Back to school shopping is over. Halloween shopping is in full swing on eBay. Sellers are messaging me, “Kathy my sales are slow. What should I do?”
So, I answer, “It’s time to sort through your eBay inventory and discover in demand items!”
Many eBay sellers think that Halloween is solely packaged costumes.
Many sellers think that Halloween is solely packaged costumes, traditional Halloween decor and candy. So, yes, all those products sell right now. But, shoppers are looking for that and more. Examine your merchandise carefully. Do you have clothing that could be used in a costume? Can your fashion items lend themselves to being a hippie, tacky tourist, zombie or princess? So, once you’re done sorting through your clothing, look at the accessories you have to sell. Consider your hats, belts, bags, and shoes. People often go straight from work to a Halloween costume event. The New York Times has ideas on dressing for work and then heading to your favorite Halloween party.
Your perfect scarf, or flamboyant piece of jewelry can transform the wearer into a costumed party attendee!
So, for your higher priced items, it is worthwhile to revise them. Add Halloween and costume themed keywords. Holiday keywords get you sales. Terapeak’s professional seller research toolSEO Progives you the best eBay search keywords and Google keywords for search and sales results. HERE is my affiliate link to test SEO Pro out for yourself!
eBay offers the perfect scarf, or flamboyant piece of jewelry that turns the wearer into a costumed party attendee!
If you have an eBay store, group items perfect for a costume in a Promotion using Promotions Manager. With a Promotion, you receive a shareable link and url address for social media. You gain additional exposure for your listings if you’re a Top Rated Seller and/or eBay Store Owner with eBay’s paid search option Promoted Listings.
Along with fun costume pieces, shoppers are looking to decorate their home and work spaces for Halloween. I’ve compiled pages of products that shoppers want to buy now. You may have them in your inventory, but are missing out on how to showcase them to shoppers.
Armed with my gift of your own Hot Halloween Product Tips you’ll know which items in your current inventory are popular now.
You’ll also know what to be on the lookout for as your shop thrift and retail stores for in demand inventory.
Not finding hot merchandise to sell locally?
Look at top quality wholesale cases and pallets with BULQ. BULQ sells wholesale inventory with a detailed manifest, so you know exactly what you are buying.
Showcase your Fall/Halloween on hand inventory, tweaking keywords, using Promotions Manager, social media and Promoted Listings. With my Hot Halloween Product Tips guide, you’ll be alert to great inventory locally and wholesalers so you can add items that will sell NOW.
It is not too early to start planning your sales strategy to have the best eBay Holiday Selling season ever!
Success starts with great plans and then executing them!
Step #1- Pull Out Your Calendar!
Numerous eBay sellers get themselves in a jam by not planning now for the busy Holiday selling season of November and December.
Look at your calendar and think through the new few months. I plan with Google calendar. Google Calendar is free for use. If you like another electronic calendar or a paper calendar, great! The point is, pull it out and start mapping your course of action for the next few months. With Google Calendar I set alerts to remind me of tasks I need to do.
I create tasks and deadlines for those tasks. With Google calendar I can also make recurring tasks. Do you need to check your shipping supplies weekly or bi weekly? Use your calendar for reminders to order your free USPS Priority mail supplies. Keep an eye on your supply of polymailers, padded envelopes and boxes. When you need to buy more, Bubblefast offers great value on shipping supplies. If you use code esnbes you’ll save 10% on your entire order all year round. Setting alerts and reminder for tasks like ordering shipping supplies will keep you from running out during your busy shipping season. Calendar reminders keep you on track all during this fruitful time of year.
Step #2 Get Organized!
Take time now to organize your shipping station.
Think through your eBay selling and shipping work flow. Are your most frequently used items easy to reach and near each other? Are your boxes and mailers stored so you can see and pick the different sizes quickly? Time spent organizing this crucial part of your sales life, will pay off big time in the months to come.
Do you have a sturdy tape dispenser? (afl)
I bought this dispenser on (afl) eBay and have it ready to go on my desk. You can one yourself HERE(afl). I like that it’s heavy and doesn’t skid around. I also have a tape gun with clear packing tape in it,
Once your shipping area sparkles, tackle your inventory storage. Go through your products bin by bin, shelf by shelf. Make sure everything is listed. Double check that the item’s location is properly entered in your SKU or label organization system. If you’re selling on eBay, you can use the custom label/SKU field to input inventory location information. You the eBay seller see this handy field, your shopper doesn’t. Here is a quick video on how to use the eBay SKU/custom label field.
Tasks are logged on your calendar, your shipping station and inventory storage are organized, next is your social media!
Step #3- Plan Social Media!
Many eBay sellers overwhelm themselves with social media and end up doing none or a very scattered approach. They throw items up on various social platform without thought or planning. Keep it simple. This year pick 1 social media you will focus on. If you do other’s that’s great, but chose 1 to be your main focus.
