Download - How to Make Money on Ebay

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todd alexanderAustralia’s leading eBay expert

the official pocket guide for australian sellers

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P E R S O N A L F I N A N C E

Cover photograph: iStock

Cover design: Lisa White

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Do you want to earn an income selling items on eBay? Could eBay become a vital sales channel for your company? Did you know 50,000 Australians earn part or all of their income selling on eBay*, and for a growing number of businesses it’s an important sales channel?

For the first time, eBay expert and employee Todd Alexander provides invaluable advice for serious sellers to boost their online sales. Written in clear language with concise step-by-step instructions, this official guide is written specifically for Australians.

How to Make Money on eBay is an easy-to-use, comprehensive guide that includes:

• tips for secure online selling

• ideas for sourcing products to sell

• advanced selling tools to save time and boost profits

• tips for improving your ranking in eBay’s search results

• marketing advice for increasing sales and ensuring repeat customers

• tips for staying ahead of the competition

• the twelve eBay rules every seller should know.

Whether you’re an eBay novice or have been trading on the site for years, this is the one guide you need to ramp up your sales quickly and cost-effectively.

*AC Nielsen Research, 2006

EBAY_FINAL.indd 1 24/12/09 11:43:47 AM

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how tomakemoney

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todd alexander


Todd Alexander is an employee of eBay but wrote this book independently of his employment. While recognising this book as ‘The Official Guide . . .’, eBay takes no responsibility for its content and readers are advised that using the content of this book does not necessarily mean that the reader will have success buying and selling on eBay. The contents of this book contain the views of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of eBay.

eBay International AG is the exclusive owner of all rights in the title to, interests and good will in the eBay identification and use of the above in this book is by permission.

First published in 2010

Copyright © Todd Alexander 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

Arena Books, an imprint of Allen & Unwin 83 Alexander Street Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100 Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218 Email: [email protected] Web: www.allenandunwin.com

Cataloguing-in-Publication details are available from the National Library of Australia www.librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au

ISBN 978 1 74237 036 1

Set in 11/13 pt ITC Berkeley Oldstyle Std by Bookhouse, Sydney Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.allenandunwin.com

http://www.librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au

Contents

Introduction vii

Chapter 1 Safe trading tips for eBay sellers 1

Chapter 2 Becoming an eBay seller 7

Chapter 3 Sourcing products to sell 12

Chapter 4 Preparing and creating listings 23

Chapter 5 Save time with Turbo Lister 32

Chapter 6 Providing outstanding customer service 58

Chapter 7 Managing your inventory with

Selling Manager Pro 69

Chapter 8 Branding and marketing 90

Chapter 9 Optimising your success 120

Chapter 10 Tax, legal and eBay policy considerations 129

Summary 137

Appendix: eBay fees 140

vii

Introduction

No doubt the majority of Australians have heard of eBay as a place to buy a wide selection of items, usually at great prices. Compared to international markets, Australia has been slow to adopt e-commerce, with few of the major retail stores offering a comprehensive online offering. Over the years, eBay has become the primary destination for the majority of online shoppers. Here are some statistics that will help you to decide whether selling on eBay could provide you with additional income—whether that is personal, or supplementary to your business:• eBayhasaglobalpresencein39markets.Your

items do not have to be offered for sale in every market, but you can add them selectively for no additional fee.

• eBayhasapproximately88.4millionactivemembersworldwide.InAustraliaalone,5.35million unique visitors went to eBay.com.au in December2008(Nielsen//NetRatingsNetview).

• OnanaveragedayforeBayAustralia,a babyitemissoldevery24seconds;aDVDissoldevery18seconds;atoyissoldevery

How to Make Money on eBayviii

18seconds;andapieceofwomen’sclothingsells every 6 seconds.

• eBayusersworldwidetradeUS$2000worthofgoods every second.

But the figures alone only tell part of the story. The simple fact about eBay is that it grants you and your business instant access to one of the busiest shoppingplatformsontheplanet.Youritemscanbeavailableforsale24hoursaday,sevendaysaweek(regardlessofwhetheryouintendtoworkthosehoursornot).BuyersloveeBaybecausetheycanshopfromthe comfort and safety of their own home at a time that is convenient to them,and theydon’thave tofight over parking spaces or with trolleys that lead them in the opposite direction.

The other thing eBay offers is transparency. At any given time, you can see what items are for sale, who is selling them, how much they sell for, and how frequently they sell. This is the kind of information most businesses would pay a lot of money for to find out about their competitors or potential markets for their products. This does mean your own sales are open to inspection, of course, but smart businesses work to streamline their business models so they can continually stay one step ahead of the competition.

And so it is that very year, hundreds of thousands of people clean out their garages and cupboards and sellthingstheynolongerneed.Sometrawlthroughgarage sales and markets looking for those rare or unique items that might fetch a great price on eBay, makingalittlebitofprofitalongtheway.Sellingon

Introduction ix

eBay is open to just about everyone—but how do some people turn it into a money-making venture?

There are countless books, courses, e-guides and the like that promise to teach you how to make millions of dollars on eBay in your first year . . . all from the comfort of your ownhome. Some evensuggest that you can do this working as little as one hour a day. While these things might conceivably be possible, the reality of the situation is that making money on eBay requires a serious business approach, aswell as a thorough examination of the optionsavailable to you, and a lot of trial and error.

InAustralia,themostsuccessfuleBaysellers(andsomeof themdo sellmore than$1millionworthofitemseachyear)arethosewithlargewarehouses,multiple staff members and various supply channels of stock, a lot of it from overseas. While not everyone willneedtostartthatbig,knowingeBay’sadvancedselling techniques at the outset will help ensure you get the finer details right from the very beginning. SuccessfuleBaybusinesseshavedisplayedfantasticgrowth rates, but they require careful planning and a thoroughknowledgeofeBay’ssystemsandprocesses.Likeanything,makingalotofprofitdoesn’ttendtohappen easily—otherwise everyone would be selling oneBayandwe’dallbemillionaires.

This book is an advanced selling guide for people and businesses who want to use eBay to either estab-lish an online channel to complement an existingbusiness,expandtheironlinepresence,orforthosewanting to start a business from scratch using eBay as their primary channel. Before you get into this book, it is advisable to read How to Use eBay/How

How to Make Money on eBayx

to Use PayPal byToddAlexander (Hachette LivreAustralia,2008)—itcoversallofthebasicsofbuyingand selling on eBay Australia and using PayPal, the online payment mechanism widely used on eBay. There are also chapters on online safety, which are a must for anyone buying or selling online.

Each chapter of this book is designed, in the simplest way possible, to help ensure you are aware of, and are using, the multitude of selling tools available to streamline an eBay business. Making a profit is not only about securing the right products at the right price and being able to sell them successfully, it’salsoaboutensuringyouhaveagreatreputationand lots of repeat customers. More importantly, profit is also about minimising your other business costs, and when it comes to selling on eBay, one of the most ‘expensive’isthetimeitcantaketosellhundredsorthousands of items. Not every tool covered in these chapters will be necessary for your eBay sales. They are provided here as options, and after reading the book you should choose those that are most suitable to your skills, your products, and how much time and resources you have to invest in selling on eBay. Establishing the right business systems upfront is the only way to help optimise your performance on eBay, and beyond.

Each month, more than 5 million people visit eBay Australia (Nielsen//NetRatingsNetview), and thereisn’t a single business in the country thatwouldturn down traffic like that! According to June 2006 AC Nielsen research, 52,700 Australians make their full- or part-time living on eBay, and for more than 17,500 it is their primary or only source of income.

Introduction xi

Why not add your name to the list? Like any way of making profit, nothing is guaranteed, but arming yourself with the right knowledge is key.

Before we begin, there are four basic rules to makingmoneyoneBay.Observethese,andyou’llbewellonyourwaytorealisingmaximumprofit.1 Sourcetherightproductsfortherightprice.2 Provide the kind of service that separates you

from your competitors.3 Market your products better than any of your

competitors.4 Continually look for ways to improve your busi-

ness model.

1

Chapter 1

Safe trading tips for eBay sellers

Much has been written about the dangers of trading online. In actual fact, selling on eBay or your own web site generates no greater security threat than starting your own retail or wholesale business. When selling online, remaining safe can be achieved by using simple commonsense.

Passwords

As your eBay sales grow, you may need more than one person to access your eBay and PayPal accounts. RememberthatanyonewithyoureBaypasswordhasthe ability to alter business-critical functions, and even has the ability to purchase items on the site. Keeparecordofallemployees/colleagueswhoknowyour eBay password, but never put the password in writing or circulate it via email. The password should be a combination of letters and numerals, and a mixtureofupperandlowercase.Foraddedsecurity,consider changing your passwords on the first of

How to Make Money on eBay2

every month. This means that only those employees who need to gain access to eBay on a daily basis will know it, and past employees, or those who have changed roles, will not be able to maintain access.

In order to sell on eBay, all sellers must offer PayPal (theeBay-ownedonline-paymentmechanism).YourPayPal password should be guarded more carefully. Only those who are empowered to make financial decisions for your company should be granted access to your PayPal account as, once logged in, they can transfer funds or pay for items bought online, and they may also be able to gain access to your bank account and credit card information.

