by Kathy Terrill | Jun 3, 2016 | eCommerce News, eCommerce Selling Tips, Selling on eBay, Social Media Tips
eBay has chosen to advertise on Facebook for a long time.
eBay is looking at using Facebook Messenger’s capabilities with end of auction notifications to eBay shoppers to increase traffic and revenue on eBay‘s site.
Hal Lawton the Sr VP of eBay North America spoke to these facts in a blog post he did recently for Channel Advisor.
What does this mean to the average eBay seller?
It means that eBay has done extensive research into where to find and engage with eBay shoppers. eBay finds its consumers on Facebook. If eBay with it’s astute and thorough research has chosen Facebook to reach shoppers, why not learn from eBay‘s example?
eBay Shoppers Are On Facebook!
Just as your product listing is your foundation for reaching shoppers on eBay‘s site, so your Facebook Business page is your keystone for finding and engaging with your shoppers on Facebook.
There are several crucial areas in the Facebook Business page About section that many sellers skimp on or skip altogether.
The about section of your Facebook Business page includes entry areas that you can use creatively. It’s wise to include brand names and type of products that you offer for sale. As a seller you want to maximize these areas with great keyword choices to help Facebook search and internet search engine find you!
Don’t Skimp On Your Facebook Business Page!
Click HERE for my FREE Sales Power Tips For Your Facebook Business Page . These Sales Power Tips as a very special gift to you my seller friends.
With my free power tips you can get to work NOW on having a great Facebook Business page. A professional looking and sounding Facebook Business page is a tremendous tool for sellers. With my FREE Sales Power Tips For Your Facebook Business Page you are on your way to more sales. A super Facebook Business page can bring YOU more shoppers for all your products on eBay!
Learn from eBay. Use the power of Facebook like a Pro!
by Kathy Terrill | May 25, 2016 | eCommerce News, eCommerce Selling Tips, Selling on eBay, Social Media Tips
The kids are graduating from high school, college and graduate school this month. If it’s graduation time that means Father’s Day is almost here!
Are YOU going to score some Father’s Day Gift sales, or will the customers pass you by?
Customers want to shop quickly and easily. To win at Father’s Day Sales this year as an eBay and Etsy seller, it’s important to set up your products so that’s it hassle free to shop with you!
Is It Easy To Shop With You?
On Etsy review your shop categories.
Is a Father’s Day category a smart move for you? Team up with fellow Etsy sellers and create Etsy Treasuries featuring each other’s products and promote each other’s Treasuries on social media.
eBay store sellers, do you have enough Father’s Day gift products to warrant a Father’s Day category?
You may be overlooking items that are perfect Father’s Day gift items.
Grab my FREE 44 Killer Product Ideas For Father’s Day and go through your inventory selecting items that make great gifts!
Grab my FREE 44 Killer Product Ideas For Father’s Day!
With or without an eBay store, eBay collections are a great way to put your gift products front and center for shoppers to discover!
eBay collections can be easily shared on your Facebook Business page, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram!
eBay store owners and Etsy Shop sellers don’t forget you can feature your gift items in your stores! eBay store sellers in Manage My Store, edit my store you can hand select your featured items! Etsy shop owners click the star on your selections in your Listings Manager.
Sort through your eBay and Etsy inventory looking to discover gift ideas for Father’s Day!
My FREE 44 Killer Father’s Day Product List helps you to accomplish this task. Once sorted, feature and promote your gifts items so customers can find and buy your items.
Ship with care and speed, and your first time shoppers will return to enjoy shopping with you AGAIN AND AGAIN!
Turn 1st Time Shoppers Into Repeat Buyers!
by Kathy Terrill | May 4, 2016 | eCommerce News, eCommerce Selling Tips, Selling on eBay
Are you ready to increase your eBay online sales in with less than 1 hour of work? I know you are, so let’s get to work!
Go into your eBay inventory and sort it by how long it’s been listed.
You can sort by date listed with or without an eBay store in your eBay Selling Manager, Selling Manager Pro and/or Seller Hub by customizing your view. Make sure you have start date clicked in your customized view. HERE is how to access and change this in your My eBay.
Look at what you paid for the items. If you’ve had the product(s) for more than 2 years there are 3 tactics you can use.
You can sit tight and see if the item sells. If the product in question is a collectible item, waiting for the right buyer can make sense. It would be wise to have your collectible items listed using Best Offer and periodically tweak the keywords and promote the listings on social media.
After sorting your eBay inventory your 1st tactic for older merchandise is do a serious mark down sale if you have an eBay store.
