How many listings does a seller need to start seeing sales - is there a rule of thumb

[littledelving]

I have a few listings up now for some weeks but no sales.
On average, and based on experiences, how many listings does one need to put up in order to start seeing sales. I am not after listing suggestions or 'it depends what you are selling' replies. What I would simply prefer to see is peoples experiences. From that perhaps an average can be ascertained

[cornishmaid1961]

It's not so much the number of listings, obviously the more you have the more interest you will get, but it's letting people know you are selling on eBid.
eBid is a small site that doesn't advertise, because it's kept it's fees so low, so you have to make yourself known.

I would advise taking your listings off run until sold and do ten auto reposts instead so they rise to the top of the eBid lists. Make sure you have the word 'Exempt' in the bar code box if there is no code to get your items onto Google Shopping. Use the plug forum, one thread allowed that can be bumped once every 24 hours, and shout all you can on social media sites that you are selling here.
If you have the lifetime seller+ then you get five free shops so use them to get more exposure. Offer your items overseas, I know the postage is expensive but if someone really wants what you are selling they will buy, I've sold to the USA and to Canada in the last month and they were both pottery items so the postage wasn't cheap ! Hope this helps.

[FirstGreenIsGold]

Every seller's situation is different (of course). For me, if I had to pull a number out of my hat as to the number of listings that start generating more regular sales for me, I would say 2,000 is minimum.

I've had over 2,000 listings here in the past.

I've started over a couple of times. That last big system update to make eBid more tablet / phone friendly affected my templates and I had to revise. Now my links are improper. http links in my signature on my listings instead of https which brings up the warning message "your connection is not private". If I were a buyer I'd back out quickly if I saw a message like that if I clicked on a link. So I'm trying to get these revisions done before the 75 day period is up.

[rocks2dust]

I've said before that you get more people willing to browse through your (not just the site's) items as the number of your listings approaches 100. This is because a large percentage of people who land on one of your items will not be interested in purchasing that item. However, they often do look at, and may be more likely to buy, other related (and occasionally even unrelated) items you may have listed. This is known as "cross-selling" and is worthwhile. I tip my hat to Marie and others who manage to list and maintain thousands of items!

Do also follow cornishmaid1961's suggestions above. Add links to your stores to your automatic signature in every social media forum and email posting you make (including here). If you run a website, prominently post a link to your listings there. If you are not a Seller+ with shops, then instead adding a general link to all your listings (in your case: https://www.ebid.net/us/items/littledelving would be the correct link) to your signatures is a workable alternative.

To add a link in your signature here, go to the Forum Actions menu item near the top of this screen, click on Edit Profile, then click Edit Signature in the bar on the left side. You can create similar signature links in the Profile setup menus of most other forums and social media venues you use.

You may also use the same link within your item descriptions to alert potential buyers to your other listings. There are other links on your item pages to your shop(s) and other items, but it does not hurt to add another.

[FirstGreenIsGold]

On the topic of whether to use "Run Until Sold" ... just yesterday there was a seller with RUS listings that I noticed on the Canadian front page scroll of New Listings. I looked at their information because I thought that they must be a new seller, as I had never noticed the name on the new / closing scroll before. No, they weren't new. They are a seller who uses RUS and lists all their items in a clump, so if a person doesn't happen to catch sight of the clump the rare time the seller might close and relist their items, then potential buyers don't notice the seller unless specifically searching for something that they sell.

[littledelving]

Every seller's situation is different (of course). For me, if I had to pull a number out of my hat as to the number of listings that start generating more regular sales for me, I would say 2,000 is minimum.

I've had over 2,000 listings here in the past.

I've started over a couple of times. That last big system update to make eBid more tablet / phone friendly affected my templates and I had to revise. Now my links are improper. http links in my signature on my listings instead of https which brings up the warning message "your connection is not private". If I were a buyer I'd back out quickly if I saw a message like that if I clicked on a link. So I'm trying to get these revisions done before the 75 day period is up.

Well you say 2000 to start selling stuff and rocks2dust suggest 100 to gain visibility. Both helpful points I might add. My hunch is that 500 is the starting to sell mark and 2000 is the 20+ per year mark but its just a very big guess.
On the topic of revision, how often does one need to update listings because of website changes such as those you mentioned? I dont fancy having to go through 2000 listings to correct errors incurred due to website changes. Is there a Turbolister type program that works with eBid?

[FirstGreenIsGold]

I can only relate my own experience as an eBid seller.

As I said, every seller's situation is different. Where do they live? The population of Canada doesn't compare to the UK or the US. The cost of shipping comes into play. Exchange rates affect sales. What is the seller offering? Niche items? Items that tend to sell alone or in multiples? Does the seller drop ship? A seller might have an item listed here for a couple of years and then the 'right' buyer happens to see it. Does the seller have ways to promote their listings here?

I have no idea as whether I'll have to do another mass revision in the future. Or whether I'll chose to do so if that time comes.

I use the shipping default system for most of my postage now, so changing postage doesn't involve a lot of revision for me. Some other things can be changed easily with bulk edit.

As for other tech systems that eBid has, other eBidders may be able to give you more information. Also, eBid support is generally good at responding to questions.

[FirstGreenIsGold]

Also, sellers who don't use templates and who didn't put links in their listings like I do didn't have these revisions to do, of course. I guess those sellers had the right idea.