Selling is what you do best. But even the most experienced sellers can benefit from tapping into trends, occasions and cultural moments. To save you time, we’ve highlighted some key dates in Q1, as well as some of the practical ways you can make the most out of these sales opportunities.
January Sales: Stand out with eBay’s suite of promotional tools
January is a busy shopping month, with many buyers in search of a bargain. Running promotions during the month is a powerful way to get the attention of buyers - and hopefully increase conversion. There are 5 types of promotions you can launch via Seller Hub:
Run a Sale Event and show your potential customers before and after prices with Markdown. If you’re planning to run a sale event, your listings need to have been listed at the pre-sale price for at least 14 days before your sale in order to display a was/now price.
Order Discounts are a great option when selling items that are complementary to each other, such as chairs with a table. Options include quantity discounts, like: “Buy two and get a third free” or threshold discounts, such as: “Spend over £100 and get 20% off”.
Multi-Buy lets you offer tiered discounts when buyers purchase multiple quantities of the same item. It’s a great tool for lower priced items that are bought frequently or in larger quantities, such as printer ink cartridges or postal packaging boxes.
Coded Coupons let you offer your buyers a discount through a coupon code. Share them publicly on eBay or privately through your own marketing channels, such as social media, or printed coupons included in packaging with orders.
Offer to Buyers helps you engage your interested buyers by sending a reduced price on your listing or giving them the opportunity to make their best offer. You can also add a personal touch by sending a message with your offer.
Marketing newsletters in eBay Shops are another effective way to highlight seasonal collections and reach select buyer groups with promotions. Learn how to start using marketing newsletters with the short video below.
London Card Show (10-11 February) & London Spring Comic Con (2-3 March)
eBay is the ecommerce home for trading card and collectables enthusiasts. On 10 and 11 February, this community will come together in-person, as we head to the London Card Show at Sandown Racecourse. On the day, you’ll have the opportunity to network with like-minded sellers and buy, sell, or trade to your heart’s content.
On 2 and 3 March, London Spring Comic Con may help to spark a surge in TV & films memorabilia, as enthusiasts gather at Olympia London. In the meantime, new or seasoned collectors who want to get in on the action can browse the latest collectables trends on eBay.
Valentine’s Day (14 February) & Mother’s Day (10 March)
eBay is a one-stop gifting shop, for buyer budgets of all sizes. So, whether you’re a seller specialising in pre-loved or luxury items - and every relevant category in-between - ebay.co.uk will showcase relevant items for both Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day to help support your sales.
If Christmas is anything to go by, where 64% of consumers said that thoughtful gifts are better received than expensive gifts*, we may also see a move away from petrol station flowers! In their place, one-of-a-kind collectables, original art pieces, or personalised items are always popular among buyers for these occasions.
Spring & Easter (31 March)
From Easter eggs to the rise of more thoughtful and sustainable slow gifting, there’s no end of items that will appeal to buyers this Easter. But as the days gradually grow longer, March is also the perfect time to start prioritising Home & Garden goods, as people get spring-ready, host Easter parties and brave the elements with (probably premature) BBQs.
Sporting moments & memorabilia
It’s set to be a big year for sports and sports memorabilia, with UEFA Euro 2024 kicking off in June and the Paris Summer Olympics starting in July. But until then, there’s plenty of action for sports enthusiasts to get stuck into, with the Men’s Six Nations (2 February), Super Bowl LVIII (11 February), Carabao Cup final (25 February) and Women’s Six Nations (23 March).
5 ways to maximise these sales opportunities
1. Optimise your listings
Listings are essentially shop windows for your items. Each detail can impact a buyer's decision to view and hopefully purchase. So, it’s vital to get the basics right - and to delist, optimise and relist any stagnant listings (listings unsold for 90 days or more). Learn more in this session from eBay Open UK.
2. Provide a great delivery experience
Buyers are statistically 9% more likely to purchase items that offer free delivery in 3 days, a paid next-day delivery option, click & collect and at least 30 day returns**. Using tracked services is also an effective way to boost buyer confidence.
3. Source products and identify trends with Terapeak
Terapeak is a free market research tool that lets you analyse eBay sales data and identify trends. With Terapeak, you can conduct product research, analyse sales patterns, refine your pricing strategies and keep track of your competitors, to make informed decisions about your eBay business.
4. Engage buyers and drive conversion with promo tools
Our range of free and easy to use promotional tools (mentioned above) are an effective way to engage buyers and support conversion. See below for a quick breakdown of each of the tools, where best to use them and which could be a great fit for your inventory.
5. Stand out with Promoted Listings Standard
Once you’ve optimised your listings, Promoted Listings Standard is a powerful way to help your items stand out on eBay. Best of all? If you don’t sell, you don’t pay - you only pay your chosen ad fee when a buyer clicks on your promoted listing and purchases within 30 days.
Discover our experts’ guide to improving your visibility on eBay
Watch this session from eBay Open UK 2023 to discover our experts’ guide to improving visibility on eBay, covering everything from listing optimisation, to best delivery practices and tools to support your growth.
Thank you for selling on eBay.
Your eBay Team
*eBay Ads: Peak season spend trends 2023
**eBay consumer research: when offered free delivery in 3 days, a paid next-day delivery option, click & collect and 30 day returns on your listing, buyers were 9% more likely to buy than from a competitor that didn’t offer them.
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