topic Re: all of a sudden in Selling

all of a sudden

onekiwi0 — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 10:23:44 GMT

you could hear a pin drop.... yep yet another ebay's so quiet post...

but seriously its been a constant two possibly 3 ebay sales a day...great with the unlimited listings promo.....and were heading into NSW holidays perhaps thats why there is not a peep...

so should I start selling on etsy I wonder... have not looked into prices as I've been with epay since2005 however I did notice it was only 3. something % charge and I am doubtful they charge on postage...

Re: all of a sudden

clarry100 — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 10:30:27 GMT

We run two basic stores.

The one which is normally busier than the other by about 50% or so never even had a single sale today.

That has never happened on that store since we started trading back in 2011.

The other store had two sales. Way under normal.

Re: all of a sudden

6508.froggy — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 10:40:53 GMT

I agree it is inconsistant with school holidays and times of the year all having an impact on sales however, I have to say I have had the best February and March ever both exceeded pre Xmas and April is starting of in a very positive manner. I sell collectables and have found if you have a wide selection of the collections on offer you will nearly always get multiple purchases - sold Five items this evening to one person with $600 value. Also feel that my items are possible suitable for the approaching Mothers Day so expect sales to be consistant this month. The items I do have a full range are far slower in moving. I enjoy rainy days as I usually gain a full sales that day as most people are inside on their computers.

Re: all of a sudden

pennyforum14 — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 10:43:50 GMT

3.5% fvf no fees on postage, 20c per listing and they last for four months. New shops have to use their Direct Checkout system which integrates Paypal with credit card facilities and various online payments such as Google Pay, Apple Pay etc. It doesn't use your Paypal account, it uses Etsy's and then Etsy pays you, minus a processing fee roughly equivalent to Paypal's. Your funds accumulate in a Payments Account and get tansferred to your bank once a fortnight (or sooner if you ask).

You could put your vintage stuff there, must be at least 20 years old to qualify, but other than vintage, only handmade (by yourself) and craft supplies are allowed.

Re: all of a sudden

jellybirddesigns — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 12:39:35 GMT

I sell on Etsy as well and I have had a few sales there, but it definitely takes time to get your first one. I do charge a higher price for my items there as I feel like I have to constantly push my prices downwards on this site (even though I have had to absorb a 30% increase in material costs over the last 12 months).

In short, I like Etsy, but I definitely get more sales here, so it's a bit of a trade off - low sales there with low fees, or higher sales here with higher fees.

Re: all of a sudden

davewil1964 — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 12:45:41 GMT

@cushioncovers wrote:
I sell on Etsy as well and I have had a few sales there, but it definitely takes time to get your first one. I do charge a higher price for my items there as I feel like I have to constantly push my prices downwards on this site (even though I have had to absorb a 30% increase in material costs over the last 12 months).

In short, I like Etsy, but I definitely get more sales here, so it's a bit of a trade off - low sales there with low fees, or higher sales here with higher fees.

Should average out then. Higher prices, lower fees.....

Re: all of a sudden

onekiwi0 — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 21:42:26 GMT

So less traffic - shame, so far purchases from etsy have seemed more professional the whole experience but perhaps that's just those stores. Another payment system sounds annoying a little complex and I see you review as opposed to feedback so I assume buying and selling is separated ... Meaning as cushions said hard to get ur first sale

Re: all of a sudden

chameleon54 — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 23:12:33 GMT

WOW FROGGY, nice range of items you have for sale there. Just out of interest, do you have many problems with breakages in the mail and difficult to please customers ? I have a lot of vintage china and glass in storage, but have never really been game to list it in case it gets broken.

Back on subject, my sales in the last few days have been reasonable without setting the world on fire. The sad part is the private account which sells mens shed collectables is kicking the store accounts butts. With all of ebays freebie listings, this account has been getting the most attention and sales have been very strong. Looks like we will have to include it in our ATO returns.

Re: all of a sudden

6508.froggy — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 08:49:13 GMT

Hi Chameleon - Have no problems with breakages (touch wood) been selling collectables for 7 years and have one item damaged in that time. Buyer could not understand why it would break as it was packaged so well. The secret is bubble wrap and more bubble wraps and lots of foam peanuts - I do not skimp on packaging even if it increases my postage cost. Would rather the items arrive safely than damaged. My motto Package so the parcel can be used as a football with no damage to the item. Have a lot of great repeat customers and as you will see from my listings lots of photos and accurate honest descriptions. Very rarely have an issue with any buyers maybe I am just lucky. Cheers

Re: all of a sudden

saarzi — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 09:38:21 GMT

Me too.. traffic has PLUMMETED the past week (going on views) - only bots looking at items.

Maybe Ebay has been tinkering with traffic / throttling.

Re: all of a sudden

digital*ghost — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 11:41:49 GMT

@onekiwi0 wrote:
So less traffic - shame, so far purchases from etsy have seemed more professional the whole experience but perhaps that's just those stores. Another payment system sounds annoying a little complex and I see you review as opposed to feedback so I assume buying and selling is separated ... Meaning as cushions said hard to get ur first sale

For what it's worth, I think E*sy is the best third-party alternative to eBay for anyone who has items that can be listed there (discounting A**zon, for various reasons), so is always worth giving a shot. Australian traffic is low compared to ebay, but if you will post OS there's a very large customer base, some of which are used to the high costs of international postage, so won't necessarily baulk at the Aus Post prices.

I opened my first store there just over 2 years ago and it took about 2 weeks to get the first sale, with low but consistent sales since then, all things considered (4-5 sales a month on average, which I know doesn't sound like a lot at all, but is a very cost-effective and worthwhile venture once the listing fees and FVF fees are taken into account - that shop is jewellery, so a saturated category, no outside advertisng at all, no promoted listings, and inventory has been a little neglected for a while because I haven't had a lot of time to design / make new things lately, in other words I'd probably do a lot better with that shop if I actually invested some time into it).

The second store was opened mid-last year, and once I started listing things I had a sale within an hour - in just a few months my sales in the second store was triple the sales in the first one. That one is purely supplies, though, which is a highly popular category, and I focus just on a particular niche.

Both my shops were opened prior to direct checkout being mandatory, so I was able to keep DC and PayPal separate (I was actually going to switch to just DC, but then they announced if you did that, you weren't going to be able to switch back, I didn't really like the choice being taken away, so I kept my PP separate because I figured it was better to have it than not have it and never be able to get it back). But, that being said, their DC system is not very complicated at all, payments are generally hassle free once everything is verified, and their seller protection is comparable to PayPal's, plus only proof of post is required for international sales (that's not so good for the buyer's though, when they strike a seller who isn't willing to assist with a lost package).

You can't block buyers from purchasing from you over there, but you can cancel a transaction for whatever reason you deem fit, generally without repurcussion or fear of bad feedback (if cancelled within certain parameters), and that, TBH, is a very welcome function by me (so far I've only used it once outside of buyer's actually requesting to cancel, and that was because there was a note to seller mentioning delivery by a certain date that would have been impossible to meet, and the buyer never replied to my messages asking them to confirm if they still wanted to go ahead).