Rachel’s Top 5 eBay Picks of the Week

I haven’t posted my top 5 picks in awhile, so here they are for you.

#1 Is The Wiggles Singing Big Red Car

#2 is this pair of SUPER cute Naughty Monkey Shoes

#3 is this Jim Brickman Christmas CD.  Enough said

#4 are these FANTASTIC White House Black Market capris.

#5 has got to be one of my all time faves.  It’s a women’s CAbi T-shirt entitled A few of my favorite things”

My Online Sales Have Slowed Down After Christmas

Here it is January already!!!! We survived the Christmas rush, holidays, and festivities…...now we can sit back and spend more time on projects around the house, getting our taxes together and our 2011 sales goals, right?

For many online sellers, especially the first few years they’re selling online, sales go way down in January, February, and March. Sales may be higher than what they were before the Christmas selling season started, but in comparison to the Christmas rush, it seems slow.

Many sellers think they’re doing something wrong, or that they won’t make enough money in January to reach their goals.

First, of all, please know that this trend is normal. Don’t feel like you’re the only one who’s experiencing fewer sales.

The first question I ask a seller who tells me their sales are slow is: “How many items do you have listed right now?”

Most of the time, their answer is 100 or fewer items.

That’s the answer to why their sales are slow.  I currently have over 800 items for sale in my inventory, and my sales slow down a bit in January too, but you have to have some selection if you want people to buy.

100 items sounds like it’s a lot, but, really  it’s not.  So my advice is: If your inventory is under 300 items, the best thing you can do to pick your sales back up is work on getting your inventory numbers up.  List, list, list.

Other things you can do in January to snag some sales are:

Run a store sale using markdown manager. Even a 10% or 15% off sale will grab buyers attention.

Add the Best Offer option. I know that some people think best offers are a pain because some buyers send really low offers, but that comes with the territory.  Decline the low offers and go on your merry way.

Offer FREE SHIPPING. On your lighter weight items, or items that you can afford to do so.

I’m not at all suggesting that you give your inventory away, and I’m not suggesting that you do all three of the above together, but choose one that you think will work for your store, and give it a try.

Don’t forget to keep listing!  Building your inventory during the slow times is the best way to break the cycle

Get Ready For Christmas, Don’t Forget to Decorate Your Store

Today’s bright idea comes from my friend Michelle.

She suggested the other day to decorate your eBay store for Christmas, and I had some extra time, so I decided to get into the spirit.

It took me about 45 minutes to 1 hour last night to change my colors and graphic around, but Mortenview’s Gifts and Treasures is all ready for holiday shoppers.

Here’s a word from Michelle and how to change your store colors for the occasion:

When you walk into the local mall in your community, doesn’t it lighten your mood just a touch to see the Christmas decorations?? Forget the crowds and confusion and noise, just think about the beautiful scene in front of you as you enter the courtyard of the atrium.. Gorgeous right???

The holidays are here whether you like it or not and the shoppers are coming in droves…. Have you thought about how your store appears to them when they click on you??

Does the screen open to a drab, boring everyday scene? OR worse yet are they looking at a summer and 4th of July themed store?

Come on everyone we have 51 days until Christmas and this is our time to shine and SELL, SELL, SELL.. So let’s get these stores looking inviting and festive. It is very easy to do and makes a world of difference.
If you are unsure how to go about this here are some simple directions..
From My eBay go to Account tab
then scroll down to Manage my store
On left under Store Design click on Display Setting
Go to Theme and Display: Store theme and click on right side Edit current theme
You can change all colors here on your exisitng layout.

Next to change your picture, if you choose
Manage My store..Display Settings..Edit Basic Info
Go to Store Logo and click either the second or third button which ever way you have your Christmas picture to be imported. I made mine in photobucket and used the 2nd option.
When finished click save…
I coordinated my picture and colors, call me uptight…

I hope this helps you make your store a more welcoming and festive place to shop…
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.. remember also not everyone celebrates Christmas. I did stick with the more traditional Christmas look myself, but I try to avoid screaming Christmas every 5 seconds. There are our Jewish friends and the Kwanzaa crowd, etc…. That being said.. MERRY CHRISTMAS……

Thanks again Michelle!  You can stop by her store and see how it’s decorated.

Don’t forget your Etsy shop!

To change the look of your Etsy shop:

1. Click on Your Etsy

2. Along the left side, find Shop Info and Appearance–this is where you change your banner image.

3. To change the featured items–items that show up at the top of your store page–click on the featured items under items on the left side of “your Etsy”. You can re-arrange items you’ve already chosen to feature here.

Otherwise go to “your Etsy” and look at your items currently for sale. Click on the star to the right of each listing you want to feature. Then go back to the “featured listing” link to arrange them in the order you prefer.

Links to Share

Discovery Denim~An interview  with an Etsy seller on quitting her day job.

Author of  The Handmade Marketplace answers business questions.

101+1 Small Business Marketing Questions–for people who don’t speak marketing.

Another “Quit Your Day Job” Rachelle D.

How To Insert a Slideshow Into Your eBay Store

If you have an eBay store, I encourage you to go into manage my store and play around with your settings.

There are so many neat things you can do with your store.

One really cool thing is having a slide show of newly listed items at the top of my store.  You can use the slide show to showcase items on sale, items ending soon or you can customize it.

Here’s how:

Log in to myebay, click on manage my store, click on promotion boxes.

To get the slide show to appear at the top of your store, set it to “top single (extra wide)” and be sure it  is set to show up on “all items page.”

After clicking continue, choose the slideshow, and then I choose to display new items, you can chose sale items, ending soon, or a custom mix.

Take a peek at my eBay store to see how the slide show looks.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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