New Ebay seller. Listing advice needed.

[Thomas_D]

Hello guys,

I've recently started selling a new product on Ebay. The problem is, no matter how I list the product, I don't even come within the first 5 pages on best match. The product is an iPhone/iPod USB cable, there does seem to be quite a lot of competition on this section.

I have a good price, and there's many more products on the first 3 pages that have a more expensive price than I do.

How does Ebay work when it comes to getting your product on the first page or so, do you actually have to sell a quantity of the item before you start appearing on the first pages?

Thanks

 

[FreelanceSoftwareDeveloper]

The default sort order is their Best Match system, but some buyers may change it for price or ending time.

More established listings rate higher in best match, if 100 people have bought from 1 listing that will rank high. Also Top Rated Sellers appear above everyone else.

There are also Featured First listings to jump the queue but these aren't cheap, around £45 for a week and possibly not available to new sellers.

Thinking long term the way to gain ranking is to sell products on established listings, but getting their isn't easy. Use 'Good til Cancelled' listing which automatically relist every 30 days but retain the sales record and rank.

Something I just learnt recently too is make sure these listings don't end (when your out of stock), keep your stock level up but if you run out simply increase your price to 10-20% above what you could buy the product from another seller for. You wouldn't expect to get a sale during this time but if you do you can buy from another seller and get an item to your customer within a few days.

You could also use auction listings to get some better visibility.

 

[Thomas_D]

The default sort order is their Best Match system, but some buyers may change it for price or ending time.

More established listings rate higher in best match, if 100 people have bought from 1 listing that will rank high. Also Top Rated Sellers appear above everyone else.

There are also Featured First listings to jump the queue but these aren't cheap, around £45 for a week and possibly not available to new sellers.

Thinking long term the way to gain ranking is to sell products on established listings, but getting their isn't easy. Use 'Good til Cancelled' listing which automatically relist every 30 days but retain the sales record and rank.

Something I just learnt recently too is make sure these listings don't end (when your out of stock), keep your stock level up but if you run out simply increase your price to 10-20% above what you could buy the product from another seller for. You wouldn't expect to get a sale during this time but if you do you can buy from another seller and get an item to your customer within a few days.

You could also use auction listings to get some better visibility.

Many thanks for your reply.

We're still on a personal account because we've not long been set up and just haven't made the switchover yet. On a personal account I can't see the 'Good til cancelled' option. Is it business account only?

Cheers

 

[FreelanceSoftwareDeveloper]

It could be, it's designed for ongoing repeat sales so wouldn't be surprised if they don't show it for personal accounts.

 

[silvermusic]

Many thanks for your reply.

We're still on a personal account because we've not long been set up and just haven't made the switchover yet. On a personal account I can't see the 'Good til cancelled' option. Is it business account only?

Cheers

Good til Cancelled is only available if you have an eBay shop. Otherwise the maximum Buy it Now listing period is 30 days.

As for trying to sell USB/iPhone type gadgets on there I wish you the best of luck, you're going to need it, eBay is over-saturated with those type of things from China and Hong Kong sellers at stupid prices.

Best Match gives the most weight to those multiple quantity listings that sell. I use to find as soon as you sold one from a listing more followed very quickly as you jump to the top of searches.

 

[Thomas_D]

Good til Cancelled is only available if you have an eBay shop. Otherwise the maximum Buy it Now listing period is 30 days.

As for trying to sell USB/iPhone type gadgets on there I wish you the best of luck, you're going to need it, eBay is over-saturated with those type of things from China and Hong Kong sellers at stupid prices.

Best Match gives the most weight to those multiple quantity listings that sell. I use to find as soon as you sold one from a listing more followed very quickly as you jump to the top of searches.

I agree. Buying the USB cables was probabaly the worse thing we did. We expected them to sell quickly, as we saw lots of sellers with over 1K sales.

 

[silvermusic]

I agree. Buying the USB cables was probabaly the worse thing we did. We expected them to sell quickly, as we saw lots of sellers with over 1K sales.

£1k of sales and probably zero profit margin too after you take ALL the eBay/PayPal fees into account, too many busy fools. I once tried USB cables on eBay, got a job lot of 300 for silly money, after selling about a third and losing more on them than I was making I gave it up as a bad idea and flogged the 200 left off in a job lot.

 

[Thomas_D]

£1k of sales and probably zero profit margin too after you take ALL the eBay/PayPal fees into account, too many busy fools. I once tried USB cables on eBay, got a job lot of 300 for silly money, after selling about a third and losing more on them than I was making I gave it up as a bad idea and flogged the 200 left off in a job lot.

I think it's just a matter of choosing your products correctly. We've had a product that's done very well for us, I'm just regretting buying these USB's now as even at the current price I'm selling them at, I'm very close to loosing money.

 

[silvermusic]

I think it's just a matter of choosing your products correctly. We've had a product that's done very well for us, I'm just regretting buying these USB's now as even at the current price I'm selling them at, I'm very close to loosing money.

Bundle them up and sell them as a job lot, let it be someone elses headache. Products under a tenner on eBay isn't worth the effort and fees involved. There are too many busy fools on there to compete with. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

Bundle them up and sell them as a job lot, let it be someone elses headache. Products under a tenner on eBay isn't worth the effort and fees involved. There are too many busy fools on there to compete with. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

Ditto all of the above!

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

Bundle them up and sell them as a job lot, let it be someone elses headache. Products under a tenner on eBay isn't worth the effort and fees involved. There are too many busy fools on there to compete with. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

Ditto all of the above!

