on 03-09-2016 09:11 AM
Hi Everyone,
I am very concerned at how poorly my ebay sales are performing ... I must be doing something wrong!
My Customers are largely happy and I have 100% Feedback (680 Positives).
I principally sell top of the range branded stationery products and my total stock of about 1650 listings that I offer on ebay is worth about $400K at usual retail prices.
Mainly I match Office Works pricing, and I am currently offering 50% off that "usual retail price", with the support of my suppliers for a few months.
For past retail experience, this level of stock at usual retail prices would result in sales of about $5K per day, but at 1/2 price those sales would more than double.
On ebay I am only selling a fraction of that ... like 2 to 3% of the above typical retail store sales.
I am terrified as to what my sales will drop to when my suppliers promotional support pakages end and my prices have to go closer to usual retail prices. Given that my overheads are kept to an absolute minimum, I will still be able to disount my Office Works based pricing by say 20% but it seems to me that ebayers expect a lot cheaper than that and I will need to increase my sales at least 5 fold over what they are at 50% off !
My listings are NOT split in product groupings and that might have a bearing, but most of my customers inform me that they know what they are looking for and just type it into the ebay search engine anyway ... I do have multiple item sales so that seems to not be too much of an issue and it would take days to spilt everything into separate product categories.
Your similar experiences and any suggestions would be sincerely appreciated.
Thank you.
on 03-09-2016 08:19 PM
Or a 2l bottle for $3 from Woolies or Coles
Horses for courses.
I don't buy stationery from Woolies and I don't buy groceries from Officeworks.
on 04-09-2016 08:00 AM
Thank you for your enourmous effort in posting such a detailled view ... I'm printing them all out for ongoing use.
on 04-09-2016 08:01 AM
Thank you again for your input.
on 04-09-2016 08:05 AM
I would like to thank everyone who has participated and I intend progressively implementing most of what has been suggested.
on 04-09-2016 12:20 PM
@affordablequalitybrandedproducts wrote:I would like to thank everyone who has participated and I intend progressively implementing most of what has been suggested.
I am curious as to which suggestions do not fit into "most of what has been suggested"?
on 04-09-2016 01:24 PM
If you have a product that is the cheapest on eBay, maybe include that in the title or description. Not necessarily that all buyers will buy based on price but it's an attractive selling point.
04-09-2016 02:59 PM - edited 04-09-2016 03:00 PM
Did you know you can edit the categories in bulk? You can do it for both ebay's categories and your own store categories. I totally agree with what everyone else has said about categories. I saw you had screen filters and scissors under Pens, so you most likely won't sell many of those two items because they won't be seen. When I want to buy something like printer cartridges, I browse that category first and then put in the keywords I'm searching for to narrow it down. A lot would search that way and your cartridges would never be seen if they're not in the right ebay category.
I wouldn't buy your cartridges because of your appalling pictures - my first reaction would be "what have they got to hide?", or I'd think if you're that sloppy and inefficient with your pictures, how inefficient and/or uncaring are you when it comes to sending the right products out? EVERYTHING has to look professional if you want people to take you seriously. I make allowances for private sellers clearing out the garage but not for a shop. Just work your way slowly through everything and replace the worst pictures first.
I also noticed some of your Collins books only show the cover, which is fine if you know exactly which book you want, but for someone not happy with their current book and wanting to see what else is available, they need to see a view of the pages as well. It's not enough to say "5 money columns" - is it 5 per page or 5 per double page spread? You have to cater to everyone because a lot of your sales will come from the people who didn't know until they saw your pictures. The only way to get the edge on other sellers is to offer something the others don't, and it may just be extra details, or postage weights (see further down).
A lot of stationery sellers work on a very low mark-up and rely on volume sales to make their money. Ebay and b&m shops are completely different, especially when it comes to items with expensive postage. Some buyers may not worry about buying from the cheapest seller but a lot of the cheapest sellers (who are also extremely reliable) have a huge following and get a lot of repeat business, so you may find it hard to break into the market if you can't match their prices and service. Comparing yourself to Officeworks is irrelevant - you need to compare yourself with other ebay sellers of the same goods (sellers who get lots of sales).
I'd suggest putting a weight for each item in the description so that people can work out postage for themselves. If postage is $7.45 and the item they're looking at weighs 230g they'll automatically know they can buy items weighing another 270g without it costing any more for postage. Just allow a few grams more for the packaging. You might think this is a lot of work, but if buyers emailed you and asked about combined postage you'd have to weigh the items anyway. Anything that makes it easy for the buyers will help get you sales.
I'd think seriously about your store name in the next four weeks. Names that have a message about bargains or cheapest or deals make me run a mile, for several reasons. One reason is that it sounds as though your products are cheap and therefore poor quality. If you're selling branded products why do you want to sound like a bargain basement type shop that sells unbranded products? Names like yours automatically make me think of a market stall with someone hustling passersby for sales. Because of postage costs you can never sell for bargain basement prices on ebay so there's no point in trying to sound like you can. I can't understand why you use a store name of Payless4 cash because 99.9% of people on ebay use paypal, and buyers don't trust sellers who insist on bank deposit (cash). It almost seems like false advertising to me.
