Sales.... 30% off

[saarzi]

I have been experiementing with sales over the past 6 months - 20 - 30% off.

Thats on all my items - both brand new with tags and pre loved.

Its not made one ounce of difference to sales.

Most of the time, Ive had 40-50% of my items on sale. Consistently throughout the 6 months my NON SALE items have outsold the sale items dramatically, to the point where Ill only have one sale item sold a month versus maybe 50 non sale items.  

Makes me wonder a couple of things - how Ebay is actually handling items in search (they never seem to be higher in ranking, plus "sale" message visibility, plus amount of sales allowed (too many?) etc etc), and, how customers actually perceive sales *on Ebay* specifically.

For myself, outside of Ebay I like sales (some of them anyway). On Ebay, I seem to avoid sales. I dont know what it is, but I dont see the sales as genuine (marked up then marked down), and I dont trust the items quality. 5-10% sales are just insulting. I wonder if other buyers are similar.

Either way the results demonstrate sales as not an effective tool at all on Ebay.

Any similar experience with sales long term?

[*tippy*toes*]

---

@theforcemedia wrote:

They seem to benefit my sales slightly, but it could just be wishful thinking 

I think..

There are a number of people who will make the purchase rather than putting it on their wish list if the item is on sale.

And there are people who will purchase a sale item, rather than an identical item from another seller which is not on sale. Even if the price is the same. Why? People are silly 😄

And if you have low-cost items, there are people who are more likely to make additional purchases when on sale.

But I also think experienced buyers know that many sellers buffer their prices. And the item is always on sale, at the 'correct price'. So sales simply don't phase them.

But who knows if it's really worth all the trouble, when eBay's just going to throttle your sales anyway...

All that aside, the primary reason I create sales is for the additional in-store advertising it provides. See attachment. A couple of store listings are shown just above the item description, with a link to view more. It's not much, but it's free and I don't have to do anything. So I take advantage of it. Every little bit of marketing helps!!

---

It's funny you should say that. People see the big sale sign and don't look any further. An example was a few years ago at my local IGA, I was looking at breakfast cereal and noticed that Uncle Toby's oats had a sale label on them. I can't remember what the exact price was so I'll pull numbers out of the air. Sale price $5.99. Regular price $3,99. People couldn't grab them quick enough. All they saw was the sale sign and didn't bother to look what the regular price was. As you said, people are silly!

[247newdeals]

As a seller I have not found sale that effective as a buyer I do avoid sale items unless I know the seller my reasoning is sellers are forced to sell at a very low profit margin in the first place when I see a sale sign I assume (rightly or wrongly) it is either s fake sale the items are not worth what they was originally being sold for or the items are fake. To me buying on Ebay requires risk assessment as a lot of fake/counterfeit and sub standard goods are sold. If I have previously bought from a seller I will jump at a sale if it is something I want/need but otherwise it is more likely to push me away rather than entice me.

Saying that these are my personal feelings and we  remember buyers are made up from people from all walks of life and who see things differently also I currently have an item on sale 😉 

[dazzledayz]

---

@transport-posters wrote:

I've tried lowering prices and it makes no difference.  People seem to respond better when I increase my prices.  Sometimes I start low so all the early birds and people watching my account can get good prices, then sometimes increase by 50 cents a day over a 10-day period.  Give it a try and see what happens.  It may trigger some auto "activity-detecting" thing and make eBay give you more exposure.

---

That's actually not as odd as it sounds.

People often suspect "sales" or items selling way under market value.

The buyers will consider the offer too good to be true ie what's the catch here!

They may suspect that the seller is getting rid of products that aren't selling for a variety of reasons (none of them good).

Could it be fake, could there be undisclosed damage, is the prodcut no good, is a new version due out etc etc

In other words, it puts doubt into the buyers mind.

When you increase prices you are implying to your customer that the goods are selling well and now worth more (so buy it before I hike prices again).

Or, you imply you charge more than your competitors because you are more trusted, a larger operation, offer better service and support etc.

This is why large manufacturers are so p'd off when people buy their products wholesale then resell on eBay etc at less than RRP.

They consider this activity to be a devaluation of their brand which often costs them millions to establish in the first place.

In general, most economists will suggest you price either at, or very nearly at, the median market rate.

Remember your bell curve - most of the volume is in the middle.

Another consideration that deserves mention is that when you do a sale you are appealing to the bottom feeders.

[sueken4812]

---

@dazzledayz wrote:

---

Another consideration that deserves mention is that when you do a sale you are appealing to the bottom feeders.

---

I love a good sale ..... and I am NOT a bottom feeder ......  

[amber-eyed-girl]

Sales are effective for the large retailers on eBay, if the constant offers of 20% off are anything to go by.

I have bought from the major names here, when the 20% off is in operation (but I check their own websites first...sometimes with their own offers, it's cheaper there!).

If I have an item on my watch page, one of the reasons can be that it is (in my opinion) too much...if it goes on sale I generally buy it.

I would never buy it if it went up in price, as I'd know! I tend to look at the overall price for something, not "specials", except in the above instances.