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LittleMissBoutique



Posts: 3

PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 8:25 am    Post subject: Hello Everybody Reply with quote

Hello everybody My names Heidi I own Jack and Jill retail store here in Texas due to health problems and family issue i'm closing my small store. Thought I would give selling online a try so I started with a new name Little Miss Boutique. I sell Boutique Children's Clothing and accessories I also do custom orders. My biggest questions are is there any way to add products faster than one by one I have probably close to 5000 if not more. Since I have never set up a online store could someone please tell me if everything looks good so far is there any changes that need to be made or something I could do different I currently have the store on hold. How many products should I add before I open? And where and how do we advertise?
Sorry for all the questions but im determined to make this work. Cant wait to wait to meet some new people so don't be shy introduce yourself.
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SammysSupplies



Posts: 1631

PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 10:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi and welcome to eCrater. It looks like you are of to a good start. There is no bulk listing here and it is recommended that you make a listing for each size of a product. Then people can buy, pay and just wait for the clothes. The is a button that copies the listing so you can just changed a couple of words. Many people here have listed 1000's of items by hand. It actually benefits your store to be to constantly listing, it make the search bugs happy. I wish I had a little one to buy for.

Good luck and may you have many sales!
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Shaelily



Posts: 328

PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 11:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome! You have some gorgeous items for sale!! Your store looks good so far. I would also recommend making a separate listing for each size and color. It is so much easier as buyers are not always great with communicating which size and color they want. I know it adds time when you have to make a listing for each one but trust me, it is worth it! And the copy listing feature does make it easier. You have to upload the photo(s) again and then just change the size or color in the title and description.
I too sell clothing and have about 10,000+ items to list total. I've been doing it one by one. As soon as I had my terms, conditions, about, etc filled out and just a handful of items listed (literally only 20 or so) I opened the store. I continue to list new items almost every day and got my first sale in less than two weeks with absolutely no advertisement. Advertisement is important though and you should try to do so as much as possible. Try to convert your previous brick and mortar store customers into your online shoppers. Let them know you are online now! Advertise on social media if you have any accounts.

Another tip with your listings is to add more "key words" for search engine optimization (or SEO) so people online can find your store or items when they search in search engines (like Google). So add the brand name, colors, materials, etc. at least to the description of your items. Title your listings with terms and words you think someone would search for.

Best wishes for successful selling!
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LittleMissBoutique



Posts: 3

PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 2:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you both for your kind words and suggestions. I found the clip board thing im going to try and use that see if it makes things easier. I have so many clothes would it make it look a little weird if I have more than one listing for an item even if they have different sizes.
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SammysSupplies



Posts: 1631

PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 2:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It doesn't look weird to have different sizes listed, a buyer will forget to list the size they want, then you start playing email tag so you can send the item. Or someone will say that you sent the wrong size...actually those thing happen all the time already....but you can make it so that the chances of confusion are lowered. Of course you can list how ever you want, as long as you follow the rules, which you are.
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LittleMissBoutique



Posts: 3

PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 3:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks like tomorrow I will start the process of listing them individually with sizes. I went ahead and opened the store how long does it usually take to get your first?
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SheilaDeesPostcards
moderator


Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 5:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome to eCrater. You have a really nice start to your store. One tip I'd like to offer, especially since you are new to online selling, is to write your descriptions as if there are no photos and take you photos as if there is no description. This may seem a bit extreme, but it will cut down on headaches. Also, as the others have stated, you should have a separate listing for each variation. If the top comes in 3 sizes and all 3 sizes are in 3 colors, you will need to add 9 listings. You can change up your titles if want to, but make sure you get the color and size in the first 50 to 60 characters so the search engine bots will see the difference in the listings.

Use your title to your advantage. You are allowed 100 characters, so add as many words as appropriate to describe the item you are selling. I use a program online called Letter Count that you can find here: http://www.lettercount.com/ . There are other programs that other sellers may use, but I've found this one to be really helpful.

