Ebay Bust!

**babetteq** · 10-18-2006, 02:43 PM

You know, I've never sold anything on ebay... I don't even buy much on it because the shipping usually makes it too expensive anyway, but I've done some buying. I decided to throw some of my alpaca yarn that I spun on it, and a bunch of clothes that are now too big for me as I've dropped about 50 lbs and my old pants (that I bought 6 months ago) literally FALL off of me. So, I listed them, described them, talked them up, took pictures etc...

NOTHING

I sold one skein of yarn at 1/2 the price I would have gotten for it otherwise.

Is there a trick I don't know? Or does ebay simply have too much competition in it now?

I've relisted in ebosa.com... it's more local, free to list... and you can post classifieds in it too.... If that doesn't work, I'm going to just put an ad in the paper I think. I've got 3lbs spun up beautifully and a bunch of 100gm skeins dyed that would make great hats/gloves etc... Any ideas from you ebayers?

babs

**Sara Noel** · 10-18-2006, 03:07 PM

Sell it here. Lots of needle crafters here. Post some pics and give it a whirl.

**Neeley** · 10-18-2006, 03:42 PM

I make quit a bit of money every year off of eBay sales. Here are a few tips incase you ever decide to try it again:
*Before I list anything I research the item to see if it is selling and in what price range.
*Remember the time of day you list your item is the same time of day your item will end, this is crucial because over 75% of all bids are made in the last hour an item is listed. If you list at 4 am and your target customer is working women - most will not be on Ebay when your item is ending. Therefor most will miss out on bidding. Items get the most exposure the first hour and the last hour of listing - the rest of the time is pretty much a dead time.
* The best selling day of the week is Saturday. So schedule your item to end on Saturday afternoon, evening. Sunday afternoons are pretty good too.
*Gallery pictures make a huge difference also. This is the little picture next to your title on the main listing page. The majority of buyers do not even look at a listing if there is no gallery picture.
* The lower the starting price, the more bids you get. I use to have a hard time believing this, but it is true for the most part. People will bid a little, get outbid, then the competition kicks in between bidders - at that point it becomes a little war between them and the next thing you know you have made some good money off of other people's need to be the winner.
* Your feedback rating also has an impact on bidding. Buyers are more likely to buy from someone with a higher number and good rating. Most will pay more for an item from someone with a higher number.
So sorry you had a bad experience. I hope you do better with your new listings on ebosa.com. Good luck!!

**YankeeMom** · 10-18-2006, 03:50 PM

Have you tried Etsy.com for your spun fiber?

**Emerald_Mommy** · 10-18-2006, 07:55 PM

We've had some good and bad experience with E-bay. All of Neely's advice I would second as well as:

- consider accepting Paypal. I don't bid on any item where the seller doesn't take paypal. Yes, paypal has some problems, but it's just not worth it to me to have to go get a money order to buy some toy or whatever.

- make sure your items are listed properly. Duh, I know, but I find stuff all the time listed in the wrong categories. Even if it sells it probably won't make as much as it would.

Consider sites like you mentioned or Craigslist if e-bay doesn't seem to "fit". Some things just don't seem to sell well on e-bay, or it's not worth it to take the pictures, pay the listing fees, etc.
Good luck with your items, no matter where you list them!

**Missy** · 10-18-2006, 08:35 PM

I second Sara's idea....i'd love to see it!!

**SHOPGIRL** · 10-19-2006, 01:46 AM

Well, the problem with the clothes, is unless they're name brand, you'll have a harder time selling them. You might want to list them as a "lot", put a bunch together in one auction.

Also, your auction title may not have been good. Before you list, do a search using your keywords in your title to see what comes up. People are usually looking for specific things, so do an ebay search to figure out why some things go higher. Also, if your brand new, sometimes people don't like to take a chance with a brand new person.

Also, make sure you have excellent photos. Show the front and back and include measurements.

**frugal.lass** · 10-19-2006, 12:26 PM

Okay...so this isn't helpful for eBay but it might help you with that yarn.

Have you tried contacting some of the LYS's in your area to see if they would be interested in selling your fibre on a consignment basis? Here in Toronto we have many smaller yarn stores that carry only handspun or high-end yarns (I think of them as "gourmet yarns"). If you spoke with the owner/manager of a smaller shop and offered an arrangement where they would get a portion of the sale, you might find some of them interested. The ones I've been to occasionally feature the work of "local spinners" and they tend to be in smaller lots.

It might not work out but I'm just kinda brainstorming here and throwing the idea out at you.

**babetteq** · 10-20-2006, 06:43 AM

I'm always so encouraged by all of you. Thanks for your support. I did list it with picture, at about the same that everyone else was... my guess is that there just isn't the market on ebay (unlike brand clothes, home electronics etc).
Good tip on selling the clothes as a 'lot'. I've never understood the 'brand loyalty' but there's a lot a don't understand.

Excellent on the tip about time of day listing. I didn't think of that, and many of my listings ended midday as I do shift work, so I was listing when I had time.

What's with selling stuff on here? I see the little 'itrader' thing, but I figured it was for bartering or something (perhaps I should go exploring the site agian hmm?)

Alright, off I go to explore. I'd love to post them up on here, if for no other reason than to show off!!