 

[Thomas_D]

Bundle them up and sell them as a job lot, let it be someone elses headache. Products under a tenner on eBay isn't worth the effort and fees involved. There are too many busy fools on there to compete with. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

I think this is going to be the route that I'll take to be honest. Postage fees will probabaly be through the roof though.

And I'm not too sure really, most of what we've sold has been under £10 and most of it has give us a good return.

 

[silvermusic]

I think this is going to be the route that I'll take to be honest. Postage fees will probabaly be through the roof though.

And I'm not too sure really, most of what we've sold has been under £10 and most of it has give us a good return.

It's quite surprising how many people think they're making good money on eBay but actually aren't. While the sales figures might look impressive, once you sit back and look at the total you're paying in both eBay's fees, PayPal fees, postage, packing materials, etc. and take the total picture into account you might be in for a nasty shock. I've sat down and done that for several people in my time and many have been shocked at what small margins they're really making, or in one case even a loss. Ebay are very clever at making people think they're making good money when they're not because of their fee structure. Hence the comment about they're being many busy fools on eBay.

Ebay use to be a viable option for myself over the last five or six years, but I gave it up towards the end of last year. Sure my turnover is less by a lot, but my pound notes margin has rocketed. I'm making the same money for half as much work.

 

[MH1]

It's quite surprising how many people think they're making good money on eBay but actually aren't.

Correct. People need to work out their actual margin rather than guess what they are making, most guess. Under £10 items you need to at least double your price to even have a chance of making some money after fees etc are tken into account.

Ebay also traffic manage your sales, too force more listings and hence payments too obtain further sales. End of the day they have decided to turn more into a shopping mall with huge company outlets such as Argos etc than an auction site with hundreds of sellers, Ebay has changed a lot recently.

 

[MASSEY]

I think it's just a matter of choosing your products correctly. We've had a product that's done very well for us, I'm just regretting buying these USB's now as even at the current price I'm selling them at, I'm very close to loosing money.

What other products do you sell?

 

[silvermusic]

Correct. People need to work out their actual margin rather than guess what they are making, most guess. Under £10 items you need to at least double your price to even have a chance of making some money after fees etc are tken into account.

Ebay also traffic manage your sales, too force more listings and hence payments too obtain further sales. End of the day they have decided to turn more into a shopping mall with huge company outlets such as Argos etc than an auction site with hundreds of sellers, Ebay has changed a lot recently.

If you're not careful there's two places you'll trip up on. The first is products that don't sell. If a product hasn't had any sales after 30 days, revisit/revise the listing, is it too expensive compared to others, are the right keywords being used in your title, could the desciption be improved, does you service proposition seem inviting to buyers, etc. Make the changes and try for another 30 day listing. If after 60 days it hasn't sold any then either do some more revision or stop listing it on eBay, there's no point in paying to list something if it's not going to sell, especially on sub £10 items. I often use to find some product would not sell on eBay yet would do very well on my web site and also the other way round. The biggest mistake is to keep on listing and re-listing over and over again if it's not selling, it a sure-fire way to clock up fees that eat into your bottom line.

A similar thing with product life-span. Some product in particular consumables, will keep selling time and time again, other products may sell very well for a few months then die for what seems like no good reason. Time to revise it and look at the competition or stop listing it, no point flogging a dead horse. Big as eBay is there's a finite limit to how many of some items will sell.

Trying not to teach my Grandmother to suck eggs here, but it's all very well looking at what percentage your making on products that are selling, but it's also important to know what products are not selling and the cost of that off your bottom line. Don't forget in addition to add the cost of the shop into the sums as well. Can't recall the exact figures off the top of my head, but if you're only listing a small number of item you may be better off not even bothering with a shop.

 

[MH1]

Trying not to teach my Grandmother to suck eggs here, but it's all very well looking at what percentage your making on products that are selling, but it's also important to know what products are not selling and the cost of that off your bottom line. Don't forget in addition to add the cost of the shop into the sums as well. Can't recall the exact figures off the top of my head, but if you're only listing a small number of item you may be better off not even bothering with a shop.

I am in complete agreement with the above, too many people sell on ebay without realising they are not making any money, work all of your costings out, I see so many guys selling for 15-20% mark up, sell a fair bit for a few months, they get out of the market when the reality hits them.

 

[silvermusic]

I am in complete agreement with the above, too many people sell on ebay without realising they are not making any money, work all of your costings out, I see so many guys selling for 15-20% mark up, sell a fair bit for a few months, they get out of the market when the reality hits them.

Realistically if you're listing items on eBay for £10 you need to be buying them at £5 ex VAT or less. Anything at a fiver you need to be buying for a quid or less. Unless it's a freebie or you need to get shot of stock don't bother even selling anything on eBay for less than a fiver.

 

[mywhy]

Where can you get the cheaper products to sell?

 

[mywhy]

Where can you get the cheaper products to sell? A china wholesale?

 

[MH1]

Where can you get the cheaper products to sell?

There are plenty of decent suppliers within the UK, unless you are prepared to purchase in decent quantities it is not always worth importing from abroad, there is also the additional risks associated with doing so.

Try to reverse your thinking, and look for products you can retail for a sensible profit, not simply selling items cheaply.

Turnover for vanity, profit for sanity comes to mind.

I sell a range of products through a website and other sales channels such as ebay, and normally work on a minimum of 150 to 300% mark up, that said several of my best selling items sell for much higher mark ups, anything up to 900%.

Many people make the mistake of believing if the sell the same item for less money they will get the order, if it was that easy there would be only a handful of sellers on the web.