Five Mistakes New Sellers Make (and How to Avoid Them)

Starting a store on a new marketplace always involves a learning curve. Having helped many sellers get established on Zurgle, we see the same few mistakes again and again. The good news: every one of them is easy to avoid.

1. Leaving store details incomplete

Buyers check your store before they buy. A store without a logo, banner, description or contact details looks unfinished and can put people off. Take time to complete your store profile in your dashboard settings. Tell buyers who you are, what you sell and why they can trust you.

2. Getting shipping costs wrong

On Zurgle, your shipping amount is included in the price buyers see. If you leave it at the default without checking, you may undercharge and lose money on every order – or overcharge and lose sales. Work out what it really costs you to package and send an average order, and set that in your store settings.

3. Slow responses to messages

A buyer with a question is a buyer who wants to buy. Messages from buyers appear in your dashboard inbox, with a badge in the header showing how many are unread. Aim to reply within a day. Even a quick “thanks, I’ll check and get back to you” goes a long way.

4. Not updating orders

Buyers see the status of each item they ordered from you. If an order sits on “Processing” for days with no update, buyers get anxious and contact support. Update orders promptly as you prepare, ship and deliver them, and add tracking details when you have them.

5. Overselling

Selling an item you no longer have is one of the fastest ways to lose a buyer’s trust. Keep stock levels accurate, and if you sell the same products elsewhere, update Zurgle as soon as stock changes.

Bonus: forgetting about promotions

Once your store is running smoothly, think about visibility. Featured listings put your product on the homepage for a set period, which can make a real difference for new stores trying to get their first reviews.

The common thread

Almost every successful seller on Zurgle has one thing in common: they treat buyers the way they would want to be treated. Be clear, be honest, be responsive – and the sales will follow.