by Kathy Terrill | May 26, 2023 | eCommerce Tips, Selling on eBay
By virtually any standard of measurement, women-owned businesses thrive on eBay. In fact the company’s first CEO was a woman, Meg Whitman. She oversaw eBay’s rocket-ride transformation from quirky startup to multi-billion-dollar pioneering ecommerce powerhouse. Along the way, she empowered millions of fledgling businesswomen.
Although subsequent CEOs have been male, 34% of eBay’s global leadership positions are currently filled by women.
Three of the top nine executives on eBayInc.com’s Leaders page are women They’re all senior vice presidents in key positions. They are: Marie Oh Huber, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel & Secretary; Stefanie Jay, Chief Business and Strategy Officer; and Julie Loeger, Chief Growth Officer.
Who are some of the top female sellers running businesses on eBay?
From 2016-2019, eBay’s seller recognition SHINE Awards celebrated the platform’s small and medium-size businesses. Laurie Ann Wong was the first seller Grand Prize winner. Her Reflections of Trinity was named eBay’s 2016 Small Business of the Year.
The following year, in 2017, Angie Cardona-Nelson took home the Grand Prize. She was followed by Cori O’Steen in 2018 and Jodie Rosenbaum in 2019 — all woman entrepreneurs.
eBay is attractive to many women starting an online small business because it costs very little or nothing to begin.
Furthermore, sellers can list things they already have on hand. A wide array of items sell well on eBay. Saleable inventory ranges from all kinds of apparel to plush toys to trading cards, TV remotes as well as collectible trading cards. And don’t forget products for pets! In short, by selling on eBay, women can create a business on a shoestring, with minimal start-up costs
By contrast, financial hindrances stymie many women entrepreneurs who want to launch a business of their own. Female billionaire Kendra Scott frequently talks about the gender gap in attracting angel investors for female-owned enterprises. She says, “Getting funding and getting taken seriously were significant roadblocks.” On eBay, there are no such gender roadblocks.
eBay is a natural fit for women-owned businesses.
Whether full-time or part-time selling, eBay allows women flexibility, freedom and a low cost way to start a full time or part time hustle. eBay sellers work at their own pace, control their own schedule, and maintain their preferred work/life balance.
Want to find out how to turn your clutter into cash by selling it on eBay and keeping it out of landfills? You’re on your way with the help of my free guide, ” How to Start Selling on eBay.” Download your complimentary copy HERE.
How to Start Selling on eBay!
In eBay Inc.’s 2022 Small Business Report states that women are 13% more likely than men to say that eBay is essential to their business. And they are 7% more likely to say that eBay played a big role in starting their business.
Women in Small Business-eBay Small Business Report! (Photo: Courtesy of eBay)
According to eBay Main Street, “[On eBay,] small businesses owned by women are not just trade equals; as a group, they generally outperform the rate of eBay small businesses overall.”
Further the study reports, “Women entrepreneurs on eBay are building successful business enterprises for the long haul.”
They’re pretty happy about that, too. In fact, a survey by Inc. magazine found that female entrepreneurs in the US rank their happiness three times higher than that of women who are neither entrepreneurs nor business owners.
And with all that happiness, once up and running on eBay, women step right into exporting around the globe. Here are some of those detailed in eBay Main Street’s 2022 US Women-Owned Small Online Business Export Report:
US Women-Owned Small Online Business Export Report (Photo: Courtesy of eBay)
97% of eBay’s female sellers export to an average of 15 countries, compared to 96% of male sellers.
By contrast, less than 1% of small businesses nationwide export, and then only to an average of 4 countries
55% of women-owned small businesses on eBay export to 10 or more countries, vs 51% of small businesses on eBay overall and 8% of businesses in the USA
“eBay is reducing everyday barriers that have traditionally locked small businesses, including women-owned small businesses, into their local market,” explains Cathy Foster, VP of eBay Government Relations.
“Shoppers across the country and around the world are now available to small women-owned enterprises regardless of where they call home,” she continues. “We are committed to providing women-owned small businesses with the means and opportunities to grow their operations and create wealth in their own communities.”