A deeply discounted sale is a tactic brick and mortar retail stores use regularly and it works. Mark the older items down, 30, 40, 50% and run short duration sales. With Markdown Manager or CampaignGO you can set up a sale quickly. CampaignGo has the added benefit to the seller that one can mark down merchandise using the seller’s own eBay store SUBCATEGORIES! Using subcategories is helpful in targeting merchandise to move! Slash your prices as deeply as you can. Your sales goal is to move merchandise. A short duration sale gives the eBay seller slash pricing and a time clock on the item. You want customers seeing how little time is left on that sales clock encouraging them to make their purchase NOW while your item is deeply discounted! I can set up a sale with CampaignGo in under 90 seconds!
It’s Time To Sell!
The 2nd tactic to increase sales with less than 1 hour of work is to run eBay auctions. You can run eBay auctions with or without an eBay store.
Take an assortment of your inventory that’s been sitting for a while and set up a series of auctions. Set your auctions to start at a price you are willing to take if you only get 1 bid. Normally Sunday night and Monday night are the highest traffic times on eBay, but do your own research using eBay’s Advanced Search and the professional research tool Terapeak. Some items sell better on weekdays and or daytime. Take a few minutes and see what’s best for the eBay inventory that you are selling. While you’re researching double check your keywords and make sure you’ve made the best choices. eBay auctions done right can move merchandise quickly and effectively. I outline advanced auction strategies to increase your sales in my hit class Secret Sauce for eBay Sales.
In under 1 hour you’ve sorted your older eBay listings into 3 batches.
With batch 1 of inventory you consider using Best Offer and you are willing to wait for the right buyer. Batch 2 you run a series of deeply discounted sales to take advantage of slash pricing and the eBay sales clock. Your 3rd batch with some research you’ll launch a series of auctions to move stale merchandise and increase your immediate cash flow. Secret Sauce for eBay Sales is a huge help to eBay sellers with or without an eBay store to successfully optimize your eBay auctions to bring you the very best prices.
On Your Way To More eBay Sales!
Not bad for 1 hour of work eBay seller!
Now, get ready to pack the sales coming your way!
by Kathy Terrill | Apr 30, 2016 | eCommerce News, eCommerce Selling Tips, Selling on eBay
There are 2 important dates this week for eBay sellers! May 1 is the first important date for sellers for 2 reasons!
eBay Top Rated sellers that want to maintain Top Rated Plus Status and it’s 20% final value fee discount will need to offer 30 day returns as of May 1.
Offer 30 Returns To Keep Top Rated Plus Discount!
The criteria to be a Top Rated Seller on eBay remains the same and is outlined on eBay HERE.
Newer eBay sellers may not be aware of the fact that you do not need to have an eBay store to be a Top Rated or Top Rated Plus seller.
The criteria for eBay‘s Top Rated Seller is the amount of time the seller has been actively selling on eBay, the seller’s number of transactions and total sales dollars with US buyers and outstanding customer service.
One can be a Top Rated Seller on eBay and NOT Top Rated Plus.
To achieve the Top Rated Plus standing for one’s eBay listings the Top Rated Seller must offer same or 1 business day handling and as of May 1, a 30 day money back guarantee. Top Rated Plus status is a huge plus for seller’s profits on eBay! Every item of a Top Rated Seller’s that meets the criteria for Top Rated Plus receives a 20% final value fee discount on the item when it sells. This Top Rated Plus discount has no ceiling. Sellers can save $30, $50, $100 and more every month by making sure once they achieve Top Rated Seller status that they set up their listings to get the Top Rated Plus seal and discount!
The 2nd reason for eBay sellers to pay special attention to May 1 is that eBay store owners will get more listings for each eBay Store Level!
May 1 Means More Listing For eBay Stores!
All levels of eBay store are getting more listings as of May 1! Basic stores will get an increase of 50 fixed price listings, and increase of 150 auction listings in fashion and collectibles. This will mean Basic store owners will have a monthly allotment of 250 fixed price listings and 250 in auctions, with category restrictions for auctions. eBay Premium store owners increase from 500 to 1000 fixed price listings per month. Premium store owners will also see their monthly allotment of auctions listings in certain categories increase from 100 to 500. Anchor store owners monthly allocation of fixed price listings rise from from 2,500 to 10,000! Anchor stores are also seeing an increase from 100 auctions listings in certain categories to 1,000! All store levels also will receive coupons towards eBay branded shipping supplies. Anchor stores will receive customer service phone support as of July 1.
The 2nd Date for eBay sellers to note in May is May 6.
eBay stores all change prices as of May 6. eBay store sellers will be able to change their store level without penalty until June 4. When a seller switches up or down up until June 4 the seller fees will be prorated by the choice(s) the seller makes.
It is always good to be a Top Rated Seller on eBay. Once a seller achieves Top Rated status to gain the 20% final value fee Top Rated Plus discount make sure you offer same or 1 business day handing and a 30 day or better money back guarantee!
Here’s to wonderful savings and sales coming your way eBay seller!
by Kathy Terrill | Apr 12, 2016 | eCommerce News, eCommerce Selling Tips, Selling on eBay
Sales growth on eBay and Etsy can be simple?!
