All eBay sellers go through slumps, hit a plateau, or sales just go stale. There are many ways to handle this situation. All of the strategies for business growth involve working outside your comfort zone. You can't keep doing the same things year after year and expect your business to continue to grow. According to Einstein, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." Challenge yourself to work outside your comfort zone. Choose to be uncomfortable! Here are some suggestions.
Sell on a different sites in addition to eBay.
If you sell craft items, craft supplies, or vintage items consider selling on Etsy. If you sell books, media, or mostly anything with a UPC code, try selling on Amazon. Sell large items like furniture or anything too big to ship on Craigslist with local pickup. Check out Bonanzle, too.
Resources:
Selling on Etsy
Selling on Amazon
Add new and different products to your eBay store.
If you sell mostly thrift store or garage sale finds, consider looking at online clearance or Daily Deal sites. Try flipping listings using misspelling tools and experiment with products you have never sold before. Become a Trading Assistant and sell things for other people to get free experience with new products - you might come across something you can sell on a regular basis.
Resources:
Online Clearance
Daily Deals
Trading Assistant Program
eBay Niche Product Finder
List of 395 eBay Friendly Wholesale Suppliers
Try virtual products.
Try selling products like eBooks (created from public domain materials) or a how-to video or DVD. Information products are one of the best sellers on eBay. Create the product once and sell it over an over again. This is a very effective eBay strategy if you wish to create passive streams of income.
Resources:
Selling Public Domain Items
Create Your Own Information Product
Outsource parts of the business you don't like or aren't good at, or that take too much of your time.
At some point, you will encounter the Law of Diminishing Returns which states, " As more investment in an area is made, overall return on that investment increases at a declining rate, assuming that all variables remain fixed." In other words, you will see a decline in effectiveness after a certain level of result has been achieved. You have to do something different to achieve a higher return on your monetary and time investment to see a higher return.
Pay a college or high school student to iron clothes and / or take photos of your items. Train a stay at home mom in your neighborhood to do your shipping. Find parts of your business to outsource so you can spend your time sourcing and listing products.
Resources:
Outsourcing 101
Sell directly on an international eBay site.
By listing directly on eBay UK, eBay Australia, or eBay Canada, your listings will get the highest possible visibility, they will show up in that country's currency, and you may have no competition. Listing on an international site is a great way to sell common everyday items from the USA to people in other countries who really want them.
Resources:
Niche Product to Sell on eBay UK
Maximize Profit on eBay UK
Don't be afraid to experiment - change your eBay strategy. Step outside your comfort zone. Do something different. Move into unfamiliar territory. Challenge yourself to grow!
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