First time selling on eBay but nothing is moving

Okay...so I thought I did my homework pretty well. I did an extensive search on the liquidators that I purchased from. This is my first foray into buying wholesale in an attempt to sell on eBay.

I purchased a large lot (616 items) of toys for around $2400. The place didn't provide a manifest, but like I said, this liquidator got good reviews, even here on SaleHoo.

I also purchased a lot of $200 junior size clothes for around $1200. For that purchase, I could see the manifest before and felt good about it.

But now, 11 days later, I feel like I would have done better to just leave my money in the bank. Nothing is moving! Will toys eventually move on eBay when the holidays roll around? Basically, I have about $3500 of my money sitting around in boxes, which is hard to live with when I haven't had the opportunity to ship anything!

Would this stuff move better at a flea market?

Someone please help! (buy my stuff!)

avb9920

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!

Thanks, Dreamcatcher!

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.

Okay...so I thought I did my homework pretty well. I did an extensive search on the liquidators that I purchased from. This is my first foray into buying wholesale in an attempt to sell on ebay.

I purchased a large lot (616 items) of toys for around $2400. The place didn't provide a manifest, but like I said, this liquidator got good reviews, even here on Salehoo.

I also purchased a lot of $200 junior size clothes for around $1200. For that purchase, I could see the manifest before and felt good about it.

But now, 11 days later, I feel like I would have done better to just leave my money in the bank. Nothing is moving! Will toys eventually move on ebay when the holidays roll around? Basically, I have about $3500 of my money sitting around in boxes, which is hard to live with when I haven't had the opportunity to ship anything!

Would this stuff move better at a flea market?

Someone please help! (buy my stuff!)

avb9920

Are you familiar with the term roadsiding? It's a coined term used by sellers that set up a temporary booth on the side of the road. Well the smart ones setup at an intersection with a traffic light.

This type of selling takes guts and some moxie but can give great results.

You need signage a sales tax cert and a license from each town. You also need to contact zoning for sign usage. Licensing can cost from 25 to 100 dollars, normally. Signs can be anything from a nicely hand-painted sign to a professionally done one which can cost from 25 to 50 each.

I have sold this way and have had hundreds of very very good days. Numbers that you might not believe. I haven't done this in years but if your in a bind you might consider this.


I won't give away all the marketing tricks but if you become interested, PM me and I will fill you in.

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

Thanks, userexists.

I think my listings are well done. In fact, I probably put a little too much time and effort into them. I'm a graphic illustrator, and I created my own little cartoon character head to go along with a mast head, as a cute way to introduce the auction listing. If anything, the description, done in html, takes a bit long to load sometime.

I could really just kick myself, though. I just wish I had left the money safe where it was. I did really well selling on eBay and Amazon this summer, and wanted to keep going. Now, everything is at a standstill.

I'm thinking if I take my wares to our public market, that they will do well, especially close to Christmas time. But my husband and I have little time on our hands and 3 kids (with one on the way). It's hard to even make the time to man a booth.

I don't know. A bit in over my head, I guess. It's definitely a lesson learned. I'm not giving up on this selling thing, though.

By the way, when should toys really start moving on eBay? Also, what do you all think of toy lots for boys/girls or a certain age? Like, 4-6 items per lot, 2-4 for 8 year old boy, 2-4 for 6 year old girl, for example.

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.

When I used to sell toys on ebay they started selling well about two weeks before black friday. I've been selling doonies for about a year now and for the past month or so they aren't moving at all. I remember last year at this time was very slow. If I were you I wouldn't worry. I think that in the next six weeks you'll do well
Good Luck!

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.

Wow... I really appreciate everyone's advice and encouragement. This forum is a great place. Thank you, everyone.

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!!!

Thanks Rotten.

I am intrigued especially by what you said, 'buy low, sell low.'

So, let's say I am purchasing an item wholesale for around $6.50. How much profit, maximum, should I be looking to make on such an item? I always thought as close to doubling my money as possible. How much would you settle for as profit on a $6.50 product?

Thanks so much.

avb

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

I don't know if the forum allows me to list the name of the tools, maybe we will get a reply from a forum mod to say it's ok, but if you search for eBay tools that have to do with, seeing what others sell your product for, times, auction numbers, days and the so on, you will probably find one. Small hint of a good one is Ter****k , you have to pay by the month for that one. As for profit you will have to see what others are selling for and try to stay close to them. say it's a $6.50 dvd, you can't just say I'll put 100% on it, the same dvd my be sell for $5.00 on eBay or it maybe selling for $12.00, that is why you have to research the market place, no one formula works, you have to see what the market will bear. Profits margins can be very slim on a lot of items 1-3 dollars, no matter if it cost you $5.00 or $20.00. The key is to research products before you buy and only buy the ones with better margins, remembering that not long after you start selling your new product a 100 other sellers will jump on it too. Knowledge is Power when it comes to products and listing on eBay, most people just list things, do ok or so so and wonder why, then quit, but if you can see what others are doing and what works then you will know why. Don't get sucked into eBay's add this and that stuff and you will sell better either, eBay wants you to waste money on listings, so they can make more money. Hope this helped, I will check this tread to stay up to date with you.

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

Link hidden: Login to view

Ok for free tools, but doesn't get into the meat of what your competition is doing, doesn't let you see how they are listing, types of listing, duration, days of the week, price range and so on, also you can't compare your, say top 10 competitors or many other factors. All of which make the difference of $1,000 a month or $100,000 a month, but they do give you some info.

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.

Well, 3 toys sold (via Amazon...good 'ol Amazon), 615 to go. Geez.

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