How to get more views on ebay?

[Charlieb]

Hi

I've brought some stock recently to sell on Ebay and see if I can profit from it. Mainly novelty house decor eg mugs, lamps, doorsteps etc

Essentially just a lot of stuff from here:http://www.propaganda.co.th/product_list.php?&start=0&page=1

I've listed it on ebay several times over the last few days on 3 day listings in the appropriate category with free p&p and nice pictures to advertise it, but I'm only getting a maximum of 3 views per listing let alone watchers/buyers.

Here's an example of one of my listings http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130850401431?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

The rest of the stock expired last night and I don't want to re-list it until I learn what I'm doing wrong otherwise the same thing will happen again.

I am new to ebay and ecommerce, so can people please advise what I'm doing wrong. I believe the stock will sell as it's novelty and relatively unique but my marketing of the product it probably wrong.

 

[BusyVids]

There are several things you could do to improve your listings and get more views. First the title of your products needs to be better. You should think about what other people might search for and include those keywords in your description. For example, instead of listing a "Fart Mug with Mr P" you should be thinking along the lines "Novelty Mugs, Novelty Gifts & Gift Ideas - Fart Mug"

Ebay listings are basically web pages and do get indexed so always think about including several keywords in the title descriptions. Next, the actual description needs to include more content. You want to make a sale so you need to make this item sound irresisitible. For example, "This Fart Mug is made of the finest material and will cheer up anyone's day. Great for birthday presents, special occasions, getting the message across or just as a fun gift. Everyone knows someone who has this little problem. Postage and packing is absolutely free to anywhere in the UK and we despatch on the same day we receive orders. We pack our mugs very carefully to ensure it reaches you in one piece" ... etc etc"

Thirdly, 3 days is not long enough to get enough people to see your listing. 7 days is better. You also need to ensure your listing is always available over the weekend because most ebay buyers are shopping online over the weekend.

If you really want to wow your customers then get someone to create html listing templates, which you can use over and over. This is an example of one of my listings on ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111012209080?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Hope this helps.

 

[Charlieb]

Thanks a lot for the advice. I've taken it onboard and changed my listings which you can see here .

I havent got around to templates yet, but I'll see if this has any effect on the number of people viewing the page, let alone buying the product.

I think the products can sell as they are fairly unique but my problem is attracting viewers to the page.

If you have any more suggestions, I'd really appreciate some advice.

Thanks again.

 

[Jayser100]

Personally I don't like templates because they nearly always look tacky and messy. In my opinion it is far better to have well written descriptive text and then integrate a couple of extra images of the product, which you can store on Photobucket and then link to.

Here is an example of one of my listings:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Unisex-Rapid-Eyewear-Moritz-Black-SUNGLASSES-GOGGLES-FOR-SKIING-and-Snowboarding-/330866502279?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Skiing_GogglesSunglasses_JN&hash=item4d092e2a87

 

[Charlieb]

Since I've updated my listings there's been no change to my views. I really don't know what I'm doing wrong. This is purely to get views, let alone sales.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/charlieb....e=STRK:MESELX:IT&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

Have a look and I'd appreciate any more suggestions. The most traffic I've had is click throughs from this thread.

 

[kathemmi]

Unlike most peoples expectations eBay is not an instant way of geting sales.
It takes time to build a reputation.
More sales + good feedback = higher placing on the listings pages = more hits on your listings.
If you're confident about your products saleability think about investing in an eBay shop. Tend to get higher positions on listings.
Keep your nose clean, be competive on pricing, give a good service, get good feedback & eventually you'll get the business. There's normally a buyer somewhere on eBay for any product.
I have a Top Rated Account on eBay, but it's taken me 12 months to get there. I have a friend selling the same products at similar prices & terms but on a new account that is only a few months old that is getting only 2 or 3 sales a month.
Think about spreading the load and try Amazon where there isn't quite as much competition, buyers tend to be a little more discerning, prices can be a little higher than eBay & lack of feedback dosen't seem toso much of an issue as customers don't leave it so often as they do on eBay.
Hope this helps & good luck with your venture.

 

[apricot]

I've been on ebay for years (not myself but I set up accounts for my friends and family) and i listed so many different products. If one product is going to sell well, it starts selling within the first week. If it doesn't sell within a month, I don't generally bother myself to relist it. Unless if you are wholesaler then it would make sense to have all the products but if you are trying one line of products and if it doesn't sell, i would try to change the product line.

In your case, your product is sellable but you want to reach to more people. Ebay optimization is similar to Google SEO optimization. You need to add the right keywords so when user search for you whether on ebay or google ( ebay selling results also appear on google) your listing should appear. However, generic keywords are always competitive and it's not easy to get on top. A generic keyword would be ''Coffee mug'' for instance. If you check Google keyword tool, you'll see that how competitive it is. However, 'Fart Mug'' keyword wouldn't be a generic keyword, but you need to check again on Google Keyword tools how many people actually search for such a keyword. If the search volume is low then probably, it is not a good keyword to target. You should keep searching for the right keywords to target that's how you would increase the traffic.
Good luck! I hope your business will go well.

