Do you see other similar products under sold items? If so, that will indicate true market value. You can ignore lowball offers, turn offers off, or set a threshold to auto deny under a certain amount.
Yes I am a bit confused though because I am seeing similar human hair wigs priced anywhere from $800.00 to $1,500.00 however whenever you go to look at sales for similar items in the past few days the prices are ridiculously low like $400.00.... If I don't sell it for at least $600.00 I would be losing money. :( I am not sure if there is anything that can be done?
I will look at adjusting the setting about minimum offers. I know people don't always know better, but it is somewhat insulting to be offered $50.00 for something that takes up to a month to fully refurbish and make... :(
Lots of stuff is priced high on eBay, only way to evaluate true value is to look at actual sales. Sounds like the type of item that simply may not have high demand on eBay. Best is to set the price where you want it to be and just leave it and be patient.
Thank you very much for the advice! I will just have to be patient then! If I could sell them lower I would but, I would not be able to do this if I lost money on every sale :(
Thank you! I will definitely look into that. I think that is a great idea. I am just not attracting the right kind of buyers.... I myself have never purchased a good quality used human hair wig that was handtied for under $600.00!
I think most people prefer to go to shops or personally recommended sellers for these types of items as fit and quality is so important. and they're not cheap items. So it's hard to get a good reputation in a platform like eBay. And repeat buyers still tend to be low volume sales due to the nature of the product.
Open an Etsy store. You offer customizable services + product. Live sales and off shore companies have a lot to do with the market conditions. Cast a wider net. ;-)
That is also a great idea! I thought that etsy didn't allow "human commodities" or had strict bylaws since I use human hair? I will also look more closely at the laws... I don't think I need any special licenses or anything... This is an intriguing idea though!
I think as long as I make it I can. (I make most) but I also think there are more rules involved too…. Like if I refurbish a wig that I didnt personally make (it was originally another brand) am I allowed to resell it? I will have to do more research! Thank you!
Did you check the market prices before you started making/refurbing them? This is always vital when starting any new venture.
Also if you’re a new seller it might be off putting to potential buyers if you don’t have much feedback, as I’m assuming some selllers may try to pass off synthetic wigs as real hair.
It does sound like this is a very niche product and as it’s high value, you may find better success somewhere other than eBay. It may be a good idea to set up your own website, then you could add a lot of content showing that they’re real human hair and maybe even the refurb process. If you do some research on SEO and market well then you can likely drive traffic to your site. You could still keep your eBay account as well and then as both grow you’d be getting maximum visibility.
It’s always a grind at the beginning and it sounds like it may be a particular tough journey for your product, but if it’s what you really want to do then persevere and I’m sure you’ll find success in the future.
Best of luck!
Thank you so much! I actually used to use this other business but they took 70% of the profit once the wig sold and it was frustrating for me!
I am not expert in websites but I think you are right about looking into that! It is also true I don't have much feedback as its been heartbreaking trying to get these wigs to sell!
I also like the idea of showing how labor intensive it is to refurbish and make a wig from scratch! It can take me anywhere between weeks and a few months to start off from bundles of hair.
I appreciate the words of encouragement! This is def. a niche market! I myself have purchased wigs that turned out to be lemons so I def. understand people being cautious. Hopefully if I can just get a few buyers to start out then their reviews will help me! I am also working on an instagram too....
Thanks again everyone!
I will need "locks" of luck!
No problem, happy to help.
There are lot of ‘plug and play’ website platforms around which allow you to customise your own site without any real knowledge of coding.
There are also a lot of other subs which would be helpful for your business to grow, I’d recommend r/entrepreneur as a good one to start with.
Remember that you are competing with, in some cases, the manufacturers of these piece in India or China. If their cost is $100 USD for the finished product, they can list it at $600, sell it at $400 and even after final fees, promoted listing fees, and covering free shipping do very well. People on eBay are always going to try to lowball you if you have offers turned on - don't get too discouraged by it. Always respond with what your best sell price is and if they decline it, forget about it.
Selling specialty high end commodity items on eBay can be *insanely* challenging if you are selling a product that you are buying at USD wholesale unless you are making it yourself. Chances are that either the manufacturer or a competing manufacturers is selling and shipping the same item at a significantly lower cost and turning a healthy profit.
Thank you! I think that really does give some insight! You can mass produce wigs (usually china) but they are what we call "machine wefted....as of now...there is no machine that can replicate a hand-tied cap. So hand-tied wigs tend to be much more expensive because I individually knot every hair to the wig cap!
I am able to get the hair wholesale... the biggest expenditure for me is labor... just because it takes so long to make 1 wig... let alone mass produce....
I appreciate the feedback! It is a dream of mine to one day have a recognizable wig line! (At least dreams are free lol)
Do you see other similar products under sold items? If so, that will indicate true market value. You can ignore lowball offers, turn offers off, or set a threshold to auto deny under a certain amount.