Kendra Scott shared, “In our world today, there are still so many barriers that women face—whether cultural, financial or self-imposed. My mission as a woman, a founder, and an entrepreneur, is to break down those barriers and clear the path for other female leaders to follow—to empower women to achieve their dreams, whatever that may be, and pass on the wisdom I’ve learned through my own journey.”
eBay welcomes and nurtures its women owned businesses. In short, women owned businesses thrive on eBay!
So, now is the time to get busy listing and selling on eBay!
by Kathy Terrill | Mar 11, 2023 | Selling on eBay
Do you have to spend money on Promoted Listings to
succeed on eBay?
In short, yes. Here’s why. As eBay CEO Jamie Iannone acknowledged during eBay’s recent Q4 earnings call, eBay’s active buyer base has declined by 9% year over year.
Ecommerce sites across all platforms are in the same buyer-leaking boat. With COVID mostly in the rear view mirror at long last, shoppers are flocking back to newly reopened brick-and-mortar stores.
Meanwhile, Promoted Listings (PL for short) is bringing in big bucks for eBay.
It’s the primary driver among the company’s first-party advertising programs, which collectively brought in an impressive $276 million in revenue during Q4. Most of that is thanks to Promoted Listings Standard (PLS), eBay’s pay- per-sale ad program for eBay sellers. Those numbers tell the story: Nowadays, most sellers promote their listings.
So what does mean for you and your business on eBay?
It boils down to this: Use PLS (if you aren’t already). But be sure you use it wisely and well. Here’s what you need to know in order to do so.
Using eBay’s Promoted Listings costs money, but you need it to stay competitive.
Because you can bet that your competition is promoting their listings! As ecommerce marketing guru Neal Patel states in his excellent article The Keys to Success with Amazon Advertising , “People don’t have the time to search through pages two, three, and four of Amazon’s results. They expect to find the best results at the top of page one, and, if your product isn’t there, then your sales are going to suffer.” The same is true on eBay. So how can you get the maximum bang for your PLS buck?
First, create a great listing.
Start by knowing and following eBay best practices for crafting an effective title: eBay gives you 80 characters for your title; use at least 75-80 of them. Make your title keyword rich (don’t waste characters on punctuation, emojis, or unnecessary verbiage) and be sure to front-load “the noun” — i.e., what your item is, be it a shirt, a vase, or a hubcap
eBay’s search engine, Cassini, uses those keywords to rank your listing in search results. Furthermore, your title is what gets buyers to click on your listing; it’s what they see first and foremost, especially in the eBay Mobile app. And more than 80% of all eBay buyers shop via their mobile device!
For more details on optimizing your listings for PLS, read my blog post eBay Promoted Listings: Your Holiday Superpower!
Second, remember that PLS is PPS (pay per sale), not PPC (pay per click).
Set your ad rate (the percentage of the sale price that you’re willing to pay eBay when your item sells), and then review the data in your Advertising Dashboard. It’s located under the Marketing tab on your Seller Hub Overview page. Starting on March 30, 2023, eBay is changing the way your PLS fees are calculated by expanding their definition of what counts as a sale via PLS. In addition to direct clicks — where the buyer clicks on a promoted listing, then buys that item within 30 days — eBay will now also include what it calls “halo sales”, wherein a buyer clicks on your promoted listing, then buys any of your promoted items within 30 days.
Thanks to this redefinition, you’re probably going to pay more in PLS fees.
So keep a keen eye on your dashboard to keep up with how much PLS is costing you! Bear in mind, too, that eBay’s recommended ad rates for various categories and items go up and down. It pays to be aware of these fluctuations so that you can adjust your own rates accordingly.
What are your Promoted Listings costs adding up to?
Check your sales, then crunch the numbers. Is spending, say, $120 in PL fees (in addition to your FVFs — final values fees) worth $3000 in sales?
How can you pay for PLS and still make money?
My free guide Winning with Promoted Listings spells out the smartest strategies to stay profitable despite these escalating fees. In my free guide, discover a bonus 4 pageaddendum on how best to deal with these upcoming March 2023 changes to PLS.