Think about what is doable for you.
It is better to do 2 posts a day every day than 5 all in 1 day.
Let’s say you want to use a Facebook business page for your Holiday social media plan.
Use my free tips for your Facebook Business page to make sure it’s set to maximize your efforts. Click HERE for your FREE guide.
You could make a goal of 2 posts daily.
You want to mix lots of social content in with your eBay product posts. For instance, let’s say you’re going to be posting Fall/Winter clothing. With those product posts in mind, tips for accessorizing can be great social posts. Recipes and all things food related are very popular on Facebook. Read my popular post Get Likes And Followers o Facebook Immediately for insights on using food to be social with your followers on Facebook. Using the calendar of your choice, create reminders to post daily. Plan what items and social posts to feature. Then daily, weekly and monthly decide what and how you want to feature them for your social media followers and enter reminders on your calendar to keep you on track.
Look ahead at the next few months. Start now with an organized shipping station and inventory storage area. Do the best with what you have available to you. Use your favorite calendar and plan your social media content. Make sure your goals challenge you, yet are doable. Maximize your Facebook Business page now with my free power tips for your page.
Time spent now making a good foundation and a clear social media plan, is the killer punch for a knock out Holiday selling season on eBay!
Hundreds of thousands of shoppers are on the internet now. They are looking for that perfect Mother’s Day gift. In short, sellers be ready for this Mother’s Day sale opportunity.
As can be seen, Statista reports Americans spend more than 23 billion dollars on Mother’s Day sale items!
Savvy sellers have their Mother’s Day sales goods ready to go. Prices are researched. Listings are optimized and promoted on social media. Good job!
Some sellers come to me frustrated. They look at their inventory and note they don’t sell lingerie or perfume. Sellers state, ” Kathy, I have nothing to sell for Mother’s Day gifts!”
Mother’s Day Sale gift ideas!
I answer, “Ah, but I think you do.” In the first place, I have three keys essential to success for Mother’s Day sales for all my seller friends. To begin, these three keys work no matter where you sell.
#1 – Equip yourself with my FREE guide What Sells For Mother’s Day. It’s loaded with dozens of products that shoppers want to buy now!
Complimentary guide to what sells for Mother’s Day sale gifts!
#2- With my tips in hand, go through your listed and unlisted inventory.
Sort what items you discover that are best to feature to attract Mother’s Day Shoppers. Are your most attractive Mothers Day items are unlisted? Make it a priority to list those items online now.
#3 – Get busy on social media.
Moreover, who is your ideal customer? In short, do you sell items that a millennial shopping for their Mom would buy? Then, it’s wise to be active on Instagram. Is it a husband in his 40’s or 50’s buying a gift for his wife? By and large you select to post on Twitter and your Facebook Business page.
Get busy on social media with Mother’s Day sale items.
Spend your time wisely.
Use the killer tips in my FREE guide What Sells For Mother’s Day to discover inventory you have that’s perfect for Mom.
To sum it up, your nicest inventory is front and center for shoppers with great listings and social media. To sum it up, welcome Mother’s Day shoppers and sales!
Holiday shoppers are rushing into retail stores and jumping online to get the gifts they need right now!
Use my 3 hot Holiday sales tips to attract eager customers your way and score sales NOW!
Are you ready?
#1 Hot Holiday Sales Tip – Offer Free Or Paid Expedited Shipping!
Whether you’re selling on Amazon, Etsy, eBay and/or your own website, don’t miss out on crucial Holiday revenue by neglecting to offer expedited shipping.
Why not offer the upgrade in shipping service free for your higher price items and wow your customers?
For lower price items with a few simple clicks of the mouse you can include a paid shipping service upgrade for shoppers that want their items fast. Many sellers neglect to offer shipping upgrades and lose sales to other vendors. Snag extra Holiday sales by offering your shoppers a choice of shipping services. My video shows you how to quickly add shipping choices on eBay. The process is very similar on Etsy.
How To SCORE Sales NOW eBay sellers at NO extra cost to you.Learn how in under 5 minutes!Make sure to get my FREE VIP Insider Newsletter!—->http://bit.ly/21Z8CWM
Focus on the items you have chosen as your top Holiday gift items. Regularly check the price(s) of your item(s).
Check Prices On The Web!
Be sure and also monitor relevant prices on the worldwide web.
There are times when pricing a product $1 less can get you the shoppers you’re looking for. Don’t lose crucial Holiday shoppers because you’re not checking prices across multiple platforms on the web. Shoppers know how to use Google search to locate and buy from the seller offering the best value.
#3 Hot Holiday Sales Tip – Keep Sourcing And Listing Holiday Products!
Keep an eye on brick and mortar retail stores when you’re out and about.
Many Big Box retailers are slashing prices deeper and deeper as Christmas and Hanukkah approach.
