eBay

5129frederick · ‎25-03-2014

For the past forty minutes I've been trying to ask eBay a straightforward question to no avail. Even when I press the "Contact eBay" I am referred to a set of bog standard list of prewritten questions and answers. Trying to chat with somebody on eBay is virtually impossible - I finally saw my opportunity: "Tell us what you think." I most certainly did!

My suggestion/question is this. EBay make a big thing of telling everybody how there are 50,000,000 items out there, but surely a far more advantageous plug would be to tell the readers/viewers how many hundred tousands were one the eBay over the weekend looking for stuff to buy. Are there 20,00, 30,000 40,000 people using the net every weekend, or is it only a few hundred? Nobody seems to know or care. Being given such information would put me in a position to work out when I'd have the greatest chance of selling my items, and would encourage me to do so.

spring_rabbit · ‎25-03-2014

I'm sure there are more than 40,000 people using the net at weekends

As a buyer I don't want to know or think there are thousands of people looking at the same items I'm bidding on, I want to feel that I alone have spotted a bargin and will win it for a 99p bid

johnsmeccparts · ‎25-03-2014

You were trying to contact ebay for forty minutes to ask what?

You can work out the best time to have your items end by:-

Think about the items you are selling,

what sort of person would want to buy your items,

what time of day or even what day of the week is someone like that likely to be using the internet?

Once you have worked that out list your items on that day and time for seven days and they will end on the right day and right time!

It's no good listing something a young mum would buy at a time a young mum would be dealing with small children,

similarly don't list something a football fan might buy at a time a big match is on.

5129frederick · ‎25-03-2014

If you're trying to sell, it's a bit different, you want the world and his uncle to be out there.

lhasa.two · ‎26-03-2014

It's not the number of people viewing ebay that should concern you too much as there are will be millions!

What is important is how you take best advantage of how you sell your particular items and look at ways to improve that so that you can maximise your sales returns.

I seem to recall you sell puzzles and just having checked your sales I see that you are not selling Worldwide? By selling worldwide you could open up a new market because no doubt there are puzzle collection people out there who would be delighted to buy yours. (obviously selling a suitcase WW isn't a good idea!)

Timings of your listings (mentioned above by another poster) is also important as is the duration of the listings.

Seasonality is another issue to look at. What time of year do puzzles sell best? You'll probably find the lead up to Easter people will be more interested in buying.

What's the age profile of your buyer? I presume older people so maybe listing at half term isn't the best time as they'll be busy with their grandchildren, only a thought, I could be wrong. I know that Summertime can be a bit dire for selling as people go on their hols and parents with children will be busy. The lead up to Christmas and any special holiday times of year could be good if your target audience is likely to be around.

Who are your competition? Maybe keep an eye on them and see when they list/finish and what there P&P costs are for overseas etc.

Clothes are a nightmare to sell unless very cheap or designer, but making sure you list large sizes in the right category could increase your chances of a sale.

I don't sell regularly but when I sell it's to specialist collectors and high value. My biggest buyers are from overseas, not the UK and I've never had a problem (touch wood!). I'm very descriptive in my listings and try to answer questions before they are asked! I don't offer a returns policy though, which ebay says gives buyers extra peace of mind. If you trade as a business then you have to offer that.

Of course there's the ebay sales tips on their web site but maybe take a look at this one too. The site has an excellent reputation.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/selling-on-ebay.

Good luck and suggest you don't waste any more energy on trying to get your answers from ebay as they probably wouldn't tell you anyway as they too have their competitors!

soppysofty · ‎26-03-2014

The auctions that I have run in the past that have returned the best results have always met 2 criteria.

1. They finish on a Sunday evening at about 9pm.

2. I offered worldwide postage with all the costings listed so people could just bid and pay.

When I have had a clearout and list things on the spur of the moment I tend to notice that I do not get as much for them so planning your listing end time is, in my opinion, critical.