Download your free guide Winning with Promoted Listings!
The Bottom Line for You and Your Business
eBay sellers have reached a tipping point with regard to Promoted Listings. They’re no longer just a good idea; they’ve become standard operating procedure. So factor in ad rates as part of your COGS (cost of goods sold) and sell, sell, sell!
by Kathy Terrill | Jan 21, 2023 | Selling on eBay
As an eBay seller, you’re always looking for ways to save on the costs of selling on eBay!
Here are three very simple and easy ways to reduce your eBay selling fees — and for two out of three, you don’t even need to have an eBay store!
First way to save on eBay selling fees is become a Top Rated Seller (eTRS).
There are many benefits to achieving and maintaining Top Rated Seller status, including enhanced visibility in eBay search results and increased seller protections. You can read up on the details in eBay’s Seller Center as well as in eBay’s Help pages.
Best of all, once you’re Top Rated, your listings become eligible for the Top Rated Plus seal.
This coveted seal earns you a 10% discount on Final Value Fees (FVFs). Here’s what it takes to become a Top Rated Seller: An eBay account that’s been active for at least 90 days 100 or more transactions and $1,000 in sales with US buyers during the last 12 months
A defect rate less than or equal to 0.5%, with 3 or less defects from transactions with unique buyers. Cases closed without seller resolution less than or equal to 0.3% and 2 or fewer cases. A late shipment rate less than or equal to 3% and no more than 5 late shipments. Tracking uploaded within your stated handling time and carrier validation for 95% of transactions with US buyers.
It’s really not all that difficult to meet these requirements.
If you follow eBay’s recommended best practices and provide top-notch customer service, than you’re probably already almost there. You can view a detailed breakdown of your seller performance in your Seller Dashboard.
Once you’re eTRS, in order to qualify for the Top Rated Plus seal, you must offer same- or one-day handling. Also you’ll need a 30-day or longer free return period with a money-back option. You can choose to offer these services on a listing-by-listing basis. You don’t have to do so for every listing. However, only listings that include them will get the Top Rated Plus seal and 10% FVF discount.
But wait, there’s more!
Here’s how to maximize your eTR+ savings: Consider free shipping. Why? Because an item’s FVF is based on the item’s price. If you charge for shipping, then the discount doesn’t apply to the shipping charge. But if you offer free shipping — meaning that the shipping cost is rolled into the price of your item — then your eTR+ discount will score you 10% off the whole shebang! Furthermore, eBay’s search algorithm LOVES free shipping.
Remember: You don’t have to offer free shipping and/or free returns on every item you list. But consider at least testing either or both for certain items. I talk more about the considerations involved in my recent video This Lowers Your eBay Selling Fees! Check the video for more useful information on this topic.
Second, join the eBay Partner Network and use EPN links.
The eBay Partner Network (EPN) is eBay’s own affiliate marketing program. Affiliate marketing is a time-tested way to make money online. Again, you don’t need an eBay store. You just have to become a member of EPN. Once you join, share eBay listings using links generated via the EPN Link Generator.
Sharing your own listing can score you a free FVF, while sharing another seller’s listing can earn you a commission. All it takes is for a buyer to purchase the item on eBay within 24 hours of clicking on your EPN link.
This can add up to a significant additional revenue stream.
Learn more about this eBay seller moneymaker in my recent blog post, eBay Seller Moneymaker eBay Partner Network EPN!
Also my YouTube video,” Improve Your eBay Profits Using These Powerful Links!”, offers you more great ideas on using the eBay Affiliate Marketing EPN program.
Then when you’re ready to take the plunge and give EPN a try, invest in a copy of my EPN guide.
Third, open an eBay store with a Basic or higher level subscription.
Without an eBay store, you get 250 free listings per month, after which you pay a nonrefundable insertion fee of 30¢ per listing. But when you have an eBay store, you also get access to a robust suite of free marketing and promotional tools, including Promotions Manager and a store newsletter, plus a storefront that enables you to brand and promote your business.
