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February 8, 2007 at 5:02 pm · Filed under eBay Tips
eBay’s PowerSeller Program:
As the pillars of our community, PowerSellers are committed to upholding and embracing the core community values that are the very foundation of eBay. They are exemplary members who are held to the highest standards of professionalism, having achieved and maintained a 98% positive feedback rating and an excellent sales performance record.
Members have five tiers to aspire to - Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Titanium - each enjoying the PowerSeller Benefits reserved just for them. From fast track customer service and exclusive PowerSeller Programmes to ‘best practice’ discussion boards, the PowerSeller Programme is designed to help you grow your e-commerce business and increase profits on eBay.
PowerSeller Level depends on Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) or Quantity of Items sold:
Bronze £750 or 100 sold
Silver £1,500 or 200 sold
Gold £6,000 or 300 sold
Platinum £15,000 or 400 sold
Titanium £95,000 or 500 sold
You will need to maintain your record to continue on the PowerSeller programme!
To achieve and retain PowerSeller status, you need to:
Establish a track record of consistent sales achievement (see above for minimum requirements for gross merchandise volume or quantity of items sold);
Maintain a minimum average monthly total of four (4) sold listings for the past three months;
Be an active seller on the eBay site for a minimum duration of 90 days;
Achieve and maintain a minimum feedback rating of 100 and a minimum of 98% total positive feedback;
Be in good standing by complying with eBay Listing Policies;
Keep your eBay account current - i.e. no overdue payments
Deliver responses to successful bidders within three business days;
Uphold the eBay Community Values, including honesty, timeliness and mutual respect.
So why bother becoming a PowerSeller?
1. Your customers are more likely to trust a member of the programme.
2. Invited to dedicated eBay events
3.Priority email support (and phone support from Gold+)
4. Dedicated discussion board
5.Free Business Templates
6. Dedicated Newsletter
7. You could be the featured PowerSeller of the Month!
There is no fee to join the programme and eBay will invite you by email.
February 8, 2007 at 5:01 pm · Filed under eBay Tips
Do you own the rights to your product? Does someone else?
Protect your rights on eBay using the VeRo programme : http://pages.ebay.co.uk/vero/index.html
Do not infringe the rights of owners on eBay.
February 8, 2007 at 5:01 pm · Filed under eBay Tips
Registering with an eBay account will open up your inbox to spoof emails. eBay will NEVER ask you to confirm details through a website. Download the free eBay toolbar here : http://pages.ebay.co.uk/ebay_toolbar/ the bar will turn red if you are accessing a non-eBay site. It also have some other nice features too.
Protect yourself as a seller:
Putting time into a thorough description could really pay off in the bids you receive. A well-done description not only gives buyers valuable information, but it also shows that you’re a conscientious seller putting care into running your listings.
Many sellers have found that adding a creative, human approach to their descriptions boosts bids and sales.
Consider including:
What do you especially like about the item?
Who do you think it would appeal to and why?
Is there an interesting story about the item?
How do you think it might be used?
Types of specifics to include in your description:
What is the item?
What is it made of?
When was it made?
What company/artist/designer/author made it?
What condition is it in?
What are its dimensions?
Where is it from?
Does it have any notable features or markings?
Is there any special background or history?
Don’t:
Assume that if buyers want more information you’ll hear from them by email. More likely, they’ll just bid with your competitors.
Say anything that’s not true
Keyword spam. This means don’t include words that are actually unrelated to your item just because you think they would appeal to buyers. (For example, don’t say: “If you like Ralph Lauren, you’ll like the colour of these towels.”) This is against eBay’s listing policies
Don’t forget that your item description is the place for details about postage, costs, payments or any other details about how you’re running your listing that you didn’t convey in the Sell Your Item form.
Communicate with your buyer:
Make sure they have used your marketworks checkout, if not create an order for them.
Make sure your notifications are correct
Any problems? Discuss them with your buyer.
Return Policy:
State the condition the item must be returned in.
The time scale, i.e after 7 days of reciept.
Conditions of your return policy, e.g only if the item is faulty
Will it be a full cash refund? Minus Shipping?
Paypal:
Paypal is safe, quick and effective. Encourage your buyers to use this option.
February 8, 2007 at 5:00 pm · Filed under eBay Tips
Utilise all 55 characters in the eBay title, and include some keywords from eBay Pulse
Have a mixture of buy it now and auctions for the different types of ebay user. Impluse buyers like the ‘Buy it Now’ option, whereas the thrill seekers like an auction!
