Sharing your listings to Pintrest boards ? Does it increase sales & or make your item more visible?

[the_walsh*s]

Just wondering if anyone bothers & if there is an advantage to share your listing to Pintrest (or any other Social Media platforms) when the option comes up at the end once you have listed? I have never bothered in the past but today wheile listing I thought it maybe worth it to increase visability on the net in general and a way to lure (not sure if that is the right word) anyone searching for that product/item to Ebay and make a purchase?  

[*tippy*toes*]

I'm guessing that as you posted your message 8 hours ago and not got a reply, the answer would be that no one knows. Only way to find out is try. I have no idea what pinterest is, but if it's like a social media thing, try it. The more people that can see it, the better.

[imastawka]

I do a lot of research using reverse images.

If I see something that looks halfway interesting, I click on it only to find

it's on Pinterest.

That's the only info I get out of it.   Someone liked the image enough to pin it.

Dunno where I can buy it.    Don't get any info about it at all.

Can't see the point of Pinterest, unless it's just to say   'Look at what I like'

[imastawka]

Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann summarized the company as a "catalog of ideas," rather than as a social network, that inspires users to "go out and do that thing."

Can't see that as generating any sales

[stylesilver]

In our family- we used to have a Facebook Business Page for an old Ebay store ... about 10 yrs ago & YES it did work! Ypu'll be able to tell ....cos if you post certain products for sale, they should sell more often than items you havent put up on FACEBOOK! Soooo... if it starts working for you, u should notice an increase fairly quickly. Pintrest works according to a friend of mine for her online business. People use it like an online scapbook, or pulling a page out of a magazine,  to remind them of something they'd like to buy... by "pinning it " online on their account so that when they look at it later they might go "mmm, Ive got some spare money right now .. I might buy that handbag now that I "Pinned" a while ago! Personally I'd go for the Facebook idea!

[digital*ghost]

Most social media sites (including Pinterest) - when used to support a business in one way or another - works best when the user / account is highly active (that is, it will have minimal effect if used passively, which includes just sending the product listing to the site). 

The best results are seen when you invest the time to be an active member of the community, and approach it a little more laterally / socially than purely product advertising.

I started a Pinterest board for my handmade stuff (there's a strong focus on artisan / DIY on Pinterest, so I figured it was appropriate), but in the end I let it go stagnant as I really didn't have the time to put into it (to further exemplify what I mean, I could probably cultivate a decent following by not just posting my stuff for sale, but having several boards dedicated to different aspects of my chosen craft - finished pieces, tutorials, interesting and hard to find components etc, and particpating in some way on other boards with shared interests). 

The same can be applied to Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter etc - using it as a social platform first, to engage others, is more effective than using it solely as an advertising platform....because people aren't there to be advertised to. 😉

These days my stuff gets pinned often enough to other people's boards, and I get a small amount of views and sales from that, which is good enough for me (I am a fan of the long, slow burn, though  ). 

[everard6920]

I think Pinterest works well if your products are "eye candy" or as Digi said, handmade. Mine are the former.

I have been uploading my eBay images to Flickr for over 10 years as a back-up. I don't "share to Pinterest" directly from my listings here (I didn't know that that was a possibility, actually), but rather, from the Flickr image. And then I include a link to my store.

Not sure how it's translated into sales, but a lot of people follow my images on Pinterest (so many that I had to stop the email notifications). And seeing as I already upload everything to Flickr as a back-up, all I have to do is hit the "share" button on the image to have it appear on Pinterest.

It takes minimal effort, and I figure it can only help, rather than hinder, sales.

[the_walsh*s]

Thanks for your reply ! 

I have pinned a few items, just as a trial so will see what happens. If it appears to be working, I will do more otherwise I won't bother. It's not that time consuming but I would rather spend the time doing actual listings.....

As for what it is, well as someone a little futher down said, it is like a scrapbook of things you have seen & liked, like pulling a page from a magazine to keep an image of somewthing you liked.  It is a little addictive at first, but I guess not really suitable for what I mainly sell (2nd clothing)

Thanks