Seasonal Selling Strategies for eBay
When you sell on eBay, it's important to know how to take
advantage of the kinds of markets you encounter in the different
seasons. As a rule, the summer months are slow and the winter
period is fast, but there's more to it than that.
It Depends What You're Selling.
Your sales won't necessarily be slower in the summer than in
winter - they might just be different. If you're selling sports
equipment, for example, you'll probably find that surfing gear
sells in summer while skiing gear sells in winter. You should
make sure you are aware of any seasonal variations there will be
in your particular market, and plan in advance to take advantage
of them.
Selling in Peak Season.
The holiday season is eBay's peak, and the best time to be
selling on eBay - the December rush is relatively short, but if
you play it right then you could make half your year's profit
over those few days.
In the holidays, people are looking for presents, and eBay run
more advertising than usual targeted towards buyers, not
sellers. Target your auctions more towards new users than
experienced ones, writing easy-to-understand descriptions. If
you have any items that are in demand, try listing some at
auction and some with high But it Now prices, to see what works
best.
The chances are you'll be surprised when the Buy it Now auctions
go almost instantly and the auctions rack up bids like nobody's
business. It is important to remember, however, that most of
these buyers will only buy from you once.
Selling Off-peak.
For the rest of the year, the market is far slower. Don't worry
though - you can still make money. It's a little like being a
stockbroker: you can make money whether the market is good or
bad, if you know what you're doing.
Remember that your target market is a little more 'expert':
you're mostly selling to people who know what they're buying,
and know what they want to pay. Cater to this by providing a
service suitable for these customers. Show that you know what
you're selling and sell things consistently and you'll have
people coming back again and again.
Here's one extra tip that you might try. If you know of items
that have a consistent value, it might be worth buying up as
many as you can cheaply in the summer, storing them for half a
year, and selling them during the winter rush. If you're willing
to give over a little space for storage, you can make a lot of
profit for little effort. After all, you don't even have to take
the items out of the packaging the last seller put them in.