5 Ways to Increase Your On-line Sales in November

#1 Learn about a new product

You know the old saying “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got”

I think it’s a pretty true statement.  If you want something to change in your online business, you’re going to have to do something different than you’ve done before.  Sometimes, that means breaking into a new line of products.  Keep learning new brands, new types of products to sell, and don’t be scared to give it a try.  The sky’s the limit.

#2 Join an online selling forum

There are lots of great online selling forums out there, one of my faves is eBay Underground.  You can discuss everything about selling online (We talk about more than just eBay), bounce ideas off of each other, and get some new ideas.  If you’re not comfortable discussing, join anyway and read what other people are saying about selling online.

#3 Now is the time to list

I know that I talk about listing all the time, and sometimes I feel like a broken record, but right now is the time to get it listed.  If ever there was a time to take a break from listing, it’s not now.  During this time of the year, my items seem to sell just as fast as I can get them listed, so even if you have to put shopping on hold for now to list what you have waiting to be listed, go for it!

#4 If you have a premium store, automate emails and feedback

Here’s one of my favorite things about having a premium eBay store……I can automate feedback!

Every time a customer leaves a positive feedback for me, my store is set to randomly leave them one of five feedback statements that I’ve already chosen.  It’s a HUGE time saver for me, and is one less thing to think about.  You can also set your store to automatically send an email to customers when you ship out their item.   Love it, Love it, LOVE it!

#5 Increase your pricing

I know this might sound a little odd to some of you, but sometimes, if you don’t price your items high enough, they won’t sell.

If you can make a few more dollars per item, you’ll make more money and do less work.  Take a look at your inventory and consider increasing your pricing.  Sometimes an item marked $19.99 will sell better marked $21.99 or $24.99.

When I first started selling on eBay, yes my items sold, but they could have sold for a lot more money.  I felt like $14.99 or $19.99 was a lot to price an item at and I would price a lot of things at $9.99.  Now a few years older and wiser, my prices are much higher than $9.99, and instead of making a few hundred dollars of profit a month, I’m starting to make a few thousand dollars of profit a month.

Working from home is a 24/7 Job

I love working from home. I’m all about having a schedule, routine, and maintaining sanity, but since I’m a one person operation, I’m  constantly thinking and doing something for my business.

Saturday morning, we  headed out to get  Starbucks, put  gas in the car, and  grocery shop.

There’s a grocery store right by the Starbucks and gas station so I thought to myself, “Why don’t we just stop in there and save time?” But then, I thought, “Oh well, I’m not in a rush, we’ll just stop at Wal-Mart.”

We  headed across the store and my little one found the clearance rack full of toys. She saw a Zoobles play set.  “Mama, can I get it???” It was marked $9.00 for a large Zoobles playset. That isn’t a bad price at all.  “Yeah, go ahead and put it in the cart.”

My eyes landed on a sign:  “Clearance items are 50% off of the lowest marked price.”  “WHAT?????” I thought as I started putting ALL 10 of the Zoobles playsets in my cart

.  Some employees walked by and I asked them about it.  “Hmmmm, said one, they’re ringing up at $9.00, but the way that sign is worded, they’re $4.50.  If you have an issue at the register, ask them to call me and I’ll tell them you can have them for $4.50 each.”

YAY!!!!!  MAJOR score, right there in the middle of grocery shopping!  Our cart was over flowing, and we were getting some looks from people (probably people who wanted Zoobles too.)

We got home and I looked them up and listed them right away   With Christmas just right around the corner, I’m optimistic about this investment.

Online Selling Tip of the Week

Specialize in selling what you know–what you’re familiar with–what you like.

If you have children and know the latest toys, consider selling toys.

If you collect baseball, football cards or comic books, consider selling them online.

If you’re up on the latest trends and fashions, consider selling clothes.

If you like to sew or knit, consider selling your work or craft supplies.

When you sell items that you’re familiar with and items that you like, you’re more motivated to list them.

You don’t have to do much research and you’ll have a lot more fun selling online!

Online Selling Tip of the Week

Don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t meet your sales or listing goal for the week.

Real life is what happens when we have other plans.

Try again next week.

Analyze what you could have done differently to be able to make higher sales or list more items, make a game plan and then implement it.  You know what works best for you, your family, and your schedule.

Working at Home with Children

Many women who work at home do so not only for the convenience, but also so they have more time to be with their children.

In this age of technology, there are so many different types of work moms can do from home.  Whether it’s teaching an instrument or voice lessons, sewing or tailoring for clients, proofreading and editing, software development, selling online, we’re blessed to have the option to make a decent living while spending time at home.

Depending on the ages of your children, working at home can present several challenges.

If your children are infants, toddlers or preschool age, most likely, they’ll have lots of needs you’ll have to take care of during the day.

Working at home with infants and toddlers can be great because you can get a lot of work accomplished during nap time.  There may be days where no matter what you try, the nap just doesn’t happen.  I remember when my daughter was a baby, I’d put her in the swing while I took pictures of items and then I’d hold her on my lap while I listed.  It took me longer to get listings done in those days, but  being able to hold her and work at the same time was priceless.

When she was 3, I started working full time from home.  That was a little bit of a challenge because she can be very needy.  As soon as you think you’ve got snack covered, she runs out of her drink, or her show ends and she doesn’t like watching the next one to come on.  I found that if I spent time with her in the mornings, and had lunch together, then in the afternoon, I could work during nap time.  When she woke up, I’d have her snack and a DVD ready for her and I could work until dinner time.

She’s learned over the years that if she lets mom work, then when I’m done, we can spend time together. That can be going for a walk, going to the park, going out to lunch, or just watching a DVD together.  I’ve also taught her to be independent.  These days, she’s a pro at getting a snack, a drink, and picking out a DVD.

I also give her little tasks to do for me so that she can earn some money.  Like setting out the packages for the Mail carrier, shredding, helping me put away items that are listed, putting labels on packages, etc.

Sometimes, no matter how much you love your children, it’s nice to have some uninterrupted time to concentrate on your work.  This is where play dates and babysitters come in handy.  I’ve found that even if the play date is at our house, there are fewer interruptions because she’s busy playing with her friend.

I’ve never hired a babysitter so that I could spend more time working on listings, but I know moms who do just for one day a week.  If that’s what works for you, the by all means, schedule a babysitter.

If you have school age children, then working at home can be a little easier during the daytime while they’re at school.  I have a friend, who has three school age children, and she told me the other day that she ends up working from 10pm-midnight because she’s been messing around all day having fun and then has to get her work done at the last minute.  I guess if that’s what works for you, then go for it, but in my mind, I think I would take advantage of my children being at school at get my work done during the day.

I have another friend who works at home AND homeschools her children.  I have no idea how she does it, really, but she gets it all done.

One thing I’ve learned is this: Working at home isn’t for wimps.  It takes a lot of discipline, organization, and determination to make it work, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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