marcn
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posted on May 6, 2003 08:59:30 AM new
I have been selling clothing for several years now and about 6 months ago I setup a friend with the same vendor and he is now selling the same items. For unknown reasons he consistently gets higher bids then me. I am still making plenty of profit but am missing what the subtle difference is. In my opinion, my ads look better but it is just my opinion. My feedback is well over 5000 with 18 negs over 5 years and all have been retaliatory. His feedback is close to 500 with 100% positive. My best guess is that it is the 100% feedback.
His ID is express_source and mine is debbies*treasures
Take a look at some listings from each of us and let me know what you think.
Thanks,
Marc
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ahc3
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posted on May 6, 2003 09:14:21 AM new
Marc, I looked, and there is one very important difference.
Your friend has the shipping price of the item prominently displayed in the description and terms. You do list shipping, but only if you look down on the page where ebay calculates it for you. I don't think a lot of people look there. They probably say, oh, no shipping listed, I am not going to bid.
Put the shipping and insurance terms IN the actual description, that might help.
Good Luck!
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toasted36
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posted on May 6, 2003 09:14:53 AM new
Could be something real simple as he list shipping terms in the top section or I read some where the color's you use creates different reactions ...yellow and red is suppose to attract buyers...I don't know what green does ..but looking at his pictures with the pale yellow was easier on the eyes than white on white...hope this helps...your ads look great btw
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wgm
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posted on May 6, 2003 09:20:08 AM new
could be this paragraph that you use when stating something is "Excellent New With Tags"...
Condition: Excellent new with tags!
This item is a customer return from America's #1 Home Shopping Channel. It may have been used, tried on or worn for a short period of time. Some may have lint, hair or a perfume, pet or smoke odor. Its recommended that you wash or launder items prior to use. We try our best to check for obvious flaws, damage, missing pieces etc and will make note of any problem found in the item description.
Some people have highly sensitive allergies, and the mention of the hair, etc. could be turning them off. Also, if the item is "excellent, new with tags" then how does it potentially have any or those "issues" you list?
Just my two cents - I think your auctions look great 
"Be kind. Remember everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." - Harry Thompson
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it." - A Few Good Men
[ edited by wgm on May 6, 2003 09:21 AM ]
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CBlev65252
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posted on May 6, 2003 09:22:26 AM new
I think both ads look great. It's hard to say why people bid what they do. For example, I had up a 14k white gold Iolite, Tourmaline, Citrine ring and couldn't get $69 for it. I've seen 10k rings go for far more than that. I give up on trying to figure it all out.
Maybe someone needs to start a buyers' survey post here and the buyers can clue us in as to what attracts them and what repells them.
Cheryl
http://mygallery.timegonebuy.com/customer/kcskorner/kcskorner.html?
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stopwhining
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posted on May 6, 2003 10:03:05 AM new
may be you should not share your supplier with anyone especially if they are going to sell on the same venue as you are.
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marcn
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posted on May 6, 2003 10:22:56 AM new
Stopwhining:
This is a good friend and I do not mind competition. I do have one source that does very well that is not shared.
AHC3:
You make a good point about the shipping. The reason I do this is to save time. I use SA Basic for the listings and if I put the shipping up front in each ad, I will have to launch them separately if they have different prices. I am going to look at this closely.
Regarding the issue of the customer return items, these are brand new items for both of us. When an item is listed "Like New With Tags" it will not have abd of the odors or other problems. There is another seller moving these same items to the tune of $20,000 per month and they do not mention any of these issues. They are averaging $11 each sale with many higher than $40. Their feedback is above 4000 with no negs. Their user ID is nikki_morgans and I am amazed that selling customer returns they have not generated a neg yet.
My main issue is on the "new" Silhouettes items. I think that the way shipping cost is displayed could be one of the keys here.
Marc
[ edited by marcn on May 6, 2003 10:23 AM ]
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stopwhining
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posted on May 6, 2003 10:28:38 AM new
some sellers can have feedbacks of 3000 plus with no neg,they usually handle the complaint by issuing refund or exchange
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stopwhining
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posted on May 6, 2003 10:33:49 AM new
your description can be confusing-i am reading that the item is excellent with tag,which to me implies being new and then you move on to say it could be otherwise(odor,hair etc) which turns some bidder off.
how can an item be in excellent condition when it has hair or odor??
as for shipping,i stop listing shipping fee and it does not seem to bother usa bidders.canadian bidders are the only one who ask about shipping to canada.
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zoomin
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posted on May 6, 2003 10:35:27 AM new
Hi Mark!
Maybe it's time to start yourself a second ID ~
I was violating my competitors until I hit around 2000 or so feedback (or maybe it was the 3000 transactions ~ same timimng) ~
Although their ads and pics looked better than mine, I consistently outsold them until my FB got too high ~
my numbers came right back up when I hit around 200 on a new ID.
Not perfect FB, either, but over 99% (I habitually NEG DeadBeats and take my lumps for it).
BTW, your ads always look great!
[ edited by zoomin on May 6, 2003 10:37 AM ]
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marcn
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posted on May 6, 2003 10:58:19 AM new
Stopwhining:
This issue is more related to the "new" items. We only started selling the QVC items in the past few weeks. His QVC items also mention the same things as mine. The Silhouettes items which are what my main concern is.
I do have a second ID with a feedback of 5 and maybe I need to think about starting to list some of the clothing under that account and see what happens.
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stopwhining
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posted on May 6, 2003 12:35:26 PM new
i dont think having a high feedback in the thousands help us sell better??dunno why??
may be they think it will always be same old,same old stuff from us??
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auctionace
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posted on May 6, 2003 12:53:20 PM new
The feedback rating or percentage shouldn't be a major concern until the percentage drops below 90%. Not having a s/h price is always a major deterent as the bidder then has to email the seller and wait or be at the mercy of the seller and get a possible s/h shock. S/H is one of the biggest factors in buying something on ebay and if it's not easily available it's a big missing puzzle piece that causes many bidders to skip that auction. I often shake my head when I can not find the s/h amount or a rate calculator and ask myself how many lost bids that omission cost the seller.
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marcn
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posted on May 6, 2003 01:44:00 PM new
auctionace:
In the TOS I state "Shipping Cost Is Listed In Payment Details Below" as I use eBay checkout which dies show the shipping at the bottom of the listing. Maybe it needs to be right up from inthe TOS.
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auctionace
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posted on May 6, 2003 01:56:58 PM new
The s/h in the description is much better than the little book at the very end of the auction. The one thing I hate about that box is that all of that important data disappears when the auction ends. When I research the completed auctions for some item I can never see the s/h amount if it was in that box. I then can not determine if the s/h was excessive and caused the item to not sell or go at a low price. Why can't ebay leave that data alone when an auction closes?
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