The most successful sellers I know of in office supplies have simple names - names that people will remember so they can find them again. You need your products, prices and service to speak for themselves, and I always wonder what's wrong if a seller tries to promote themselves any other way. Why not call yourself something simple like "The Stationery Cupboard" - it tells people what you sell, they'll remember your name for next time, and it's easy to say. By the way, I'm glad you can at least spell stationery correctly! Paper = stationery.
All this is meant as constructive criticism.
on 04-09-2016 04:19 PM
Things I can't adopt, are for example...
I can't do free post.
I can't provide postage on ALL items because some remote areas in WA and Tassy would cost me dearly.
I can't change from Quality Baranded stationery to cheaper stationery imports because I have contracts with my suppliers that I must honour.
on 04-09-2016 04:49 PM
PLEASE SEE MY BRIEF RESPONSES IN CAIPTALS BELOW THAT I HAVE INSERTED WITHIN A COPY OF YOUR POST ...
Did you know you can edit the categories in bulk? You can do it for both ebay's categories and your own store categories. I totally agree with what everyone else has said about categories. I saw you had screen filters and scissors under Pens, so you most likely won't sell many of those two items because they won't be seen. When I want to buy something like printer cartridges, I browse that category first and then put in the keywords I'm searching for to narrow it down. A lot would search that way and your cartridges would never be seen if they're not in the right ebay category.
REPLY - VERY GOOD POINTS AND TAKEN ON BOARD
I wouldn't buy your cartridges because of your appalling pictures - my first reaction would be "what have they got to hide?", or I'd think if you're that sloppy and inefficient with your pictures, how inefficient and/or uncaring are you when it comes to sending the right products out? EVERYTHING has to look professional if you want people to take you seriously. I make allowances for private sellers clearing out the garage but not for a shop. Just work your way slowly through everything and replace the worst pictures first.
REPLY - I WILL BE REVIEWING ALL MY PHOTOS
I also noticed some of your Collins books only show the cover, which is fine if you know exactly which book you want, but for someone not happy with their current book and wanting to see what else is available, they need to see a view of the pages as well. It's not enough to say "5 money columns" - is it 5 per page or 5 per double page spread? You have to cater to everyone because a lot of your sales will come from the people who didn't know until they saw your pictures. The only way to get the edge on other sellers is to offer something the others don't, and it may just be extra details, or postage weights (see further down).
REPLY - IT DID NOT OCCUR TO ME THAT EBAY BUYERS LOOKING AT STATIONERY (LIKE COLLINS PRODUCTS) WOULD NOT KNOW THE PRODUCT ALREADY ... VERY GOOD POINT THAT I WILL ACT ON.
A lot of stationery sellers work on a very low mark-up and rely on volume sales to make their money. Ebay and b&m shops are completely different, especially when it comes to items with expensive postage. Some buyers may not worry about buying from the cheapest seller but a lot of the cheapest sellers (who are also extremely reliable) have a huge following and get a lot of repeat business, so you may find it hard to break into the market if you can't match their prices and service. Comparing yourself to Officeworks is irrelevant - you need to compare yourself with other ebay sellers of the same goods (sellers who get lots of sales).
REPLY - I HAVE TRIED TO COMPARE MY STORE WITH OTHER STATIONERY SELLERS AND, EXCEPT FOR ATEGORIES AND QUALITY OF PHOTOS I THINK MY OFFERING IS BETTER THAN THEIRS. AS FOR (sellers who get lots of sales) I DON'T SEE ANY STATIONERY SELLERS ON EBAY THAT ARE GETTING LOTS OF SALES. THE ONLY WAY I CAN ASSESS AND COMPARE IS BY ADDING UP THE VALUE AND ITEMS THEIR FEEDBACK SHOWS COMPARED TO MINE. I FIND THAT ONLY 30.26% OF EBAY BYERS LEAVE FEEDBACK ... THAT IS WITHIN 1% MONTH AFTER MONTH ... SO WHEN I BROADLY APPLY THE 30% FATOR TO FEEDBACK RESULTS AND COMPARE WITH NUMBER OF ITEMS OF OFFER BY EACH SELLER, THEY ARE ALL PERFORMING AT WELL BELOW 50% OF VIABILITY ... MOSTLY THAT SEEM TO HAVE RETAIL STORES AS THEIR MAINSTREAM BUSINESS AND EBAY IS AN ADD ON.
IS ANYONE PROFESSIONALLY SELLING ON EBAY AS THEIR ONE AND ONLY BUSINESS ACTUALLY EARNING EVEN $20 TO $25 PER HOUR, AFTER PAYING FOR THEIR STOCK PURCHASES AND RUNNING EXPENSES?
