Advanced Selling Strategies

Advanced Selling Strategies

Matt LedwithDirector Top Seller Development

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Important Information

Agenda

• Structuring Your Business on eBay• Marketing and Merchandising—Thinking Like

Your Buyer• Scaling and Growing Your Business• Summary• Q&A

Structuring Your Business on eBay

• A business on eBay is like any other business…– Find the right items to sell– Manage your inventory and determine where and

how to sell– Observe and outperform your competitors– Provide world-class customer support

• You need to experiment, measure and repeat• There’s not one “best practice” that works

for all products all of the time

www.ebay.com/optinwww.ebay.com/sellercentral

Understanding the eBay Marketplace

• eBay’s Seller Central and seller communications

– Top buyers searches by category

– Hot, in-demand items– New releases and promotions

• PowerUp– Off-line Newsletter

sharing best practices

eBay Sales Reports Plus

• Free tool for all sellers

• Understand the main drivers of your business

– Measure results against goals

– Identify areas of opportunity/ improvement

Tip: eBay Accounting Assistant saves valuable time by exporting eBay and PayPal transaction and fee data to QuickBooks®

Stores Traffic Reports & Marketplace Research

• eBay Stores Traffic Reports – Understand which items buyers

visit and are searching for– Optimize your listing titles

and pages– Cross-promote your most

popular listings

• eBay Marketplace Research– Make data-based sourcing

and selling decisions– Reports sales trends for

products– Includes Average Sold Price,

Items Sold, Items Listed

www.ebay.com/storefronts/traffic-reports.htmlwww.ebay.com/marketplace_research

Third-Party Marketplace Data Providers

• eBay data providers – Terapeak (www.terapeak.com)– Mpire Researcher

(www.mpire.com)– Andale (www.andale.com)– Hammertap

(www.hammertap.com)

• Available data includes: – Closed listings pricing info– Category-specific data– Sales trends– Hot-selling products

and categories

Finding Merchandise to Sell

Reseller Marketplace• A B2B marketplace for

PowerSellers to source for resale

• Sellers: manufacturers, liquidators, wholesalers

• Benefits:– Great values– Buy in lots for resale– No long-term or volume

minimums

www.ebay.com/reseller

Additional Sources of Supply

• Trade shows—find a trade show in your industrywww.Tsnn.com

• Resell used goods—estate saleswww.ustreas.gov/auctions/customs

• Buy directly—find a distributor and buy directwww.thomasnet.com

• Find wholesale suppliers www.WorldwideBrands.com/Importing

• Trading Assistants—sell on behalf of otherswww.ebay.com/tradingassistants

Structuring Your Business on eBay

• Use the resources on eBay to understand which products are in high demand

• Investigate third-party market research tools• Let your research drive the products,

categories and prices at which you sell• Experiment, measure and repeat!• Get the right product, in the right place

at the right time!

Marketing & MerchandisingThinking like your buyer

Thinking Like Your Buyer

• Drive buyers to your items– Develop effective eBay listings – Price your items to attract buyers – Promote your eBay store– Use eBay Express

• Keep buyers satisfied—and make them repeat customers

– Customer support– Cross-promotion and up-selling– Clear and fair shipping prices

Listing Titles

• Use all 55 characters• Use words people most often

use when searching– Brands and model– Condition, color, style, size

• Use browse words– NR or No Reserve– Free Shipping

• Offer several points of entry– “Shawl” and “wrap”– “Notebook” and “laptop”

• Utilize Subtitles where appropriate

Item Description is the most valuable tool for creating search engine-friendly listings!

Item Descriptions

• Provide all data that buyers need to make a decision in one place

– Repeat item title– Include complete product info– Use item specifics when

available– Provide clear payment info – Clearly state shipping costs

and time frames– Include links to your eBay Store

Effective Photos

• Clear images• Photo at top of listing• Multidimensional views• Use Picture Manager to save $• Own pictures or get permission

Tip: Use Gallery feature to display your item picture with search and browse results

eBay Shipping Center:www.ebay.com/shippingcenter

Shipping

• Clearly state policies—returns, feedback, sales tax, etc.

