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ecrater long term traffic slide, getting ready to close up
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bakersbarrel



Posts: 5

PostPosted: Mon Apr 01, 2019 11:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for all the replies!

Been busy with shows and ebay was was up in march so our only continuing weakness is EC.

RE: Store off. I believed I turned the store off when I posted about closing it due to an upcoming weekend show. I don't like to oversell/sell what I don't have so we turn off the stores on show weekends. I did fail to turn it back on after that show so thanks for pointing that out.

Someone commented about the store name not having a relation to products sold. Baker is both a historical family name and one of our business trade names so it relates directly to the business. Business cards link to it so that's not a major issue. (FYI tobacco used to be shipped in barrels.)

I know about the reply to feedback, I just hadn't looked recently due to no sales to know there was neg.

It nice to see others with level sales and I have seen our items showing in google shopping and such but its just dead here for us. If the rest of you are stable then its very possible my demographic, better off older men (and their wives), may just be defaulting to the River.

In the last year we emailed links and with 15% discounts codes to the EC store via email to 4,000 existing customers with 0 follow-up purchases. So there is something even our existing customers don't like in the store.

From Sept 2017 onwards its been a long slow decline for us. At least etsy picked up some of the slack.

Thanks again,

BB
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Mon Apr 01, 2019 7:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
In the last year we emailed links and with 15% discounts codes to the EC store via email to 4,000 existing customers with 0 follow-up purchases. So there is something even our existing customers don't like in the store.


For my last year on eBay when I was also starting up my eCRATER store, and then continuing one for another year, so at least two years total I sent a coupon to every buyer I had. Only one ever got cashed in. I had repeat buyers as well. I always thought it interesting that even some buyers that bought enough always came in via the MP, not my direct link. I don't think people keep track of that sort of thing. So it doesn't have anything to do, IMHO, about whether people like your store or not.

I was hoping for one more sale in March but didn't get it, but at this point, I have sold 5299 orders. This March was my best month this year and beat out 10 months last year. I just keep working the program that I have set in my head and unless I get overwhelmed by doctor appointments etc. all in one week so no time to do my usual things, I plod happily along. Between Amazon and eCRATER I have sold over 10 thousand items in the last ten years.

I know I sell in a niche and I can see that you do. Are there blogs or whatever that you can post on and thus get your url out there? Most of your stuff is perfect for Pinterest as well.
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thetomsboutique



Posts: 102

PostPosted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 7:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I see I'm late to the party, as always, but I'm in agreement that you shouldn't go anywhere! Just leave the listings up and if they sell, great, if not, then focus on the places where the items are selling. As long as you remember keep your inventory updated here (i.e. deleting items that sold elsewhere), that will help in two ways: 1.) Obviously, it will keep you from selling things here that you no longer have, but 2.) it will also keep your eCrater store's "Last Updated" date current, so potential buyers won't think you've abandoned it.

I made the mistake of cutting an entire marketplace out of my sales rotation last August for dumb reasons--it was my second best performer in terms of sales--and then realized after bombing in the 4th quarter that probably played a big role.

Even though this isn't a big performer for you, the point is that even the odd sale here or there can really add up over time. And who knows? Maybe traffic and sales will turn around, which can't possibly happen to you if you're not here!
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MaggietheCatsMeows



Posts: 2853

PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2019 10:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have 5 stores here and have gone from making a fair living from eCRATER to 1 or 2 tiny sales a month. I am a pretty inactive seller but as long as I have inventory in my closets, I won't give up eCRATER.

Look at it this way: you have free rent and pay only a pittance if you sell something. Your items get fed to Google and your name is out there. Other sites are getting such bad press now. Read up on Etsy, eBay and Amazon. Every time Etsy and eBay pull another crazy stunt that hurts their sellers, eCRATER gets a bunch more sellers.

There are lots more ports in the storm now than even a couple of years ago. So sellers have lots more options as do buyers.

You might want to edit some of your listings. Reword the titles, change the first picture of your listing. This will grab the attention of search engines.

Etsy has a tool called erank that edits your listings and tells you where they are weak. It is a lot of work to get old listings up to par but they make a lot of sense. I've not heard of any other site offering this but it is almost worth opening an Etsy shop to see how you can improve your listings.

