posted on June 20, 2011 11:14:41 AM new
A month ago I received an email from eBay that it would be better for me to upgrade (cost wise) to the $49.99 store subscription. I was pretty happy about this because I have developed an inventory of products, but had to manually update my quantities whenever I relisted. A headache that would soon be gone with eBay Inventory... or so I thought.
Well, after a month of using this system I have learned something quite valuable. It is NOT an inventory system. It is a template listing system. Basically, a template is created for each item (including a quantity amount). Say I add 5 items to Inventory, list all 5 on eBay and sell 2 in one week. The next week the inventory shows 3 items left. Great, except that when you relist this item, it doesn't go by the quantity you have in inventory, it goes by the quantity you have set in the template. So, if you had 5 in the template and only have 3 showing in inventory, you will list 5 unless you correct or re-create a new template. There is no way to turn off this feature, or only list from Inventory.
So, eBay's SM Pro Inventory is nothing more than a template listing service that will relist the same thing/quantity over and over again unless you manually adjust it.
It is nothing like Vendio's Inventory system that operates as it should and only lists up to the quantity available.
posted on June 20, 2011 01:59:45 PM new
if you still have 3 left,why are you relisting?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on June 20, 2011 09:20:14 PM new
Experiencing the same problem myself and it is very frustrating. I am still keeping my inventory in a Excel file because eBay is useless for inventory tracking. We can't even run a monthly sold inventory that serves a practical purpose. I have to run a sales report and import it into Excel before I can organize it in any way that is useful for inventory purposes.
As for HwaHwa's question, I run many of my mulitple quantity listings for 30 days instead of GTC so they have better visibility. Customers who search by Newly Listed will see a 30 day listing while GTC is buried 15 pages deeper.
GTC listings only benefit from better search priority if the buyer is sorting by Best Match and only then if ebay rolls the dice in your favor. I have yet to understand what that their mysterious and majical formula is for determining what shows up first in a Best Match search.
I am a TSR and have some of the best prices in my category and yet I see pure junk show up on pages 1 and 2 of search while my GTCs are buried much deeper.
posted on June 21, 2011 09:00:10 AM new
I am unclear what hwa is asking. I use those numbers as a simple reference so that it is easy for people to get a full picture.
Why would a seller NOT relist the remaining 3 items?
I have a spreadsheet as well, but you have to update it manually. Again, working even harder.
I spoke with 2 eBay CSRs yesterday and none of them told me about this. In fact, both of them said there must be a technical problem and elevated it to technical support. The 2nd CSR suggested I use the Chat feature to contact eBay Tools department. I did so and this is where I learned about it.
It amazes me just how backwards this system is. I can understand this system being useful to Chinese sellers who have warehouses filled with USB cables. If you have 10,000 cables, it makes sense to use a fixed template to list 10 or 100 at a time.
The eBay tools CSR seemed defensive when I started in on how useless this system was. I even suggested renaming it, "template relisting tool" instead of inventory. When I suggested that I was paying more to utilize this service, his response was, "this is a free service with your subscription."
WT....???? What kind of response is that? I thanked him for offering a useless "free" tool when I really wanted to just call him a tool.
posted on June 21, 2011 09:16:09 AM new
I asked why you relist an item which has 3 remaining?why dont you let Ebay auto relist for you when the listing expires in 30 days?
But some one here just offered an explanation,she will list an item for 30 days instead of GTC,so she can relist the item and get more visibility in search as it becomes an 'new' item.
But if you subscribe to a store format,this will defeat the purpose of having a store-having to manually relist an item after 30 days?
Ebay has come up with some new features for 'store',I dont recall all the details,it could be like they automatically relist any sold out item in your store ,assuming as a business,you order regularly from your supplier,also assuming the item will not be out of stock and you will always reorder in the same quantity.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on June 21, 2011 10:03:10 AM new
Shag,
so you have an item ,it starts out with quantity of 5,you sold 2,so now you have 3 left.
Why cant you just let Ebay relist for you every 30 days,until it is down to 0 quantity?
I have a store with 700 items,I just let Ebay relist for me every 30 days until I remove the listing or when it is sold out.
I have never try manually relist them like the other said so it will show up better in search,some items do take longer to sell,but at 5 cents a listing,it only costs me 60 cents to keep them listed for one year.
