The Holiday Selling Season on eBay is short… but sweet. The 2 months of hot selling items can be incredibly intense; however, if you plan it out – you’ll help ensure making it a success!
6 Ways To Enter The eBay Holiday Selling Season Stress-Free
1. Have A Plan
Whether you are the kind of person who needs a simple ‘big-picture’ look at things… or someone who must chart out every detail, I guarantee you a much simpler Holiday selling season if you go into it with a plan.
What should you include in your plan?
Here are a few questions to ask yourself that might help…
- What are you going to sell?
- When are these items usually listed for the highest profits?
- How will I ensure a high sell-through rate?
- What is my plan for items that don’t sell?
- How many items a week can I sell on a weekly basis and still remain sane?
- What is my shipping strategy?
2. Know What You Are Going To Sell
It is important to be open as the season progresses to new hot selling items… however, starting out the season with a focused ‘niche’ will help. If you are selling toys (and I highly recommend it this time of year), consider selling toys that you can cross-promote to the same customer. Remember, it is much easier to sell to a previous customer than to make a sale to someone new.
What does this look like? Here are a few examples…
- If you are selling baby dolls, consider also selling clothing and accessories for the doll.
- If you are selling Zhu Zhu pets, consider also selling accessories – or Kung Zhu pets.
You don’t have to limit yourself to all things Zhu Zhu, but, you might as well take advantage of the opportunity to sell to the same customer over and over by offering other products that they might also be interested in.
3. Limit Your Number of Auctions
Perhaps a better way to word this is to KNOW your limit… if you can’t manage and ship 500 auctions, then you might need to scale back how many listings you have going at one time. One of the strategies that I recommend in my Magic Window of Opportunity eCourse is to list a few items every day of the week. There are many benefits to this strategy – not only will you increase your listings exposure, but you will also be able to manage your time better.
4. Keep Your Receipts In A Safe Place!
If you are reselling new items (ie., toys)… make sure you keep those receipts and know the return policy for the stores.
5. Move Out The Inventory That Doesn’t Move
We all want a high sell-through rate; however, sometimes we are left with inventory that just won’t move. Often you can return new items from the retailer you purchased them from; however, if you are selling used items, research consignment shops that you can send your inventory that doesn’t move to. In fact, I have been known to make a nice little profit on consigning used children’s items that I’ve picked up at yard sales for a fraction of what they consign for!… Even though I wouldn’t have made as much if I had sold it on eBay – not having to deal with packing and shipping the item can make it worth it 😉
6. Don’t Forget About What Really Matters
It is very easy to get so involved in selling during this season, that we forget what is truly important to us. Don’t forget to take time for yourself (ie., sleep… eat 😉 And spend time with your family and friends too! No matter how organized you are, spending an evening here and there with those you care about can help you get through this crazy selling season and keep you sane!
7. Well, I said 6 Ways to help remain stress-free this holiday selling season… but, here is a bonus 😉
If you are selling toys, be sure to get the Holiday Toy Guide THIS week! 😉
Okay, I should really name #7… “Have Someone Do Your Research For You” because that is really what the Holiday Toy Guide is all about – us researching the list of toys that is expected to be the most popular and comparing the retail pricind and availability to eBay for YOU. This is the ONLY way to know what is really selling… Anyone can make predictions – but, only researching on eBay will put you in the know.
You can do the research yourself… there are lots of tools available to you to do so; however, I guarantee you will spend HOURS scouring through the data.
If you are selling toys this holiday season, check out the Holiday Toy Guide:
The weekly reports listing over 50 toys that are expected to be the most popular start THIS WEEK! To get the full value, now is the time to get in on the GOLD Membership.
Enjoy…
Jenni
PS. Did you miss the 3 free reports I offered last month? You can still get them if you go here: http://www.holidaytoyguide.com and scroll to the bottom of the page. Enjoy!
We all know this list could go on and on… And I’m hoping that you’ll help contribute by sharing your tips for remaining sane this time of year by leaving a comment below… 🙂