Financial accounts

In order to limit the threat of loss, it is advisable to open a bank account and a PayPal account and have a credit card all of which are only used for business purposes. Limit the amount of funds available in each so that if their security should be breached, your loss is limited to a low amount. Somebanksnow offer mobile phone password protection when transferring money to new accounts, while your credit card’sTCVnumber (located on the back ofthecard)meansapersonmusthavethecardintheirpossession in order to use it.

Stay on top of your financial records. Alwaysdouble-check your financial statements and query any unfamiliar amounts with your bank immediately.

For PayPal, you can limit the type of accessyour employees can gain if you open a business account. In doing so, different passwords allow

Safe trading tips for eBay sellers 3

different employees access to the areas of the site you specify. Again, if you see any activity on your PayPal account that looks questionable, contact PayPal immediately.

Spoof mail

Spoofisanunfortunaterealityoftheonlineworld.Spoofemailsarecreatedbycriminalstotrytotrapyou into entering sensitive or financial information online. Once gained, your information can then be usedforfraudulenttransactions.Recentdevelopmentshave made it easier for law-enforcement professionals to track down online fraudsters, but the best way to avoid being the victim of online fraud is to use protection.• Makesureallthecomputersyouuseforyour

eBay sales are enabled with security software.• Neverenteryourpersonalorfinancial

information into a website with which you are unfamiliar.

• Ifanofferorrewardsoundstoogoodtobetrue, it probably is.

• IfyoureceiveanemailpurportingtobefromeBay, PayPal or your financial institution, and it asks you to enter your password via email, reportitasspoof([email protected], [email protected], or check your bank’sspoofmailforwardingaddress).

• Whenmakinganonlinepayment,makesurethe site uses a verified security gateway.

• Toavoidreceivingspoofaltogether,createanemailaddressthatisdifficulttoguess.For


example,ifyoureBayuserIDis‘abc123’,don’tmake your email address [email protected] or your contact email [email protected]. Online fraudsters have sophisticated software to help them guess your contact information, leaving you open to unsolicited email that can be a nuisance or a threat to running your business.

PayPal seller protection on eBay

PayPal offers sellers on eBay protection on qualifying transactions in the event that the sale should be the subject of a credit card chargeback, or when a buyer claimismadethroughPayPal’sonlinedisputeprocessfor items not received or significantly different to whatwasdescribedby the seller. Sellerprotectionisprovidedatnoextracharge. Inorder tomakeaclaim, a seller must:• sellanitemoneBayandacceptpaymentinto

theirAustralianPayPalaccount(theitemmustbe a tangible good, not digital or a service, for example);

• sendtheitemviaanapprovedpostalservicetothebuyer’saddress,asstipulatedonthePayPaltransactionpage(approvedpostalservicesinclude those that can provide proof of ship-ment, an official acceptance by the shipper and documentationshowingtherecipient’saddress).

Note that where a seller cannot provide the neces-sary documentation, and the buyer is able to prove their item was not received or was different to as

Safe trading tips for eBay sellers 5

described, the seller will have to finance the cost of providing the buyer with the refund. This is the same as usually occurs for retail stores.

T i p : ✔ Check with your supplier in instances where a

product is broken or faulty, as they may also provide you

with a refund that you can pass on to your buyer.

The full list of eligibility criteria for PayPal’sseller protection on eBay can be found at: https://www.paypal.com/au/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/ua-outside#spp-policy.

Budgeting for loss

Operating any business successfully means preparing forsomelosses.Sensiblebusinessplanswillcalculatean anticipated percentage of loss and include this in their budget and performance targets.

Forstock,thisiscommonlyknownas‘shrinkage’.Shrinkageoccurswhenaproductisdamagedorlostintransit(fromthesuppliertoyou,orfromyoutoyour customer), from theft or from an accountingerror(incorrectquantitiesreceivedorsent).Asensiblepercentage to plan for is around 5–10 per cent, depending on the type and quantity of products you plan to sell. If your business cannot sustain ‘writing off’ that levelofshrinkage,youshouldrevisityourprofit margins to decide whether there is an adequate market for your products.

Other losses than can commonly occur in business are unpaid items that may have inadvertently been sent to the buyer before payment was received, items

https://www.paypal.com/au/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/ua-outside#spp-policy




that were paid for with a stolen credit card or via an accounttakeover(whenacriminalgainsaccesstoabankorfinancialaccount),or,insomecircumstances,where a payment is reversed by the buyer via their financial provider.

While somebanks and insurance agencies (andPayPal—seeabove)providecoverageandsupportforshrinkage, not budgeting for it at all will mean your projected profit margins are unlikely to be reached. SeeChapter 10 formore information regardinginsurance for your business.

7

Chapter 2

Becoming an eBay seller

Business registrationIf you have not done so already, register as a business on eBay. This may not seem an important or obvious step but, increasingly, eBay is looking for ways to identify which of its sellers consider themselves businesses. In the future, businesses may be subject to special promotional offers and specific marketing support from eBay.

To register as a business:• Clickthe‘Register’textlinkattheverybottom

of any eBay page.• Next,clickthelinkatthetopoftheregistration

page that says: ‘Want to open an account for yourcompany?’

• Fillintherelevantinformationforyourbusi-ness, and accept the terms and conditions at the bottomofthepage.Click‘Continue’.


• ChooseyourUserID.RemembertochooseanIDthatreflectsyourbusinessnameand/ortheproductsyousell.YouruserIDishowpeoplewill come to remember you, so choose carefully.

• Createapassword.Click‘Continue’.• Nowcheckyouremailandfollowthestepsto

confirm your business registration.

If you are already registered on eBay and you would like to change your account to become a business account, here are the steps involved:• Clickthe‘MyeBay’linkatthetopofanyeBay

page.• Signintothesite(ifnotalreadysignedin).• Ontheleft-handnavigationofMyeBay,under

the‘Myaccount’heading,clickon‘personalinformation’.

• Onthenextpage,onthe‘Accounttype’line,clickonthe‘Edit’linkontheright-handside.

• Signinagaintoconfirmyouridentity.• Next,typeinyourbusinessnameandselect

your business type.• Clickthe‘Changetobusinessaccount’button.

PayPal tips for businesses

PayPal is the eBay-owned online payment system widely used by buyers on eBay, and online in general. As covered in Chapter 6, it is advisable to offer a choice of payment options to your buyers, and some eBay sites include a minimum requirement that you must accept PayPal, or process credit card payments through PayPal.

Becoming an eBay seller 9

Before you sign up to PayPal, you should be aware of some of the key features that PayPal offers busi-nesses. There are three account types to choose from when signing up to PayPal:1 personal;2 premier;or3 business.

It might sound obvious, but businesses should sign up for a business account because it comes with the following advantages:• unlimitedcreditanddebitcardpayment

acceptance;• abilitytoacceptsubscriptionsandrecurring

payments;• abilitytoacceptmasspayments(frommultiple

buyersatonce);• multi-useraccess(seepage2);and• abilitytobrandyourPayPalaccountwithyour

business name.

PayPal charges a low fee per local transaction (currently30cents)andapercentagefeeofthetotalpayment (including postage). The percentage youpay depends on your PayPal account and the total amount of payments you have received into your PayPal account in the previous month. Additionally, you need to apply to have merchant rates assigned to your account—it is a one-time application, and you will automatically receive discounted rates as long as you meet the minimum criteria of payments received and have your account in good standing. These are the fees applied to your total monthly payments:


• Under$5000=2.4percent• $5000.01to$15,000=2.0percent• $15,000.01to$150,000=1.5percent• Above$150,000=1.1percent

To apply for merchant rates you will only be able to see the application form within your account once youhaveachievedmorethan$5000inpayments.

PayPal also offers a special rate for accounts that sellalargevolumeoflow-valueitems.Youneedtoapply for micropayments and be aware that the rate will apply to all of the items you accept payment for, regardless of their value. The rate is 5 per cent plus 5 cents per transaction. To find out more information and to apply, go to: https://micropayments.paypal-labs.com/.

Selling internationally

One of the most powerful advantages that eBay brings to sellers is the opportunity to list your item for sale globally. Fewothermarketplaces have the power,and the sheer buyer numbers, to match that proposition. The even better part is that you do not need to pay additional fees to have your item seen by buyers in any part of the world.

Before you decide whether to list your item for international sale, there are a few things you should consider:• Ifyouspeakanotherlanguage,mentionthisin

your listings or even have parts of your listings in the foreign language.

https://micropayments.paypal-labs.com/

https://micropayments.paypal-labs.com/

Becoming an eBay seller 11

• Thinkcarefullyaboutthecurrencyyouwishtolist your item in. If you list on eBay.com.au and make your item available to another country, your product will generally appear in Australian dollars. However, if you go directly to the relevantsite(afulllistisavailableontheeBay.com.auhomepage),youritemwillappearinthelocal currency of the site you have chosen.

• SomesellersestablishmultipleuserIDs,eachone specialising in the sale of products to a particular eBay market.

• Makesureyouarefullyawareoftheimportinglaws and regulations in each market—do your research thoroughly as otherwise you may be inadvertently breaking the law.