You had asked about a bulk lister and eCrater does have one. On your admin page look for More Options > Bulk List/eBay Import and you will see all the details of using the Bulk List. If you already have all your inventory in a database or spreadsheet, you like the descriptions, you like the titles and you have all your photos listed somewhere online and have links to each photo in your file, THEN, the Bulk List feature may be a big help. You must include at least 50 items per Bulk List upload. You can not ever use the Bulk List to change items you already have listed.

Suggestion, you might want to consider creating a system where you have your title, description, and other important information in some type of digital filing system so you have a copy of your work. There is no way on eCrater to download a list of the information you have added to the system. Some of us created our own databases with all the data, some have used spreadsheets, some have used Word files but it really is helpful to have the information in your own possession. You can write your title and description in your own system, then use cut/paste to add the item.
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SammysSupplies



Posts: 1631

PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 6:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oops, sorry about the bad info. Embarassed
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MaggietheCatsMeows



Posts: 2853

PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 11:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome
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tigercreekgifts



Posts: 6293

PostPosted: Thu Feb 25, 2016 12:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome. Your items are adorable!!!
You took the time to make sure you filled out the basic information for your store to cover every detail, you have great photos, your descriptions are honest and up front about custom making delay times. So I'd say you're good to go. Your site looks like you have had quite a few years of business experience, professional, in other words.

When you get the hang of ecrater, your items might do well over at Etsy too if you ever want to consider having a store at two marketplaces.
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Thu Feb 25, 2016 10:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome! Cute things, but no little girls at this moment for a wanna be granny Sad

Some suggestions, open your store as soon as possible. Buyers CAN see items on hold so you want them to be able to buy them. They may not be able to see them in your store or the eCRATER marketplace while on hold, but the minute the search engines crawl your listings they will be out there in cyberspace.

I noted also that you have a listing for
Quote:
Print Floral Long Sleeve Girl Floral Tutu
You are allowed 100 character titles so go ahead and include the fact that it comes with the top! Also once you separate out each item by size, include the size in the title as well. You also need to include all those things that folks want to know about. Type of fabric, cleaning suggestions, if you have a chart of measurement to go along with your sizes, include that as a scanned photo with each garment listing is a nice way for buyer's to determine if the clothes will fit their girl. Also if you have name brands of the garments you should include that unless you aren't supposed to be selling them on line and then you shouldn't be selling them. Many people (I don't know why) are very brand conscious and so that will help them make a buying decision. If a person came into your store building and asked you about the outfit, what would you tell them? What you would tell them needs to be in the description.

Quote:
PROCESSING...
Our normal processing time is 3-5 business days
Orders are not processed or shipped on Saturday, Sunday & Holidays, as we are not open during these times.

If you have any questions or need help with your order please contact us at xxxxxxxxxx
This is considered boilerplate and is frowned on mightily by google so you don't want that on your listings. So if you take that off as well as the info about telling you which size they need since each listing will have it's own size, you will see that currently you don't have much info in the description. Don't be afraid to repeat info that is in your title in your description. Don't worry about it looking 'weird' if you have multiple listings with the only difference being the size or color. If you look at my pattern listings, I have some patterns that came in 10 sizes and I have each of them which means that I have 10 listings. You can also see how I include info in the title into the description as well. Not saying my way is perfect, but just showing an example of what I mean.

I am one that my first year here I listing around 5000 items by hand and keep listing by hand. ECRATER I have found to be the quickest site to list on than any other site I have sold on in the last 14-15 years.

No one can tell you how soon you might get a sale. That is different from one seller to another. Some get a sale pretty quickly, others never get one, but then their store usually looks like a sale of leftover yard sale junk in a store where there was no care when setting it up. If you have good product at reasonable prices in a nice store and items that people will want, you should get sales and the more the merrier the more you list. Don't be like one person that wanted to sell about 60 items a month and yet had only 40+ items in his store!

Most of all have fun!
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adrienneszat



Posts: 229

PostPosted: Thu Feb 25, 2016 5:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome to eCrater! Such adorable items!
Best of sales to you.
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normasbath



Posts: 23

PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 3:14 pm    Post subject: re Reply with quote

Welcome aboard! Very Happy
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dresstressball



Posts: 6

PostPosted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 3:47 pm    Post subject: re Reply with quote

Welcome to ecrater Cool
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