Be alert to grab great inventory you can list quickly and score sales now and into 2017!
#4 BONUS Holiday Sales Tip – Maximize Your Facebook Business Page To Gain Shoppers!
Facebook continues to be a top resource for sellers who want to quickly and effectively promote their inventory. Don’t miss sales by not fully optimizing your Facebook Business page.
The Ultimate Guide To A Facebook Business Page For Sellers!
Offering shipping upgrades, monitoring prices all across the web and continuing to source hot inventory will get you the Holiday sales you want NOW sellers!
There are more shoppers than ever on the internet now. The volume of gift buying shoppers will only increase in the coming weeks.
With this huge increase of shopping comes an equally large amount of listed products on eBay, Etsy, Amazon and all the big online retailers.
How can a small Holiday online seller stand out amidst the crowd?
How Do You Stand Out?
1-Leverage your size.
For many smaller entrepreneurs, you are the chief bottle washer. When someone asks a question about your eBay, Etsy or Amazon item, it lands in your inbox. This is a HUGE plus. Large sellers often use auto-responders and or outsource their customer service. Buyers have YOU! Whatever the question, make it a point to respond quickly and accurately. Buyers often are shopping during short breaks of time. Answering quickly can get you the the sale. The same question if received by a large seller can take over 24 hours to get an answer.
2- You exceed expectations!
Give your shopper a free shipping upgrade!
Wow your online customers. When a shipping upgrade is only a small amount of money, upgrade your customer’s purchase at no additional cost to them. Put a note on their packing slip wishing them a wonderful Holiday, letting them know you upgraded their shipping for free! Is your normal handling time 1 business day? During the Holiday season ship the same day with a cut off time that works for your shipping schedule to move that purchase just that much faster.
I elaborate on this tip and the others listed here in my recent appearance on eBay Radio with Lee Mirabel and Jim “The Griff” Griffith. Click HERE to listen.
3- Offer Gift Messages and Cards!
When your customer messages you indicating that a purchase is a gift, offer to include a card or gift message. Customers will appreciate that your read and responded to their message quickly. Everyone appreciates thoughtfulness, especially during the hurly burly of the Holiday shopping season.
On their Facebook Business page eBay For Business has a card that sellers can download and use. The card wishes people Joy during the Holiday Season. Click HERE to access this free card.
4- Do Social Media that WORKS.
Social Media is essential to reach your customers where they are! Customers are on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Targeted, friendly social media can reap rich rewards for sellers.
What sets apart the great hotels and restaurants from the mediocre?
Yes it’s location and their luxurious and high quality offerings. It’s also their white glove service. Superb establishments offer their customers white glove service. Their attention is on their customer’s every need. During this frenetic time of year, how can you help your shoppers have an easy and pleasant time with you? Are your listings clear and easy to read? Do your pictures represent your product well? Are all the item’s measurements included so a potential buyer doesn’t have to message you for them? Think, how can I make shopping with me the BEST possible experience. Then do it.
This all takes time. Time is a small sellers most precious resource.
I’ve developed a Holiday Sales Success Tool Kit to help you use your time well!
My Holiday Sales Success Tool Kitwill equip you to maximize your sales NOW. The proven Tool Kit includes my video that will steer you week by week through the Holidays. You will know how and what to target for sales success. I give you worksheets so each day of the week to equip you to ignite your sales.
For a short time my Holiday Sales Success Tool Kit is 50% it’s regular price of 10$ and is ONLY $5. That’s right right now you can get access to this proven set of sales tools for $5.
Facebook has over 1 billion daily active users! Online eBay, Etsy and Amazon sellers often come to me scratching their heads and ask me,
“Kathy, how can I get more followers and likes on Facebook?”
My answer is simple, “Share food and recipes!” Want instant engagement with followers? Show them FOOD!
No matter what you sell online, let it baby clothes, antiques and collectible or auto parts, there is a food that your ideal customer loves and likes to see!
If you sell products for young children, how about healthy snack recipes for your social media followers on Facebook?
Post Healthy Snack Ideas If You Sell Kids Clothing!
Do you sell sports and fan gear? If yes, then you can feature food and recipe ideas for tailgating parties on your Facebook Business page!
Are housewares and serving dishes and flatware your product line? Holiday cooking offers a wide array of recipes for you to feature.
Share Holiday Foods!
You can share your own recipes and pictures of foods as your prepare them. There is an abundance of great food content on Facebook that you can easily share with your fans and followers.
Post food regularly and see what selections your followers like the most. Your Facebook Business page has insights so you can see which of your posts gets the most attention from Facebook users, As you learn what gets likes and follows you’ll then be able to search and find more of the same. This targeted strategy helps you gain followers and interaction with your Facebook followers.
Enjoy finding great food and recipe posts that you and your Facebook community will enjoy! Yum! Yum! Yum!
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