• Researchwhattariffsmaybepayableonreceiptof the goods. Make sure your buyers are also aware of these charges and who will need to pay for these.

• RefertotheAustralianGovernmentwebsitetoensure you have all the relevant information, at: http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/export.

• TheAustralianTradeCommissionisanAustralianGovernmentbodythatassistssmallbusinesseswithexporting.Findoutifyouqualifyforassistancebyvisiting:http://www.austrade.gov.au/.

12

Chapter 3

Sourcing products to sell

Here is the plain and simple truth—every tip and instruction in this book will not make you a success without you sourcing the right product to sell on eBay.Sellingproductswithaprovenmarket,attheright price, and the right amount of supply are among the key ingredients to ensuring your eBay success.

By success, the inference here is size of turnover andamountofprofit.Youcouldspecialiseinsellinga small quantity of high-priced items, each with a goodmargin.Takerefrigerators,forexample.Sellingfivetoteneachweekat$2000peritemmakesyoua pretty sizable business, and if your profit margin is10percentoneachitemyoucanseethatyou’rewell on the way. But you can also sell 1000 CDs each week for $10 each.A turnover of $10,000 aweeksounds like a lot, but by the time you subtract all your overheads . . . in actual fact your business may not be sustainable in the long term.

Sourcing products to sell 13

T i p : ✔ When weighing up your business’s potential for

success, you should get professional advice from an

accountant or financial adviser.

Net profit is the amount remaining after all your expenseshavebeensubtracted.Herearesomeofthebusiness costs you need to consider, all of which eat away your gross profit to deliver your net profit:• costofpurchasingeachitem;• costofhavingtheitemdeliveredtoyoubythe

supplier,unlessit’sfree;• phonecalls,lettersandtraveltoyouractualand

potentialsuppliers;• eBayfees;• PayPalfees;• bankandcreditcardfees;• postageandpackagingcostsnotpaidforby

yourbuyers;• costofprintingflyers,invoices,thank-younotes,

etc.,andthecostofthepaperthey’reprintedon;• othermarketingcosts(suchasGoogleads,

letterboxdrops,printadvertising,etc.);• electricitycostsofrunningacomputerand

printer,andthelightsoveryourhead;• costofthepetrolittakestodeliveryour

products to the post office, and the cost of maintainingyourcartodoso;

• costofyourcomputerandprinter,andanyother equipment you use to make your business professional—thetelephone,fax,filingcabinets,software,etc.;

• thehourlyrateyoupayanyonetohelpyou(youmay have friends or family who help out for


free, but the bigger your business gets the less youcanrelyonfreelabour);

• costofstorage/warehousing(thisincludesspaceinyourhouse—ifyoucan’tuseittodo anything other than run your business, it becomesanadditionalcost);

• costofitemsthatarelost,stolenordamaged(althoughsomemaybecoveredbyinsurance—seeChapter10);and

• accounting,legalandotherprofessionalfees.

...andthis isn’tbyanystretchoftheimaginationanexhaustivelistofoverheads.

Allofasuddenyour$10,000turnoveraweekforsellingCDsturns into$200netprofit,andfor the65 hours it takes you to sell and send up to 150 CDs everyday,you’repayingyourselfthegrandamountof$3.08perhour!Don’tforgettopayyourtaxes.

Being online, eBay is a transparent marketplace, which means everyone can always see what products you are selling and at what price. They can even see the ones you’re not selling.Thismeans that everymove you make can be scrutinised, and copied, by newandexistingcompetitors.Thisiswhyanonlinebusiness needs to continually evolve and always be on the lookout for new directions.

Completed-items search

It may sound obvious, but the best place to start your research for finding the right products to sell on eBay is by conducting a completed-items search on the site. Here, you will see a list of recently


sold and unsold items, their price, the seller, the description, the postage costs . . . everything you need to gauge why an item was or was not successful. More importantly,you’ll alsoget to seehowmanyiems were listed.

You should at least startwith a rough idea ofwhattypeofproductyouwouldliketosell.Ifyou’recompletely new to this, start with a product that you’reapassionateuserof—itwillmakeyourjobofmarketing easier, not to mention answering questions from your customers. You can browse an entirecategory’s past sales to try to find clues thatwillhelp identify inventory gaps on eBay. If you look hardenough,theycertainlydoexist.

To conduct a completed-items search, click ‘Advancedsearch’atthetopofanyeBaypage,typein your product keywords or choose a category from thedrop-down list, check the ‘Completed listings’boxandthenclicktheblue‘Search’box.Itemsthatsold will show the amount in green, unsold items in red, and multiple-quantity items that did not sell out completely will be in black.

Here are some questions to ask when browsing through completed items. They will help you find whether there is a possible inventory gap that your items could fill.• Whatisthecheapestsaleprice?Doyouhave

enough gross margin to compete on price?• Ofalltheproductslisted,howmanysell?(Be

sure to include all the items within a multiple-quantitylisting.)Ifyousourcethatproduct,how quickly do you need to sell it? How often doesaproductselloneBay?(Thisisknown


assalesvelocity—youdon’twanthundredsorthousands of products sitting there not selling, becausethelongertheydon’tsellthelesscashfrom sales you will have to purchase more products.)

• Whoistheseller?AretheylocatedinAustraliaor overseas? Is their feedback better than yours?

• Whatistheitemtitleanddescriptionlike?Could you do a better job marketing the item to prospectivebuyers?Goodenoughtohavethembuy the item from you and nobody else?

• Howmuchpostagedoesasuccessfulsellercharge, and can you compete?

Where you cannot find any history of the item you want tosell, thisdoesnotnecessarilymeanyou’regoing to make a fortune by flooding the site with thousandsofproducts.Searchforsimilaritems,tryalternative keywords and spellings, and perhaps even check an international eBay site or conduct a search onGoogle to see if someonehas already corneredthe market in that item.

Networking to find products to sell

When I tell people I work at eBay, I am still amazed bythenumberwhosay ‘I’vealwayswanted tosellon eBay’, and of these, the high proportion thatare business people who want to use eBay as an additionalchanneltotheirexistingsales.Ifyouarecontinually looking for new product opportunities, as all successful business minds should be, always carry your eBay business card with you. Take every


opportunity to explain to people that you run abusinesssellingotherpeople’sproductsoneBayandare always on the lookout for new lines.

Meeting possible leads is only part of the equation, however.Youshouldhaveonstandbyapresentationready to email or print and send to potential suppliers thatexplainsyourbusinessmodel,highlightssomeofyour previous successes and outlines the opportunity for sales on eBay.

Communications with potential suppliers should always be professional. If your eBay business looks as though it is run out of a backyard garage, why would a supplier choose you to extend their saleswhen they could just as easily do it themselves?

Wholesalers and manufacturers

Once you’ve discoveredwhat type of product youwant to sell, make a target list of manufacturers and wholesalers you want to approach to provide you with products. This will be a long, slow process, so get ready to invest some hard yards.

A lot of companies you contact out of the blue will not even return your calls—you need to be intelligent aboutwhoyouapproachwithinthebusiness.Startwith a sales and/ormarketing director. A quickinternet search can often unearth the name and contact details of relevant personnel within most companies. Be realistic aboutwhere you start; ifyou have zero feedback and have never sold on eBay before, it’s unlikely you’ll get amultimillion-dollarcompany to sell directly to you. Aim for a business


that has enough product, but not too many products, for you to manage as a re-seller.

Here are some basic concepts you should address in your pitch to a prospective supplier:• Whoareyouandwhatisyourworkhistory?• WhatiseBay?Alotofbusinesseshavestill

notexploreditfully,sothinklikeabusinessand relay some of the more compelling propo-sitions eBay has to offer, such as the number of members,qualityofthesearchexperience,thefeedback system, etc.

• WhyisyoureBaybusinessagoodchoiceforre-selling this type of product?

• Whatisthepotentialsizeofthemarketforthistype of product on eBay?

• HowcansellingtheproductoneBaybeconsideredcomplementarytotheexistingbusiness—and not in conflict with their own sales channels, or their other re-sellers?

• Whattermsandconditionswouldyouexpectunder a proposed agreement? What would they charge at wholesale, and what would you sell for on eBay?

• WhataresomeexamplesofyoureBaybranding?Remember,youhavetosellyourself!

Internet searches

If you are patient, the right combination of keywords in an internet search can reveal a host of local and international websites that feature wholesalers and theirproducts.Someareopenmarketplaces,othersgive you the opportunity to advertise your own


business with an outline of the services you offer. We could provide you with a list of ten great sites, but finding supply is one of the best-kept secrets on eBay and if every reader of this book flooded a particularsite,well,therewouldn’tbeanycompetitiveadvantage anymore, would there? Be patient and creative with your searches and you will find some opportunities.

T i p : ✔ Remember to be safe online! If an offer looks too

good to be true, it probably is. Merely having a website

does not mean that a business is legitimate. Before you

part with your money, consider using an escrow service

that will hold your payment ‘in trust’ and only release

it once you have indicated you have received, and are

satisfied with, the products.

