Hi my friends! I hope you are well! This blog post accompanies my podcast episode where I sit down with my hubby and we discuss 8 tips to keep our businesses moving forward when sales are slow. Both of us are resellers and we’ve been in the sales industry for quite a number of years.
Hubby has been selling on eBay coming up on 5 years and he’s picked up a lot of information along the way. So, I want to pick his brain today on this topic. You can listen to the podcast here or keep reading below! I hope you find these tips helpful and please leave a comment if you’d like to share a tip we didn’t mention. 🙂
🔄 1. Reassess & Refresh Your Listings.
Audit your inventory. Look for stale or outdated listings. Can you sell off some items in a lot to move inventory? How about updating your photos? If your photos need some touch-ups, take this time to improve them or if you need to re-shoot a photo. In my case, I use my Epson scanner and because I sell black and white photos, this usually isn’t a problem for me.
Revise titles, tags, and descriptions to improve search visibility on eBay, but also if you sell on other platforms like: Poshmark, Mercari, or Etsy.
Use SEO tools or platform-specific analytics to find keywords that are trending. There are free SEO tools like WordStream keyword search where you type in a keyword for your shop to discover relative keywords you can use in your listing titles. For example, I typed in vintage photos, selected my industry which is collectibles, shopping and gifts. And it gave me a list of keywords and it displayed low or high competition if I were to use it. So, when searching keywords, you want to have low competition meaning, there’s a larger chance that that keyword will bring a higher return on search engines.
📈 2. Cross-List on Other Platforms.
This one depends a lot on what you are selling. For example, if you sell clothing, I think listing on more than 1 platform is essential. For me with vintage photos, not so much plus my shop is new so I don’t have enough listings to cross platform right now. However, if you’re re-selling other products like general merchandise, seasonal items, diversifying can expand your reach and reduce platform slumps.
💬 3. Engage with the Community.
Stay active: Like, share, and comment on other sellers’ posts to stay visible. If you have a YouTube channel, you can film LIVE videos or share other content like unboxings, monthly sales stats if you feel comfortable sharing that. You can also do shorts or reels on IG showing your desk or your inventory. Post your behind-the-scenes process on social media to connect with buyers.
🧠 4. Use Downtime for Education & Improvement.
You can watch your favorite reseller YouTube channels, read blogs or take a virtual course on photography or marketing. There’s articles with tips about learning platform-specific algorithm tricks like relisting techniques. Take a look at your current shipping processes to see if there’s anything you can do to improve your timelines especially with Q4 and the holidays coming.
📦 5. Source Smarter
During slow times, be selective and strategic with your sourcing. Look for bread-and-butter items—those that consistently sell—even if the profit is smaller. Maybe you can explore other types of items in your niche to expand your product line.
💰 6. Run Promotions & Clearance Events
Offer limited-time discounts or bundles to clear older stock. Create urgency with phrases like “Last chance!” or “End-of-season blowout.” Use platform tools like Poshmark’s “Offer to Likers” or eBay’s “Markdown Manager.”
🧾 7. Organize, Plan, and Prep
Inventory tidy-up: Organize storage bins, label items clearly. Are you running low on basic supplies like for shipping? This is a great time to stock up before Q4. And speaking again of Q4: Plan your Q4 strategy—Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and holidays will be here fast. Batch and schedule social posts or listings ahead of time. You can do “sneak peaks” to bring on a new product line or “Save the date” for an upcoming auction to gain more interest.
💡 8. Don’t Forget the Power of Consistency
Even if you can’t list daily, try to stay active on your chosen platform(s). Share, relist, or send offers regularly to signal algorithm activity. A few consistent actions can go a long way in keeping your store visible.
Those are our eight tips friends! And, if you have any other tips I didn’t mention, feel free to comment and share them with us so we can all continue to learn and grow our reselling businesses! Thank you so much for tuning in, my next podcast episode will air mid August so I hope you’ll come back!
Helpful links:
- To visit Epic Treasure Vintage postcards, click here!
- Follow Ken on YouTube here
- If you’re looking for vintage photos, they make lovely gifts, come visit my eBay shop at bellaartcreatives.com.
Follow the Podcast on these Channels