I'd suggest putting a weight for each item in the description so that people can work out postage for themselves. If postage is $7.45 and the item they're looking at weighs 230g they'll automatically know they can buy items weighing another 270g without it costing any more for postage. Just allow a few grams more for the packaging. You might think this is a lot of work, but if buyers emailed you and asked about combined postage you'd have to weigh the items anyway. Anything that makes it easy for the buyers will help get you sales.
REPLY - I WILL LOOK INTO THIS, BUT MY CATEGRIES AND PHOTOS MUST BE A 1ST PRIORITY.
I'd think seriously about your store name in the next four weeks. Names that have a message about bargains or cheapest or deals make me run a mile, for several reasons. One reason is that it sounds as though your products are cheap and therefore poor quality. If you're selling branded products why do you want to sound like a bargain basement type shop that sells unbranded products? Names like yours automatically make me think of a market stall with someone hustling passersby for sales. Because of postage costs you can never sell for bargain basement prices on ebay so there's no point in trying to sound like you can. I can't understand why you use a store name of Payless4 cash because 99.9% of people on ebay use paypal, and buyers don't trust sellers who insist on bank deposit (cash). It almost seems like false advertising to me.
YESTERDAY I CHANGED MY STORE NAME TO "AFFORDABLE QUALITY BRANDED PRODUCTS" AND TRIED TO CHANGE MY USEDNAME TO THE SAME BUT EBAY MADE IT ALL ONE WORD AND ALL LOWER CASE. APPARENTLY I CANT CHANGE IT AGAIN NOW FOR 30 DAYS.
The most successful sellers I know of in office supplies have simple names - names that people will remember so they can find them again. You need your products, prices and service to speak for themselves, and I always wonder what's wrong if a seller tries to promote themselves any other way. Why not call yourself something simple like "The Stationery Cupboard" - it tells people what you sell, they'll remember your name for next time, and it's easy to say. By the way, I'm glad you can at least spell stationery correctly! Paper = stationery.
REPLY - COMMENTING ON LAST BIT FIRST ... I ALWEAYS REMEMBER IT AS E = ENVELOPE = STATIONERY (LOL)
I HAD CONSIDERED CHANGING MY STORE NAME TO SOMETHING LIKE "THE STATIONERY CUPBOARD" BUT I HAVE ALMOST LANDED A WHOLE NEW SUITE OF DISTRIBUTORSHIPS THAT ARE NOT STATIONERY SO I WILL NEED TO WAIT FOR THAT TO BECOME A REALITY (OR OTHERWISE) BEFORE I MAKE MY STORE NAME DECISION ... ANYWAY, I CANT CHANGE IT FOR 30 DAYS BECAUSE OF EBAY'S RULES.
All this is meant as constructive criticism.
REPLY - ALL YOUR COMMENTS TAKEN IN GOOD SPIRIT AND APPRECIATED SINCERELY
on 04-09-2016 06:26 PM
@dylan11235813 wrote:You should write a book DG 🙂 Seems you have plenty of material.
.
Is that a nicer way of saying I 'talk' a lot?
(It's true enough, though. I know I can be pretty self-indulgent at times ^_^ - and I do take it as acompliment anyway, so thank you [and also to didawaywith for the earlier compliment]
).
To the OP, re:
"IS ANYONE PROFESSIONALLY SELLING ON EBAY AS THEIR ONE AND ONLY BUSINESS ACTUALLY EARNING EVEN $20 TO $25 PER HOUR, AFTER PAYING FOR THEIR STOCK PURCHASES AND RUNNING EXPENSES?"
The answer (I'm guessing) is probably, but it's not easy, especially without an overwhelming presence (which includes things like sheer volume the large sellers, eg Officeworks, have, and who also benefit from insider deals with ebay. The big name stores often get additional promos and/or exclusive discount deals - that is, eBay gives buyers discount coupons for certain stores).
Sometimes I can earn $20 an hour, sometimes it's closer to $4
, because my hours are consistently 80-odd per week, but my revenue fluctuates (I also make my own products, mostly using the supplies I sell, and I pay myself appropriately for the skill and hours spent doing that).
My business is my sole source of income, and eBay is currently the major contributor of my total revenue, but the smaller two stores I have on another site are still integral. I plan to start an independent website too (something I've been saying for too long, TBH), so expanding elsewhere online is something you may want to consider in the future, once you've got a handle on ebay. I definitely look for business supplies off-eBay, mostly because the prices can be better, and will google an eBay business' store name if it looks like they might have their own website (you can't indicate in listings etc any websites where you might sell your goods, but if I see any indications from a listing that the seller is "bigger than eBay"*, as it were, I'll definitely do a quick search to find them elsewhere.
*There isn't a set list of things that give me that impression, but professional listing set up, customer help line numbers, remarks regarding long-term trading presence that doesn't specifically include eBay (eg "The Stationery Cupboard has been Australia's largest supplier of Premium Pens since 2002" as opposed to "Biggest Supplier of Premium Pens on eBay"), all tend to lead in that direction. 😉