Importing

Overtheyears,I’vespentalotoftimeworkingwithsomeof eBay’smost successful sellers.A consider-able number of them import items from overseas. Importing brings with it a distinct set of opportunities andchallenges.StartbyreferringtotheAustralianGovernment’sCustomswebsitehttp://www.customs.gov.au for important information regarding your obligations as an importer. There are a number of documents, fees and rules you need to be aware of before beginning an import business. It is best to seek professional legal and accounting advice on the implications of importing items from overseas.

YournextstepshouldbetosearchoninternationaleBay sites. Chances are, other sellers have checked


these sites to see what is available, and for how much. What you really need to do is look for a gap in the market—something that is not readily available on eBay anywhere in the world.

Throughout the year, a number of organisations holdimportingconferencesandexhibitionsdesignedto help Australians establish contacts with inter-national businesses. You can alsomake contactwith various embassies that will refer you to trade organisations within their country.

Theexperienceofmostothersellers is theneedto establish face-to-face communications and rela-tionships with foreign businesses to help ensure a smooth working relationship. By working with foreign government agencies, you’remore likely tobe assured quality leads than you are if you attempt to establish contacts once you arrive.

Become an eBay trading assistant

Trading assistants are people who sell products on eBay on behalf of other people or businesses. eBay has a directory of all trading assistants, and although the volumes can be relatively modest, it is a good waytofindsomeextraproductstosell.Whilemostof the clients you provide this service to tend to be people with several unique items left after clearing out their houses, there is nothing to stop you from promoting yourself as an eBay trading assistant to businesses with high volumes of inventory.

Trading assistants enter into individual agreements with clients and can set their own terms of trade. Sometakeapercentageofthefinalpriceoftheitem,


forexample,whileotherschargeaminimumfeeperitem, or a combination of the two.

To become a trading assistant, you must have:• soldatleastfouritemsinthepast30days;• afeedbackscoreof50ormore;• aminimumfeedbackpercentageof97percent

positive;and• aneBayaccountingoodstanding.

Once you qualify and register as a trading assistant, youwill be featured in eBay’s directory.Formoreinformationandtoviewthedirectory,goto: http://tradingassistant.ebay.com.au/ws1/eBayISAPI.dll?TradingAssistant&page=main.

eBay file exchange

Ifyouhaveanexistingproductcatalogueandyouwish to upload your products to eBay without having tofamiliariseyourselfwitheBay’s‘Sellyouritem’formorotherlistingtools,theeBayfileexchangemaybea suitable solution for your business.

Usingthefileexchangeisfree,butyoumustmeeteBay’sminimum seller requirements: youneed tohave been registered as a seller on eBay for at least 90days,andmusthavelistedatleast50itemsinanyof the three previous calendar months. To continue using the tool you must maintain this minimum number of listings.

http://tradingassistant.ebay.com.au/ws1/eBayISAPI.dll?TradingAssistant&page=main

http://tradingassistant.ebay.com.au/ws1/eBayISAPI.dll?TradingAssistant&page=main


Features of eBay file exchange

The tool allows businesses to upload listings via aCSV (comma-separated values) or tab-delimitedfile.TheexchangepopulatesparticulareBaylistinginformation such as item specifics, but presumes a minimum knowledge of using spreadsheet programs such as Excel or Access andwill require somefamiliaritywitheBay’ssellingfields,suchasformat,duration, etc.

Formore information on eBay file exchangego to:http://pages.ebay.com.au/file_exchange/.Formoreinformation regarding uploading products to eBay, refer to chapters 5 and 7, and the solutions directory featuredinChapter9.

23

Chapter 4

Preparing and creating listings

Item photoThe first thing buyers are generally attracted to when they look for an item on eBay is the picture that appears in search results. Buyers skip over listings that do not have a picture and, similarly, avoid photos of items that are blurry or too small.

If you have a professional catalogue of the items you want to sell on eBay, you do have the option of uploading images from your own website by using theexistingURL.However,themajorityofneweBaybusinesses will need to invest the time to create eye-catching, competitive product images that pique yourpotentialbuyers’interestimmediately.

T i p : ✔ Copying images and/or descriptions from other

websites or other eBay sellers may be infringing copyright

law and should be avoided.


When taking a photo of your items, here are some basic things to consider:• Canyouseeenoughdetailoftheproduct?Move

thecameratowardstheimage,don’tusezoom.• Havetheproductsetagainstaplain(preferably

white)background.• Useatripodtoavoidshakyhandsandblurry

photos.• Avoidusingflashes;usenaturallightwhere

available.• Placetheproductinsitu.Forexample,for

clothing,it’sadvisabletoinvestinamannequinor have a friend model them for you rather than laying them flat.

Item price

Let’sputthisasbluntlyaspossible:youcouldhavethe best product and the best service in the world, butifyoudon’tcompeteonpriceyouwillmissouton sales. InChapter 3,we covered the concept ofprofit margin. To be successful on eBay you need to ensure there is a market for your product that will sell at the price that will make you a sustainable net profit. Do your research thoroughly—on eBay, on other e-commerce sites and even offline—to ensure that you will be able to sell your products at a highly competitive price.

It is true that some sellers will gain competitive advantage by having the best reputations, the best designed listing and by providing the best service, but, especially in this economic environment, it is

Preparing and creating listings 25

the bargain that is going to attract the most buyer attention. Remembermost people shop on eBaybecause of the perception that it has the biggest range at the best value.

SmarteBaybusinessesalsoneedtobeagile.Youmay start with one or even no competitors, but due tohowtransparentthemarketplaceis,itwon’ttakelong before someone starts selling the same product as you, and usually at a cheaper price. Make sure you have some ability to discount if the situation requires it.

Providing the best value for any specific product willalsoassistyourrankingineBay’ssearchresults.Seebelow.

Item title

The third thing buyers pay attention to is the title. You only have 55 characters for your item title,and you should use that space to the absolute best of your ability to promote the product on sale. Not only are superfluous terms such as ‘cool’, ‘l@@k’and‘w0w’rarelysearchedforbybuyers,butyou’realso wasting the potential to have your item appear higher in search results.

Your item title shouldbe a simple list of highlyrelevant product keywords that buyers will search for.RefertoChapter8fortipsonfindingthemostrelevanttermsforyourproduct.Forexample,‘NewApple iPod Touch 32GBMP32nd Gen’ containsmore popular search terms than ‘Look New iPod Touch—CoolforKids’.


T i p : ✔ Remember to include the obvious! Browse through

the DVD category and you’ll begin to appreciate how

many listings do not contain the term ‘DVD’, or listings

without the word ‘book’ in the Books category.

Item description

Now that your photo, price and item title have broughtyourpotentialbuyertoyourlisting’s‘Viewitem’page,youneedtokeeptheirattentionandlurethem into a sale. At the top of the page, feature either a larger, clear picture of the item, or immediately list critical product details. Be factual and avoid flowery oroverlyexpressivelanguage,unlessyouritemisaone-of-a-kind and buyers will find the background story relevant and appealing.

Onceyou’vedescribedtheitemasfactually,thor-oughly and professionally as possible, clearly list your payment and postage details. Include as many options as possible and do not discourage or favour anyparticular options. This is the buyer’s choice,and if they favour a particular method they should not be discouraged from using it.

Avoidexcessivedesign,colouring,fontsizesandstyles. It creates an impression that the seller is unprofessional and in some cases can make it harder forthebuyertoreadwhatyou’reselling.

Finally, avoid terse, threatening or lengthymessaging around your trading terms. There are countless sellers out there who go to great pains towarn you against buying their product. It’s fairto outline your general terms of trade, as any good retailer will do, but 200 lines of bold, capped red


textyellingatbuyerstobewarewillonlyturnmoreof your prospective customers away. No business can afford to do so and remain sustainable for the long term.

Item categorisation

It is imperative that you categorise your item as accurately as possible when you list it on eBay. Not only will buyers be able to find it more easily, but eBay’s search algorithm rewards listings ofmorerelevant categorisation by promoting them higher in search results.

Category is the most obvious and important tool of classification.Within theDVDs category, forexample,sellersarepresentedwitharoundeighteensub-category options. If you list yourDVD in acategorywiththeword‘other’init(suchas ‘OtherDVD genres’) then youwill lose all buyerswhobrowse for that titlewithin ‘Comedy’. Similarly,miscategorisation may lead to your account being limitedbyeBay(refertoChapter10).

Many categories also include ‘item specifics’.These are important product attributes relevant to the category, such as region, format and condition withinDVDs.eBayrecentlyintroducedanewsearchfunctionality that allows buyers to select multiple product attributes to refine their searches. If you do not specify item specifics, your listings may be groupedwith other listings in the ‘non specified’category—hardly appealing for buyers!

Finally, some categories include ‘pre-filled iteminformation’,alsoknownas‘catalogues’.Thesewill


pre-fill certain product features within your listing. Wherever these are available they should be used, as they help provide more relevant information for buyersearches,andwhat’smoretheycanreducethetime it takes you to complete a listing.