I guess it all depends on what you are selling.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on June 21, 2011 04:21:57 PM new
The items I am selling with this account are common, some will have 10 up to several hundred available on eBay. So, it is important for me to stay visible. During the off-season, which is February thru August I list these items weekly. During the holidays I reduce it to every 3 days so that I am visible on the 1st page almost always.
Search on eBay is important if you have items that are very common or have very common keywords. If your items are buried under pages of listings you have little chance of buyers finding them.
hwa - Perhaps you should dedicate a group of listings to expire after 30 days and see if it improves your sales for those items. You may be surprised to see a difference and it doesn't cost anything more to relist them vs. using GTC.
The problem with eBay Inventory is that it serves no purpose other than as a spreadsheet. I can easily track inventory in Excel or manually write it down and that is as good as what I get from eBay Inventory.
I want an inventory system that is functional other than a list. I need to know how many items are available to sell, a system that automatically updates my quantities as things are listed and sold, and is easy to update when I receive more product. In addition, Inventory should be comprehensive enough that I can have 5 items, two listed in auction format, two in my store and one in inventory. This is what a real Inventory management system does. This is what Vendio's Inventory system does... and it works with Amazon too.
I am pretty astonished that eBay Inventory is this way. I just can't believe it. The thing is that eBay already has the structure set up for this to work the way I described. The problem isn't that it doesn't deduct product when sold. I can see it remove those listings from the inventory. The problem is that I can't relist those items from my inventory without using the fixed quantity already set up in the template.
posted on June 21, 2011 05:47:06 PM new
Shag,
To be honest with you,I am not curious whether relisting manually will improve my search ranking.
Just because they find my items,does not mean they are going to buy,other factors are involved,e,g.
-what is the spot price for gold and silver today,yes,today 21st of June,2011.
Lets see,multiply the total troy ounce of this XYZ with the spot price and see if it comes close to scrap value?Lets give her a few dollars more for workmanship,and then we will buy it at that price!@
-Hey ,look at that ring,those baguette diamonds are big enough to turn into earrings,is it true ?Can I make money turning the ring into a ring,a pair of earrings and now lets see how much platinum is there so I can scrap it !
-can you weigh the sterling handles of this pair of servers without the stainless steel blades or fork?
-I am going on vacation next week,when I come back,I will show you how to fill out the customs form,chao!
- The items arrived damaged,you want me to fill out the claim form and sign it?
No,I am not going to do it,I deal with you the seller,not the insurance co?
What?The picture is too dark,and you cant see the damage?What is wrong with you,it is so obvious,the background is white on my end,I can see everything clearly?
Has the claim check arrived yet?I am going on vacation next week,it would be nice to have the money.
////////////////
See,I dont care if my items show up first in a search,with buyers like these,I prefer to be the last !
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on June 21, 2011 08:39:57 PM new
You obviously know your customer base quite well. Why don't you just remove everything from eBay altogether and see how easy it is for someone to search those items.
posted on June 22, 2011 05:41:24 AM new
I have no intention of removing my items from EBAY,I paid them to host my items on their 'venue'!
When Ebay comes up with this store concept that items not sold wil be automatically relisted after 30 days so you the store owner would not have to do so manually,it is not thinking that some of us will find a way to improve item visibility by manually relisting the item as a new item!
As a new item,there is no way Ebay would know what is the quantity you have on hand.It could be 3,it could be 5,it could be zillions!
In your case,you want it to be '3',someone who have found more in the warehouse may want it to be 10,someone who is anticipating a large shipment may want it to be '99'.
I have one item which I listed as 12,I receive an email from a potential buyer who said she no longer find this item so desirable since I have so many for sale!
So I cut back to 4,see,how does Ebay know my intention of listing 4 instead of 12 is to make it appear scarer and therefore more desirable?
There are software out there which could help you keep track of your inventory better than Ebay,I know someone on Yahoo shopping use one to keep track of inventory,not just quantity on hand,but in transit and prorate freight cost,physical location,all that good stuff.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on June 22, 2011 08:43:14 AM new
hwa- you obviously missed the whole point of this thread. Lt Ray has experienced the same issues as well.
