Today is one of those days when I have just had to make myself stay home and do some listing and tweaking on my Ruby Lane shop site! I have been sitting in front of this computer now for several hours(with a few distractions here and there), but mostly diligent about the task at hand. It is so important to regularly add new listings, in hopes of a higher rank on the search engines to get people into your shop.

I am always amazed when I look at my daily reports of shop visitors, just how many are brand new first time viewers! Perhaps you join me in wondering sometimes when you list an item that you KNOW should be a fast seller, and then it does not get all the hits you would think it might in one day or even one week.

Or even more amazing, is when you have a couple of weeks like I have, when you sell goods that have been listed for nearly 4 years without selling, and then all of a sudden, you sell several of these “ancient” listings close together! Chances are, I probably should take some of those items out of my shop, or at least relist them, so they will come up on “Todays Listings.” Folks don’t always have the time to peruse thousands of items, but they will search in that category to see what’s new to your shop. But then, it’s kind of like when you have items in a brick and mortar shop that have been there a long time; as sure as you take them out and bring them home, there’s someone who goes back in hunt of something they remembered from a long time ago, and are just now ready to purchase.

Also involved in shop upkeep, there are items I’ve found that I marked on sale in March that are still written up as “St. Patrick’s Day Sale” in the middle of October! That’s a dead giveaway that I haven’t revisited that item in awhile, and those kinds of changes need to be made. Sure, we’ll miss one from time to time, but it helps if the buyer can see that the seller is up to date in managing his/her shop.

I can get so excited when I am at the antique malls, auctions, estate sales, etc., and see all kinds of wonderful items that are perfect for my shop. But then when I get home with them, sometimes my excitement wanes because it’s time to take pictures, write complete item descriptions and take care of the business as it needs to be taken care of. Thankfully, I do enjoy writing to some extent, and I want to try and write enough in different ways that will peek a buyer’s interest enough to make a purchase, or at least put things on their wish list for later. After all, it’s pretty close to the season where lots of folks are shopping for Christmas gifts, holiday decorating or entertaining items, vintage clothing for special occasions, and making a list for their own gifts, so we’d better be ready.

All this said, you can see that I have become just “a little” distracted from my shop listings today, because I stopped to read a couple of blogs, look at new listings, add to my watch list/wish list(often the same), and here I am writing! However, this really is shop upkeep too, because it can be expensive to have a shop full of merchandise, and blogging with Ruby Lane is a perk that helps us to take care of keeping the costs down. Thankfully, for at least “this day,” I have managed to stay at home long enough that the stores are just about to close, and so I’ve resisted “buying” today rather than selling. Truthfully, though, I guess I’m pretty human, because I’ll have to admit at this moment, I’d rather be shopping!

Written by Marsha Beaton

The Loft Antiques on Ruby Lane

If you’re new to Ruby Lane, or a long time customer or even shop owner, I hope if you get distracted or are just looking for something special, that you will stop in my shop, The Loft Antiques, where you can see the results of my time in the shop today working instead of shopping. There’s something for most everyone, so thanks in advance for shopping with me.