eBay, Where Are You?!? What to Do When Sales are Slow
A lot of us can agree that sales are really stinking it up right now.
What happened…. at this time of year we expect sales to make a gradual incline as we near the holiday season.
At this time last year, we had twice as many sales.
It’s difficult to stay encouraged with the lack of sales, recent eBay technical fails, the news that eBay and PayPal are splitting, and that John Donahoe, eBay CEO, is stepping down.
What’s next?!?
So what do we do while we’re waiting for sales to pick up?
Here are some tips of things you can do to stay encouraged and keep working toward your goals.
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Check for Mistakes
Yes, it happens… we make mistakes. When sales are down and the tape gun is not flying, it’s the perfect time to go back over some of our items and check for typos, keystroke errors, wrong category, pricing, shipping options, etc. Sometimes it’s those little errors that have kept buyers from purchasing our item because they’re uncertain, so fixing even the smallest mistakes could effect the sale of that item.
Organize & Clean Up
After frantically digging through items because you can’t find the item you just sold (we’re not the only ones who have done this, right?!?), things tend to get a little messy. This down time is perfect for going back through and straightening up your inventory. We like to use big plastic totes to organize all of our clothing items by style and gender (women’s pants, mens shirts, etc). It’s a good idea to periodically pull everything out of the tote, refold, and organize so next time you’re frantically looking for an item, it will be easier to find.
Inventory
You could take this down time to review your inventory and decide if there is anything that just isn’t worth your time anymore. Pull out items to be donated or thrown away. It’s not worth spending our time and energy on items that have been sitting around forever, not selling.
Connect with other Sellers
It’s encouraging to see what other sellers are having success with and get some good ideas of what to look for yourself. There is much opportunity for connecting to other sellers on the internet with social media. We have found many sellers on YouTube who are sharing their experiences and success with their eBay businesses. Many of them are kind enough to show what they are buying and selling. You can also find groups on Facebook and Google+ where there are lots of people eager to talk and share anything that has to do with their eBay businesses. You can also tune into eBay Radio where each week they will discuss many topics and have special guests where you may get ideas of how to increase your sales or adjust your business.
Get Some Motivation in Your Inbox
We’d love to add you to our group of email subscribers where you’ll receive motivational post like this directly in your inbox. We also send out eBay selling tips that you might find helpful in your business.
Reinvest… aka Go Pickin’!
What items have you passed by time and time again thinking, “I should really look that up to see if it would be worth anything”? We have! Whether it’s coffee cups, stuffed animals, whatever, now would be a great time to finally research and see if those niches are worth investing in.
Perhaps you could see if your state has a Goodwill Outlet Store where you can source a lot of great stuff at cheaper rates. Have you looked for places to source eBay items that are in a different city or even another state? You could plan a day trip to go picking in a city you’ve never gone to before (or one you have been to and found great items). There’s nothing better than fresh items to keep you excited to sell!
Reflect
What were you doing a year ago? Where were you at in your business? What were your goals? What was your feedback score?
What are you doing now? How much has your business grown since then? Did you achieve those goals? If you sell internationally, what countries have you sold to in the last year?
How about since you first started selling on eBay? It’s encouraging to think back at how much you have grown and changed in your business. The things we have done in just a year make us feel so accomplished. So much has changed and we keep growing and learning. It’s good to reflect on those goals and set new ones.
Take a Break
It’s good to take a step back once in a while and just do something fun outside of the business. Work on a hobby, do some yard work or gardening, go on a vacation, etc. After sitting in front of a computer, drilling away at your listings, it feels good to get out and do something outside of eBay… something fun, something you don’t get to do that often.
We hope these ideas will help you stay encouraged during the dreaded selling slump. Let us know what you do when sales are slow… we’d love to hear your ideas!
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