Don't despair!
Just because the item you listed didn't sell the first time doesn't mean it's a dud. Try something new:
1) First of all, you can just REVIEW & RELIST YOUR ITEM immediately. Not everyone who sees your item this week is interested, and the person who will really bid on it to win it is on vacation this week. Sometimes, it's just plain timing. So your first choice is to rewrite your listing, make adjustments and relist. Then, if it sells the second time, ebay will give you a small credit towards the listing fee. If you really believe in the item's value, and it doesn't sell the second time, try another way of selling it like the options listed below. I have relisted an item I knew could sell, in a different category, and the second time it closed, one week later, it sold for 3 times more than the starting bid. Go figure!
2) Second choice is to RELIST YOUR ITEM IN A DIFFERENT MONTH. For example, you list a really nice vintage pie plate in February, and it doesn't sell. Well, is it a tradition to make pies in February? You would probably have better luck in the Fall, when the weather cools down and lots of people get cozy and homey and bake for the holidays. So tuck that pie plate away, then relist it in November, described as "a great, vintage pie plate to make your traditional homemade pumpkin pie in this year!" Another great reason to hold on to an item are the end of the year holidays: Christmas & Hannukah. I hold on to anything I find during the year that I think will end the auction higher if it is listed at Christmastime. One time, I bought a corkscrew at a sale for $0.50, took it home, cleaned it up and, itching to list in, put it away in a drawer for 9 months. That year, I sold the same beautiful sterling silver and ivory corkscrew a week before Christmas to a collector who, I think, bought it as a gift for himself. At over $500 closing bid, I can only imagine that the feel of the holiday season helped raise the final bid just a little.
3) SEARCH E-BAY FOR RECENTLY SOLD IDENTICAL ITEMS and review the listings for items that sold successfully. Did you start yours too high? Misspell the manufacturer or style in the title? Do other recent auctions give more historical detail, more in depth manufacturer information, or simply use a qualifyer or code you did not know? Learn from other Sellers, they are excellent teachers. Did you make the fatal flaw of accidentally listing it in the wrong category? I have done that before. Did the auction close at a not-so-customer friendly time, like Tuesday morning at 3am? Was the shipping fee accidentally too high? Did you omit info that would close the sale, like the measurements, condition, color or history of the item? These all add to the "value" of your listing, and can make or break an auction. Edit your auction, follow recent Seller's lead and relist.
I'll bet you that item will sell when relisted if you just tweak your listing a little...So don't give up, don't give it away yet...Just try a different approach. And best of luck to you!
)
