on 19-10-2016 02:10 AM
Hi all,
Just wanted to ask your views on this. On Ebay USA, there are a few resellers who posts youtube videos and they mention about having an assistant, but I know over there the minimum wage is $10 an hour. How much would you consider paying someone to assist you to list on ebay and how many listings would they need to do to make it worth your time to hire them.
Kind regards
on 20-10-2016 12:11 AM
These listings were sort of like an admiration (copied off) of a popular seller listing who had 16000+ transaction and all she had was just the bare minimum but somewhat colourful writing, but she had 1300 items in her store but I guess its all about the consistency of listing items. She didnt have any measurements at all as well but I do have people asking for measurements so I will add that in.
Regarding postage, I dont have any complaints with postage, I use to sell more and they were all at $12.50 express post and they all paid the postage.
This is one of a few accounts I have but I have been spending more time on the other one and neglecting this one, and I work full time in the hospitality industry so I was thinking of getting an assistant to help me out and all I do is just list it up, as at the moment I am a one person band and unfortunately, it takes me more than 29 minutes to list one item.
on 20-10-2016 12:11 AM
on 20-10-2016 12:14 AM
Thank you for your advice! I will try out with an assistant and see how it goes.
Btw I love your comments you leave in the discussion room as well as some other authors. Some funny but all informative and very helpful, I appreciate the time you take to comment.
on 20-10-2016 12:19 AM
Hi,
Its not a trading assistant Im seeking but like an employee who comes over and write things for me and then I will list them later. Actually, the listing is from an ebay seller that had over 16000+ transaction and she stated the same thing and Im amazed how she was able to get alot of sales with two or three clear photographs, mostly no measurements in her listings and stating she wants payment within two days. Im working on my other shop thats why this one is somewhat neglected but I will include measurements and fill in the other listings. But thank you for taking the time to write and give constructive comments. Much appreciated!
on 20-10-2016 12:22 AM
I have a couple of other IDs but Ive been concentrating on my other one that Ive neglected this one, thats why i need an assistant to help out, probably not a trading assistant as they are more expensive. Again thank you for the comment you made, I appreciate the time you took to comment and hopefully when I get an assistant my listings will be more "filled" up.
on 20-10-2016 01:25 AM
I work full time, shift work, 7 day roster, and have 3 eBay accounts which I have no problems keeping up with (unless sales go through the roof, then I can get a bit snowed under. I also don't have a store, so am not trying to keep up with thousands of listings). When I get new stock in, as I'm unpacking each item I measure it, weigh it, label it and photograph it, then leave feedback for it. Once I'm finished doing that I'll edit the photos. That generally consists of cropping to make the photo square, making white backgrounds white and black backgrounds black. Sometimes I need to adjust the colour a bit, but usually it's just the backgrounds.
When the time comes to list, I use the sell similar option. That way all the basics are there and I just have to alter titles, photos and descriptions. Photos can sometimes be slow uploading, so the first thing I do is delete the photos that are present and upload the new photos. While they are uploading, I alter the title and description for the new item. Generally by the time the photos are loaded, I'm done with the adjusting. As all the basics, like the boring bits, postage, duration, all that stuff are already in, a listing takes me as long as it takes to upload the photos.
I haven't looked at your listings, but as an example for a listing you could have:
Title: Sportsgirl Size 12 preloved black evening dress gown (use up all characters if you can using as many keywords as you can).
<description of item you're selling> e.g Beautiful preloved evening dress with pencil pleat skirt, shoe string straps and lacy bodice (I don't sell clothes so just making stuff up). There is a thread pulled in the hem and a small scratch on the zip on the back. There is also 1 thread in the lace that is broken but it doesn't affect the look of the dress at all.
Then you could have:
Colour - black
Brand - Sportsgirl
Size - 12
Measurements (laying flat) Xcm across the bust, Ycm across the waist, Zcm across the hips, Acm from neckline to hem.
Faults - pulled thread in hem, scratch on zip, 1 broken thread in the lace.
Then you could go into the boring stuff, like your terms and conditions.
