Bells, whistles, shiny and new!

If you have been on ebay as long as I have, then you have seen just about every type of listing known to man.  You probably also remember using Auctiva or any number of template hosting sites during that time.  Colored text in the description area, all sorts of disclaimers and pretty much anything else you can think of.  I still see people using templates and decided to try an experiment back in January.

I created a sweet template.  I designed it based on a huge seller to try and replicate as close as I could what they were doing without copying exactly.  I figured the shiny, colorful and professional template they used had to be a factor in their large amount of sales.  I was determined to get that polished, professional look for my store.  I launched my new template on January 1, 2014.  I was so jazzed about getting that polished look I had spent 2 weeks developing.  I felt like a proud poppa watching his child take their first steps.

I sat back and waited for the inevitable sales increase to happen.  After all, my store was slick, pretty and very professional looking.  Who wouldn't feel confident buying form someone who projected that kind of image?  Well, apparently not many.  My sales did not increase.  I gave it two months just to be sure.  Finally I gave up and beginning in March, I started listing with just a basic listing.  I did my normal pictures and titles.  However, my description went to as basic as I could get it.  Title and measurements.  That's it.  No colors, standard font, no fancy formatting, no description, just the facts.  Wow!  What a difference!

March ended up being a record month for me.  Since then I have steadily been editing my listings and removing the fancy template, converting them all to the plain one.  My sales have come down, but are still higher than they were when I started the experiment.  My decision to go plain was based on some articles I had read about Cassini.  Cassini doesn't like a lot of HTML code in listings.  Simple, left justified text.  I think the reason for this was they were trying to target more mobile users, and this is the best way to show the items to those users.

I don't know if it was a fluke or what, but the results don't lie.  Prior to this change, I averaged about $4,000 per month in sales.  Since making the switch, I average $6,000 a month in sales.  Other than steadily adding inventory (which I have always done), this has been the only change I have made to how I do business.  Will it work for you?  I don't know.  If there is one thing I do know about ebay, it's that nothing seems to be a standard.

As I've said before, trial and error.  Don't be afraid to try something new.  You never know which change you make will be the one that triggers your flurry of sales.