Change is NOT Always a Good Thing in Reselling

8 Minute Read

It’s Not? Why?

Let me explain. If you consider yourself a reseller of any sorts, part-time, full-time, only here and there time, you will likely understand that pivoting your business model is something you should definitely get comfortable with like real quick. This is not the “change” I’m referring to.

The change that I’m referring to, is particularly in reference to eBay sellers. This is because if you sell on eBay, you know already that any little blip or tiny thing you mess with on the backend, seems to throw your store in a downward spiral. (At least for long enough that you maybe want to pout about it…been there!)

• Related: How to Start Selling on Ebay

This is why I propose that, if you want to play around with the settings in your store, try to stick with doing this in the beginning. I’ll tell you why I feel this way.

Beginning Bumps

I recommend trying to mess with things in the beginning because it’s the least likely to throw off a bunch of daily sales. Once you’ve put in the hard work, long hours, and tedious tasks of perfecting your listings, and once you’ve got your listings up to a much higher number per day, it’s much more likely to take a toll on the regular sales activity you typically receive.

*Side Note: Be sure to Subscribe! I will be making a new post in the future that goes over How Many Listings I Post Daily and Why. Keep in touch so you don’t miss it!

This is because after all, eBay’s algorithm is a computer, plain and simple. “Cassini,” to be exact. Cassini works in mysterious ways, that’s for sure! But one thing this lady does like in her digital life is some serious consistency. I know I know, I’m sure you’ve heard that a hundred or so times by now from resellers and from life lessons in general.

But for reals, consistency is and has always been the key to success. (Please remember while reading, that this is simply just my own opinion and what I refer to and talk about is just based off of my own experience! Every story and business plan is different.)

So, I recommend saving those bumps in the beginning, or, “beginning bumps,” if you will, to try new things out and see what works best for you and your business. This way, you’ll know in the future what works, what doesn’t, and it won’t be as large of an impact on your account whenever you do decide to make any changes.

My Own Experience Making Changes

Here are a few of the changes I’ve made over time, and what they’ve taught me.

I’ve fluctuated in moving my promoted listings percentage up and down several times…this is risky. I say risky because, it significantly impacts the amount of traffic and impressions that your store receives. In my opinion, it’s just better to suck up the extra percent that eBay takes, and utilize their promoted listing tool to its full advantage.

The benefit of selling on a platform, as opposed to a site that is solely your own, is that you already have customers actively searching for items, and a worldwide customer base. I think I’m okay with paying a few more percentage points if all of that can be done by someone else other than me! I’ve already got enough on my plate, as I’m sure most of you do as well, and this is just one less thing we as resellers have to worry about.

Another change I’ve made is changing my shipping options. This is one that may be an exception to the rule. I feel it is better to offer free shipping in the beginning, so that you can gain some traffic and sales as a new seller. However, once you have more of an established customer base, I feel like it is more acceptable to ask the buyer to pay for shipping, (some or all).

Personally, I like to meet in the middle with most items, as I think this route is a bit more on the fair side, so I simply ask for a flat fee of $4.00 per item. (This may exclude some items that are larger lots, or awkward items that need large boxes to ship).

Why I Saw a Change in My Sales

There has been a few weeks recently, where I had to catch up on taxes, admin work, and took on some new sourcing opportunities. This led me to not listing as many items per day, and also not actively sharing as much on my other platforms or crosslisting.

• Related: Useful Tools, Tips & Tricks: Keeping Your Accounts in Order
• Related: 77 Brand To Look for While Sourcing

This had a huge impact on my daily sales, and brought my per day amount down drastically. I feel like reselling is sort of like choosing your diet…they say “this month’s choices are next month’s results!” Well, I feel like this holds true for eBay, especially! This month’s work, is next month’s results. If you put the work in now, it is very likely that it will pay off for you in the weeks to come.

If you’ve ever increased or decreased your listings and noticed a spike or drop long after the changes, this seems to be how it usually works. There is a delay in the algorithm, and once it realizes your changes, it adjusts accordingly.

If you have any stories of the sort regarding your changes and their outcomes, feel free to drop them in the comment section below! Let’s chat about what we can all do a little better on each day to grow our business and our stores.

Let’s get selling peeps! Catcha Thursday! -Shelby

Thank You!

A giant thanks to everyone that has supported me this far into my journey! I greatly appreciate you returning to read my posts hope that you will continue to drop by in the future.

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Happy selling friends!

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Please feel free to drop any comments below that you would like to add! I am always open to advice, suggestions, or even hearing related stories of your own! I stay as active as possible in the comment section, therefore I will reply to any questions asap.

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