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After years of talking to eBay sellers, at Optiseller we know a thing or two of what can truly make a difference when things slow down for an online store. Here are some things worth trying if you find that your eBay sales are slower than normal: 

1. Update your eBay Listing Title   

Look at your listing titles with fresh eyes. Are you using the full 80 characters that eBay allows in each of them?  At Optiseller we recommend that your title should have between 70-80 characters. As well as including all the relevant information that a potential buyer is likely to search for on the marketplace, consider adding your Item Specifics to the listing title. You want to make the titles as clear as possible and manage buyers' expectations, so that if a buyer clicks on the item, they are more likely to purchase it.  

2. Update your eBay Item Specifics  

Look at all the possible Item Specifics in your category and populate them accordingly.  Item Specifics are here to stay, and in an ever increasing and competitive marketplace, you simply need to keep them updated. Item Specifics are key to your SEO on the eBay marketplace, and the more you populate them, the more views and sales you will receive. We know full well that eBay sellers find populating Item Specifics a never-ending task, but there’s good news: our Aspect Finder + tool can help significantly with easing the burden of this task.  In addition to this, at Optiseller we have a Category Lookup tool which will show you all the possible Item Specifics and recommended values and make the process much easier to manage. 

3. Update your eBay description  

Review your eBay description as if you were reading it for the first time. Does it convey all the relevant information about the item/s you are selling? Read it from the buyer’s point of view. Does it pre-empt any questions that a potential buyer might have? Include as much relevant information as possible, but keep it informative, never spammy.  The same logic applies, whether you are selling new or used items.   

4. Refresh your images 

Consider the images supporting your listing. Are your photos good enough and do they entice the customer to buy your item?  The images should be varied and good quality. If not, change them and review your listings. Also, ask yourself: are there enough photos? You have a maximum of 12 photos on an eBay listing, so utilise them to the maximum.   

5. Use promoted listings  

If you still haven’t tried them, consider the use of promoted listings. We discussed promoted listings in our blog post discussing how to prepare for Black Friday, which you will find here.  

6. Consider free shipping  

eBay is an anomaly in that sellers can choose whether to offer free shipping or not. In comparison, in other huge marketplaces, such as Amazon & Zalando, free postage is essential. So why not apply free shipping on the eBay marketplace to maximise your sales opportunity? The fact is that buyers don’t like paying for delivery, so any shipping costs invariably create friction. Consider that you could increase your next day delivery cost to outweigh the offering of free postage. 

7. Search for your items like a potential customer  

Sometimes it helps to see things with fresh eyes. So, try signing out of eBay, opening an incognito window and browsing the eBay marketplace searching for your items. Can you find your own listings?  Where are you appearing in Best Match? Also look at what your competitors are doing: is there anything you can learn from them?   

8. Freshen up stale/unsold eBay listings  

It’s worth checking your eBay store for any stale or unsold listings. If you find any that haven’t had a sale in up to 90 days, end them. Then, revise them thoroughly. What can you improve? Do you need to include new images, change the titles or add Item Specifics, as discussed above? When you’re satisfied with the result, re-list them.  

9. Remove any duplicate listings  

Do you have any duplicate listings?  eBay’s policy states that they ‘do not allow more than one fixed price listing of an identical item at the same time from the same seller.’ If you aren’t on top of your duplicates, be aware that failure to act can result in your listings being demoted in search. Our Duplicates Report can help flag up your duplicates, so check it out. 

10. Pricing  

We deliberately left pricing until the last tip, as we get asked about it a lot. We won’t disagree that pricing is hugely important on a competitive marketplace, but it is not the only important factor.  Make sure to consider your pricing in relation to what your competitors are offering. Are you competitive? Is there any value you can provide to the potential buyers considering two items selling for the same price?  

We hope you’ll give these tips a shot and do let us know if you see an improvement in your eBay sales. Happy selling!