I read an interesting story in the Wall Street Journal about a couple who owned a gift shop in an economically-depressed town. Not only couldn’t they sell their merchandise. They couldn’t even give it away! They discovered eBay and are now, according to the “WSJ,” making $600,000 a year. They say that only 40% of their merchandise sells the first time around.
If an item doesn’t sell, you have several choices...1) Re-list it. When I first looked at eBay to sell an angel coin, I had a list of seven possible categories. If you are selling a one-time item, this experimentation may not be worthwhile. But for a repeat-seller you need to know. Simply changing categories can make a huge difference because your customer base is so different.
2) Lower the price. Knowing the value of any object is an art, not a science. Your best method of research is to look at similar items but even that does not guarantee exact conclusions. Sometimes, we have started too high and must make the choice of making less money or no money. Just because it “should” sell for $100 doesn’t mean that anyone is willing to pay that amount. In other words, be flexible in your assumptions.
3) Try a different auction site. If you are selling on a general site like eBay or Amazon, try a specialized site, or vice versa. Those gruesomely expensive custom speakers that you are selling may not be appreciated by the general public. In contrast, someone on a specialized site might be drooling for them, ready to mortgage the house and take out a bank loan.
As well, some sites just don’t have lots of traffic. Others seem to cater to more inexpensive items and your merchandise is too costly. There are a lot of differences among sites and you may have to experiment to find the best match for your interests.
4) Store it for awhile and try again later. Hold it for a period of time and try again. Rafts and snowshoes definitely have seasonal value. And fads come and go. Ask the inventor of the hula hoop!
5) Group it with other merchandise. Include your unsold item with some other merchandise, as part of a package. Many auctioneers can make more money for three items included as a bundle than they make for the three sold separately. And many buyers will purchase items because there is something in the group that they really want.
It is a standard practice in the mail order business to include a lot of items for a higher price because weight sells, believe it or not. Entrepreneurs are taught that there is more money in bundling than in “cafeteria” selling.
6) Add extra value. For example, I sold some gardening items by throwing in some recipes for natural pesticides. The printing only costs a few extra cents. Since I already had the recipes, there was very little extra trouble for me.
7) Cautiously experiment with auction site options. I recently went to eBay’s “Automobiles: Accessories: General” to list an item. There were over 14,000 items listed in the section I was considering. What are the chances of someone finding my one little item? In this situation, the only way to really test this merchandise was to either pay extra to get more attention or to pass. I choose not to list this merchandise due to my limited knowledge of this category.
However, it’s different if you feel reasonably confident that you have a product that will sell well if only somebody becomes aware of it. In that situation, you may want to take the chance and pay for a more expensive listing option.
8) Realize that you are going to have some flops! I have sold items that I never really thought would sell, and other “sure things” that were total flops. I have given merchandise away as prizes, donated it to charity for tax write-offs and sold it at flea markets or bazaars.
Keep in mind that the market is inexplicable. There are items which sell really well at one time, and very poorly at others. Who knows why. Even though we should try to understand why an item sells, or doesn’t, there is simply just no way to know for sure.
About those mistakes...When you make a “mistake,” you can beat yourself up, berate yourself and call yourself all the names that are synonyms for stupid. Or you can use it as a step towards making your business more profitable, more successful. If this sounds ridiculous, consider that there are two steps involved in turning a mistake into a triumph...
First, re-label mistake and call it feedback. This takes all the emotional baggage out of the equation. “Feedback” is an emotionally neutral word to me, and if it isn’t that way for you, find a similar word that is non-judgmental.
Second, calmly examine this merchandise to figure out why it didn’t sell. But always keep your goal in mind -- to have fun, make money and create thrilled customers who will come back and buy from you, again and again. In this way, your unsold merchandise helps you to see what modifications you need to make in your methods.
Perhaps you have heard the people using the analogy of the guided missile? Apparently, it is off-target about 95%+ of the time. It merely corrects itself and thus finds its target. In same way, consider every item you put up for sale as a step towards your success. Sometimes, you may have to make a correction but that’s part of doing business.
Just keep your focus intent on your goal. And you will achieve it.
OK. Your auction listing did its job perfectly. It attracted lots of targeted customers and you have your...
