Whether you’re already trading on eBay, or if you haven’t started yet, there’s sure to be some additional ways you can use this channel to boost your sales.
Brightpearl has created 38 top eBay tips to help you to get the most of this amazing channel. Nine of them are listed below.
Click this link for the full guide with all 38 tips
Products and listings
1 Sell new items with tags or branded items
Generally these types of items sell better as buyers can be more confident in their purchases.
Branded items are considered more ‘high – end’ so can command a higher price tag and new items are perceived as less likely to have been damaged so have a higher trust factor associated with them.
2 Follow the money
If a product line is selling well then divert more money or resources to stocking it. If there are items outside of your niche that will make you more money then start stocking them too.
Look at wider trends and see if there are products you could start selling to exploit the latest fashion. You can use eBay’s advanced search functionality to research what is selling well.
Enter product details in to the search bar, sort by the highest price first and select completed listings only. Then you will be able to see what the best – selling items are for some inspiration on what to sell.
3 Ditch the dead weight
Don’t be too precious about what you sell. If a product line is losing you money despite every effort you make to optimise it then you might need to think about ditching it.
Or at the very least investigate whether there is another channel you can sell through that will help you to make these items more lucrative.
Payment, shipping and packaging
4 Don’t over-inflate shipping
Don’t charge over-inflated amounts for shipping, either because you want to offer lower prices than competitors or to make up your eBay fee, your shipping costs should cover postage, packaging and handling only.
Customers are put off by a high shipping cost.
You could even consider selling you items with free delivery as this will allow you to increase the cost you sell items at, and you might even be able to charge more for them than the actual shipping will cost you anyway.
5 Allow international shipping
By allowing international shipping you immediately expand the number of people in your target market and will help you to get more interested buyers.
Make sure that you outline your international shipping policy in detail and that you’re able to fulfil any of the promises you make about shipping abroad.
6 Offer a guarantee
You’ll have to honour it but offering a guarantee will inspire confidence in potential customers and encourage them to buy.
So long as your descriptions are pretty much spot on it’s unlikely you will have many returns but customers are reassured when they know it’s an option.
Customers and suppliers
7 Build a brand
This will help you to distinguish yourself from the competition and to build trust within your customer base.
People will find it easier to remember your business and will be more likely to come back or refer you to other people.
8 Build good relationships with your suppliers
Reliability can be more important than price when it comes to getting that critical positive feedback.
Having a good relationship with your suppliers means they will be more reliable and more inclined to help you out in a crunch.
If you establish a strong working relationship they might even be persuaded to offer you a better discount if you are buying large amounts regularly through them and paying on time.
9 Highlight the reciprocal nature of feedback
Make it clear in your packaging note that if they leave you feedback you will leave them feedback as well.
Explain how important feedback is to both buyers and sellers and suggest you help each other out.
You can use this to build rapport with your customers and make sure you follow through and leave them a glowing reference if they have paid on time.
For more great tips, download the full guide
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