 

[serendipitybusiness]

Personally I don't like templates because they nearly always look tacky and messy. In my opinion it is far better to have well written descriptive text and then integrate a couple of extra images of the product, which you can store on Photobucket and then link to.

Here is an example of one of my listings:

Yes if the template is tacky, however if the template is good it brings your product and offering into a whole new dimension which helps conversion which helps your eBay search placement, which helps get more visits which are converting and you work your way up.

EBay is weighted against new sellers with new products as you appear further down the search tree on the best match search, the only exception is auctions as they pop up as they are ending quite often.

What you have to do is wait it out as a new seller, choose your title wisely, make your picture stand out (not with boarders though as that is against eBay policy) to draw them in, then have a great looking and full description to help conversion.

If you are serious get a shop and put them on to keep rolling over. EBay looks at the metrics to how many items have sold verses views when weighting the search so as it is a rolling increase and having a permanent listing will help, also it will allow you to cross promote your products more effectively as there is a permanent link to work with therefore helping new products gain momentum. So you are not starting from the beginning again.

I will give you an example I put one product on at the end of January, I had one sale on eBay on the 2nd of February, One on the 12th and 6 in the last 3 days. Now my product has jumped in views to 110 and is now on the first page of eBay for one of my chosen keywords rather than buried on page 6. Not all are as fast as that it and this may just be a spike, I may be knocked off by next week it all depends on your competition and how strong they are.

EBay is not the quick route to market it used to be, views are dramatically down from what they were. However, it still has value you just have to work a bit harder, be a bit better and wait a little longer.

I can show you my template in PM if you want an idea of what can be achieved but mine is quite advanced and needs html knowledge to be able to do. However I am sure there are plenty of simple yet effective templates but whatever you do don't go tacky as that will harm you rather than help. The majority of listings are ugly so this really helps you get an advantage over the competition.

Hope this helps and good luck!!

 

[GoAndPutTheKettleOn]

I would say £8.99 for a mug with a picture of a cartoon man sharting would your reason for no sales.

Does anyone really want that? You can buy mugs in Tesco for £2 or less.

It's obviously not a product people are actively searching for. If you search for "novelty farting mug" you come up top out of 7 result but that's not a common search. "novelty mug" will be but then there nearly 9,000 results and you're no where to be seen.

Trying starting with products that are popular and keenly priced.

 

[filtee]

I would say £8.99 for a mug with a picture of a cartoon man sharting would your reason for no sales.

Does anyone really want that? You can buy mugs in Tesco for £2 or less.

It's obviously not a product people are actively searching for. If you search for "novelty farting mug" you come up top out of 7 result but that's not a common search. "novelty mug" will be but then there nearly 9,000 results and you're no where to be seen.

Trying starting with products that are popular and keenly priced.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[serendipitybusiness]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fart-Mug-Mr-P-/130846520035

Actually the seller has sold some for a similar price but packaged differently, you don't always have to be the cheapest, if you compete solely on price and try to beat tescos you are going to loose.

This one you sold 2 in one day with a cheaper price but paid postage so if that formula works do that but have a permanent listing and higher stock quantity so you can keep it rolling and you should do well.

Like I say there are less views all round, but as you can see the sales are still there just less of them these days.

 

[Andy777]

Hi

I've brought some stock recently to sell on Ebay and see if I can profit from it. Mainly novelty house decor eg mugs, lamps, doorsteps etc

Essentially just a lot of stuff from here:http://www.propaganda.co.th/product_list.php?&start=0&page=1

I've listed it on ebay several times over the last few days on 3 day listings in the appropriate category with free p&p and nice pictures to advertise it, but I'm only getting a maximum of 3 views per listing let alone watchers/buyers.

Here's an example of one of my listings http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130850401431?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

The rest of the stock expired last night and I don't want to re-list it until I learn what I'm doing wrong otherwise the same thing will happen again.

I am new to ebay and ecommerce, so can people please advise what I'm doing wrong. I believe the stock will sell as it's novelty and relatively unique but my marketing of the product it probably wrong.

1) Your listings look bad, including product images. Check out my free guide on how to create pro looking eBay listings:

http://andrewminalto.com/perfect-ebay-listing/

2) Your have just 4 feedbacks. Get at least 10 before you start selling (you can simply get them by buying some cheap, 0.99 items or packaging materials for example).

3) You use BIN listings, short term. This won't work for you as your listings will be at the bottom of search results. Use auctions instead as they get a boost in search results on last hours/minutes before they end.

Lastly, as others said - maybe your items/pricing is just wrong? Check Terapeak.com or eBay's advanced search for Completed Listings to see whatever such items are selling at all @ your prices.

Thanks,
Andy

 

[emediastudiosuk]

You could start you own website to link to ebay.

You could write online press releases about your products and link to your store.

You could add your store link to forums in your niche.

 

Consider opening an Ebay shop....this will get your products into the well known search engines (& often on those little side ads see when Googling - at no extra charge) - a lot of people baulk at the £15pcm Ebay charge for a basic shop - but the extra traffic it brings is normally worth it - you can open an Ebay shop for as short a period as 1 month (but I'd say give it a few).

The blunt fact is - that if you want increased traffic on the net - you've got to pony up for it! (at least if you want quick results & don't want expend time blogging & building links etc)