With the right research, yes it can! I will tell you simple research secrets that will enable you to grow your business from information you already have!
Look at your sales on eBay and or Etsy for the past 6 months.
What categories and items have been your top sellers?
What sells best for you?
What do your eBay and Etsy shoppers like to buy from you? Do you find that your best selling items are men’s clothing, women’s clothing, automotive accessories, kid’s toys, video games or housewares? Within each category that sells well for you dig deeper. Locate within that top selling category the items that are bringing you shoppers.
Make a list of your top sellers.
Make A List!
Be sure and take the time to note the color and sizes of items most in demand. With your list in hand think where you bought the items that sold so well. Can you get more? If the answer is no, are there other places to buy the items? If the item was a closeout look on the internet and see if you can find other sources of the same or similar inventory. I often buy lots off eBay and break the lots down. I list items in smaller product groups and or sell them as single products. Larger bundles can be broken into smaller bundles for a nice profit. I detail this process in my successful class on product bundling Secret Spice for Online Sales.
If you’re items are unique and one of a kind start scouting all your local auctions, thrift shops, consignment shops and Craig’s List. You can advertise for items in local papers. Have you tried joining Facebook groups for people in your area selling items to source products? Always check the rules for buying and selling groups. Look at Instagram. I’m finding lots of sellers there. With the low fees on Instagram and other sites bargains can be found.
The internet is a wide and wonderful place to sell. It’s also a very wide and wonderful place place to buy.
Shop The Internet For Inventory!
Equipped with your list, you are set to use Google search to scour sites for inventory.
Don’t neglect local buying and selling sites to acquire inventory, being mindful of rules.
Now get busy shopping!
by Kathy Terrill | Apr 6, 2016 | eCommerce News, Selling on eBay
eBay’s Spring Seller Update is out with plenty of good news for sellers!
eBay begins it’s Spring Seller Update with the importance of optimization for mobile shoppers!
eBay stresses the importance of mobile shoppers on the eBay platform. Throughout the Spring Seller Update eBay lets sellers know what eBay is doing to attract mobile customers and keep them coming back and shopping more and more!
Optimize For Mobile Shoppers!
To help mobile shoppers buy with ease eBay will display 800 characters of a seller’s listing when the seller keeps their listing descriptions to 800 characters or less. Currently eBay uses an algorithm to pull 250 characters from seller’s description. With this newest update sellers have the opportunity for more of their listing’s description to show! Keeping an eye on your character count and keep your listings to under 800 characters! I explain the importance of this and how this helps sellers in my FREE Spring Seller Update Tips sheet. Click HERE for yours.
There are important changes for Jewelry Sellers!
eBay is making major changes in the jewelry category to benefit sellers and make it easier for buyers to understand what they are purchasing!
Good News For Jewelry Sellers!
There is an expansion of metals and stones that can be listed in the jewelry category.
Important changes are in effect for fine metals and how they are to be listed. There are updated item specifics for jewelry sellers to use in their listings. If you sell items with “enhanced” diamonds it must be noted in the item’s title, item specifics and description. If a natural gemstone is “treated” it must be duly noted in the title, item specifics and description! Click HERE for all the complete jewelry policy.
Product Reviews bring shoppers to eBay!
Shoppers Love Product Reviews!
eBay shoppers love and look for product reviews. When your buyer leaves a review, your seller name appears with the review! Sellers can also review products that they sell! Click HERE for my tips how to use the Spring Seller Update to benefit your eBay listings.
Seller Hub will be available to all US sellers Summer of 2016!
eBay’s advanced selling dashboard Seller Hub is currently in Beta. US sellers can look forward to Seller Hub rolling out to all sellers for their eBay business this summer!
Changes to fees and listings for eBay Stores!
Fees for all levels of eBay stores increase May 1, 2016. The fees increases range from $5 a month for Basic store subscriptions to $170.965 and $199.95 for the top level Anchor Stores. All store levels get an increase in store allotment listings and auction listings. All store levels get quarterly coupons for eBay branded shipping supplies. The top level Anchor Store subscribers get an 800 number with access by phone with the high level customer service agents. For the full dollar breakdown read my Spring Seller Update Free Tip Sheet.
Sellers can look forward the opportunity to have more of their description show easily to mobile shoppers, Product Reviews to bring more consumers to eBay, increased store fees come with an increased number of listings, great updates to the jewelry category, Seller Hub rolling out for all US sellers and more category changes coming soon.
All the Spring Seller Updates have 1 thing in common. The Spring Update continues to make eBay a vibrant shopping place that is attractive and easy to use whether you’re on a computer or mobile device, but particularly easy for the ever increasing number of mobile shoppers!
eBay Spring Seller release says sellers be ready for more and more mobile shoppers and here are tools to help you!
