by Kathy Terrill | Jan 23, 2017 | eCommerce Selling Tips, Selling on eBay
Do you ever struggle wondering, “Where are my eBay sales?” This can happen to any online seller, not just eBay sellers. You may wonder where are my Etsy, Amazon or my website sales?
You pop into Facebook seller groups and it seems everyone but you is scoring sales. So what is a seller to do?
First thing to do is breathe.
There is an ebb and flow to eCommerce and retail sales.
Ever walk into a retail store and no one is shopping but you? Then 10 minutes later there are 20 shoppers surrounding you! You just witnessed the ebb and flow to retail sales.
If it’s not a temporary lull but a downward spiral of days with no sales, then it’s time to take action.
The next step is research is make sure that you are selling products that people want.
Sellers will come to and say ” Kathy I don’t have any sales.” I will look at their listings and check sales for the brands and types of items they are selling. I will discover that a large portion of their listings are items that show no sales on eBay for weeks. If shoppers are not looking to buy what you have, it’s not about doing or not doing social media, it’s about listing products that are in demand.
I will ask the seller why XX product is listed. I get a variety of answers. The answers range from “I’m cleaning out my closet, to ” it was only one dollar at the thrift store.”
It is far wiser to spend $30 on an item that sells for $100, than to spend $1 several times over on inventory that doesn’t sell.
Research is key. When you’re shopping check solds on your smart phone with eBay‘s advanced search or a professional research tool like Terapeak.
Let’s say your item IS in demand BUT you have a lot of competition. To do well in eBay search you’ll want to gain and maintain Top Rated Seller status on eBay. A good handling time of 1 day or less will help your listings, as will a 30 day or better return policy. Ship your inventory internationally through eBay‘s Global Shipping Program, or ship internationally yourself. Add to this check list, an optimized listing title, 4 or more pictures, filled in item specifics and a clear and concise description. My hit guide, Secret To eBay Search For Sellers will walk you line by through your eBay listing to make sure you’re optimized for every nuance of eBay search.
Now here comes the icing on the cake. If you have more than 1 of the item that you’re selling, use eBay’s paid Promoted Listing program available only to eBay store owners. Not only does it help to get your item sold, it will increase traffic to your listings. Learn more about Promoted Listings in my blog post The Secret To Boosting Sales On eBay.
So, when sales are slow after taking a deep breath, successful sellers take action and they R.E.A.P.
R is review. Review prices. E is evaluate. Is your listing optimized for search? A is alter. Make necessary changes to to your listings and inventory to be optimized and positioned to sell. P is promote. Use Promoted Listings, eBay collections and social media to stand out and get found in eBay and Google search by potential shoppers.
R.E.A.P. and get sales!
by Kathy Terrill | Jul 31, 2016 | eCommerce News, eCommerce Selling Tips, Selling on eBay
I’ve just returned from the exciting eBay seller event eBay OPEN in Las Vegas!
When you get eBay sellers together, you know that they are interested in hearing about increasing their sales!
2 of the eBay OPEN workshops for sellers dovetailed nicely. The 2 workshops were Marketing On eBay and Using eBay Stores To Build Your Business. Both workshops were targeted to eBay store owners.
Nick Shah, a Group Manager at eBay for B2C Seller Growth was joined by eBay‘s Gaurav Jain, Adi Behara and Deepak Pillai in the Marketing on eBay workshop. Dylan Henryson eBay‘s Senior Director of COO Seller Experience and Kevin Clark spoke at the Using eBay Stores To Build Your Business presentation.
Both teams explained the 1-2 punch for eBay store sellers of using paid Promotions integrated with Promotions Manager.
Powerful eBay Sales Combination!
For paid promoted listings, the Marketing on eBay presenters clearly explained that eBay store sellers ONLY pay the promotion fee IF the item selected is sold from a customer clicking and buying through the promoted link. If a customer finds the promoted item from a Google search, or through social media work the seller does and buys through those searches, the seller DOES not pay a Promoted Listing sales fee for those sales.
eBay‘s Promoted listings is NOT pay per impression.
