Recently, I have had a couple people ask me about this. Someone who I have recently bought a couple job lots from and also my own brother. This article I am writing for him and really anyone else that wants to know What To Do To Increase Ebay Sales On A Dead Account for UK Sellers.
This might be different depending on which country you are from. I myself live in the UK but I would suspect that this information maybe useful regardless of your location. And I hope that it is – so.
When I first started selling on eBay it was all the way back in 2011. This my main account I still use now and I created this way back in 2008. I’ve since started work on a second account – this is so I can focus on my main niche of PC Cooling on one eBay and use the other for more random items.
But anyway on my main one to date I’ve made over 115K (thousand) sales and my feedback is approaching 40K.
I definitely think that maybe I have not done as well as I could have in a lot of ways. Mostly because I haven’t reinvested in the right areas over the years. When I hear about people that start selling on eBay that end up with warehouses making 6-7 figures (dare I say 8 figures a YEAR) I really do think I’ve missed a few tricks along the road BUT enough about what I could have done and did not.
Quite simply – Do I think I’m qualified enough to provide advise for struggling eBay sellers – YES I DO – one thing I definitely have is experience SO…
What To Do To Increase Ebay Sales On A Dead Account For UK Sellers?
Table of Contents
So In response to this question I am going to say YES – more often than not I am making 100£ plus a day so I do have some, what I think is good advice to share with the many people out there that are struggling with making money from eBay.
Now…
Let’s start here with my first bit of advice.
List New Items, End Old Items and Sell Similar
eBay is an animal that you need to keep feeding on a consistent basis. You ABSOLUTELY MUST keep that algorithm working in your favor. As much as this is just speculation (I don’t think it is) you must keep listing new items as eBay’s algorithm (so they say) boosts NEW listings higher to the top of search results.
I find that usually I sell a lot of items that have only recently been listed for the first time. Today I sold a camera and a bible after only a couple hours of listing.
So I think It is a great way to make sales doing this – keeping your account active by listing new items. The more you do this the more sales you will get.
eBay seems to love this activity. Even low value items can be good – as whilst they may not make you much they can still help give this algorithmic boost – something that can help boost ALL of your listings.
BUT for when this is not possible – another good thing to do ESPECIALLY when on the move is to use the eBay mobile app is to end old listings and Sell Similar.
What I do is select ENDING SOONEST for my active listings. This will show all the items that are about to end that are about to be automatically renewed.
Each one of these that you end and relist by ‘Sell Similar’ is treated like a new listing with the same bump higher up the search results.
Stagnant listings you can find by downloading reports on unsold items. This is something else too you can do rather than just ending and relisting items ending soonest. (Find Out More HERE)
So, THIS is a good way to feed eBay when your not able to list new stock AND also again this is only speculation but this activity also helps boost your other listings up in the eBay search results too.
PLUS this also gives you the opportunity to revise, reprice and analyse your old listings.
BUT it is not only this.
There is much I can suggest besides this – and again I really hope this article can help…
We shall continue here
Keeping Your eBay Account Healthy
This kind of goes without saying I think. By far the worst way to lose buyers is to lose your eBay Above Standard or Top Rated status.
I personally had this experience earlier this year. I got a lot of defects towards the end of last year which led to my account becoming Below Standard.
I won’t divulge on the details but it was a difficult time and I really was saved in many ways by starting to sell on my 2nd account. Because of this and getting sales again was such a relief. At this time I had an upcoming holiday to Lanzarote and this money was very much needed.
I will add that with my below standard account I had a lot of help from a VA I hired on Fiverr with the removal of several defects. Almost I had enough of these defects removed to get straight back to my top rated seller status that month (if my memory serves me correct) but I did at least get back to above standard and my sales back.
This can help to do this I think (creating a 2nd account) but besides this, generally you should be careful about getting neutral and negative feedback, as well as late delivery marks and cases closed without seller resolution.
If you get negative or neutral be sure to message the buyer to try and find a resolve. eBay says this doesn’t affect sales but negative and even neutral feedback I have seen kill my sales – so if you can request a feedback revision with buyers say so.
Open cases are apparently another thing that slow down the algorithm. I don’t know how true this is but I know that there are people who definitely think this.
It certainly does seem to be that good customer service is the main thing to keep under control after listing regularly.
These two things DEFINITELY are good to keep in mind BUT ALSO…
Try Sending Out Offers
I almost forgot to add this in here but keep an eye out for listings elible to send out offers. Personally, I probably do this too much – last year I had around 3 months of coaching from eBay. My coach from this time recommended that I slow down with offers and only send offers out towards the end of the month.
His logic was that on the last Friday of the month many people will get their monthly pay packet and will be more Inclined to accept your offers. I don’t know if he is right about this – he maybe is. I will have to try it one month and see.
Although here is something else that is a very good Idea to think about.
Optimizing Listings for Under Performing Products
This is something else to think about. Sometimes the reason your products aren’t selling is because of the quality of your listing. The title for one – is it too short? Does it contain the right Information and keywords?
Another thing my eBay coach recommended was to try to use as many of the 80 characters in your title as possible. I have never really got into the habit of using sub titles but in certain situations for products you regularly sell and rare items this can be good.
Check sold listings – if you use the “sell one like this” feature – essentially this is copying a title that has helped sell an item before.
Also you can reduce the price. I am terrible for this. I am always pricing items too high but sometimes this works in my favour. First look at what has sold similar / the same items to yours have sold for, factor in condition and also here is a great idea – if you can bundle items together then this can be good to.