Add your postage details, payment details, duration and submit the listing.
Then to list a new item, use the sell similar option. Then your basic template is there and you only need to change the key things to suit the new item. After you've got quite a few things listed, if you've already got a black dress listed and you want to list another, use the sell similar on that listing as there are less things you need to change, like you would if you used sell similar on a pink t-shirt.
Working shift work, I often get home at 3, 4, 5am and can't go straight to bed. I'll do a few listings then and schedule them to start at a more appropriate time (I run auctions so like to have them end in the evening rather than 3am, but if you're doing all BIN's, it wouldn't be an issue sending them live at 3am). I'll also edit a few photos that may not have been done previously.
There are quite a few clothing sellers on this forum, but I'd strongly suggest having a look at Cats listings. She is very successful at selling clothes and has been doing it for quite awhile. I am not suggesting to copy her listings, please, don't do that, but you should be able to get some ideas on what you need in a listing to successfully sell clothes, especially as it's a saturated category on eBay. You want your listings to stand out. Hers stand out and her buyers are happy, as is evident by her good feedback. Plus she sells a fair bit so is clearly doing something right.
Once you get into a bit of a routine with listings, it's not really that hard to handle a few accounts and have a full time other job. If you find you are struggling and do need help, why not offer a job to a teenage computer nerd, who cost less to pay and would be grateful for a few tax free dollars (shhhh, I didn't say that!)? They seem to like graphic design and all that kind of stuff, so they could show off their artistic flare on your eBay and really help your listings to stand out. Plus a teenager is less likely to try and go into competition with you, as someone like a stay at home mum might.
on 20-10-2016 09:13 AM
Payment must be made in 2 days yeh right,ebay allows 4 days for payment.
Hiring an assistant well I can do that for you for $60ph I'm cheap.
on 20-10-2016 08:03 PM
I am certain that there would be a Senior High School Student in your area who would be more than happy to work a couple of afternoons a week or Saturdays taking and uploading items, sorting inventory and packing parcels. Pay them $10 per hour which is more than McDonalds and easier than mowing lawns and washing cars. ( If I ever intend to on turning my hobby into a business and my 15 year old daughter decides she no longer wishes to help me out, that is definately an idea I would be giving serious thought too for hiring assistance)
on 20-10-2016 08:17 PM
@*tippy*toes* wrote:
I haven't looked at your listings, but as an example for a listing you could have:
Just a suggestion - take a look.
Of 100 listings - 98 - are reportable.
There is nothing for sale - on 98 listings.
Sheesh.
20-10-2016 08:17 PM - edited 20-10-2016 08:18 PM
@*tippy*toes* wrote:
I haven't looked at your listings, but as an example for a listing you could have:
Title: Sportsgirl Size 12 preloved black evening dress gown (use up all characters if you can using as many keywords as you can).
<description of item you're selling> e.g Beautiful preloved evening dress with pencil pleat skirt, shoe string straps and lacy bodice (I don't sell clothes so just making stuff up). There is a thread pulled in the hem and a small scratch on the zip on the back. There is also 1 thread in the lace that is broken but it doesn't affect the look of the dress at all.
Then you could have:
Colour - black
Brand - Sportsgirl
Size - 12
Measurements (laying flat) Xcm across the bust, Ycm across the waist, Zcm across the hips, Acm from neckline to hem.
Faults - pulled thread in hem, scratch on zip, 1 broken thread in the lace.
Then you could go into the boring stuff, like your terms and conditions.
This is pretty much how I did it when I sold clothes. I did every task in batches, so I'd have a photo session, a measuring session, then a listing session.
I had a single template with the top area for a brief description (for this meant overall condition, imperfections, if any, and whether the fabric was sheer or stretchy).
Then there was another section with measurement headings and weight, but almost all of this can be simplified in a column-style list, with either the details put in for each item or a symbol to show if an attribute applies (i.e. you can have sheer listed and if it's not sheer, you put ✗ there, and if it is sheer, you put ✓ instead). Then you'd just need to make the template, and adjust the individual details per item listing.