Choosing the right format

Gettingtherightpicture,descriptionandcategoris-ation for your item is only part of the equation in attracting more buyers to your listings. Another crucial element is ensuring you list your particular product in the right format. On eBay, there are a numberofformats/optionstochoosefrom.Belowisa list and a brief outline of what types of products may be best suited to each.• Auction:rare,high-demand,highlycollectable

items of uncertain value.• AuctionwithBuyItNow:uniqueitemswitha

recognised general value.• Fixedprice(BuyItNow):commonproducts

with a widely known value.• Fixedprice(BuyItNow)withbestoffer:

common products that are often subjected to haggling, such as appliances.

• Classifieds(onlyavailableinselectedcategories):vehicles, services, real estate.

• Second-chanceoffers(availableonallauctionandfixed-pricelistings):allowsyoutomakeasecond offer to buyers who have not actually won your item.


Also bear in mind that eBay has different pricing fordifferentformats.RefertotheAppendix.

Best match: eBay’s search algorithm

On most eBay sites around the world, and in most categories, the search default is to an algorithm called‘Mostrelevant’or‘Bestmatch’.eBaydoesnotreveal what the precise algorithm equation is, and it does vary from site to site and, in some cases, from category to category. As an eBay seller, improving your search ranking can make the difference between being a successful seller and one who struggles to compete with others in their category.

Best match was designed to encourage healthy competition among sellers by rewarding those who offer the best service and value with the top position in search results, rather than defaulting the position on a time-ending basis.

Below are eight tips for helping to improve your rankingineBay’ssearch.Nonearesurefiresolutionsto success, but being aware of, and attempting to optimise your performance in, each of them will assist your ranking considerably.1 Value:eBaystrivestodrivevalueforitsbuyers.

Ifyouarethemostexpensiveseller,ortheonewhooffersthemostexpensivepostageoptions,the search algorithm is more likely to demote your listings.

2 Relevance:makesureyouritemtitleisasrelevant as possible to the product you are listing and, simultaneously, is highly relevant to the name of the category you have listed your


itemin.Forexample,listingaDVDcleanerintheRomanceDVDscategorywillmostlikelyresult in your listing being demoted.

3 Popularity:forfixed-pricelistings,yourchancesof ranking higher are improved if your listing has multiple items and has a recent history of sales.Forexample,ifyoulisttenidenticalshirtsin one listing and you sell three of the ten, your ranking is likely to be higher than if you sell five of the same shirt as five individual listings. Soinordertofurtherboostyoursuccess,themore of the same item you can sell within one listingthebetter.Youthereforeneedtocompeteon price, service, photo, title, description and so on to attract as many buyers as possible to improve your sales of that item.

4 Service:aseller’sdetailedsellerratings(seeChapter6)arecriticaltoyourrankinginsearchresults. Make sure you offer great service to all your buyers so they rank you highly on item description accuracy, your communication, your postage costs and how long it takes them to receive the item.

5 Changes: if you change any detail in your listing it is likely to impact your ranking in a search. Forexample,changingthepriceofyouritemislikelyto‘re-set’yourlistingasnew,losinganyprevious sales data you have gathered so that your popularity ranking will effectively be lost.

6 Policy violations: if you are a seller with a poor track record in eBay policies, you will most likely be demoted in search rankings. It is thereforevitalthatyouunderstandallofeBay’s


listingandsellerpolicies(seeChapter10),andthat you do your utmost to ensure you never violatethem.Furthermore,ifeBaycontactsyouwith a request to follow up a buyer complaint, you should attempt to resolve the matter as soon as possible.

7 Listing duration: for auctions, it makes sense that those ending soonest will receive some positiveweightinginthesearchrankings.Forfixedprice,however,theaimistogatherasmuch sales history for an individual listing as possible—a30-daylistinghasagreaterchanceof achieving this than a three- or seven-day listing,forexample.

8 Experience:whileitistruethatlistingswitha sales history are likely to receive positive balanceinthesearchranking,thosefixed-pricelistings without a history should attempt to emulate the most successful items. This means competing on price, service and relevance.

32

Chapter 5

Save time with Turbo Lister

What is Turbo Lister?TurboListeriseBay’sfast,freeandeasylistingtool.It allows you to create professional looking listings quickly and edit them in bulk. You canduplicatelistings to save time, and create templates for similar products so that all standard information remains the same and all you need to do is add product-specific details. It’smuch faster andmore convenient thanlisting directly on eBay, especially for businesses with deep product ranges.

Settingupyourtemplateistheonlytime-consumingpart.Once that’s done it canbe copied thousandsof times, with editing product-specific information a simple function away. Turbo Lister enables you to: • edityourlistingquicklyandeasily;• customiseyouroptionstocreateandeditnewlistings;• addphotosandpreviewyourlistingswithout

beingconnectedtotheinternet;

Save time with Turbo Lister 33

• automaticallyinsertpaymentterms,postageandanymessagesyouwishtoinclude;

• setuptemplatessoyouonlyhavetoenterthisinformationonce;

• scheduleyourlistingstostartwheneveryouwish;and

• uploadupto3000listingstoeBaywithasingleclick.

Who should use Turbo Lister?

Turbo Lister is primarily aimed at those listing anything from a few hundred to a few thousand listings at a time. It is not recommended for businesses with their own listing tools or inventory systems, as in this instance a third party listing or inventory toolmay bemore suitable. For information, see‘SolutionsDirectory’onpage127.

How do I download Turbo Lister?

Before you download Turbo Lister, first check to see if you have the following computer system requirements:• WindowsVista,Windows2000orWindowsXP

(WindowsXPrecommended).• 450MHzorfasterprocessor(PentiumIIIor

higherrecommended).• 256MBRAM.• Atleast250MBfreeharddiskspaceis

required, but 500 MB is recommended.• Internetconnection.• InternetExplorer5.5orlater.


To download Turbo Lister, go to http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/sell/turbo-lister-install.html andclick on the ‘Download the Turbo Lister program here’link.

T i p : ✔ Because Turbo Lister is not an online tool, it

needs to be ‘sent online’ to eBay to check for relevant

updated information. Before starting a large amount

of work creating or editing your listings, you should

always check for updates to important information like

category numbers and fees. To check for updates, click

on ‘Tools’, then ‘Check for program updates’ in the top

navigation menu.

Finding your way around Turbo Lister

Most of the actions you need to perform in Turbo Lister are done via the top navigation menu and the sub-navigation menu. When referring to the topnavigationmenu,wemean ‘File’, ‘Edit’, ‘View’,‘Tools’and ‘Help’, justbelowtheTurboLister logo.The sub-navigation menu will not always be active, but includes the pictorial buttons on the second line, from‘New’throughto‘Help’.

Figure 5.1: Navigation menus


T i p : ✔ When you first open Turbo Lister, tips will appear

in a pop-up box. It’s worth leaving this enabled to check

for important updates and to learn handy hints. It can be

closed each time by clicking on the ‘Close’ button in the

bottom right-hand corner. To disable the tips, unselect

the ‘Show tips at startup’ box in the bottom left-hand

corner. To see these tips at any time, choose ‘Help’, then

‘Turbo Lister tips’ from the top navigation menu.

Figure 5.2: Tips pop-up box

Importing listings into Turbo Lister

Thefirstthingyouneedtodoisimportyourexistinglistings(ifyouhaveany)fromeBaysoyoucanstoreand edit them within Turbo Lister. To do this click ‘File’,then‘Importitems’,‘FromeBaylistings’,fromthetopnavigationmenu.Next,choosewhichofyoureBay listings you would like to import by checking therelevantboxes.Thenclick‘Import’.


Figure 5.3: Importing existing listings

Depending on where your listings were located withinMyeBayorSellingManagerPro,yourlistingswillnowappearwithinTurboLister’s‘Inventory’or‘Listing activity’ fields in the left-handnavigation.The left-hand navigation is a group of your folders, andeachcanbeexpandedbyclickingononeofthesmall arrows to the right.


Figure 5.4: Locating imported files

Note that you can also import listings from a file on your computer. To do this, on the top navigation click‘File’,then‘Importitems’,then‘Fromfile’.

Creating a new listing/new template

Let’sstartbycreatinganewlistingfromscratch.RefertoChapter4formoretipsoncreatingagreatitemlisting. It is best to create a new listing by going to theinventoryandopeningthe‘Myitems’folder.Onceinthefolder,click‘New’,then‘Createnewlisting’,or‘New’,then ‘Createnewtemplate’.Youwillnowbetaken to the fields you need to complete in order to create a listing from scratch. However, note that you cansimplycopyanexistinglistingandchangethe


fields—it is very simple to do so and instructions arelistedonpage49.

Title

1 Complete the item title. Be sure to only use highlyrelevantsearchablekeywords.Youhave55 characters, so do not waste any space on pointlesstermssuchas‘l@@k’or‘cool’.Ifcreating a template you may wish to leave this blankorputinagenericlabelsuchas‘DVDR4new’soyoucanaddindividualproductdetailslater.

2 Complete the listing subtitle if you need to add more information and have it appear below the title in the search results list. Note that this incurs an additional fee. Leave blank for templates unless you have a standard subtitle you want applied to all similar products, such as ‘Australian seller, 100% feedback, free postage’.

Figure 5.5: Inserting title

ChecktheABCboxtoconductaquickspell check. Atthetopofthefield,the‘?’willtakeyoutoTurbo


Lister Help,andthe‘+’allowsyoutocustomise the fields—we’llcovertheseonpage55.

