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What actually sells on Ecrater?

 
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Flexed



Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 3:16 pm    Post subject: What actually sells on Ecrater? Reply with quote

I'm new to the marketplace. I'm just trying to understand the marketplace more. Just wondering what type items actually sell on the marketplace. Is it clothes, electronics, home and garden etc. Any help would be much appreciated Very Happy
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MoonwishesStore
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Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 9:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

All sorts of things sell here. I personally sell sewing patterns and crafting items. This is a niche that I know very well as it has been my hobby for over 50 years. Selling within a niche you love helps you to make better descriptions and listings. Some never sell a thing as they don't know how to write a listing whatsoever. This is partly due, in my opinion, to them trying to sell something that they perceive will make them good money but they know nothing about it. I once saw a listing for a sewing pattern from someone that was obviously a bookseller. He described the pattern envelope so thoroughly as if it were a dust jacket on a book. What he neglected to do was describe anything that was inside the envelope. No comment on whether it was cut or uncut, what size it was, were the pattern tissues neatly folded, etc. I'd love to know if he ever sold it.

Nor are some sellers responsive to potential buyers when they ask a question. As an example, on Amazon the other day, I read a listing completely twice through and nowhere did it say how many items were in the package. So I asked that in the question box and the seller answered. However, instead of just answering my question, they should have edited their listing to include the information that people would ask about. If someone has to write and ask what size something is, or how many they will get, etc. that should all be in the listing.

You can sell just about anything here that you can sell elsewhere, but you have to do it correctly as well as promote your items yourself. This is where it is hard for folks that want to sell a plethora of items. If you have 20 categories and none of them work together, such as yarn and pruning shears, you will have a hard time promoting them as you will have to find a way to promote each of those different categories.

Hope some of this helped.
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Flexed



Posts: 4

PostPosted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks so much for that. I understand the concept now.

Just another question, does organic sales exist? Do you have to promote my products in order to get sales?

Thanks
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MrsDsHandKnits



Posts: 334

PostPosted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Although it is highly recommended that all sellers do their own advertising and promoting of items on social media, it is possible to get sales without doing so.... However, the more promoting and advertising a seller does the more chance and probability for sales. I don't do social media but still do get a few sales here and there.
For more sales and for more consistent sales, a seller will need to promote, promote,promote!
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Flexed



Posts: 4

PostPosted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 3:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh, I understand. Thanks for that. So how do I think I can advertise? With ads?
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MrsDsHandKnits



Posts: 334

PostPosted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 4:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I 'd suppose there are many ways to advertise and promote one's items via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest,etc...
I am sure the more well established sellers here will chime in with their suggestions.
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 7:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Do you have to promote my products in order to get sales?


No, I don't have to promote your products, YOU do! LOL Laughing

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I promote on Facebook and Pinterest which is free and one any forum that I go to if I am allowed to have a signature link. Have a link to your store in your email. One of the reasons that I try to keep within a niche. Most of my Pinterest is about crafting so posting my inventory there makes sense. On Facebook, I have a personal page as well as a business page as well as there being 3 eCRATER pages that the owners of the pages allow us to post on as well. Selling even 5 totally different eclectic sorts of products means 5 times the work to promote. You can also use the Promote your store thread here on the forum. All your posts have to be a reply to the last post where you promoted. I do not pay for advertising as for what I sell is way to costly and when I had a chance for some free ads from Google they didn't help sales at all.

One thing to keep in mind is that search engines want to see websites/stores with some stability. In other words, if you get no sales the first month, don't pull up stacks and go elsewhere and keep repeating that. If you want to sell elsewhere, keep your eCRATER store open so that it gains stability. It can take up to 6 months before you move up higher in Google organic. If there are two sellers here with the exact same products with the exact same prices, but one seller has been here for 5 years and routinely is selling, they are going to be much higher in rank than someone who just opened their store in the last month or two and hasn't sold anything yet.

