by Kathy Terrill | Dec 22, 2019 | eCommerce Tips, Selling on eBay
Time for sellers to look for their eBay New Year’s super sales power, with Holiday shopping winding down.
eBay New Year’s Super Sales Power Tips!
Using your eBay super sales power, with 2020 arriving, there is no reason for sellers to see declining online sales. Now that customers have finished their holiday shopping, they’re ready to start buying for themselves. January is famous in retail circles as the season for self-gifting. Folks have received holiday bonuses, gift cards, and/or cash gifts; now they’re eager to spend that money. Let’s get them to spend it with you!
What can you do to attract shoppers to your eBay items and exercise your eBay New Year’s super sales power??
Two words: Promoted Listings. It’s not enough to simply list your items and wait for buyers to find them; you need to promote your listings as well. If you’re not already using Promoted Listings, then this is the perfect time to start. And if you are, then it’s time to fine-tune your campaign(s).
Promoted Listings is eBay’s pay-per-sale advertising tool.
It’s available to all sellers in good standing for use with fixed price listings. Here’s how it works.
Promoted Listings helps boost your item’s visibility by showing your listing in prominent places on eBay, including search results and product detail pages. It puts your merchandise in front of more buyers when they’re actively searching and shopping on eBay, thus helping to improve the likelihood of a sale.
I have a special freebie guide for you, Winning With Promoted Listings. Use its killer tips to super charge your sales results with Promoted Listings
The sales power of eBay Promoted Listings!
What fees are involved with Promoted Listings?
That’s the beauty of Promoted Listings: How much you pay is up to you — and you only pay when a buyer clicks on your promoted listing, then buys the item within 30 days. You set the ad rate at whatever percentage of the item’s final selling price (minus shipping and taxes) you’re willing to pay.
Furthermore, if you’re Top Rated and/or subscribe to an Anchor or Enterprise Store, you automatically receive a quarterly Promoted Listings credit. Top Rated Sellers receive a $30 credit; Anchor and Enterprise Store subscribers receive a $25 credit; and sellers meeting both criteria receive a total PL credit of $55 per quarter. Don’t let your credit go to waste!
eBay provides guidance for creating Promoted Listings campaigns.
In Seller Hub and as you list you see the trending rate for that category. Setting rates can be tricky, though, so test — test — test. HERE is the list of Ad Rate Trends on eBay.
Some sellers set their ad rate at ½% across the board and swear by it, while others are equally fervent about setting their rates at or just above or below the trending rate. Listen to other sellers, but always test for yourself.
Your cost to use this program should never be higher than the rate of sales. But if setting your rate at or near the trending rate dramatically increases your sales, then it’s well worth the cost.
Watch your sales results from Promoted Listings.
Use your Promoted Listings dashboard. If you have high numbers for impressions and clicks with little or no sales, it’s time to examine your listing’s desirability. Use the tips in eBay Titles Matter Than Ever to upgrade your listing.
In closing, use the sales juice of eBay’s Promoted Listings to be your New Year’s eBay sales power. Watch your results and adjust as needed. Every eBay seller’s business is unique. Look at your results and make choices best for your business.
Enjoy a New Year full of sales!
by Kathy Terrill | Nov 23, 2019 | eCommerce Tips, Facebook Business Page Tips, Pinterest Tips for online sellers!, Selling on eBay, Social Media Tips
Using these 3 eBay Holiday Sales Success Ninja tips, even with Black Friday coming soon, you’ll be ready to crush it!
eBay Holiday Sales Top 3 Ninja Tips!
Now, it may feel as if you have all the time in the world to take care of eBay Holiday sales. Guess what, fellow seller? You don’t. Right now, you want to grab all the sales you can. Also, get those sold items shipped. And you still want time for family, friends, and holiday festivities. Your top priority needs to be maximizing productivity for eBay Holiday sales success!
To save precious moments for savoring the joys of the season, you’ve got to make every minute count. Promoting your listings via social media will boost sales, but can you spare the time? Of course you can! In fact, you must. The trick is to budget that time, then use it wisely and well. Here’s how to make doing so as easy as 1, 2, 3.
First, pick a platform to attract eBay Holiday shoppers!
Social media offers many choices. There is Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, etc. But very few solopreneurs have time to use them all, especially this time of year. Take a few minutes to check your various accounts: Which has the most followers? Which is garnering the most likes and comments? That should boil it down to one or at most two accounts.