Category

Next, choose themost appropriate category infor-mation for your item. If creating a template, you may wish to leave this blank to add individual product details later, or alternatively you can create a template for each product that will share the same category (e.g.‘ComedyDVDs’,‘DramaDVDs’,etc.).1 Choose a previously used category by clicking

the drop-down arrow, or alternatively click ‘Select’toseeacompletelistofeBay’scurrentcategory structure.

2 Note that some categories are enabled with item specifics, which prompt you to choose from a list of product descriptors applicable to your item. Always use these where available as they canhelpincreasetheexposureofyouritems.Click‘Select’toadditemspecifics,or‘Edit’tochange them. If you choose a category that has pre-filled information catalogues attached to it, you will be prompted to add brand, product type or model to match your product with the informationeBayhasstoredonitsservers.Formore information, see ‘Creating multiple items withpre-filledinformation’onpage53.

3 Createadditionalexposureforyourcategorybyadvertising it in a second category. Note that this incurs an additional fee.

4 If you own an eBay store, choose relevant store categories.(See‘Storecategories’,page100.)


Figure 5.6: Inserting category

Pictures

Leave this field blank if creating a template, unless you want all products to have the same image. To add a picture:1 Clickon‘Clicktoinsertapicture’.2 Findthepictureonyourcomputerandclick

‘Insert’.3 Add additional pictures by repeating the

process. Note that this incurs an additional fee.

Figure 5.7: Inserting a picture

Your product image appears here.


Item description

Imagine you are a buyer and include all the relevant information you need to successfully sell your item. Fortemplates,onlyincludeinformationthatwillbeapplied to all products, such as payment and postage information.1 Youcantypeyourdescriptionandusethe

simpledesignintheboxprovidedor,alterna-tively, scroll down and click the ‘Description builder’buttontoeditfont,colourandstyle,and add additional design components.

Figure 5.8: Adding description and design components

Here, you can:a choosetouseoneofeBay’sinbuiltlisting

designs.ThisisfreeforTurboListerusers;b changethelayoutofthepage;


c useoneofeBay’sphoto-upgradeoptions;d change the font style, size, emphasis, colour

or alignment. Also add bullet or numbered points,oruseindents;

e copyorpasteinformationfrom/toanothersource;

f chooseoneofeBay’smarketinginsertssuchas‘Seller’sotheritems’forcross-promotion,oryourstorelogo(ifyouhaveone);

g change the size of the page or conduct a spell check;

h alternatively, add in your own HTML code to createahighlystylisedlisting;

i and finally, preview how your item will look on eBay.

Once finished with your item description, click ‘Save’.2 If you want to add a custom label to the

product that only you can see, to help with ordering or classifying your items, do so in the ‘Inventory’field.

3 Scrolldowntothebottomofthe‘Design’or‘HTML’viewtoadd a counter to your listing. This will tell you the number of people who view your listing while it is live on eBay.

Selling format information

Fortemplates,onlyfillinthesellingformatinformationthat will be the same across all like products.


Figure 5.9: Adding selling format information

1 Choose whether you want to list your item at afixedprice(BuyItNow)orasanauction.Insome categories you can also choose classified format.

2 Enter your price, or the auction start price.3 Specifyhowmanyofthisitemyouhavefor

sale.4 Selectthedurationofyourlisting.5 Bidder IDs are now anonymous on eBay so

thereisnoneedtocheckthe‘Privatelisting’box.

6 Next,choosewhetheryouwouldliketoaddanyofeBay’sListing upgrades to help increase theexposureofyouritem.


Figure 5.10: Optional listing upgrades

7 Under‘Postage options’, choose the various servicesyouwilloffertoyourlocaland(ifchosen)internationalbuyers.Therearetwopostage options to choose from: calculate postage and flat rate. If you choose to allow buyers to calculate their postage you can:a Choose calculated postage to allow buyers

to self-calculate postage costs based on their own postcode.

b Enter in the weight of the item.c Specifyanyadditionalhandlingcosts.d If you know the package size and type,

choose from the options listed and enter the dimensions.


Figure 5.11: Item specifications for delivery

ORifyouchooseflatratepostage:e Choose flat-rate postage to all buyers.f Specifywhichpostageservicesyouoffer.g Specifythecostperitem,andforeach

additional item.h Specifywhetherbuyerscanpicktheitemup

from you, and if that entails a cost.i Create combined postage discounts: this link

takes you to eBay to set up general rules around combined postage for your listings.

j Specifyyourdomestichandlingtime(howlong it will take you to post the item once it hasbeenpaidfor).

k Repeatforinternationaldeliveryifyouarewilling to send your item overseas.

l Make sure your item location is correct.m Toedit,click‘Postageoptions’.


Figure 5.12: Delivery options


8 Choose which payment methods you will accept. Note that you must accept PayPal on someeBaysites,sothisboxmaybeautomati-cally checked for you.

Figure 5.13: Payment options

9 Finally,specifyanyinstructions or policies your buyers need to be aware of, or specify whichbuyers(ifany)youwouldliketoblockfrom buying your items.


Figure 5.14: Additional instructions or policies

At the bottom of the screen you will see a number of options. The arrows (a)will allowyou tomoveintothenextlistinginyourfolder,ifyouhaveone.(b)allowsyoutoapplyyourTurboListerdefaultstothislisting(moreonthatonpage56).(c)showsyouaquickpreviewtoreviewallinformation.(d)allowsyou to create another listing the same as this one, meaning you can easily edit product details without having to change other fields.

Figure 5.15: Program options

Onceyouarehappywithyourlisting,click‘Save’or‘Saveastemplate’inthebottomright-handcornerof the screen.


Copying/editing existing listings

Now that you have created your first listing, everything getseasier!Youcancopy(duplicate) and edit your listings in bulk. This is especially important if you need to perform a mass update of your listings based on changes made to the eBay site. To edit or copy multiple listings, simplyholddownyour ‘Control’button and select multiple listings. To select all, highlight any listing, right click your mouse and click ‘Select all’. Let’s say you are selling a total offivedifferentDVDs,allsimilartoThe Piano. In your ‘Myitems’folder:1 Click‘Duplicate’tocreatecopiesofthislisting

and specify the number of copies you want.2 To change the listing format of this listing, click

‘Changeformat’.3 To upload the listing to eBay, click ‘Add to

upload’.4 If you want to edit the listing in the template,

click‘Edit’.5 Toeditinthislineviewmakesure‘Editmode’

is checked, then simply double-click the edit-ablefieldsineachrow.Leavingin‘Viewmode’will mean you can double-click on any listing to access the template to edit.

In this example,The PianoDVD template hasbeen duplicated five times and the seller has gone in to edit item titles, categories, item specifics, photos and start prices. All other fields can be left the same as they are allDVDs, and there are five copies ofeach to sell.


6 Topreviewhowalistinglooks,click‘Preview’. 7 Toprint,click‘Print’. 8 Todelete,click‘Delete’. 9 ‘Synchronize...’willupdateyourTurboLister

information with eBay information.10 ‘Viewonline’willtakeyoutoeBay.

Figure 5.16: Editing listings

T i p : ✔ If there are certain options you do not want to

see when creating or editing a listing, you can ‘turn off’

certain features or check boxes. To do this, just click

‘Customise’ in the top right-hand corner of the area you

want to streamline. This can help make it even faster to

complete a listing in Turbo Lister.


Bulk editing

To edit multiple listings at once, highlight all listings youwishtoedit.Choose‘Edit’fromthetopnavigationpanel,thenclick‘Editmultipleitems’.Youwillthenbe taken to a screen that allows you to edit certain fields—these edits will be applied to all listings you have highlighted. Beware that changing fields marked ‘Multiplevalues’willoverwriteallexistinginformation for that listing.

In the description field, anything you write can be added to the bottom or top of the description, or replace it altogether.

Youcanchangetextthatiscommontoallofyourlistings (bulk edit) using the ‘Search and replace’feature. Highlight all listings you would like to edit, choose ‘Edit’ from the top navigation panel, thenclick ‘Searchand replace’.This is especiallyusefulif you need to change your postage information, returns policy or payment information, if you have includedtextabouttheseinyouritemdescription.For example, you can replace ‘We accept BankDeposit,Cheque,Cash andPayPal’with ‘WeonlyacceptPayPal’.


Figure 5.17: Search and replace function

Note,youcanchoosetoreplacetextinthelistingtitle, subtitle,yourcustom(inventory) labeland/orthe listing description.

Youcanalsomassedityourlistingsbyexportingthem into an Excel (CSV) file. To do so, highlight the listingsyouneed toedit, click ‘File’ in the topnavigation,thenclick‘Exportselecteditems’.OnceinExcel,highlightthenecessaryfields,click‘Edit’inthetopnavigationofExcel,click‘Replace’,thenfollowthesameprocessasoutlinedabove.Next,you’llneedto re-import your listings back into Turbo Lister, so inTurboListerclick ‘File’ fromthetopnavigation,then ‘Import items’, then ‘From file’ to retrieve thefile from your computer.


