5 tips for selling goods through eBay

Are you looking for a way to boost sales? Well, who isn't? If the people I've talked to for this article are typical, then selling through an eBay store could light a fire under your business.

eBay, of course, is the massive online auction site. Nearly 95 million people are trading there. It's the very definition of critical mass.

eBay started its stores for small businesses and other sellers in early 2003, and so far they have been a success. The store owners who I talked to are impressed — and pleased.

So if you think selling through eBay is right for you, here are five strategies.

The Whites work out of their house in Virginia. But their rapidly growing business is getting too big for that. "We're looking for business premises," Jon White says. They're planning to hire an employee by the end of 2004. On the other hand, Eric Scott, manager of Discount Furniture in Kannapolis, N.C., plunged right in. He launched his online store, FurnitureHub, at the beginning of 2004. By mid-March, he'd gotten at least couple big sales and lots of phone calls. Scott pronounced himself thrilled by the results. The online store has generated foot traffic at his brick-and-mortar store in Kannapolis. And even with the high shipping fees endemic to furniture, he says he can compete with stores in expensive areas. "I have a customer I'm working with right now in Amarillo, Texas," he says.
2.	Watch what the big merchants do. The heavyweight merchants on eBay are known as "PowerSellers." These are people who have high sales and at least a 98% positive feedback rating. Feedback is given by buyers, who tend to be brutally honest when they're unhappy. An example of one of these merchants is eBay's PowerSeller of the month in March 2004, Tinyclocks, which sells, well, tiny clocks. In fact, it has hundreds of them. Each is beautifully photographed. All are available at auction, and many have a purchase price for those who don't want to bid. PowerSellers are by definition very successful merchants. You can identify them by the PowerSeller logos in their seller information. Their auction items carry links to their stores. By studying their stores, you'll get an idea of how to build your presentation. Marsha Collier, a Southern California PowerSeller and author of "eBay for Dummies," suggests that beginners buy things from PowerSellers. "See how they handle business," she says.
3.	Take special pains to treat customers right. Everybody stresses the need for customer service. The buyer is making the purchase sight unseen, so the level of trust must be high. There are a vast number of sellers on eBay. If customers feel slighted, they'll move on. "Customer service is the absolute key," Collier says. "It's what gives the little guy an advantage over a big company." Collier notes that large companies are notorious for slow replies to e-mail questions. "I get 5-6 questions per day," she says. "If I answer questions as they come in, I have a better chance of keeping the customer than if I answer once a day." In describing their operation on eBay, Troy Slobod says he and his father Gerry, the founders of Tinyclocks, strive to treat customers like gold. "We are online a minimum of eight to 11 hours per day, and our policy is that customer satisfaction is more important than profits," Troy Slobod says. "Ultimately, this creates loyal repeat clients."
4.	Be aware of the costs. For the first 30 days, store fees are waived. If you realize after 10 days, say, that you've made a mistake, you can duck out without paying for your store. Assuming you've done your homework, you have to "lease" a store. This is made up of pages within eBay's site. There are three levels of stores: Basic, $9.95 per month; Featured, $49.95 per month; and Anchor, $499.95 per month. The Basic subscription allows you to list all of your items. Furthermore, you can cross-promote from your auction items. You do that by listing more items from your store at the bottom of the auction item. You can show any items there that you like. Those images are linked to your store. The Featured subscription includes everything in Basic. It also includes promotion through featured placement on important eBay pages, including the main stores page (stores.ebay.com) An Anchor subscription is obviously for the biggest sellers. It includes all Basic and Featured advantages. In addition, you get 1 million impressions on eBay's pages per month, along with other premium placements. Sellers also pay a listing fee for each item in the store. It ranges from 2 cents per item for 30 days, to 8 cents per item for 120 days. A final value fee also is charged. That is 5.25% of the sale value, up to $25. The final value fee rate drops as the sale price rises. eBay also charges for pictures and other upgrades. Pictures are a necessity, because buyers do not have the opportunity to view the goods in person. Other upgrades, such as bold listings, may be less important. Jon White, the seller of magicians' goods, uses the Featured subscription. He has a long list of supplies on his site. Most are inexpensive, so, at $8,000 in monthly revenues, he's moving a lot of goods. He's also paying $1,200 of that $8,000 to eBay. None of the people with whom I talked had a problem with the costs. In fact, they had nothing but praise for eBay. "The stores are spectacular," Collier says. "It is the cheapest real estate on the Internet."
5.	This is a business — you must work at it. If you are looking for a cushy gig, this won't work any better than any other business. You have to be a go-getter. You are the boss; no one will be telling you to get to work. "If you are actively selling, within a few months you can learn from your mistakes," Collier says. "There is no magic pill. The only way to make a good living on eBay is to work at it." Nothing is perfect. Complaints from store owners pop up occasionally on the eBay Stores Discussion Board. But most messages there relate to technical problems. You can probably expect some of those since you're dealing with computers. The message board is at http://forums.ebay.com/db2/forum.jsp?forum=21. There are many other auction sites on the Internet. If you're selling something specialized, one of them might be more for you. But, most likely, you'll want to be with the free-spending masses. That would be eBay. Also, if you're in the market for an e-commerce solution that enables you to sell products directly across eBay and other Internet marketplaces, check out Microsoft Commerce Manager (see Related Links).