And that’s just for starters, literally: that is, when you sign up for a Starter store.
However, with a Basic or higher level store subscription, you also get more free listings, lower insertion fees, lower FVFs, and a quarterly coupon for eBay-branded shipping supplies. For a Basic store owner, that means 1000 free listings, 25¢ insertion fees, and a $25 coupon as well as lower FVFs — up to 50% lower in some categories!
In addition, insertion fees for auction-style listings that end in a sale will be credited back to your account.
With so much value added along with the savings you’ll realize, there’s practically no reason not to have an eBay store.
Get all of the details and fee comparisons on eBay’s Store Selling Fees Help page. Also go to Store Subscriptions & Benefits in eBay’s Seller Center and do the math.
So there you have it: three ways to lower your eBay selling fees.
Lower selling fees = higher profit margins = more money for you. Put these tips to work for you in your business on eBay, and those cha-chings will sound sweeter than ever!
by Kathy Terrill | Nov 20, 2022 | eCommerce Tips, Selling on eBay
It’s that time of year again, eBay seller: Shoppers are searching for the perfect gift to put under the holiday tree for their special someone.
Now it’s up to you to make it more likely that YOUR item is the one they find — and choose to buy. But how? The answer are these eBay seller best Holiday moneymaking tips!
For starters on the topic of eBay seller best Holiday moneymaking tips, remember: It can’t sell if it isn’t listed.
Look through your unlisted inventory. Is there anything holiday themed? Or in holiday colors (i.e., red and green, blue and silver or white, etc.)? If so, then list it NOW!
Furthermore, consider adding that newly listed item to a Promoted Listings Standard campaign.
According to eBay, a listing in Promoted Listing Standard Campaign is twice as likely to sell. You can set your PL standard fee as low as 2%, and you only pay if the item sells. You can even boost the price a bit to cover the PL standard fee.
The option to promote a listing in a Promoted Listing Standard Campaign — and specify your desired percentage — is in the final section of the SYI (Sell Your Item) form. Also you can create a Promoted Listing Standard campaign and add items in bulk from the Promotions tab of your Seller Hub Overview page.
Speaking of price, it’s a good idea to include enough wiggle room that you can add Best Offer to your listing.
Best Offer is another good way to increase the likelihood that your item will sell, and sell quickly! You can still make a profit and also get the benefit of quick turnover.
Next, scan the titles of your active listings. eBay gives you 80 characters altogether. You should be using 75-80 of them. If any of your titles fall short, revise them to add more keywords. Not sure what keywords to add? Do a search on eBay for similar items, then filter by Sold to see what keywords have worked for other sellers.
Another eBay seller best Holiday tip is to check Terapeak.
It’s under the Research tab on the Overview page in Seller Hub. Put a couple of keywords describing your item into the text field, then search to find comparable sold items.
Be sure to follow other best practices for eBay titles as well: Front-load the most important keywords, because eBay’s mobile app truncates titles, and don’t forget “the noun” (what the item is). Think “Keyword Keyword Keyword”, in title case — never ALL CAPS.
There’s no need for punctuation; titles don’t have to read like a sentence.
And for goodness’ sake, don’t waste characters on nonsense like L@@K, Wow, special characters, or emojis!
Pro tip: If you include the word Christmas in your title, be aware that Cassini (eBay’s search engine) considers Christmas and Xmas to be the same keyword. Using Xmas frees up five characters, and your listing will still pop up when shoppers search for Christmas.
eBay Seller Best Holiday Moneymaking Tips!
An eBay seller best Holiday tip is find fresh inventory!
Be sure to shop holiday clearance events both locally and online. Don’t overlook pop-up stores, church bazaars, and flea markets. Then list your newly acquired inventory ASAP. Again, consider promoting those new listings and/or adding Best Offer.
In addition, if you have multiple quantities of an item, consider adding a Volume Discount to encourage multi-quantity purchases: Save x% on 2, y% on 3, z% on 4 or more. (You set the percentage of the discount.)