Creating multiple items with pre-filled information

SomeproductsoneBaycanbelistedusingpre-filleditem information. This works by accessing a stored catalogue on eBay and returning product information to add to your listing. To create new multiple items using pre-filled information, on the sub-navigation menuclick‘New’,then‘Multipleitemswithpre-filledinformation’.ChoosetheeBaysitewhereyouwishtodisplayyourlisting,thenclick‘Next’.Then,chooseyour product type from the drop-down list, and enter the brand, product or model number of the item you wish to find pre-filled information for. Once youhave completed your list, hit ‘Next’ andTurbo Lister will access eBay to find the information you require.Youmaybe required to select fromanumber of close-matching products for each keyword you enter.

Sending your listings to eBay

Onceyouhavefinishededitingand/orcreatingyourlistings and you are ready to send them live to eBay, highlight the relevant listings then drag them into the ‘Waitingtoupload’ folder in the left navigation.

There are a number of options in the ‘Waiting to upload’ folder.Click ‘Tools’ in the top navigationto:• sendalllistingstoeBay;• sendselectedlistingstoeBay;


• sendalllistingstoSellingManagerPro(thisisan optional tool you need to subscribe to on eBay;refertoChapter7);or

• calculatewhatyourlistingfeeswillbe.

Alternatively, choose from one of the upload buttons to change the order of the listings, schedule your listings to start at a particular time, calculate fees or upload your listings to eBay.

Figure 5.18: Upload buttons

T i p : ✔ The ‘Activity log’ folder in the left navigation will

be active once you send listings to eBay. It shows you

the status of your listings, so if you ever forget what

you’ve done this is a good place to start!

Using Turbo Lister to organise your listings

Youcancreate new folders to organise your listings into similar product types, formats, or even which eBay site you list on. To do so, on the top navigation bar click ‘File’, ‘New’, ‘Folder’. Alternatively, click‘New’inthesub-navigationmenu,thenclick‘Createnewfolder’.Anotherwaytodothisistorightclickwhere you want your new folder to be placed in the leftnavigation—‘Myitems’,forexample—thenclick‘Newfolder’.

Youcanalsomove your listings between folders by simply dragging them with your mouse.


Youcanchange the order of your listings in any folder. Just click on any of the grey column headers to reorder your listings by the relevant field.

Figure 5.19: Reordering listings by column headings

To customise the number and order of columns youwouldliketoseewithinanyfolder,click‘View’,then‘Customisecolumns’inthetopnavigation.Thenchecktheboxnexttothecolumnyouwanttosee,or change the order of the columns by moving them upordown.Click‘OK’tosaveyourpreferences.Youwill need to do this for each group of sub-folders you create.

If you have a lot of listings and want to find onequickly,youcanuseTurboLister’s ‘Searching for items’ function in the top right-hand corner of the sub-navigation menu. This will search for the keyword(s)inallofthelistingswithinthehighlightedfolder. Click on the magnifying glass to narrow your search to item title, or description, etc.

Setting your Turbo Lister options and preferences

In the topnavigation click ‘Tools’, then ‘Options’.Each subheading here can be very useful for setting standards across all your Turbo Lister listings.


‘Personal information’ allows you to connect your TurboListerwithaneBayUserIDandalsoaPayPalemail address for using payment.

‘Seller options’ allows you to choose which eBay sites you would like to list on, access your eBay store (if youhave one), change the default ‘Create new’setting within Turbo Lister, and default to one eBay site and one selling format for each new listing you create in Turbo Lister.

‘Defaults’canbechosen forauction, fixed-price(BuyItNow)andclassified-formatlistings.Here,youcancreatedefaulttexttoappearonallyourlistings(such as paymentmethods, sales policies, etc.) soevery time you create a new listing this information will automatically appear. Choose default information for description, price, quantity, postage, etc.

‘Advanced options’ can change the way Turbo Lister works when updating and synchronising your information.Youcanalsoset a Turbo Lister password within Turbo Lister options to make it more secure.

Once you have set your new preferences and options, remember to click ‘Apply’ or ‘OK’ to saveyour changes.

Turbo Lister ‘Help’

More information about using Turbo Lister can be foundbyclicking‘Help’inthetopnavigationmenu.Inthe‘Help’sectionofTurboListeryoucanbrowsehelp topics or search for particular keywords. There are also links to eBay ‘Help’ pages and an onlinetutorial.


T i p : ✔ From time to time, you may need to know what

version of Turbo Lister you are using. To find out, in the

top navigation click ‘Help’, then ‘About Turbo Lister’.

Within the text that appears, you will see ‘Version . . .’.

Backing up Turbo Lister

It is advisable to back up your Turbo Lister database regularly to ensure you do not lose your information. Thedefaultlocationofyourdataisin‘Mydocuments’within the Turbo Lister backup folder. Alternatively, youcanchoosetosaveitelsewhere—forexample,onyour own computer. To back up the data, simply click ‘File’,then‘Backupdatabase’inthetopnavigation.

Youcanalsosetbackupreminders.Click‘Tools’,then‘Backupreminder’inthetopnavigation.

58

Chapter 6

Providing outstanding customer service

eBay’s ‘Feedback’ systemMost people who have ever heard of eBay would be aware of its online reputation system, known as ‘Feedback’.Feedbackisatransparentcustomerrating,there for all potential buyers to see—and it captures what percentage of your sales have resulted in a buyer giving you a positive, neutral or negative rating.

And while sellers receive a rating, there is also the opportunity for sellers to provide feedback to buyers too. However, eBay recently removed the option for sellers to leave buyers anything other than positive feedback. This decision was made after a number of buyers told eBay that receiving what they felt was undeserved negative feedback drove them to eventually leave the site for good. And, when you think about retail generally, there isn’t an obviousexample ofwhere a retailer has an opportunity tograde buyers on their performance. The obligation on

Providing outstanding customer service 59

buyers is to pay for an item if they have completed check-out. Once this is done, a professional seller will automatically leave positive feedback for the buyer.

The old adage of ‘you can’t please everyone’ istrue even inbusiness.You canofferone customera level of service they think is excellent and offerthe same service to another customer who rates it aspoor.Ratingisasubjectiveprocess.Itismoreorless inevitable that, the more you sell on eBay, you will eventually receive a negativeFeedback rating.This is the nature of business, and the key is to learn from the experience and take anynecessary stepsyou can to prevent it from happening again.

eBay’s detailed seller ratings (DSRs)

Buyers also have the opportunity to rate sellers on four components of their performance:1 the accuracy of the item description, and

whethertheitemwasreceivedasdescribed;2 communication;3 timetakentoreceivetheitem;and4 costofpostage/delivery.

Known as detailed seller ratings orDSRs, thesescores pit you against every other eBay seller on the site and can heavily influence your ranking in search results.You shouldmonitor your ratings regularly,and if you see a downward trend take every step to understand why it is happening and rectify the situation. Here are some reasons why you might be given a poor rating:


• Youhaven’tpassedonpostagesavingsorarenot competitive on postage.

• Youhavenotuseditemspecificsortheitemdescription to specify the condition of your item accurately enough.

• Yourproductphotographsarenotaccurate.• Youhavenotclearlyconveyedtherightinfor-

mation to your buyers.

Itisthereforecrucialtosettherightexpectationsinyourbuyer’smindbeforetheychoosetopurchasefrom you.

Setting the buyer’s expectations

AscoveredinChapter4,asurefirewayofdeterringpotential buyers is to list paragraph after paragraph of complicated terms of trade. Even the tone of your listing can deter buyers, or the fact that you haveusedcappedtext—whichonlineisinterpretedas ‘yelling’. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes andread your terms of trade as subjectively as possible. Would you buy from someone whose item description included threats to buyers if they do not pay within a specified time period?

The more successful sellers on eBay are those who convey concise and clear terms of trade that are reasonable, and are presented in a tone that is both professional and friendly. Here are some tips forclearlysettingtherightbuyerexpectations:• Describeyouriteminasmuchdetailas

possible. This not only includes the condition of the item, but the various product attributes


that may result in your buyer being satisfied ordisappointedifnotconveyedcorrectly.Forexample,ifyousay‘redvase’butyoureallyshouldhavesaid‘maroon’,orifyou’relistingan electronic accessory and you fail to mention the type of voltage or outlet required. Buyers are purchasing an item they have never seen before sobeasexplicitaspossibleinallaspectsofyour description.

• Indicatehowlongitwilltakeyoutorespondtoyourbuyer’squestions.Fewsellerswillbeonline every minute of every day, so in your listing outline your operating hours, including thoseofyour‘customersupportdepartment’.

• Letyourbuyersknowhowoftenyougotothepostofficetosendyouritems(everysingleday?)and/orgivethemaclearestimateofhowlongitwill take to receive their item.

• Letbuyersknowyourstandardpracticeforleavingfeedback(assoonasthebuyerhaspaid?).

• Ifyougoonholidays,use‘Holidayhold’(seeChapter8)orendallofyourlistings,becauseifyou’renotaroundtoansweremailsorsendtheitem—even if only for three days—your buyers need to know this.

• Ifyou’dliketogetpaidsooner,addamessageto your listing along the lines of ‘we ship our items directly to you as soon as payment is cleared, so faster payment methods such as PayPal mean you get your item faster. We appreciate payment within two days of the item beingbought.’