Dylan Henryson in the eBay Stores presentation compared Promoted Listings to Google adwords. Dylan emphasized that with eBay‘s Promoted Listings the seller only pays for the sale from a customer clicking and buying the item through the Promoted listing. There are no fees for impressions without purchases.
Gaurav Jain pointed to Promoted Listings as a powerful tool to increase the visibility of seller’s eBay Store listings, eBay store categories and the seller’s entire eBay store.
Let’s say you sell coffee mugs. When you promote 1 multi quantity mug, most sellers find increased traffic and sales to that eBay store category and their entire eBay store. The promoted mug works to increase customer traffic overall in the seller’s eBay store
Get Customer Traffic With Promoted Listings!!
You’re only paying a fee when the customer clicks the promoted link. The residual traffic is a bonus!
Promoted Listings are available for multi quantity fixed price items in an eBay store in certain categories. Click Here for the FAQ information from eBay.
If the seller only sells 1 of a kind items I have discovered a work around. Let’s say you sell coffee mugs. You have no multi quantity fixed price items as your mugs are each unique and one of a kind. Go on eBay, or a local retailer and buy 2 of an interesting mug. Go on eBay and list the multi quantity mug. Then go to your growth tab in Seller Hub, click the Marketing tab to access Promoted Listings and select your promotion rate and launch your promotion.
This short video from eBay shows you how to set up a promotion in Promotions Manager
Test different promoted items and categories and see what works best for you and your eBay store. eBay gives you the data you need in your Promoted Listings dashboard.
Ready for part 2 of the 1-2 punch to increase your eBay store sales? Part 2 is using Promotions Manager.
Deepak Pillai stated that eBay has data showing that sellers using Promotions Manager see a 10% increase in sales across their entire eBay store. He further stated that 75% of shoppers are looking for some kind of deal, sale or promotion.
Shoppers Look For Deals, Sales And Promotions!
eBay is a very competitive marketplace.
Online selling competition will only increase. When you showcase an item in a Promotion through eBay‘s Promotions Manager you greatly increase the likelihood of a shopper browsing and buying from you. An effective promotion with Promotions Manager helps to keep the eBay shopper in YOUR store. Experiment to see what groupings and what promotions in Promotions Manager work best for your items.
I find micro niching promotions effective.
To get ideas of content I look at shopping blogs and brick and mortar retail to see how they are grouping products. I also use Terapeak to investigate my competitors and see what Promotions they may be using.
Deepak Pillai encouraged sellers to use Promotions Manager to get traffic during retail moments (Back To School, Christmas etc), to put the spotlight on newly arrived inventory and to clean out stale inventory.
Adi Behara pointed to the importance of firing Promotions with Promotions Manager at the best time to get traffic. He reminded sellers that eBay spends enormous amounts of money to bring shoppers to eBay around retail moments. Targeting Promotions to these moments has immense value. Promotions in Promotions Manager also have social sharing buttons for the sellers to use to gain additional traffic from Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
eBay helps sellers target their Promotions with a retail calendar in Promotions Manager.
eBay Retail Calendar!
eBay Retail Calendar
Back to School shoppers are on eBay now! With my FREE The Ultimate Guide To Back To School Products target your inventory for Back To School shoppers and score sales!
Use fixed price multi quantity listings in Promoted Listings. Combine that with Back To School promotions in Promotions Manager now to increase your eBay store sales! Click HERE to get your free guide!
Adi Behara emphasized that every eBay store is different and it’s important to test promotions and tweak promotions.
Promoted listings done right are an effective tool for sellers to drive traffic to their eBay store. Once there, targeted promotions through Promotions Managers fired at the right time converts shoppers to buyers!
