First time selling on eBay but nothing is moving

Yes, if it's not moving on eBay, I would try the flea markets. As a booth owner myself, my profits are far better at the flea market than on eBay.

But don't give up! It's still slow for everyone right now but I think that will get a lot better come first of the year.

Good luck!

Hi avb,

It sounds like you may well have done your research with what supplier to buy from, however I'm not sure you did the research to see what the market was like on ebay.

A very depressed economy, toys wouldn't be high on my list of things to sell I must admit. In times like these people tend to buy what they need, not always what they want, or what their kids want for that matter.

The good news, Christmas is just around the corner and if you can't sell toys on ebay at that time of year, then they aren't going to sell at any time.

Market stall sounds like a good idea to me, you'll most likely command a better selling price, and if the child happens to be there at the time with the parent, then the added pressure of the child wanting it can also work in your favour when it comes to creating a sale.

Are your eBay listings for the toys well done? Have you placed a lot of pictures of the toys to show from all angles? Did you use a professional looking template? Did you include fair shipping costs? Without seeing your listings it's hard to know if they could be improved for maximum results. Did you make sure your description details are comprehensive? There is nothing more off-putting when looking for items on eBay to see something you are interested in but the lack of detail and poorly produced photos put you off and get you clicking onto the next listing. Many buyers will not bother to ask questions. I always do if I'm interested in something that may not be described thoroughly, but I have time on my hands and can pick up a lot of bargains from sellers who are not thorough with their descriptions. Don't give up though. Things are tough right now. My own sales are way down on eBay. It can be very tough to make a living if that's your only source of income. Do try some other tactics and places to sell your items. It's a pain having to store heaps of boxes at home when you haven't a lot of space available. If you don't have much eBay selling experience, perhaps get somebody who has had some success on eBay to check out your listings and make some suggestions for improvement. Good luck

I like the sound of the package deals, that could be quite appealing to some customers. Regarding Christmas sales, my experience tells me that it starts leading in from early November, but it will be product sensitive I would imagine.

Something like toys, I would be expecting sales to be moving at least half way through November.

Hi I just found this website called auctionbump.com where you can put either your store or auction to generate more traffic to them. Its free of charge.

As a Platinum PowerSeller on eBay who makes all of our income from online selling, I would have to say that there is far more to selling on eBay then just researching your supplier and having a good auction ad. The economy may be a little soft, but we have only seen a small decrease in volume. You will find that your listing strategy on eBay will determine your success, what days, times and where you list will have great impact on your sales. Also price and shipping cost are involved, remember eBay is for the most part nothing more now then a wholesale volume sale site, don't get me wrong, you can still get good mark ups on somethings, but as many as years past. You have your product now you need to research your marketplace, there are a lot of great tools to do that and some will cost you, but the information you will get is priceless, you should also use these tools to pick your products before you buy them, it just may save having a lot of non moving inventory sitting around, because you paid more for the items then they are selling for on eBay. Another thing to keep in mind, is the old saying buy low sell high, well, you can do that, but if you really want to move product on eBay, buy low and sell low, make your money on volume, of course these are just my opinions, but they are what have worked for me for years and it does take time to learn eBay and you need to roll with the changes too. Hope this helps you some I know I did not give a lot of step by step info just the basics, but it may help. Good Luck and Stay with it....Good Things Take Time.. Information is Power!!!

there are a lot of great tools to do that and some will cost you, but the information you will get is priceless, you should also use these tools to pick your products before you buy them

Could you pass on what tools you are speaking of? Where can I find these tools?

avb

Regarding your earlier post Rotten, the tool you were unsure about being able to list here was in fact Terapeak. Just for the record, anything useful like that to assist members is always welcome, we just don't allow self promotion by unauthorised sellers to protect our members interests the best we can.

As you have highlighted, Terapeak is a fantastic tool, and while it does cost you, if you are serious about making a full time business out on ebay sales, then it's a tool you really should take a very serious look at investing in.

Have to start somewhere, never know avb, you may well be looking for more stock before you know it : )