Many online e-commerce operators can supplement their current store with listings on eBay, a marketplace transacting over $50B (that’s billion) per year. eBay has huge potential for sellers who have items people want and prices that make them want to bid or buy online. Before you jump in, determine if selling on eBay is likely to be successful for you.
Research!
eBay is a marketplace operating under the laws of supply and demand. To determine if there is demand, room for you in the supply and sale prices that will lead to profits, use one of the many available research tools. The main ones are Terapeak.com, HammerTap.com, and Vendio.com. By running reports on keywords that describe an item you have, you can see how it is performing on eBay.
Rules
eBay has many rules and no single place where you can learn them all. As a result, many sellers with good intentions get warnings or suspensions for breaking rules they didn’t know existed. For example, did you know that it’s against the rules to link to your off-eBay website or even your e-mail address from your eBay listing? Did you know that you can’t sell certain medical devices unless you are properly licensed? Did you know you can’t sell unboxed cosmetics to Germany? It’s important to know the rules and play by them.
Formats
Additionally, you must learn how shoppers find items. Sellers choose among listing formats such as auctions (people bid, time counts down), fixed price (no bidding, fixed price, but time counts down), and Store items (no bidding, rarely shows up in search results, time doesn’t really count down). In addition there are eBay’s new Best Match search results, which are based on an algorithm nobody knows. Search results are now ordered by when an item ends (items ending sooner show up higher) and by things like seller reputation so that sellers with good reputations will be highlighted (and sellers with bad reputations somewhat buried). Confusing? It can be a bit of a learning curve. Educate yourself so that you are armed with strategies like what to list, when, and how.
Part of the “how” is the understanding that most sales on eBay come from search results, and that most searches are for words in the eBay title. For example, if you use a title like, “NEW NWT black leather handbag,” and your shopper types in, “new black leather purse,” you won’t be found unless you also had “purse” in there.
If you sold on eBay more than a year ago, it’s a whole new playing field now. Good sellers rise to the top. Sellers who have DSRs (Detailed Seller Ratings, a new way buyers can score their sellers) that are below eBay’s standards might find their items no higher than page 8 of search results. It’s all about managing shopper and buyer expectations, and giving them a better experience than eBay sellers previously provided.
Design Counts
The design and layout of your listings are more important than ever. For example, if you are seeing low scores for what you charge for shipping, this doesn’t mean that you should lower your shipping charges. It may mean improving communication of your shipping policies, which relates directly to design and layout. Think about your brochure or website. You put certain information and certain design elements in certain places to create a certain experience. eBay sellers can now really see the benefits of upgrading to that type of approach.
Educate Yourself!
Once you’ve decided on eBay, learn about the site from a reliable source. We recommend starting at http://pages.ebay.com/education or attending a conference like RocketPlace http://RocketPlace.com. RocketPlace has a track for those who are new to eBay even if you are not new to retail, online selling, or other areas of e-commerce. Readers can get $25 off registration with code EBIZ.
eBay will also help. The company has a Certified Provider Program http://certifiedprovider.ebay.com, nearly 30 companies who can assist with software, services, design, strategy help, product sourcing and more. These can be your partners in eBay success.
eBay is a fertile field for e-commerce success. But first, learn the rules and learn the territory. eBiz
Debbie Levitt is the Founder and CEO of As Was [http://www.aswas.com], a full-service consulting firm for eBay sellers, specializing in design, branding, marketing, strategy, and operational issues. As eBay’s first Certified Service Provider, As Was produces the RocketPlace conference http://RocketPlace.com. RocketPlace is a twice-yearly conference for eBay sellers at all levels.
By Debbie Levitt
deb@aswas.com
