Monday, June 13, 2011

3 Ways to Keep Inventory Moving During Slow Summer Months


Summer can be slow for online (or offline) sales as consumers take a break from their normal routines or spend their disposable income on vacations and other seasonal items. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink – meaning you can’t make buyers do anything!. Here are a few ways to keep your inventory appealing to buyers during the notoriously slow summer months.

Consider adding Best Offer to your older listings (over 90 days old). This is especially effective for buyers who want to use combined shipping or who have just bought a different product from you. Even if you choose not to accept many of the offers, adding Best Offer can make a positive impact on potential buyers.

Markdown Manager can also be useful. It allows you to discount items by a percentage (10%, for example) or an amount (like $2). While the discounted price will appear as the normal Buy it Now price in the majority of eBay locations, it will show as a sale price in store search results, marketing emails that you send, your listing, other listings (where it is cross promoted), Watched Items, and in emails that buyers receive about their Watched Items. It will also be shown as a sale price in any promotional boxes in your store.

Markdown Manager can’t be used on auctions. However, any listing is eligible for a free shipping discount. The discount only applies to the shipping option that you added to your listing first. It doesn’t apply to any additional shipping options.

Reduce the fees you’ll be charged by taking advantage of Good Till Cancelled (GTC) listings. By using a longer listing, your items have the time they need to be indexed by search engines. 7 days isn’t long enough for this. Plus, your fees will add up quickly if you restart your unsold auctions every week.

Related articles:

Using eBay's Markdown Manager

Process for Listing, Relisting, and Marking Down eBay Items


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