Selling on eBay can be challenging, especially when managing multiple accounts like I do. I have two eBay accounts, bills_business and sweet_onion, and started selling postcards on the bills_business account in the fall of 2021. As my listings approached nearly 10,000, I realized that I could save a few dollars on monthly fees by opening another account. That’s when I decided to create the sweet_onion account to reduce my costs.
Initially, I tried different pricing models for both accounts. On bills_business, I offered free shipping on all postcards and priced most of my listings under $5, which worked well. I was selling a lot of postcards! However, on sweet_onion, I experimented with charging for shipping and priced the cards higher. Unfortunately, this strategy didn’t work out at first, as I struggled to sell the higher-priced cards.
After doing some research, I found that other successful sellers with higher-priced cards had more unique cards and/or larger inventories. However, when I compared the selling rate per card listed, I realized that my rate wasn’t too far off from theirs. So, I decided to continue listing cards on sweet_onion, but stopped listing the ones that I thought had a near-zero chance of selling.
As time went on, I discovered that my new pricing strategy on sweet_onion began to work. Even though I sold fewer quantities, my margins were higher. I am currently content with this strategy and plan to eventually move all my listings back to bills_business for brand consistency. However, since I have already purchased a full-year subscription to sweet_onion, I don’t want to pay early cancellation fees just to switch back over.
In summary, I sell on eBay under two different accounts, bills_business, and sweet_onion. After starting to sell postcards on bills_business in the fall of 2021, I created sweet_onion to save on monthly eBay subscription fees. I tried different pricing models for both stores, with offering free shipping on all postcards on bills_business and pricing most listings under $5 working well. However, on sweet_onion, I experimented with charging for shipping and priced cards higher. After some research, I decided to continue listing cards but stopped listing those with little chance of selling. Eventually, my new pricing strategy on sweet_onion started to work, with higher margins on fewer sales. While I plan to eventually move all listings back to bills_business, for now, I’m content with this strategy, especially since I have a full-year subscription to sweet_onion.