Etsy sellers who have never heard of this, it doesn't seem to be advertised. A friend on Etsy told me about it. It is etsyrank.com/listing-audit
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MaggietheCatsMeows



Posts: 2853

PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2019 10:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just went to your store. First item I clicked on dropped a red flag.

https://bakersbarrel.ecrater.com/p/29403041/easy-grip-past-master-mason

The fact it is a cigar cutter but those are the very last words in a very long title meaning that Google won't pick it up if someone is looking for a cigar cutter unless they enter the brand name. Google generally only scans the first 30 characters in a title.
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
You might want to edit some of your listings. Reword the titles, change the first picture of your listing. This will grab the attention of search engines.


Good advice. I am always tweaking my listings. Early in March, I realized that I had a bunch of sales by one brand. Great! So, I decided to make sure that everything I have in that brand is listed on both eCRATER and Amazon and that the listings are complete and correct according to how I want them to look. One of the things that I have occasional trouble with is people ordering my patterns getting them and then complaining that they didn't know that they would be getting a pattern! Okay, I only had the brand and sewing pattern as the first words in all my titles, also the first words in my description. So for those that need to see it said more than once (just like the folks that email me asking if the pattern is new and uncut even though the listing says so) I have now started adding the word sewing in front of the word pattern when I write that this is a new, uncut sewing pattern from 1973. for example. Even if everything else is correct about the listing I add that one word 'sewing' and that makes it be a change and so apparently the bots see that as something new and do whatever they do to new listings.

Incidentally, of the brand that seemed to be selling well, in my final count for the month I sold 28 of them out of around 70+ total patterns sold. Not bad. Several of the patterns in that brand that I tweaked sold after years of hanging around. Hoping for a repeat this month! Freshening listings are well worth the time as is promoting them on Pinterest. Now that G+ is done I have to figure out a new way to pick up the slack that it has left in my promoting. Sad
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A-Better-Way



Posts: 3363

PostPosted: Thu Apr 04, 2019 12:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't know why I get ! sales. and now all the sudden,

Pretty sure it's the actual item or product at hand. or price. that creates a sale.

Some other entity took your spot, in my case I am being found with very odd items, and from CA, seems my sales went up after a long wait here.
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Thu Apr 04, 2019 6:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good for you A Better Way! I know from what you post, you go through a lot of episodes of hearing only crickets for months on end!
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A-Better-Way



Posts: 3363

PostPosted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 8:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wish my sales were that slow.
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So far this month 10 out of 27 sales are that brand that I have been working on making sure they are tweaked or listed, etc. I sold out on one pattern two weeks ago and was able to reorder it and got them in yesterday. 5 new patterns and within 8 hours 1 had already sold! I think that is my fastest turnaround ever!

Sales are a bit slow this week, but I needed the time to get taxes done. Grueling this year. Looking on the bright side of things, it shouldn't be that bad from here on out.
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lastade-designs
moderator


Posts: 2903

PostPosted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I put the last post in the wrong spot. I wanted to put it in the April Sellers update to brag on my Ecrater sale today that came from Google direct. I wonder how that link came to be there?
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 4:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is it time for a Full Moon? See the April list for my whacky thing today. Very Happy
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healthylife2020



Posts: 3

PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 1:17 pm    Post subject: A sharp decline in sales Reply with quote

Hello friends !
I've been selling to Š•crater from soon. Until a few days ago, the store was going well. 1.2.3 sales almost every day. But suddenly the sales stopped and I do not understand what the reason is. Whether the reason is in Traffic or just has such periods?
I am currently on - Medium (5.9% marketplace cost apply
Should I increase the level to high or extra high?
I will be glad if you share your opinion and give me advice!!!
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 4:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

@Skarcheto - Please note that you have asked this in more than one thread. Please only post once like you did in your own thread. Don't repeat the same question over in other threads as well.
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healthylife2020



Posts: 3

PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 5:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MoonwishesStore wrote:
@Skarcheto - Please note that you have asked this in more than one thread. Please only post once like you did in your own thread. Don't repeat the same question over in other threads as well.



This is the first post here. But this was probably not the right place, so I made a new post. Sorry about that !
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