There are two advantages with GTC listings. If you don't want to manually relist items by making a few clicks, you can let eBay do it for you. From a sales standpoint, GTC is effective for items that are scarce or popular.
Scarce: If there are only a few of those items on eBay at any given time, then GTC items will appear on the first page (hopefully the only page).
Popular: If you have several of a similar item and have strong sales you will rank higher than others with lower sell through rates. This is based on performance against other sellers.
GTC is useless for sellers who offer common items where there are several pages of the same item available. Visibility is vital to pushing sales. This is why many sellers offer 1 or 3 day listings. Who wants to be buried under ten pages?
I'm still not sure what complaining about buyers who scrap precious metals has to do with this thread. If this issue doesn't apply to your selling system, why bother?
posted on June 22, 2011 09:39:19 AM new
From a sales standpoint, GTC is effective for items that are scarce or popular.
////////////////////////////
GTC should be effective for all items,not just scarce or popular.
If an item is not selling because it shows up on page 11,do not blame GTC,blame yourself for choice of merchandise.
Why are you selling items on a venue where supply greatly exceeds demand?
As for my statement on buyers with scrap metal mentality,it is to illustrate my point that being on first page does not always mean the item will sell,if it does not meet the buyer criteria.
BTW,what happens if someone bookmark your item or place it on watch list and then you cancel the listing and relist,does it still show up on his watch list,does he assume it could have been sold elsewhere or no longer available for sale? or does Ebay adds a message saying this item has been relisted.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on June 22, 2011 11:20:20 AM new
hwa writes:
"Why are you selling items on a venue where supply greatly exceeds demand?"
"I have never try manually relist them like the other said so it will show up better in search,some items do take longer to sell,but at 5 cents a listing,it only costs me 60 cents to keep them listed for one year."
--------------------------
Sorry, but those two statements you made are obviously conflicting.
Maybe I'm wrong for thinking this way, but if I sell 5 items by relisting them 2 or 3 times in a month (total cost for listing 5 items 3 times is 15 cents vs. allowing my item to be buried in GTC for a year for 60 cents... who is meeting demand and saving money???
How can allowing something to sit on eBay for a year qualify you as "meeting demand"??? The last I checked, the idea of even listing items on eBay was to sell them, not pay fees to sit on them indefinitely.
Exposure is one of the most important things on eBay besides the item you are selling.
If your item is difficult to locate, you are not doing yourself any favors to increase sales. You might as well list it in the wrong category with a title that doesn't match the item.
posted on June 22, 2011 11:29:17 AM new
"Why are you selling items on a venue where supply greatly exceeds demand?"
----------------
Would you ask the same question to Target? Why do they bother to keep a stock of iPods on their shelves when Best Buy is across the street selling iPods. The answer is because I can sell them regularly and make a hefty profit doing so.
GTC should be effective for all items,not just scarce or popular.
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I agree, but that isn't how eBay's Best Resuults ranking system works.
If an item is not selling because it shows up on page 11,do not blame GTC,blame yourself for choice of merchandise.
----------------
Can you explain how Ginsu sells so many knives? If they didn't have exposure, nobody would know how to get those crappy knives. Why do you think businesses advertise? You should watch the tv show Mad Men.
As for my statement on buyers with scrap metal mentality,it is to illustrate my point that being on first page does not always mean the item will sell,if it does not meet the buyer criteria.
----------------
You are 100% correct that an item must meet buyer criteria... but that is not the most important thing to get customers first. They first have to locate the item before determining if it meets their criteria.
BTW,what happens if someone bookmark your item or place it on watch list and then you cancel the listing and relist,does it still show up on his watch list,does he assume it could have been sold elsewhere or no longer available for sale? or does Ebay adds a message saying this item has been relisted.
----------------
If they actually are interested in the item after they add it to the watch list, the original listing will show it has been relisted. An interested party will also contact you to see if you still have the item from time to time.
Unfortunately, watchers means very little. I have listed items for a week and had 10 watchers and no bids or offers. I have listed items for a week and sold it to the first person who saw it 5 minutes after it is listed.
The problem with watchers is that it doesn't tell you the type of watcher you have. You may have a watcher who is very interested in buying it, but is at work and will wait until they get home to purchase it, or you may have another dealer watching to see if you sell it because they have the same thing.