If it’s two, then opt to concentrate on the one you most enjoy. Time is going to be in increasingly short supply due to eBay holiday orders. Additionally you’ll field questions from customers, etc., so you’ve got to focus. It will pay off! My YouTube Get Customers & Sales, No Matter What Is Going On With eBay explains this further.
Second: Decide how often you’ll post.
There are lots of recommended best practices for social media. However many such tips are designed for small businesses that have a social media team. You’re likely to be your own social media manager (along with all the other business hats you wear), so be brutally honest: How much time each week can you realistically devote to social media? That means business-related posts and pinning, not catching up on what friends are doing, watching funny videos, or sharing the latest meme. Thirty minutes? An hour? Even if it’s only half an hour, that’s fine.
Just figure out whether you’re going to use that. Pick whatever works best for your schedule and lifestyle. It may be one choice one week and a different choice the next. As long as you put in your 30 minutes, exactly how you do it is up to you.
Third: OK, you’ve selected a single social media platform.
Let’s say your top pick is Pinterest. You’ve allotted it half an hour per week. The next step is super important: Write that down. Set a phone reminder, put it on your electronic calendar, jot it in your daily planner or on your paper calendar, or any or all of the above. Just make sure you have it on record so you can cross it off your list as you get it done!
Next comes the hard part: actually doing it.
You’ve got two choices: post live in real time, or schedule your posts? Again, this is totally your call as well as a decision that may change from one week to the next. Remember how precious time is during the eBay Holiday sales season! Every minute counts.
Most sellers find that scheduling saves time by allowing them to create posts in batches.
Buffer and HootSuite offer free schedulers for Facebook and Twitter plus paid upgrades for Pinterest and Instagram. In addition, Facebook has a free scheduler for Business pages. You can also take advantage of Creator Studio for Facebook Pages and Instagram. It’s still in beta, so not all accounts have access to all features yet, but you should definitely check it out.
Enjoy my special social media freebie guide for you!
Use the ninja tips in the The Essential Social Media Cheat Sheet to create social media posts that are irresistible to customers! Now you’re ready to utilize social media in a way that works best for you and your shoppers.
eBay Holiday sales Success is here, with The Essential Social Media freebie tip sheet!
So, Holiday time eBay sellers:
1. Pick one social media platform on which to focus
2. Decide upon a weekly time allotment and how you’ll allocate that time
3. Choose between scheduling and posting live (switching back and forth as needed).
And finally enjoy my gift to you, The Essential Social Media Cheat Sheet.
Use The Essential Social Media Cheat Sheet and save time guessing what posts attract eager shoppers.
Good luck, and best wishes for a happy and profitable holiday season!
by Kathy Terrill | Oct 21, 2019 | eCommerce Tips, Selling on eBay
It’s always been good to be a Top Rated Seller on eBay.
You want to be an eBay Top Rated Seller!
But since new Seller Protections for a Top Rated Seller (eTRS) went into effect on October 1 , 2019 , it’s better than ever. So if you’re not already a Top Rated Seller , now it’s time to step up your game. You don’t even need a store to qualify!
Why should you strive to become Top Rated Seller?
Consider the benefits:
- Newly enhanced Seller Protections (more about those in a moment)
- A boost in search results
- Increased credibility with buyers
- $30 quarterly credit for Promoted Listings
- Eligibility for meeting Top Rated Plus standards, thereby getting the Top Rated Plus seal on your listing(s) along with a 10% discount on your selling fees
With all those goodies to be garnered, why wouldn’t you want to be a Top Rated Seller?
And with a bit of effort —plus perhaps some tweaks to your business practices — you can and will be!
To further whet your appetite for eTRS, let’s take a quick look at the new protections enjoyed by US-based Top Rated Sellers as of October 1st, 2019.
They can be broken down into two categories:
- Protection from abusive buyers
- Protection against events beyond your control
Whichever it is, eBay will automatically remove any negative and neutral feedback, defects, and/or open cases in service metrics. The new protections were first announced at eBay Open 2019.
eBay Open 2019 announced a multitude of updates for sellers!
To qualify for these newly enhanced protections, you must be a Top Rated Seller.
