Increase Your eBay Sales
My honest opinion is that every time eBay changes something behind the scenes, my sales go waaaaay down. I research, research, research everything and it's not just me. Many other sellers have the same issues. If your sales are suffering, there are a few things you can do to help. You can't just sit back and let eBay run itself, you have to run your business. So get busy and ...
1. List, list list. List DAILY. Even if it's one listing a day. More would be better but one listing is better than no listings. If you can't list every day, do a batch of listings and save them in your drafts to list later.
2. Include Measurements. Buyers not only need to see the item, they need to know how the item fits. This also helps keep you from having a high amount of returns. I include bust, length and sleeve measurements on my clothing.
3. Take Good Photos. eBay recommends a white background with no busy stuff. In other words, don't style your item with shoes and a pocketbook if you are selling a top. Poshmark loves for you to style your items but eBay does not. If your item has a flaw, make sure you take a picture of it. I even circle flaws so they will be sure and see it. Again, less returns.
4. Use Good Keywords. Think about what your customer will be searching for to find your item. Use the brand name. Gender if applicable. Color. Size. And anything else that will help your item be found. You have 80 characters. Use them wisely. Don't use words like cute, awesome, pretty, etc. Don't use ALL CAPS. It makes your listing look unprofessional and you look like you are yelling.
5. Offer a Return Policy. Many clothing sellers hate to hear this, but when you accept returns, it helps you in the search rankings. Accepting returns also helps you to not get as many Item Not as Described Cases which will force you to accept the return AND pay shipping. eBay now suggests a 60 day return policy. 60 days??? Are they serious? Yep! They are indeed. I've changed all of my listings to 60 days (Paypal gives the buyer 180 days anyway so why not?) and I can't say that I have seen an increase in sales, but I have certainly not seen an increase in returns. If it helps sales in the long run, I'm all for it.
6. Sell Similar. I do this daily. My items are generally listed for 30 days so I can tweak them at the end of those 30 days. I adjust the price and decide what goes up for auction when they hit my unsold section. In my unsolds, I relist those listing by using sell similar. This makes my listing look new and gives it a boost in the search. For 24 hours, my listing will have the tag 'new listing' on it as well.
7. Share on Social Media. eBay has a Facebook page and they allow you to share 5 listings per day. Many sellers don't even know this exists. There are also Facebook Groups where you can share your listings. Stitchfix, J. Crew, Lilly Pulitzer, etc. You can also create a Pinterest Board. They even have big groups for eBay sellers and you can share to those boards. All it takes is a little searching. Tweet. Create Collections on eBay.
8. Ship Internationally. I have been shipping internationally for about a year. I don't get tons of orders but I do get orders. Many sellers are scared of shipping internationally but I have not had any issues to date. I haven't tried Global Shipping because shipping it yourself is cheaper and in my opinion, buyers don't want to pay extra for something they can get cheaper elsewhere. I have read enough to know not to ship to Brazil, Mexico or clothing items to Italy.