I probably buy 1 out of 25 items I watch. Rather than watch something, I will buy it on the spot or place a bid. I primarily utilize my watch list to monitor items I currently have, have seen in the past, or am curious to know how much it will go for so that I know to keep an eye out for them down the road.
[ edited by shagmidmod on Jun 22, 2011 12:52 PM ]
[ edited by shagmidmod on Jun 22, 2011 12:59 PM ]
posted on June 22, 2011 06:12:55 PM new
I sold a print for $550 2 nights ago,this print has been in my shop since day 1- March 14,2010.
Should I regularly cancel and relist my print?
No,print collectors are rather cautious and well informed,if they bookmark this print and see it was cancelled and relisted and cancelled and relisted and cancelled and relisted 14 times ,they will grow suspicious.
They would think there is something very wrong with this print,it could have been purchased and returned and why>Is there something a previous buyer know that we should know as well>Like it is a fake?
The fact that it was relisted 14 times makes them wonder if 14 buyers have returned the print,if 14 buyers found flaw in this print,there must be something seriously wrong with it.
And/or -this seller must not know what she is doing,relisting and cancelling and relisting and cancelling 14 times.Or worse,she does not have the print,it could just be a picture of a print not in her possession,better not deal with this seller.
This kind of print attract serious buyers and dealers and they will often look and see what other prints do I have in my store and they see the same pattern,list and cancel and relist and cancel,very strange indeed,better to stay away from her completely !
I know what I am selling and I know my customer base,this print is not selling not because it is stuck on page 11,knowing how ebay search works,it is not on page 1 either.
It is not selling because the collector thinks they can get it cheaper or they dont care for the artist or they go for less expensive prints.A dealer knows how much it is worth ,but with this economy,they must be certain they can find a buyer soon,lest it would tie up their working capital.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on June 22, 2011 06:31:25 PM new
Target stocks Ipods because they are popular items and they want their customers to buy from them,not from Bestbuy.
If both stores price them the same and they both sell ipods,then both stores make money and their customers are happy.
Just because Kroger sell grocery does not stop Walmart from getting into the grocery business.
There are zillions of Starbucks and coffee shops in the city,but it does not mean McDonald and Dunkin Donuts should not serve coffee.
It is your business decision,if you think cancelling and relisting is a way to sell ,then more power to you.
No one will argue with success!
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on June 23, 2011 09:09:19 AM new
After this print is sold,I checked and found 3 prints by this artist,one of them is like mine,their asking price is too high but there is a make an offer option.
There is something 'not right' about these 3 prints,the one which is like mine,the color is weird,but it does have the seals of the artist,the carver and the publisher .
This is what I meant by cautious buyers,these prints will not sell as the asking price is 50% more than what you will pay in a retail store,but more important is that they just look weird,when the color is not right,you can say may be it is the camera or the editing software or worse they could be knockoffs,you figure if these prints go for good money,some one will find a way to make fakes !
(there are reference books on these prints,any serious collector or dealer can always go and look at these prints and the color would not match.)
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on June 23, 2011 02:35:48 PM new
SHAG,
I think when a seller relists an item,Ebay should set the quantity available field to zero.
This will allow the seller to enter a new number.
Ebay bought an e-commerce company which helps retailers establish websites and offers fullfillment service like AMZN.
It would be interesting to see how these retailers are going to reach the Ebay audience.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
[ edited by hwahwa on Jun 23, 2011 03:43 PM ]
[ edited by hwahwa on Jun 23, 2011 03:43 PM ]
posted on June 29, 2011 07:38:19 AM new
"I have never try manually relist them like the other said so it will show up better in search,some items do take longer to sell,but at 5 cents a listing,it only costs me 60 cents to keep them listed for one year."
Hmm, I always love this kind of math. What about the $49.95 you pay up front each month to Ebay to have a store that allows you to list items for 5 cents every 30 days?? If you have 500 items in your store, that is 15 cents per month or $1.80 per year, which is still pretty reasonable especially if it is a high priced item. But, if it is $4, 8, 12 item, after Ebay takes its higher FVF for store items and Paypal takes its toll and you pay a % of your shipping fees in a few days, it is definitely not 60 cents per year.
posted on June 29, 2011 08:07:50 AM new
I look at the store fee of 49.95 per month as a fixed expense of staying in business,aka being an e-tailer in the comfort of my home with minimal overhead such as electricity,storage .