• Include shipping costs—flat rate, calculated or at no cost

• Set buyers’ expectations about when you ship your items (e.g., "within 24 hours of payment”)

• Offer shipping discounts for multiple purchases

eBay Formats

• Auction-style• Fixed Price

– Buy it Now (BIN)– Fixed Priced

• Stores Inventory (SIF)– Fixed Price

www.ebay.com/sellercentral/formats.html

Best Practice:• Use Reserve sparingly—Reserve

deters bids• Best Offer—Receive price-based

offers for Fixed Price listings• Store Referral Credit—save 75%

on Final Value Fees on qualified transactions

www.ebay.com/storefronts/seller-landing.html

Promoting Your eBay Store

• Promote your eBay Store and Store Inventory in every listing

• Utilize cross-selling functionality• Include search keywords in

your Store name, description and categories

• Promote your Store both on and off eBay using:

– Listing feeds – Email marketing– Promotional flyers– Listing frames

Acquire Buyers—eBay Express

• Double your exposure for Fixed Price and eBay Store Inventory listings!

– Qualified listings show up automatically with no additional work

– Buyers pay upfront via Shopping Cart and Checkout

– No changes to your selling experience

www.ebayexpress.com

Delivering a Superior Buyer Experience

• Clear and fair shipping prices• Address customer questions promptly

to establish trust and rapport• Over-deliver on expectations

Buyer Retention & Managing Sold Items

• Reduce Unpaid Items: – Utilize Seller

Preference in My eBay to restrict undesirable buyers

– Communicate with buyers early and often

– Utilize Immediate Payment through PayPal on Fixed Price Listings

Marketing & Merchandising

• To attract and retain buyers you need to:– Think like a buyer

• How do buyers find your items?• How do buyers like to be treated?

– Use your buyers’ behavior to drive your business strategy

Scaling & Growing Your Business

http://pages.ebay.com/sell/tools.htmlwww.solutions.ebay.com

Tools to Help You Scale Your Business

• eBay Listing Tools– Turbo Lister: desktop tool with reusable listing templates– File Exchange: create listings by sending a flat file to eBay

• eBay Listing Management Tools– Selling Manager/Selling Manager Pro: Web-based sales

management tools designed to help sellers manage sales more efficiently

– eBay Blackthorne: desktop listing and sales management tools designed to save time

• Third-party Tools – eBay Solutions Directory provides information about third-party

software tools and services to improve your productivity on eBay

www.ebay.com/internationaltrading/sellertips.html

Grow Your Business Globally

• More than 50% of all eBay users live outside the US

• Listing your products internationally ensures maximum global exposure and incremental sales volume

• PayPal Seller Protection available for qualified US shipments to Canada and the UK

• Utilize a shipping partner to help overcome import/export issues

Grow Your Business Off-eBay

• Expand your business to be Multi-Channel

– Develop your own Web site– Tap into a new and

incremental customer base– Lower your cost of sales

for servicing existing customers

– Capture growing use of search for finding products

Adding a Sales Channel

• Ideal for existing eBay sellers with a regular customer base to grow their online sales

• Fully integrated to allow direct listings to eBay and payments with PayPal

• ProStores is one-stop shopping—with a shopping cart, hosting, reporting and more!

PayPal Benefits Advanced Sellers

• Easily receive money electronically from around the world (16 different currencies)

• Automate and become more efficient– Instant payment information– Multi-user access– Company name on customers’ credit card statements– Automatic monthly eBay fees payment

• Tailor online payment options to your eBay or Web site business

Scaling & Growing Your Business

• Use listing and e-commerce management tools to save time and boost productivity

• Open your business to international customers• Maintain an online storefront off eBay to

attract more online shoppers• Practice safe selling

7 Steps to Scalability

• FREE one-on-one consultations with eBay specialists to improve your listings

• 7 Steps Live—learn from other sellers’ best practices and share your insights

• Visit the Seller Scalability Center at the Solutions Center (booth #551)

Summary

• Improve the structure of your business on eBay by:– Understanding your marketplace– Using multiple sources to buy your product at the

right price

• Identify tactics and strategies to turn shoppers into repeat buyers

• Define ways to grow your business– In the US and abroad– On and off eBay

Q&A

Q&A

Matt Ledwithmledwith@ebay.com

Questions?To learn more, visitwww.ebay.com/education to see the eBay University calendar, online tours, tutorials, and more.

Thank you!