I decided to relist most of my expired Etsy listings, and I also added quite a few new listings. Etsy sales are poor, but I want to give Etsy the best chance that I can. If sales remain too low, then I will consider closing my Etsy shop.
I mentioned in my previous post that Etsy has moved the item description to the bottom of the page underneath the reviews. Etsy sellers are reporting an increase in returns due to buyers having not read the description that they can't find.
In order to counter this problem, I have added an image to each listing. That image contains the text, "Scroll down below the reviews for the item description."
I have heard that the item description has not been moved for all users. I can see the old item page in one of my browsers, so I can confirm. Even if some buyers think I'm weird, I would rather have the message in all of my listings in order to help the impacted buyers find the item description. It's a rather important part of a listing.
On eBay, I sent an offer for 15% off to some buyers who had watched an item. I do this at least once every couple of months. I don't send offers to everyone who has watched an item. Many of my listings are already at the very lowest I will take. I go down the list of listings eligible for me to send offers and go with the ones where I don't mind going lower or where I just really want to get the item sold if at all possible.
I use eBay's international shipping program. It's better for me, and it may be better for the buyer as well, depending upon the situation. It does have one serious disadvantage. eBay's international shipping does not allow items to be combined. I have had two buyers let me know about the problem, requesting that I place the books they want in a single lot.
I pull the books they want, take one group photograph, add the individual prices together, and then create the listing. This results in the buyer being charged eBay's international shipping rate just one time instead of for each individual listing.
A few of you suggested that I begin selling books on my website due to the low eBay and Etsy sales. I'm not interested in doing that. I choose to sell on eBay and Etsy so that I'm not responsible for driving traffic myself. If I were to set up a store on my website, I would have to do a lot of advertising. That's worse than my current setup. The cost of selling on eBay and Etsy is not a concern. Convenience is more important than avoiding the fees.
Setting up a store on my website would also be a lot of trouble. That's not feasible for me. I have an autoimmune disease, and I need to control my stress.
Furthermore, I am not worried in the slightest about the low sales. I'm a bit mentally detached. This is due to my roller coaster thyroid levels of the last year. Here is a rundown of my year, indicating by month whether I was undermedicated or overmedicated based on how I felt.
August 2022 - under
September 2022 - over
October 2022 - over
November 2022 - under
December 2022 - under
January 2023 - under (even worse)
February 2023 - under
March 2023 - slightly under, felt normal for around 10 days at the end of the month
April 2023 - over
May 2023 - over (even worse)
June 2023 - under
July 2023 - under
My levels were just right for around 10 days out of the last year. That is why I'm mentally detached and don't care one way or the other. My books will sell, or they won't. At least they are listed. I have other concerns.
I go back to work on Thursday, August 10. School starts one week later on Thursday, August 17.
As of now, I plan to keep my stores open. I have misgivings, which are increasing.
In the middle of July, my medication was adjusted again for the fifth time since I had Covid in July 2022. This is a slight dose increase. I had trouble getting the prescription and had to go to mail order. While I was waiting on my 81.5 mcg dose, I alternated between 75 mcg and 88 mcg, which averaged to 81.5 mcg. It is okay to do that, although my body is so sensitive that it isn't ideal.
I started the new 81.5 mcg dose yesterday. It's the same medication I have been taking (Tirosint) with the same four hypoallergenic ingredients. My body shouldn't be able to detect a difference, yet it does. My body knows that I've never taken the 37.5 mcg and 44 mcg (paired together to add to 81.5 mcg) capsules before, and I am already having a reaction even though I really shouldn't be having one. My body is that extremely sensitive.
This is why I'm having an increase in misgivings about keeping my stores open. I'm already having an increase in symptoms, including some distinct memory problems. The memory problems will worsen when I go back to work.
So... the plan is to keep the stores open. If I end up too impaired, then I will shut down without warning. We'll see how it goes.
Jennifer's Series Books on eBay
Jennifer's Series Books on Etsy
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