February 2022 will be my 17th year of selling online. If you have read our About Us page you already know I started with literally nothing and, 15 years later, had a pretty friggin huge warehouse, employees and more. I have been on all sides of the “selling realm”; I started as a single-item-online-seller, I sold at flea markets, opened multiple boutiques, the wholesale company and more. Point being, it's pretty safe to assume I have some experience regarding this topic ;)

I have spent almost 2 decades talking to people from all over the world, and I feel like I have pretty much “seen it all” (although amazingly, crazy things still happen that do surprise me. I write about them often on our blog). With that being said, here’s some common things sellers do that they don’t realize are hurting their business. So if you’re doing any of these things, JUST STOP.

1. Wasting time watermarking photos of products that you are reselling.  The only time you should even consider a watermark is if you literally OWN the product. For example, if you’re an Etsy seller who makes custom hats for lizards, then YES, go ahead and watermark away! Screw those people who are trying to ripoff your merch. BUT if you are a reseller who is listing Tommy Hilfiger socks… why in Gods name are you watermarking them? You are wasting your time over nothing. People who steal photos will never be successful because they spend more time looking for the photo than they would spend if they just took the damn photo themselves. Additionally, people who steal photos end up with a bunch of listings that look like crap because none of the photos look similar. It looks unprofessional and disorganized.

2. Wasting time looking for photo theft. Yes, people are going to steal your photos, but again, if you are reselling a brand someone else owns, who cares? Instead of pissing away time and energy trying to catch someone using your pic, just focus on your business; list more, ship more, order more, repeat. Looking for stolen photos, finding stolen photos, getting emotional over stolen photos, reporting stolen photos = massive time drain.

3. Accept that you don’t know everything (and neither do I!). One of the biggest recipes for failure is the online seller who is the “know it all”. They know what brands “don’t sell”. They know which sizes are “bad”. They know which colors “will never sell”, which styles are “too ugly to sell” and they know that they know and they know better than everyone else.

Reality:

• All brands sell, even the brands you hate. That includes the expensive brands. It includes cheap brands. It includes brands that you consider to be “outdated” in addition to brands you do not align with due to your own morals.
• All sizes sell. That includes XXXS and 4X. That includes Petite and Long. That includes “irregular” sizes and every other size you can think of. I assure you, they all sell.
• All styles sell. Skinny leg, flair leg, boot leg, bell bottoms, acid wash, “destroyed look”, vintage, crop… THEY ALL SELL.
• All prices sell. You do NOT need to be the cheapest price to sell it. In fact, being the cheapest price can actually be BAD. Learn more about The Problem with Lowest Price Items and Read More Myths New Online Sellers Believe that Aren’t True

4. Immediately STOP Retail Arbitrage. This is probably the worst of the “sins” mentioned above. Retail Arbitrage is when you drive around from store to store to find deals to sell online. I truly think most online sellers start out this way (trust me here, I did too!) BUT people who continue to stock their business by personally hand-selecting every individual item from a clearance rack IS THE ABSOLUTE WORST WAY TO OBTAIN INVENTORY. The reason it’s bad is because you’re actually losing time and money. Read 5 Reasons Why Retail Arbitrage Doesn’t Work. I mean, if you happen to be at the store already and you see a mega-deal, go ahead and buy it! BUT please, STOP driving around to hunt and gather!

5. Revise Hitler-Like Terms. So many online sellers have Terms & Conditions in their listings that are over-the-top because they are trying to prevent any possible issue that might ever occur again because it occurred one time before, and the one time it happened before resulted in a bad outcome. But what these sellers don’t realize is that they are scaring away good potential buyers by trying to prevent a potentially bad buyer from purchasing the item. What these sellers don’t realize is that bad buyers don’t care about your terms. Even if you have air-tight terms, they’ll just file a chargeback through their bank. So the only person you are hurting with insane, overbearing terms is your business. Read: How to Write Terms That Don’t Sound Like Hitler

6. Stop blaming everything and everyone for things not selling "like they used to".  Believe me, I "get it" but I also understand that times change and we all have to change with the times, whether we like the changes or not.  If people want "free shipping" you gotta figure it out.  If people want "fast shipping" you have to find a way to get them a tracking number right away.  As mentioned previously, ALL products sell (even the outdated ones!), but if you're still using 2010 techniques to sell mech in 2022, the product isn't the only thing thats outdated....

- If you truly feel the marketplace you are selling on has become worthless, then STOP selling there!  Find a marketplace you feel is worthy of your time and energy.  Staying in a bad relationship is never the solution!

- If you believe the products you are selling aren't "good", then find different products. 

- If you feel that there is nothing wrong with the marketplace, your products or your prices then you are left with only your listings / photos being the problem. 

Reality: You will have slow days and slow times, especially if crazy things are going on in the world.  Read 50 Reasons Nothing is Selling that Aren't Your Fault but also read 5 Reasons Sales Dropped to $0 Overnight. However if every day is slow, or if your sales have dropped sharply, I assure you that something IS going on and figuring out what it is can get you back to good again.

7. And lastly, be open to learning, no matter how long you have been selling.  Learning doesn't mean you have to do what is suggested, but at least LISTEN to it.  Once you reach the point that you know it all, you become stagnant and sitting still leads to failure.  Stay in motion!   It's ok to ask for suggestions.  It's GREAT to subscribe to blogs that offer advice (such as this one).  Again, just because someone give you advice doesn't mean you have to follow the advice, but at least hear it.   

IN CLOSING

YOU CAN DO IT and YOU WILL DO IT!  NEVER, EVER GIVE UP!  :)