If I sell nothing that month,my store fee would be $87,but I always sell something,like 3k-6k worth of merchandise,so I have no problem picking up that $87.
Even if I sell nothing for months,I am willing to use my past earnings called retained earnings to pay the fees,some of you may want to revisit your college accounting 101,there is an account called retained earnings where yearly profit is closed into and retained for paying dividend,for buyback of shares and for sustaining losses !
If you have just a few items ,then the ebay store fee of 49.95 may not be for you,a basic store may be better or just do auction and keep relisting until it is sold .
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on June 29, 2011 08:23:25 AM new
hwahwa: no one is disputing what option is best for you, the point was it does not cost 5 cents per month or 60 cents per year. You have to pay for that privilege.
posted on June 29, 2011 08:29:39 AM new
It is easy to ignore the $49.95 fee if you are selling and profitable.
I still stand behind my original statement that visibility is extremely important. GTC is a useful tool, but only for the right items. No point on leaving an item in GTC if it is hidden behinds a plethora of similar items. Why pay to hide it???
Though HWA resisted my claims that GTC is best for rare collectibles, in the end their own example of the print made my point perfectly.
posted on June 29, 2011 09:14:00 AM new
Shag: I agree that visibility is the most important aspect, also. I am going to experiment with 30 days versus GTC and see if it makes a difference to my sales. If buyers can't see your items, they can' t buy it, no matter how much you paid for that listing.
posted on June 29, 2011 09:23:10 AM new
No one is saying that the $49.99 is outrageous if it suits your needs, but it is still an expense and has to be factored into the equation and that is using all business / accounting courses I have ever taken.
posted on June 29, 2011 10:24:50 AM new
Sometimes the efforts we put in do not show results until ?????
I have an item with quantity=2 and recently sold out.
Then I received an email from an Ebayer -he said he has been watching the item for a long time and now it is sold out,so what should he do??
Well,the best I can do for him is to ask him to fork over an extra 50 dollars so I can ask my overseas vendor to ship him one direct.
See,this is one advantage of having a store and make all items GTC,I know there are many buyers out there who are not ready to buy,could be lack of fund,could be waiting for the right occasion?
I am not making any money on that extra $50 ,it will cover the wire transfer fee and extra shipping.
My time is free!
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on June 29, 2011 10:37:46 AM new
Nothing is free,even if it said 'free',there are hidden costs somewhere.
If it is free,how does the venue provider pay its fees?
If you are not profitable after paying all the fees,then you have to find something else to sell which is profitable.
I know a guy who used to sell macho stuff like knives and guns,until one day he sold a piece of chipped Lalique his mother left him,he is now into what Arnold called 'girlie' stuff-perfume,crystal etc!
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
It took this particular watcher until both were sold for them to contact you to buy it. I am not sure that necessarily makes your case that GTC is effective.
I get a few emails each month asking if I am relisting an item or if I can get another similar item. This happens, whether it is GTC or a 3 day listing. I don't see where that really matters. What matters is that 1) the person will buy it 2) they can find the item easily.
I'm not sure if telling someone it will cost $50 more to acquire another is very effective in selling items too. I know I would be turned off if I saw the price jump after the fact.
posted on June 29, 2011 02:52:59 PM new
I explain to him we dont restock just because we are out of one design,we have other designs available,but if he must have that particular design,then we will make a special effort to order for him,that $50 covers wiretransfer fee and extra shipping .
Now he wants it and will pay that extra $50.
He should have known better,Ebay is dominated by individual sellers and small retailers,many items are either one of a kind or in limited quantity.
We are not Walmart or Nordstrom,most of us cannot hold hundreds of the same design ,besides Ebay is not the kind of marketplace we can sell the same item a hundred times!
how does this incident prove GTC is better than relisting manually?
Well,less work on my part,what if I am not around to relist,what if I forget to relist?
What if they bookmark the item and found out it has been relisted and not bothered to pursue further by clicking on the Ebay link?
I know when I found an item I am watching is being relisted,I lost interest,I said to myself,no one wants it,it cant be that great,so I will pass !
But usually these are items I dont have to have like food or medicine.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