Then from here two other things when you have a lot of items listed – set up a shop, place items into relevant categories and also consider store design and mobile optimization.
*Note – try adding as many specifications for items as you can, use plenty of photos and a video if you can. My coach told me to these little things DO MATTER>>
Re-engaging with Past Customers
Of course It is important to show that your a good seller. Positive Feedback is key to making this happen. With this in mind something to consider is after a sale is made you kindly ask if your customer can leave positive feedback.
That is one thing but you can message customers if you have other items they might be Interested in too and where you can always look to build these relationships.
This is a good idea – especially if you have set up categories and you have individual items that are quite rare.
I should myself do this more 100% – and further to this – if you have followers then you can send out newsletters. I haven’t myself done this once in 10+ years of running an account but it definitely can be good practice over time.
If you have a coupon code this can be a good place to share and on this topic here is something else…
Promotional Strategies and Seasonal Sales
I usually put a 2% promoted listing rate on all my listings where I can. I think this creates a duplicate listing and I do believe this helps although I have thought about making this more organized.
What I really want to try is this strategy shared by ResellCNY on Youtube
What these guys do is set up a campaign to run for 3 weeks with all their current listings with an ad rate of 4.1%.
Anything listed after this is NOT promoted which means essentially their new listings spend 3 weeks without any promotion.
And they make a good point!
eBay boosts new listings anyway. You don’t need to use promotions on new listings and obviously if you can sell without the extra % you will make an extra bit of money.
So that is one thing but there is something else that I think is a good idea too.
In fact, these advanced strategies can really help take things to the next level.
Increasing Your Reach Beyond The eBay Platform
For your eBay business you can do things like create a business email address, a Facebook page, an Instagram account and a Pinterest board.
Once this done you can go to the marketing tab and link your socials – this will set up automations to share your new listings on social media.
I really need to do this more myself. You can also use 3rd party automation tools such as Zapier and IFTTT. I haven’t done this but if you have a social following you will want people to see what items you have for sale.
I don’t know if it is really the best to share everything you list but certainly you should with some things.
*Note if you are prepared to get on camera Youtube videos can be a great promotional tool. Youtube shorts too, Instagram stories and TikToks – just don’t forgot to share your link to your eBay store in the description.
Affiliate links too you can use for services and equipment you regularly use.
The key is whatever you do to grow a following you can do this in a number of creative ways. Following other accounts is a good one and also business cards.
Whenever you feel you’re ready buy some cards to ship out with your orders.
Include links to your socials and add a link to a website on here.
**Note: This by the way is another option you may want to consider- set up a website. There is a plugin to automatically cross list from eBay to Woo Commerce I’m pretty sure. Check out this blog post
Yet to do this myself but the great thing about these sales is WooCommerce only charge 2% fees. Although I think the plugin you have to pay for – I’m not sure.
Also, this is something else to think about to grow a larger audience and to not have to worry about eBay as much when it is on the blink.
Which I shall further highlight below…
Cross List To Other Marketplaces
This is another area I am slacking in at the moment and it is a lot of work.
Although it can be a good morale booster to have sales coming in from elsewhere when eBay is dead. It can be quite demanding to do this on top of everything else.
Amazon is eBays big competition of course. That is a whole different kettle of fish really and pretty much a separate thing. I am fortunate enough to have been selling on Amazon since before all the brand approval stuff.
That is something I’ve had issues with for months now but this is a good thing to look at depending on what you sell. OnBuy too although I think this platform requires you to be VAT registered.
But on a more positive note – you can also use other platforms to sell (This is for UK account holders specifically) Including;
- Facebook Marketplace
- Vinted
- Etsy
- Poshmark
- Depop
- Whatnot Marketplace
The main 2 are Facebook Marketplace and Vinted I think although Etsy can be good for listing certain things if you are happy to pay the fees.
I’ve not ever used Poshmark or Depop but maybe Poshmark I should look at as Depop you need to pay a subscription for.
WhatNot I’ve heard good things about. If you are happy to get in front of the camera it is a great way to clear out excess stock.
Although, WhatNot has a marketplace to sell items Buy It Now like eBay and I recently learned that you can crosslist to WhatNot Marketplace with Vendoo.
Vendoo is a cross listing platform that is very popular in the US and it is now available for UK customers.
For cross listing use this and Zipsale – I guess you only need one of the two. Vendoo I don’t think has Facebook Marketplace though which is annoying.
Here is my referral links for Vendoo and Zipsale if you want to help support this website and show appreciation for this blog post.
You can use Zipsale for free for a limited number of items a month. Vendoo was free to UK customers as of May 2024 but not sure if it still is.
Now…
In Conclusion: Committing to Continuous Improvement
So just to summarize – What To Do To Increase Ebay Sales On A Dead Account For UK Sellers. Resolve and close cases, request revision of neutral and negative feedback and feed the animal – list new items every day, keep your account healthy and if you can’t end select eBay listings and sell similar.
That is my main piece of advice but also commit to growth. Gradually set up things in the background such as categories, store design, promotions, sharing your products on social media and keep growing your feedback.
It definitely helps to nurture your account with eBay but also consider things like making a 2nd eBay account for those times that things in the background are hurting your search results and then get cross listing to Facebook, Vinted etc.
Those sales are exactly what you need during difficult times.
It’s like the saying – When One Thing Fails Try Something Else.
I shall finish this post here and I hope this has been helpful.
If there is anything I’ve missed of course I would love to hear what you think so please let us know in the comments below.
Many Thanks and To Your Future Success
Alex B. Chivers
https://ibusinesst.siterubix.com
