Advanced Selling Strategies
Matt Ledwith
Director
Top Seller Development

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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

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
www.ebay.com/optin
www.ebay.com/sellercentral

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.html
www.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 industry
•
www.Tsnn.com
Resell used goods—estate sales
•
www.ustreas.gov/auctions/customs
Buy directly—find a distributor and buy direct
•
www.thomasnet.com
Find wholesale suppliers
•
www.WorldwideBrands.com/Importing
Trading Assistants—sell on behalf of others
•
www.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 & Merchandising
Thinking 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 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
–
Item Description is the most valuable tool for
creating search engine-friendly listings!

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

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 Shipping Center:
www.ebay.com/shippingcenter

eBay Formats
Auction-style
• Best Practice:
• Use Reserve sparingly—Reserve
Fixed Price
• deters bids
Buy it Now (BIN)
– • Best Offer—Receive price-based
offers for Fixed Price listings
Fixed Priced
–
• Store Referral Credit—save 75%
Stores Inventory (SIF)
• on Final Value Fees on
qualified transactions
Fixed Price
–
www.ebay.com/sellercentral/formats.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
–
www.ebay.com/storefronts/seller-landing.html

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

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
http://pages.ebay.com/sell/tools.html
www.solutions.ebay.com

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
www.ebay.com/internationaltrading/sellertips.html

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 Ledwith
mledwith@ebay.com

Thank you!
Questions?
To learn more, visit
www.ebay.com/education to see the
eBay University calendar, online
tours, tutorials, and more.