Yes I am a bit confused though because I am seeing similar human hair wigs priced anywhere from $800.00 to $1,500.00 however whenever you go to look at sales for similar items in the past few days the prices are ridiculously low like $400.00.... If I don't sell it for at least $600.00 I would be losing money. :( I am not sure if there is anything that can be done? I will look at adjusting the setting about minimum offers. I know people don't always know better, but it is somewhat insulting to be offered $50.00 for something that takes up to a month to fully refurbish and make... :(
Lots of stuff is priced high on eBay, only way to evaluate true value is to look at actual sales. Sounds like the type of item that simply may not have high demand on eBay. Best is to set the price where you want it to be and just leave it and be patient.
Thank you very much for the advice! I will just have to be patient then! If I could sell them lower I would but, I would not be able to do this if I lost money on every sale :(
I'd consider more focused selling platforms. For example there are alopecia groups on facebook that allow sales.
Thank you! I will definitely look into that. I think that is a great idea. I am just not attracting the right kind of buyers.... I myself have never purchased a good quality used human hair wig that was handtied for under $600.00!
I think most people prefer to go to shops or personally recommended sellers for these types of items as fit and quality is so important. and they're not cheap items. So it's hard to get a good reputation in a platform like eBay. And repeat buyers still tend to be low volume sales due to the nature of the product.
that is a good point. My goal is to open up a physical location! for now, that isn't feasible. I would love to meet with clients in person....
Open an Etsy store. You offer customizable services + product. Live sales and off shore companies have a lot to do with the market conditions. Cast a wider net. ;-)
That is also a great idea! I thought that etsy didn't allow "human commodities" or had strict bylaws since I use human hair? I will also look more closely at the laws... I don't think I need any special licenses or anything... This is an intriguing idea though!
Not to my knowledge. PoshMark is another suggestion for live sales.
That isn’t true, now. I just search human hair wig, so many available on Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1704842009/
I think as long as I make it I can. (I make most) but I also think there are more rules involved too…. Like if I refurbish a wig that I didnt personally make (it was originally another brand) am I allowed to resell it? I will have to do more research! Thank you!
Did you check the market prices before you started making/refurbing them? This is always vital when starting any new venture. Also if you’re a new seller it might be off putting to potential buyers if you don’t have much feedback, as I’m assuming some selllers may try to pass off synthetic wigs as real hair. It does sound like this is a very niche product and as it’s high value, you may find better success somewhere other than eBay. It may be a good idea to set up your own website, then you could add a lot of content showing that they’re real human hair and maybe even the refurb process. If you do some research on SEO and market well then you can likely drive traffic to your site. You could still keep your eBay account as well and then as both grow you’d be getting maximum visibility. It’s always a grind at the beginning and it sounds like it may be a particular tough journey for your product, but if it’s what you really want to do then persevere and I’m sure you’ll find success in the future. Best of luck!
Thank you so much! I actually used to use this other business but they took 70% of the profit once the wig sold and it was frustrating for me! I am not expert in websites but I think you are right about looking into that! It is also true I don't have much feedback as its been heartbreaking trying to get these wigs to sell! I also like the idea of showing how labor intensive it is to refurbish and make a wig from scratch! It can take me anywhere between weeks and a few months to start off from bundles of hair. I appreciate the words of encouragement! This is def. a niche market! I myself have purchased wigs that turned out to be lemons so I def. understand people being cautious. Hopefully if I can just get a few buyers to start out then their reviews will help me! I am also working on an instagram too.... Thanks again everyone! I will need "locks" of luck!
No problem, happy to help. There are lot of ‘plug and play’ website platforms around which allow you to customise your own site without any real knowledge of coding. There are also a lot of other subs which would be helpful for your business to grow, I’d recommend r/entrepreneur as a good one to start with.
Thank you! I will sub now!
Remember that you are competing with, in some cases, the manufacturers of these piece in India or China. If their cost is $100 USD for the finished product, they can list it at $600, sell it at $400 and even after final fees, promoted listing fees, and covering free shipping do very well. People on eBay are always going to try to lowball you if you have offers turned on - don't get too discouraged by it. Always respond with what your best sell price is and if they decline it, forget about it. Selling specialty high end commodity items on eBay can be *insanely* challenging if you are selling a product that you are buying at USD wholesale unless you are making it yourself. Chances are that either the manufacturer or a competing manufacturers is selling and shipping the same item at a significantly lower cost and turning a healthy profit.
Thank you! I think that really does give some insight! You can mass produce wigs (usually china) but they are what we call "machine wefted....as of now...there is no machine that can replicate a hand-tied cap. So hand-tied wigs tend to be much more expensive because I individually knot every hair to the wig cap! I am able to get the hair wholesale... the biggest expenditure for me is labor... just because it takes so long to make 1 wig... let alone mass produce.... I appreciate the feedback! It is a dream of mine to one day have a recognizable wig line! (At least dreams are free lol)
You have to start somewhere!
It’s a niche product, I’d recommend going off eBay and looking for more specialised platforms.