Shipped a bath to the Falklands yesterday which is the furthest we have ever sent one, just hope the bugger don’t leak after all that travelling, would be a pricey service call

I’ll leave the factory key under the mat for ya, help yourself.

Then the next one would be the 29th an maybe 30th december.

Return to full postage on the 5th January as im not going in on the 2nd January (enough time to adjust the brain cells)

What im going to do is set up an email that when people purchase something from me to explain these postage dates and say its christmas/new year and i maybe in the pub instead.

Buyers paid up in time for my earlier posting “deadline” and it took the pressure of being on the last minute.

That’s what I did last year

The year before that I actually lost money during the Christmas season because about 5% of my packages went completely missing. That is about 10x the normal rate. I suspect an inside job at my local PO.

Developed in the last week or so by someone active on this site and now offering a free 7 day trial you have nothing to lose by giving it a try. (I pay to use this service or at least I will when my trial ends and am not getting anything for this post)

To quote:

“One of the features of eBay’s new “Best Match” algorithm is that it takes into account recent sales. If your multiple quantity fixed price listing has sales it will be given a boost in the best match sort compared to those listings that have had fewer sales. This boost is also carried over to the first relist as long as you don’t change it significantly (title, price, etc). Along with recent fee changes, this part of the algorithm encourages eBay sellers to place all their inventory within fewer listings.

The problem with this algorithm is that it goes contrary to buyer behavior. A buyer is more likely to purchase an item from a seller if only a few remain. A seller who lists all their items in one listing may find themselves with little or no sales compared to one who only lists a fraction of their inventory within the listing.

This site will automatically manage a sellers fixed price listings so they can keep an artificially low quantity visible to their buyers without risking selling out of the listing and having to relist. All the seller has to do is tell us the quantity in stock and the quantity to maintain in the listing. We’ll refresh your inventory anytime a buyer makes a purchase until you run out. We free up the seller to do other activities such as improving the buyer experience.”

So do have a look at this solution if you have multiple quantities of the same product but don’t want 55 of the same item live on ebay at any one time. Our own ebay sales have increased since using this and it’s cheaper than employing an umpalumpa to update quantities on an ongoing basis.

I dont give a christmas fig if they ever give feedback as long as its not negative

it was only a suggestion to increase sales over and after Christmas and I wouldn’t suggest you do it on single lines, ideally you need to have plenty of stock of the item.

stu

How do you think DFS can have a half price sale, thats what they do!!!

Most sales now are pretty much a con, it’s either worked into the price at the start or the RRP is set up. I used to be a buyer for a large group of retail stores at thats what happens with alot of sales items.

Stu

4. If you sell NEW add that to the title where possible without compromising your keyword strategy. People generally don’t buy second hand presents at Xmas unless they are unique collectables.

If you change your titles, you risk losing item popularity score for current items!

Sounds a bit dodgy

1. Follow up with your buyers as the Xmas rush kicks in. Perhaps consider changing your automated emails to cover the Xmas postage times and to explain clearly to the buyer the inevitable delays in postage.

2. Don’t expect feedback in kind straight away. In many cases buyers are busy running around trying to source parsnips and worrying about Aunt Holga’s imminent arrival. Be patient.

3. Offer wrapping if you think it makes a difference to either (a) your sales against the competition or (b) the quality of your feedback DSRs (if needed)

4. If you sell NEW add that to the title where possible without compromising your keyword strategy. People generally don’t buy second hand presents at Xmas unless they are unique collectables.

5. Plan your visit to the post office in advance. It’ll be busy. Look at what online options you have.

6. Use video to communicate your postage times, your other items or a festive message to your buyers! At this time of year who can resist someone in a knocked off Santa hat?

Ho Ho Ho