Both Volume Discount and Promoted Listings can be added to your listing from the very last module of the SYI (Sell Your Item) form on your desktop or mobile device.
These proven, actionable strategies will literally pay off for you right now in your business on eBay.
Your free 12 Days of Christmas eBay Money Making Tips!
Want even more ways to optimize your Q4 sales — and maximize your Q4 profits? Download your complimentary copy of The eBay Seller’s 12 Days of Christmas Holiday Moneymaking Tips!
Be sure to include things in your plans tat make the Holiday season meaningful to you. Is that a Christmas service, neighborhood caroling or volunteering at a local no kill shelter or food bank?
Here’s to you having a fruitful and meaningful Holidays!
by Kathy Terrill | Oct 21, 2022 | eCommerce Tips, Selling on eBay
A very important eBay seller super power is consistency. As actor/filmmaker Denzel Washington has famously said, “Goals on the road to achievement cannot be achieved without discipline and consistency.” The same is true of eBay selling. You’ve got to be both disciplined and consistent your business. Let’s talk about three crucial areas for eBay sellers to be consistent in.
#1- Your eBay seller super power, list, list list!
First and foremost, in using your eBay sell super power of consistency, you want to list regularly. eBay emphasizes over and over again the importance of doing so. Keep those new listings coming! It will enhance your items’ ranking in search results and help to drive traffic and sales.
One eBay tool that makes it easier to list every day is Draft listings. Always keep some listings in Draft, ready to be finished and go live. Draft listings can be created via your phone or computer, and they are available to all sellers. I speak about this in my video, Get Consistent eBay Sales This Way!
Get consistent eBay sales this way!
In fact, many sellers find it convenient to take photos via their smartphone camera and upload them directly to eBay.
Then they fill in a few of the blanks on the SYI (Sell Your Item) form, save the listing as a draft and finish it later on their desktop or laptop computer.
If you have a few partially completed listings stashed away in Drafts, you can list anytime you have a few spare moments. This enables you to list pretty much every day, which is ideal. Use my free guide. eBay Listings That Sell, to craft winning eBay listings
I hear sellers brag about posting a dozen listings in one day, but then they may not list anything else for a week — or even longer. You’re better off listing even just one or two items as long as you do so on a daily basis. Cassini (eBay’s search engine) likes fresh content and rewards sellers who create it by ranking their offerings higher in search results. So discipline yourself to be consistent about listing.
#2- Send offers to buyers!
The second aspect of selling on eBay wherein it literally pays to be consistent is sending offers to buyers. For this, you’ll need to keep an eye on Seller Hub via your desktop or laptop computer. The information you need is not shown by eBay’s mobile app.
Check your Seller Hub Overview page several times throughout the day so as to be able to send out offers ASAP. Look in the Tasks module for “Listings eligible to send offers”. Just click on the number of items. From there you’ll be taken to an Active Listings page filtered by listings for which you can send offers.
Don’t be stingy about your discounts if you want to make sales! When you send out an offer, you’re basically creating incentive for the buyer to make the purchase. Maybe it’s in their cart, or they put it on their Watch list.
Either way, it tells eBay that this shopper is interested.
Now it’s up to you to close the sale. A mere 5% or 10% off may not be enough to seal the deal, unless the item is priced very low. Try offering 15%-25% off. You can even offer more, especially if the listing is stale and/or the item is not generating much interest.
Furthermore, unless you are just too totally slammed to respond to offers manually, allow counteroffers. If you don’t, you’ve shut down any chance of a sale. Counteroffers give your buyer the chance to respond. This allows you to negotiate with them.
By the same token, if you set up your listings to automatically decline offers under X amount of dollars, you may be turning away business. That’s never a good thing!
So check your Seller Hub Overview page several times a day.
It will enable you to greet newly interested buyers with your special offer within 24 hours. Additionally, be sure to include an enticing message with your offer. You can say, “Thank you for your interest. I hope you’ll please take advantage of this exclusive limited time offer: X% off!”
#3- Know your numbers!