You do want to have the search engine bots checking out your store frequently so you should be adding product daily or tweaking a listing daily, or adding more to the titles (you are allowed 100 characters and that is the most valuable real estate in online sales). Make sure you have a good About us page as well as a detailed Terms page and a nice text on your homepage and the homepage text shouldn't be the same as the other two pages. It took me years to settle on how I wanted my listings to look and I am still fixing many that way (I have about 8000 items for sale) and most likely I will change something else along the way as well.

Hope that helps.
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express-dealsbay



Posts: 52

PostPosted: Tue Mar 10, 2020 1:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

All types of things sell here from video games to craft items and magazines. If you are selling on other venues pop a note in with your order to let them you know you also sell on Ecrater.
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Flexed



Posts: 4

PostPosted: Tue Mar 10, 2020 4:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ahh, I see. Thanks for that.

What about google attributes. Whats that?
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thelivesandlovesofmaggiethecat



Posts: 10158

PostPosted: Tue Mar 10, 2020 2:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I looked at your store. It appears to me that you are a drop shipper. If so eCRATER does not submit your items to Google for search. Maybe someone else who drop ships can give you more specifics.

I don't do any promotion and have a handful of sales each month. I'm also very inactive as I am trying to clear my inventory to retire. Keeping your fresh helps.
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Tue Mar 10, 2020 5:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I looked at your store. It appears to me that you are a drop shipper. If so eCRATER does not submit your items to Google for search. Maybe someone else who drop ships can give you more specifics.


You didn't have anything in your store when I answered your first questions initially. I don't have a clue whether you are a drop shipper or not. However, seeing as how you have your store with products in it, I do have a few comments if you don't mind. While your store only has 5 products in it at this point,it would be a good idea to start putting your inventory into proper categories now otherwise if you end up with a thousand or more items with them all dumped into the "MY Products" category, it will be difficult for buyers to find what they are looking for. I realized a while back that I needed sub-categories as I was ending up with too many items in one category, so as I have time I have been sorting them -- it takes awhile to fix 8000 listings.

Quote:
Flexed Away is a small but fastest growing online business based in the United States that specializes in a wide variety of innovative products.


I see this on your home page as your first statement about your store. I am a bit bothered to hear a claim of the "fastest growing online business" unless you have some proof of that somehow, which I would be pleased to look at. Especially for a store that currently has 5 products in it. I wasn't aware that there was a place to see who has the fastest growing online store.

Also your Terms of Service is the pits. I have seen this same terms of service by other new sellers. I don't know where you found it, but as I tell everybody that uses it, it reads like an attorney upchucked a law dictionary. You have it reading as if you own the website which you don't. What you should be using the TOS for is to let customers know when you will ship, what your refund/return policies may be, item returned for a wrong address, and other important things about YOUR service such as what happens if their product showing delivered via the tracking but the person claims they never received it. We don't handle the credit card transactions so no need to talk about information being encrypted, etc. Much of your terms you have no way of enforcing anyhow nor do you have anyway of enforcing most of the terms.

You may want to look at some of the terms of service from other sellers to give you a good idea, as nothing in yours touches upon anything that a buyer will care about. I realize that mine is wordy as is about everything I post anymore, but it is still very specific to my store and my customers. No buyer is going to want to wade through your TOS before buying a $10 item, or if they do they are only going to want to know your policy is something doesn't work as advertised.

Anyhow this is mostly my opinion about things and I certainly can't tell you to change things as I am just a seller like everyone else. I do want newbies to have a good start and find that they like selling here. As each of us succeed, we all succeed.
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elpereles



Posts: 3427

PostPosted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just some comments, everybody decide what to sell.

But If you are selling catalogue items like other millions. Be aware, you are just another one in all the Internet. Your items will be like a fish in a open sea. You must really work "hard" to promote yourself and separate from the others. eCrater is not eBay or Amazon.

One more thing. You do not enter a marketplace just looking what others sell. You must look the marketplace to see if it your items and sales methods are compatible with the potential customer.
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