Also you need to reside in the USA and offer 30-day or longer returns. Easy-peasy! And they apply whether you ship the item to a domestic buyer or internationally, with or without the Global Shipping Program (GSP). Get the details here.
You don’t need an eBay store; all you have to do is to consistently deliver outstanding customer service and a great buying experience. That’s your goal in any case, right?
However, eBay has very specific criteria for “outstanding customer service” and “a great buying experience”. First, your eBay account must have been active for at least 90 days. You’ve also got to have racked up a minimum of 100 transactions and $1,000 in sales with US buyers during the past 12 months.
Once you’ve qualified in those two respects, there are more detailed requirements to be met. You can find them by going to ebay.com/TopRated.
There’s only one thing as important for your business as achieving Top Rated Seller status, and that’s maintaining Top Rated Seller status. You especially don’t want to lose it right now, going into Q4! So keep a sharp eye on your Seller Dashboard (linked from Seller Hub or your Feedback Profile page). Monitor it on at least a weekly basis, and nip any negative trends in the bud ASAP.
By the same token, if you haven’t yet earned eTRS, take a close look at your business practices as reflected in your Seller Dashboard metrics.
Figure out what’s holding you back. Are you chronically late shipping? Perhaps you should adjust your handling time. Do your buyers frequently open INAD cases? Maybe you need to improve your photos and/or descriptions.
Once you’re Top Rated, consider qualifying some or all of your listings for the Top Rated Plus seal by offering same- or one-day handling plus 30-day or longer free returns.
The extra effort needed to up-level your customer service will be amply repaid by a 10% discount on your final value fees and the extra traffic that the TR+ seal will drive to your listings.
Don’t be intimidated by eTRS. Achieving and maintaining Top Rated Seller status is imminently doable. You’ve got this — now go get it!
Are you missing out by NOT being Top Rated on eBay?!
by Kathy Terrill | Aug 17, 2019 | eCommerce Tips, Selling on eBay
eBay Back To School shoppers are here sellers!
It may feel as if Summer will never end, but it’s already time for eBay’s Back to School (BTS) retail moment. That’s right: The eBay Back to School selling season is NOW. And it’s going to be HUGE on eBay.
Just how big is eBay Back To School you ask?
So, how big is eBay Back To School Shopping?
For starters, the National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts record spending this year: Families with children in elementary through high school will shell out an average of $697 (up from $685 in 2018), while families with college students are expected to ante up an average of $977 (up from 2018’s $942).
Best of all, those families plan to do roughly half of their shopping online. That includes eBay Back To School shoppers!
Furthermore, 85%-90% of those planning to shop online intend to take advantage of free shipping. (There’s a word to the wise!)
But the potential for profit doesn’t stop there.
Back to School encompasses everything from pre-kindergarten to graduate school. It includes children, teenagers, and adults. It’s kids and teachers, but it’s also parents, who shop for themselves while shopping for their offspring.
How can you attract these eager eBay Back To School customers?
If you think you have nothing to offer Back to School buyers, think again! BTS items go way beyond school supplies like pencils, notebooks, and backpacks. They run the gamut from electronics to apparel to accessories.
My complimentary downloadable Ultimate Guide to Back to School Products will help you discover coveted BTS goodies that you already have on hand — and maybe even already have listed!
You’ll be surprised to find out how much of your available inventory is popular with Back to School shoppers.
Once you’ve got a handle on your best BTS items, if you have an eBay store, now is the time to promote those items.
This is one retail moment during which every major retailer offers deals and savings. You can, too! So get smart, seller: Google some of those major retailers for inspiration. Then use eBay’s Promotions Manager to create deals of your own.
For example, you might offer a percentage or dollar-amount discount for buyers who spend more than $X with you.
Create a Promotion with Promotions Manager. Group you Back To School items together. That way, when your shopper lands on one of your products, they’ll be encouraged to buy more from you. Here are more possibilities that might pay off.
Put certain Back To School items on sale, and make a sale event for them.
Consider bundling products together to attract even more shoppers. Feature those special bundles on your social media. You might even want to make a dedicated store category for Back to School Deals and use eBay’s bulk-editing tool to stock it with selected items from your current listings.
In short, offer savings to get sales!
The Back to School selling season runs through mid-September, but the time to take advantage of this retail moment is NOW. Download your free copy of my Ultimate Guide to Back to School Products today to jump-start your BTS selling and cash in on Back to School!