When you have 10 feedback, get a basic shop! You can’t effectively search a username without knowing the exact format. You can search a shop name using partial or similar words. When an item is searched, if you have matching items you will show up in the ‘Related shops’ section on the bottom LHS. If you have lots of items then it means you will be near the top of your products search results!
Use a gallery image, and pull the rest of your images in through your marketworks template (just add the pictures when creating your inventory) eBay will charge 12p per picture, where as you will just be paying the 15p gallery insertion fee!
Keep your description to 10 key points, stick your terms and conditions in your template design ( if our creative team have not done this for you, see other sections on template design)
Choose the right category, and if its not selling, change it! You can monitor your sales with regards to category change in Marketworks, to get a good anaylsis of how individual items are performing.
Have some clearance auctions. eBayers love a bargain, so pull traffic to your other listings by having some low price items.
Vary your product lines. Phones, CD’s and DVD’s are best sellers on eBay and could bring attention to your shop/storefront.
Have clear images of the actual product, no one will buy an item with a fuzzy image. If you use a stock photo, please make sure you have the relevent permissions!
Lots of accessories with the item? Don’t just have a photo of the box, make sure you also photograph the contents clearly.
Watch your eBay Fees! An auction at a minimum price of £1 will cost 5p more than a 99p auction and take advantage of offers and free listing days on eBay! See other sections in this forum for detailed fee structures.
February 8, 2007 at 4:59 pm · Filed under eBay Tips
Stuck on keywords?
Go here: http://pulse.ebay.co.uk/
This is an area of eBay where you can see the days top 10 searched words and also view then by category. This will help when choosing your item title.Â
February 8, 2007 at 4:58 pm · Filed under eBay Tips
eBay is a community that encourages open and honest communication among all its members. Our community is guided by five fundamental values:
We believe people are basically good.
We believe everyone has something to contribute.
We believe that an honest, open environment can bring out the best in people.
We recognise and respect everyone as a unique individual.
We encourage you to treat others the way you want to be treated.
eBay is firmly committed to these principles. And we believe that community members should also honour them—whether buying, selling, or chatting with eBay friends.
Feedback:
Feedback is made up of comments and ratings left by other eBay members you’ve bought from and sold to. These comments and ratings are valuable indicators of your reputation as a buyer or seller on eBay. They are included, along with an overall feedback score, in your Member Profile.
Always leave feedback after a transaction so that other members may benefit from your experience.
Usually, a high feedback score and high positive feedback percentage is a good sign, but you should always check your seller/buyer’s Member Profile for negative remarks.
Keep your Member Profile public–buyers may be wary of trading with someone with a private Member Profile.
Contact the seller/buyer to resolve any issues before leaving negative feedback.
You cannot remove feedback you’ve left, unless you both agree to withdraw. So be sure to make only fair and factual comments and give ratings that relate to a specific transaction
February 8, 2007 at 4:56 pm · Filed under eBay Tips
A great book to check out is eBay Strategies by Scot Wingo!
Check some eBay vitals, gather some data about your eBay business!
Check your Gross Merchandise Sales each Week
Total Listing Fees for that week? Are they too high?
Payment System Fees
Is your average selling price increasing or decreasing? (GMS/ No. Itms Sold)
Then with this simple calculation work out your Conversion Rate for that Month
Number of Items Sold/Number of Items Listed= Conversion Rate
This will give you a percentage of how many successful items you had close in relation to how many listings.
The average CR (conversion rate) on eBay is 50%, go below this and you need to re-jig your listing strategy as you are listing too many items, or listing them to the wrong category, in the wrong format or at the wrong times. There are so many variables on eBay and you can keep a weekly check on your vital signs!
Each week check on your profit margin for positive and negative trends.
You will get a comprehensive report at the end of your month and an analysis from your account manager, but you need to check your vital signs each week to avoid pitfalls or fees spinning out of control!Â
February 8, 2007 at 4:55 pm · Filed under eBay Tips
As standard, we recommend you deal with negative feedback by following the method outlined below:
1. Go to the feedback forum: http://pages.ebay.co.uk/services/forum/feedback.html
2. Go to ‘Reply to Feedback Received’ Reply to the buyers feedback using FACTUAL information to back up what caused the problem to the buyer, and give future buyers reassurance.
2. Go back to the feedback forum and click ‘Leave Feedback’, find the item and leave a negative feedback for the buyer using factual information again.
2. Email the buyer and explain (again if needs be) the cause of the problem, your resolution, and state that you would like to mutually withdraw the negative feedback.
3. Go to http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MFWRequest and attempt to mutually withdraw the feedback. If the buyer agrees to mutually withdraw, feedback for both you and the buyer will be removed from both accounts. (your feedback score / % will reflect this).
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