question for ebay sellers

I used Selling Manager for the free trial period - and quite liked it!! But found the AUD$9.95 per mth a bummer and told them so.

I have now designed my own excel spreadsheet that does everything for me, inlcuding totalling ebays listing fees and commission and my fuel usuage.

I use Turbo Lister and just type all the info from the T/Lister printout onto the excel sheet and it only takes me a few minutes.

Sorry I wasnt much help I guess
I did see another selling tool the other day that I intended to investigate but havent had a chance yet.

LOL and of course with my New Mummy Mush brain I cant remember what its called and didnt save it for favorites.

No, I don't. Everything I have ever looked at it is too automated for my needs, so I do my own. I just like having control al the time, I guess. It seem to me that it is expensive enough to sell without adding another finger to the pie.

rsmiller40

I have also created a spreadsheet that keeps track of everything... too much everything probably, because I'm anal! So I agree, the canned systems I've seen are too limiting. And they don't seem to have "optional" fields you can add for your own needs. One thing that is always glaringly missing from the inventory section is MORE FIELDS! I sell mostly books and I NEED at LEAST a field for the Title and one for the Author. Not to mention genre, published date, is it a first edition, is it signed, etc etc. And that's just the inventory section.

And I can't see paying for it either!

Sooooo I log all my stuff to my spreadsheet and use Turbo Lister to upload my listings.

But I have to tell you, entering my data into that spreadsheet is time-consuming and I really need to streamline. I spend more time on administrative tasks than on researching my stuff, taking pictures, writing up listings, and managing them! Some of this stuff could be automated... if I were a programmer, I'd be all set... course if I were a programmer I doubt I'd be unemployed trying to carve a new business out of selling stuff on eBay!

I can't tell you how many times I say I wish I could get this to do THAT... and I know it can be done, I just don't know how. Frustrating!

Anyway, thanks for your input guys! Have a good one!

diva (aka Dag)

You would think the programmers of these products would have a "download to spreadsheet" button wouldnt ya??

Most of our Aussie Accounting Software does and its a godsend.

Hmm, my other half is a geekie programmer, maybe I should get him to do something along those lines.

Hey, there you go. I'm sure a lot of seller would like that.

rsmiller40

Ok... I've another ebay seller question. Any experience with 7-day versus 10-day auctions. Is the extra 10 cents worth getting 3 more days viewing time - to catch those people who maybe were away on vacation last week? lol

I already KNOW from a sniper standpoint it is an agony of waiting! lol

It is also an agony of waiting for a seller, because the majority of people don't bid til the last day or two anyway. To go into your listed auctions and see red red red red red because there are no bids is so disheartening. And boy do I sigh with relief when the end date draws near and some of those reds start turning to green!

So... what do you think? 10 cents for 3 more days of exposure... a waste of time/money or worthwhile?

diva (aka Dag)

Diva, I don't even use 7 day auctions! If it is a big item such as a camper, motorcycle, etc., I use five days. On my smaller items that I sell, I use three days. I do it because I find there are two major times that people bid..in the beginning and the last twenty-four hours. I think sometimes too long may loose interest.

rsmiller40

Also, Diva, I find that most buyers look at auctions that are new and auctions that are closing that day. I realize that there are exceptions, but this is where my traffic lies!

rsmiller40

I suspect it has a lot to do with the type of items being listed, also. Thanks for the input.

diva (aka Dag)

I always use 10 day auctions because I sell high end audio gear. I find that sometimes there's only one or two buyers for something I'm selling and maybe they don't check in more than once a week, so in order to match what I'm selling with the right person, I need the longer listing. Sometimes I re-list for a total of 20 days. I figure that for a really esoteric, expensive item it might take that long to get a couple (or even one) serious buyer.

Sometimes I don't get any action until the last day or even the last hour, but just to be on the safe side I list it for 10 days. I know that if someone's bidding at the last minute, they've seen the item before. I figure the days before you get bids are for browsing.

I never sell for longer than 7 days. I'm in the same boat as the other poster who said most bids don't happen until the end. I find my auctions are mostly bid on in the first 12-18 hours or the last day and only occasionally in between. I almost always use 7 day auctions. When I want to just get rid of something and not deal with waiting 7 days, I'll use Buy It Now.

quote:

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I know that if someone's bidding at the last minute, they've seen the item before.

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Actually, just this week I bid on something I'd seen for the first time in the last 20 mins. of the auction. I did a search and then used the going, going, gone feature and only looked at what was ending soon. There were no other bidders so I took the chance that I wouldn't get sniped and I won it for the opening bid. I got lucky.

I seldom use over 3 days and I love the new one day auction. I cannot see the difference in the bids!! Many times people hesitate to bid on something that will be listed for 5 to 10 days because they may be gone somewhere or if they look and don't bid, they often loose interest.

Good point Mrs M.. I usually use five day auctions.. Maybe I will try 3 day auctions with my next listings. It probably would really help also with the holidays fast approaching. The sooner the auction ends, the sooner they can get that gift wrapped and under the tree, and before the tree turns brown

I do use 10 day auctions ONLY to advertise my storefront! That way I only have to list the items 3 times a month instead of 4.

~Donald