Here’s How To Attract eBay Back To School Shoppers!
by Kathy Terrill | Aug 11, 2019 | eCommerce News, eCommerce Selling Tips, eCommerce Tips, Selling on eBay
Good news from eBay Open 2019: Policies and initiatives announced at the conference place sellers front and center! These policies impact sellers at all levels.
First, these new policy updates and initiatives unveiled at eBay Open 2019 are important. Furthermore, there are fine points to them that you might overlook.
For all sellers, with or without stores
- New photo-editing tool! eBay has launched in beta a new photo-editing tool that whites out the background of your pictures. But please note the following important caveats:
- This useful tool is still in beta. That means it’s not yet perfected. It also means that not everyone can use it yet.
- Only eBay Open attendees currently have access to the beta. To get it, you had to sign up in the Seller Hub area. If you neglected to do so, reach out to customer service to see what, if anything, can be done to enable you to access the beta.
- You can only use the white background photo-editing functionality through eBay Mobile for the iPhone. Once the background is whited out, your listing can be saved as a draft and then completed from your desktop or laptop computer. The new whiteout tool will eventually be available on those devices as well. As of right now, the beta version is in a very early stage.
- Multi-User Account Access! All sellers — with or without a store — can now utilize eBay’s new Multi-User Access (MUAA). Right now, the only part of your account to which you can apply multi-user access is listing. This means you can give an assistant access to the listing section of your Seller Hub.
eBay will add more areas as Multi-User Account Access rolls out, e.g. shipping and customer relations management. The company plans to include all aspects of selling in future iterations of MUAA. The steps to grant access to your seller account are in my complimentary Exclusive eBay Open Update Guide.
Complimentary Exclusive eBay Open 2019 Update Guide!
New and better seller protections!
- The biggest news for sellers is the MASSIVE improvements in seller protections. ALL sellers have new protections.Top Rated Sellers have BIG protections that actually put money in those sellers’ pockets.
Top Rated Sellers who offer 30-Day Returns get TWO financial as well as other protections.
Please note that for the following new protections, you DON’T need to offer free returns. However, you must be TOP RATED to receive these protections:
- If you get a false Item Not As Described (INAD) return, eBay will credit your invoice up to $6 to cover the cost of return shipping.
- If an item is returned in a different condition than when you shipped it (returned without tags, damaged, etc.), you may issue a partial refund for up to 50% of the item’s price.
- Negative feedback, defects and opened cases in Service Metrics connected to false INAD claims will be removed.
- Negative feedback and defects for transactions in which you give a partial refund will be removed.
- This process will be automated in your Seller Hub.
- You’re always welcome to call customer service. However, IF YOU’RE A TOP RATED SELLER, it’s not necessary to do so in order to receive the aforementioned protections.
For small to large sellers with eBay stores
Terapeak Product Research! Terapeak has rolled out to ALL sellers subscribing to a Basic or higher-level store. This justly popular and beloved marketplace research tool offers incredible data that will help you with your listings in a variety of ways. Different sellers are finding Terapeak via different routes, as simple access via Seller Hub seems to be in some kind of gradual roll out:
- You may now have a Research tab (replacing the Growth tab) in your Seller Hub; you’ll find Terapeak in the drop-down menu under the Research tab.
- Google Terapeak, then log into Terapeak using your eBay user ID and password. You’ll see prompts for doing so on Terapeak’s website.
- Some sellers can log in through My Account > Subscriptions.
For Large Sellers With eBay stores
eBay Managed Delivery! For large sellers looking for an end-to-end fulfillment service, Managed Delivery is now available in beta to select sellers. eBay plans to roll it out site wide starting in the US in 2020. Managed Delivery is intended for very big sellers. My best understanding is that you’d want to have more than 1000 SKUs of inventory to send to the various fulfillment centers to make this option cost effective for you. I know one seller in the beta, and he is very, very happy.
Multi User Accounts are live on eBay!
In closing, Devin Wenig and his team have knocked the ball out of the stadium this time around.
There is excellent news for all levels of sellers! eBay leadership clearly has been listening to the seller community. At the same time, they also are responding to the needs of shoppers.
Finally, what is a savvy eBay seller to do now?
With my complimentary Exclusive eBay Open Update Guide. Dig in and study the policy changes. You’re on the fast track to equip your business for more sales!
