damage (depending on what the item is) can be clearly seen. Make sure you don't have any silly terms or conditions that might put people off, if you look at the threads on here we often link to items where the seller has such long t and cs or such strange terms that we agree that no one would bother listing.

martindow

mrs_tooti-frooti wrote: »

I've tried to describe the item with lots of quirky descriptions and tried my very best but still nothings moving. Is this just for me or is it the general outlook at the min?

I'm not sure that quirky descriptions are a good idea. I would prefer a straightforward description as I want to find out about an item rather than be entertained. I might wonder whether the delivery or the item itself might turn out to be quirky as well.

Certainly be careful about using quirky titles as people find items by searching with keywords.

KiKi

It also depends what you're selling. Some things just don't sell. It's often much easier to shift (for eg) clothes from Monsoon, White Stuff and Per Una than other less coveted High Street brands because people think they're getting a great deal.

Do your research - have you looked to see whether other sellers are managing to sell similar items? Are your starting prices attractive? Are you listing them to end at a time when people are more likely to be home and able to bid (ie, weekday evenings)?

I've sold lots of clothes branded like that, but other things that I thought were great (exclusive one-off TV memoribilia etc) just won't sell at all!

KiKi

jasmineswhiskers

Are you being realistic with your prices. Most things sell if the price is right.

mrs.way

I agree with Kiki.
I always try and end my items between 7pm and 10pm as I find they sell for more.
For example, I wanted to bid on a Royal Mint coin that ended at 11am (when I was at work). It sold for 99p plus about £1 P+P, (I forgot to bid, dohh!). Exactly the same item (it was one of those Mini ones that was seen on the forums on here last year!) ended the next evening and I paid £8.92 for it as more people were around and bidding!
xxx

GettingItRight

It sounds like something you just need to do on a fee-free weekend. Otherwise surely the more you repeatedly list them - at the end of each auction -the more cost involved just to sell that item and less profit you can make in doing so.

Ebay is too hit and miss for my liking. An old children's book I had at the age of 6, sold in auction a few years ago for £13, but many others from the same age did not sell and got little interest. Clearly there was something about the book which I did not know about )

techspec

I still remember the days when you listied 20 items in the morning and they would all have a bid in the evening - sigh!

Its saturation - ebay is so well known now and also full of big corporations like argos/ tesco etc - that its much harder for the little guy/private seller to sell.

But i agree with the post above - just list on free listing days - then you have nothing to lose. Then, if an item does not sell - re-list again on free listing days.

If you have an item you defo know the value of - try buy-it-now with best offer option on a 30 day listing. Theres a much better chance that it will be spotted within that 30 days - but expect interest to be slow at the start - as it makes its way down the search pages. This means your only listing an item every 30 days, and not every 10 days max with an auction. Plus - for high value items, the listing fees are much lower AND if your selling an item in the technology category - final value fees are HALF for buy it now listings.