All the eBay staff at both presentations at eBay OPEN emphasized the importance of sellers testing and finding the right combination for for their shoppers. Both Promoted Listings and Promotions Manager offer data and suggestions to help sellers make effective choices.
eBay Store Owners using these Promoted Listings and Promotions Manager see increased traffic and sales!
eBay gives sellers the tools to increase visibility and sales with 1-2 punch of Promoted Listings and Promotions Manager!
by Kathy Terrill | Jun 17, 2016 | eCommerce News, eCommerce Selling Tips, Selling on eBay
eBay sellers do you know there is a secret weapon that can increase your sales?
This weapon is so secret many eBay sellers don’t even know that they have it!
Can you guess what it is?
It’s building HTML links to similar products or eBay store category.
You’re thinking “You want me to add HTML?” .I’ll explain.
Not All HTML Is Bad
With sellers streamlining their listings to be optimized for mobile, HTML has gotten a bad rap in recent years.
HTML is necessary to tag text and elements in your listing to be read on the world wide web. What you don’t want is EXCESSIVE HTML that bogs down your listing. Excessive HTML can make listings load slowing on mobile devices. A brief to the point listing loads fast and engages shoppers, which can translate to better sales!
In the past many sellers have build HTML links to their ENTIRE store to place at the bottom of their description.
The idea was that this eBay HTML store link helped to direct shoppers to browse the seller’s store. With experimenting I have found rather than include a link to my entire store I get better results with an HTML link to the specific eBay store category that the listing relates to.
An HTML Link To A Store Category Can Bring Sales!
For instance if you sell men’s shirts, you can build a link to men’s shirts, or men’s clothing . If your clothes are broken down by size you could build a link to other clothing in that size. The point is to pick an eBay store category directly related to the item the customer lands on. Also keep in mind when you’re selling a plate in a specific pattern. Why not include a link to the bowls in the same pattern at the bottom of your listing? An HTML link adds a mere 2-3 lines of HTML to your listing. To compare, most scrolling galleries add 12-20 lines of text!
Good HTML store links encourage your shopper to further browse and shop with YOU.
Your shopper may decide they don’t want the green shirt in their size you sell, but thanks to your HTML link they find a red shirt in their size you stock and BUY it!
Well chosen HTML links can keep shoppers in YOUR store shopping rather than hopping back to eBay search and OTHER sellers items! eBay‘s policy on building links changes June 1, 2017. The video below is complaint with this new policy as outlined HERE by eBay.
I walk you step by step through the process of building and placing an HTML link on your eBay listing in this short informative video.
Test and see what works for you!
Here’s to a summer sizzling with sales!
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!
by Kathy Terrill | Oct 18, 2015 | Selling on eBay
Ebay small business sellers it’s less than 70 days til Christmas!
Christmas is coming fast!
OK, take a deep breath.
If you have an ebay store you have access to an ebay store header!
In less than 30 minutes you can decorate your ebay store to give it a festive feel just as if you were Macy’s or Target!
Decorate your ebay store for the Holidays!
You can add a Holiday touch to your ebay store header including a Christmas tree or some ornaments! Decorating your store header helps communicate the joy and fun of the Holidays to your online shoppers!
This can be done for free or low cost with Fiver or Canva.
You can hire a professional designer. I use and recommend Kathy Keefe and her excellent and reasonably priced graphic services for online sellers.
Doing an ebay Holiday header is a quick and effective way to move your ebay store up a notch! ebay Holiday headers are a great way to attract shoppers during the hectic months of November and December!
I speak to this underutilized ebay sales booster in my recent presentation for Top Rated Seller Webinars.
Enjoy watching this Youtube and learn Is Your ebay Store Ready For The Holidays?
Watch, decorate your store and you’re that much more ready for maximum profits this 4th quarter for your ebay business!
R is review. Review prices. E is evaluate. Is your listing optimized for search? A is alter. Make necessary changes to to your listings and inventory to be optimized and positioned to sell. P is promote. Use Promoted Listings, eBay collections and social media to stand out and get found in eBay and Google search by potential shoppers.