Be consistently aware of the financial metrics you’ll need to report for tax purposes: i.e., what you pay for inventory, shipping expenses, and eBay fees. Many times, sellers struggle to pull together these costs at the last minute. You also need to be aware of your gross income versus your net profit from your eBay sales.
My Reseller Genie (my affiliate link) can help. It’s the seller-created solution for eBay accounting and analytics. If you formerly used GoDaddy Online Bookkeeping, you’ll LOVE My Reseller Genie. It offers comparable accounting and analytics capabilities, then goes beyond them to do even more. MRG (as it’s known for short) will crunch your numbers for you so that you can concentrate on sourcing, selling, and shipping — and it can do so for multiple platforms.
To have proper accounting the team at My Reseller Genie advises checking and importing your numbers at least once a week.
Daily is best and does not need to be overly time consuming. It can take only a few minutes to double check your numbers, expenses and categories. Being consistent on checking your numbers saves you hours and hours at tax time. Try My Reseller Genie with my affiliate link, and use code KATHY15 to save 15% on your first month.
The eBay Seller Super Power of Consistency!
So there you have it:
- List consistently.
- Keep sending out offers to buyers.
- Do the math (or better yet, let My Reseller Genie do it for you).
See? Successfully selling on eBay really is as easy as 1 -2 – 3…as long as you’re disciplined and consistent.
The good news is that both of those traits get easier with practice. Think of it as your eBay workout
by Kathy Terrill | Oct 1, 2022 | eCommerce Tips, Selling on eBay
There is essential holiday prep for eBay sellers to be done now!
The holidays are coming, the holidays are coming sellers! To maximize holiday sales, now is the right time for essential holiday prep for eBay sellers to be done. As it’s the craziest, busiest, and (hopefully) most profitable season of the year for both you and your business — and it’s just around the corner. Here’s what you need to do right now to get ready. The most important tip for successful eBay Holiday selling, is prepare!
First, let’s talk about Holiday prep for eBay sellers and shipping.
Quick shipping is important all year ‘round, but it’s mission critical during the holidays, so you’d best be prepared to deliver. That includes having a backup plan in case eBay Labels goes down. So if you don’t already have a free Stamps.com eBay seller account, now is the time to open one! Just go HERE.
Essential eBay Holiday shipping tips!
Once your package is labeled and ready to go, how do you launch it on its journey to your buyer? If you’re not utilizing USPS’ free pickup service, why not?
Again, now is the time to start, because you may need extra mail help during the holidays. Schedule a few pickups to see what time of day your USPS carrier shows up. Just go to usps.com, then under the Send tab, select Schedule a Pickup, and fill out the online form.
Using carrier pickup instead of going to the post office is a great timesaver.
Saving time is always a good thing — and during the holidays, it becomes downright essential. After all, you’ve got halls to deck, cookies to bake, and family and friends to visit with. Holidays are all about enjoying the moment, so you’ve got to make every minute count!
Start by reviewing your listing process and looking for places you can shave off a few seconds. Could you batch tasks such as photography? Use your smartphone instead of a digital camera and upload photos directly to eBay via the mobile app, editing them along the way.
There are lots of ways to save time by using eBay Mobile.
Use the mobile app to create draft listings that you can finish later on your computer. Or you can even list directly from the app. You can also reply to customer queries, respond to open cases, field Best Offers, and more. Don’t be afraid to go mobile, especially when time is of the essence!
Next, double-check your shipping procedures.
Is there any way to streamline them? Might there be a more efficient way to organize your shipping station?
Even if you can save only a minute or two per listing or package, it matters, because those minutes add up faster than you might think. Imagine what you could do with an extra 30 minutes a day! That’s a whole half an hour — long enough to get a few more items listed, pack and ship a couple more parcels, quaff a cup of eggnog with a friend, read the next chapter of a good book, or just put your feet up and chillax.
Want more terrific tips and savvy strategies for Q4? Sign up for my one-day, one-hour free workshop on October 3, 2022 eBay Holiday Sales Accelerator Master Class. Hope to see you there!
Free eBay Holiday Sales Accelerator Master Class!!
