Hi - maybe this is a bad idea....but is there some group or board that newbie sellers can have a vent?
I'm about ready to quit - probably my own fault (the "bad idea" is - in saying anything people are free to then tell me all those things I'm apparently getting wrong - or to shush up cos I have it better than others - or whatever......) - but I'm really discouraged.
The new slug on postage has gotten me worried too....if I am managing to (almost) lose money & only get part-decent sales on a 99c start of a Primo Brand name item with free post (NOT sustainable)....then this gig may not be for me. I'm not that well so can only do this in little pieces - I know listing copious quanities would likely help....& I have them to list - just not the ability to get them out there....
I guess I've just had my vent already - correct?
(I just sold something for 99c - worth $30 - with $5 post (a loss) - and it just bites. But if I only list at what I'm prepared to take at the lowest end....I don't even get a look-in.....it just feels like a lose-lose and I'm dreading May.....)
There - that's my vent.
This is very circumstantial, because I think everyone experiences NPBs no matter what they sell and/or what their average price is, but I am finding almost all of my NPBs are on items under $10 (all of my items are Buy It Now, these days - I did clothing auctions for a fair while on another account, but eventually built a different kind of store and my items range from less than $5 to around $50). In some categories, I suspect the lower-priced items attract more NPBs because some people bid or buy low price items on impulse and without thinking it through as much as they would if the price was at a point where they'd have to ask themselves if they can afford it, so in that sense you could possibly find putting your start prices up a bit may help curb some of them (and if you don't have them in place already, go to My eBay > Account > Site Preferences > Buyer Requirements and put the block in place to stop any buyers with two or more NPB strikes from bidding on your items - it won't stop it from happening altogether, but it will help stop the repeat offenders).
Postage (and P&H prices) is something that everyone has a different opinion on, and different things work for different people, but I always think an accurate reflection of costs is the better way to go - it's all about first impressions, in that a seasoned buyer may look at low postage prices and not feel confident that a seller won't cut corners to make that price feasible, as a lot of them know that some items can be flat packed and sent at letter rates, occasionally damaging items in the process.
I'm nt saying you need to think about - and cater for - every little possible nuance, that'd send anyone mad as you'll almost always have contradictory advice / recommendations 
but that you shouldn't be afraid to be fair to yourself, and that doing so can actually have an overall positive effect on first impressions and sales, even if there are still a few that reckon accurate P&H is "too high".
One other thing you might like to consider re: listing items if you feel that having a certain number live at a given time would help, is that you can now schedule listings for free (up to 3 weeks in advance), so that could be something to help you get a number of listings ready to go at a certain time, you can even revise and push back the date if you want to have a bit more time.
