From time to time, you might notice a slight dip in your sales. There are many reasons why this might happen, including factors that are out of your control. However, there are some actions within your control that you can take to make your listings more visible to help give your sales a boost.
1. Continue to optimise your listings
The better optimised your listings are, the higher your impressions (and hopefully conversion) will be. Here are some key areas to focus on:
Titles: Try to use all of the available 80 characters and include any relevant keywords.
The first 4 words of your titles should use the terms that your buyers are searching for. For example, for branded items, it’s likely buyers will be searching by the brand name - so this should be one of the first words in your title.
Item specifics: Add all available item specifics to your listings. The filters used by buyers rely on the information you include in item specifics. So, if a buyer ever uses a filter for an item specific you’ve left blank, your listing won't be shown in filtered search results. Including item specifics can also increase the likelihood of being found on search engines.
High-quality photos: Use high-quality photos, taken from every angle, and show any flaws or scratches. You can now include up to 24 pictures for free, which we recommend you take advantage of. Or better still, why not bring your listings to life with videos?
Best Match: Visit our handy guide to learn more about optimising your listings for Best Match. A good starting point is to offer competitive prices, reasonable postage, and great customer service.
It can also pay to end stagnant listings and instead relist your items, following the above advice.
2. Source top-performing inventory
While some products perform well year-round, many are more seasonal - so consider diversifying your inventory with the Terapeak tool in Seller Hub. This lets you see how well certain brands and products are selling on eBay, so you can identify and invest in top-performing inventory.
One reason why sales may decline is due to new competitors entering the market or existing competitors reducing their prices, which can boost their Best Match ranking as their conversion rate increases. Terapeak enables you to see how much competition there is, how other sellers are pricing their items, and how much items sold for, so you can adjust accordingly.
3. Engage potential buyers with promotions
There are 5 types of promotions you can launch via Seller Hub. Consider creating new promotions to get the attention of buyers - and ultimately increase conversion. In 2021, approximately 44% of transactions featured at least one of our promo tools*.
Offer to Buyers helps you engage your interested buyers by sending a reduced price on your listing or giving them the opportunity to make their best offer. You can also add a personal touch by sending a message with your offer.
Order Discounts are a great option when you’re selling items that are complementary to each other, such as chairs with a table. Options include quantity discounts, like: “Buy two and get a third free” or threshold discounts, such as: “Spend over £100 and get 20% off”.
Multi-Buy lets you offer tiered discounts when buyers purchase numerous quantities of the same item. It’s a great tool for lower priced items that are bought frequently or in larger quantities, such as printer ink cartridges or postal packaging boxes.
Coded Coupons enable you to offer your buyers a discount through a coupon code. Share them publicly on eBay or privately through your own marketing channels, such as social media or include printed coupons in packaging with orders.
Use Sale Event + Markdown to sell your items at a discount for a limited time. For example:
“Save up to 40% on garden furniture”. The Markdown feature will show your buyers the price of the listing before and after the discount.
4. Stand out with Promoted Listings
Promoted Listings Standard is a powerful way to help your items stand out in the eBay marketplace. Enjoy fully guided set-up, detailed reporting, and if you don’t sell, you don’t pay - you only pay your chosen ad fee when a buyer clicks on your promoted listing and purchases within 30 days.
Promoted Listings Advanced is a cost-per-click campaign type that provides the high visibility you want and the control you need to drive sales on eBay. You can use Advanced campaigns to drive traffic to your listings with access to the top slots of search, with keyword and budget controls.
5. Refresh your knowledge with eBay Academy
eBay Academy is our self-paced learning platform to provide you with best practices on how to use eBay’s extensive range of tools and features, such as this module on making a great listing.
Simply log in with your eBay credentials to get started. And while you’re there, why not check out our other expert-led courses and valuable insights to help you build and grow your brand.
Thank you for selling on eBay.
Your eBay Team
*eBay internal data, business seller transactions Q1 2021, US, UK, DE, FRITES, seller hub promotions (multi-buy, order discount, sale event, offer to buyer, and best offer).
)