Communicating with buyers

As mentioned above, when you list an item for sale on eBay you’re generally expecting someoneto purchase a product they have never seen, from someonetheyhavenevermet.Somebuyersaremorecautiousabouttheexperience,whileotherswanttobe expressly certain they are buying exactlywhatthey want or need. Buyers are encouraged to ask sellers questions (ASQ) if there is anything aboutthe item, or the trade terms, they are unsure of. Be prepared to answer these questions, and do so in a timely manner.

Here are some tips on communicating clearly and effectively with your buyers:• AddanFAQs(frequentlyaskedquestions)section

to your listing, and your store if you have one.• Ifyoudonothaveastore,addan‘Aboutme’

pagewithyourFAQsonit(formoreinfor-mationsee:http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/account/about-me.html).

• Considerestablishinganauto-respondertoyourinboxifyouarereceivingahighvolumeof emails and will take more than a few hours torespond.Forexample,‘Thankyouforyouremail. We will aim to respond to you within eight hours, but you may also wish to see our “Questions”pageat...’.

• Ifbuyersaskyouquestionsaboutalisting,even ones you consider a waste of time, add the missinginformationtoyourlisting/template—andmakesureyouchecktheboxthatwill


automatically add the question and answer to the bottom of the live listing.

At all times, keep your tone polite and professional. Like any business, you will one day come across a buyerwhoisrudeand/orunreasonable...welcometo customer service! The mere fact that you are selling on eBay means you should be aware of customer service principles and ensure you uphold them at all times. The better service you offer, the more chances you will have to retain your buyers and increase your sales.

Payment options

Whenyougotoastore,isn’titannoyingwhentheydon’t accept the payment type youprefer to use?Sure,youmight follow throughwith thepurchaseregardless, but you generally think twice about returning to the store again. The same is true of eBay sellers—the more choices you give a buyer, the more potential you have to complete a sale—and have them return as loyal customers.

Thoughyou arewithin your rights to express apreferred option, it is unwise to state violent objec-tions to a particular paymentmethod and,what’smore,thismayinfactbeagainsteBaypolicy(refertoChapter10).


PayPal

As covered in Chapter 2, PayPal is the eBay-owned online payment mechanism. Below are some of the advantages of accepting PayPal:• Buyerscanpayyouwithouthavingtoshare

financial information such as credit card or bank account numbers.

• BothbuyersandsellersmaybeprotectedunderPayPal’sBuyerandSellerProtection.Buyersmaybeprotectedforupto$20,000onqualifyingitems, giving them peace of mind when using PayPal.

• Mostpaymentsareinstant.• PaymentsreceivedintoyourPayPalaccount

are easily reconciled with your eBay listings, and PayPal is fully integrated into the eBay site, meaning once a buyer has paid the item should be marked as such within My eBay.

• Buyerscanpayviacreditcard,bankaccountorstored PayPal balance.

Bank deposit

While most eBay buyers are comfortable transferring funds into your bank account, it is not a standard business practice to allow customers to do so. As a business seller, one of the disadvantages of having buyers use this option is that often they neglect to adequately label their payments and, if you’reselling hundreds of items with the same price point, reconcilingpaymentscanbeexhausting.Buyerstendnot to be aware of how difficult it is to reconcile, and


any subsequent delays in receiving their products may result in the seller receiving negative feedback. It is true, however, that a small percentage of buyers are not comfortable using credit cards online and this is one method of payment that is easily accessible. There is generally very little protection available to buyers using this form of payment.

Cash on pick-up

SomesellersoneBaychargebuyersahandlingfeeforcoming to pick up their items. Think how you would feel as a buyer if you walked into an appliance store, paid for your item and then drove around the back topickituponlytothenbetoldyouhavetopay$5to have the staff member bring the appliance to your van.Youdonothavetooffercashonpick-up,andifyou think the hassle of doing so is an inconvenience then choose not to offer it rather than charge for it. Somebuyers deliberately search for items in theirlocalarea,soifyoudon’toffercashonpick-upyoumay be limiting your sales.

Cheque/money order

If you would like to offer your buyers the option of paying‘theold-fashionedway’,makesureyouclearlycommunicate that there will be a delay in receiving their items as you will wait for the payment to clear into your bank account. Not every business seller on the site accepts these payment methods, so consider your target market and the likelihood they will use this option.


Credit cards

Credit card payments can be processed on eBay via PayPal. Alternatively, you may already have credit card facilities in your business, in which case you can accept the buyer’s credit carddetails over thephone or online.

T i p : ✔ Sellers need to be aware of the fact that they

cannot actively discourage the use of PayPal on eBay,

and cannot charge additional fees for accepting a

particular form of payment.

Delivery options

Leave it up to your buyer to decide what they would prefer. Carefully consider your pricing and offer the following options:• overnightorexpresspost(somebuyersare

preparedtopayapremium);• standardpostage;• courier;• insuranceorregisteredpost(foranextracost);• extrapaddingforanadditionalcost;• dismantlingofyourproducts—usethisoption

selectively, but in the case of something as simpleasCDsorDVDs,forexample,somesellers offer to send only the disc and the insert, whichmeanstheitemcanbesentfornexttonothing;and

• pick-up—somebuyerslovecomingtopickuptheir items.


Free postage

In recent years, e-commerce companies have begun to appreciate that postage was impacting their ability to compete with offline retail. There has been a trend to increasingly offer free postage to compete with those stores that bombard television, radio and print with news that they are on sale. One of the benefits to operating an online business is fewer overheads;oneofthedisadvantagesisthegrowingneed to absorb postage costs.

eBay is no exception to this trend. Increasingly,sellers are being encouraged, and rewarded, for offering free postage. More importantly, buyers havecometoexpectitinmostcases.Itisthereforead visable to consider utilising free postage as one of yourbusinesstactics.Youcanusuallyabsorbmostof the costs in the overall price of your products.

Australia Post

Most people and some businesses assume that Australia Post operates using a ‘one size fits all’mentality. It is not the case. The more volume you send,thebetterthepriceyoureceive.Somesellershave an account, which means their items are collected byAustralia Post; others get access to apriorityqueue.Youneedtocheckwithyourlocalpostofficeabouttheservicestheyoffer,butdon’tfallintothe trap of checking with only one branch—not all outletsofferthesameservices,soit’swisetoconductathoroughresearch.Anddon’trelyontheAustraliaPost website to give the best information because it


is rarely tailored to your specific needs. Just like you should get to know your bank manager, get to know your postmaster, and your local postie too!

T i p : ✔ Don’t assume you know the most cost-effective

way of sending items. Ask many questions, and ask

many people. Some products can pass as letters rather

than parcels; others are calculated differently depending

on cubic size or weight. Experiment with your packaging

to ensure you are paying the lowest possible amount

per item.

Couriers

Most couriers offer fast delivery with reliable tracking, which means you will know where your product is at all times. Choose a courier company that is professional, one that will enhance your reputation. Somecouriersofferdiscountssimplybecauseyouarean eBay seller. Others quote standard price options over the phone but are willing to negotiate once they know what sort of volumes you could potentially be sending their way.

T i p : ✔ When you call a courier company for the first time

to get quotes, don’t speak to the person who answers

the phone; ask to speak to someone who manages

new business accounts.

69

Chapter 7

Managing your inventory with Selling Manager Pro

What is Selling Manager Pro?Imagine a program that automates most of the pro cesses on eBay. It re-lists items for you when the listing ends, it tells youwhen you’re runningout of stock, it automatically emails your buyers for you and even leaves them feedback—all without you having to press a single button. It might sound too good to be true, but it isn’t. It’s called SellingManagerPro(SMP),andit’seBay’ssalesandinventorymanagementtool.Realistically,itwilltakeyouaboutan hour or two to dive in and learn how to use it properly, and a few hours to set up all your listing rules,butonceyou’vedonethattheamountoftimeyou spend performing basic post-sales processes is greatly reduced.


FeaturesofSellingManagerProinclude:• adisplayofalllistingswiththeircurrentstatus

(live,bids,sold,paid,feedback,etc.);• bulkre-listoptions;• automaticre-listoptions;• invoicesandpackinglabels;• emailandfeedbackdefaulttemplates;• bulkfeedback;and• trackingofanyunpaiditems.

Who should use Selling Manager Pro?

SMPisreallyaimedathigh-volumesellersoneBaywho do not have their own listing or inventory management tools, although some sellers who do useexternalsoftwarestillusesomeelementsofSMP,such as the automated feedback function.

How do I subscribe to Selling Manager Pro?

SellingManagerProcanbeusedonanyoperatingsystem. The only other computer system requirements are an internet connection and one of these browsers: MicrosoftInternetExplorer6orlater,MozillaFirefox1.5orlater,AppleSafari2orlater.

YoudonotneedtodownloadanyspecialsoftwaretouseSMP;itisallavailablefromwithineBay.Onceyou subscribe, all of your selling links within My eBaywill be replacedwith SMP functionality. Tosubscribe, go to http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/sell/selling-manager-subscription.html#subscribing.

Managing your inventory with Selling Manager Pro 71

eBayhasabasicversionofthetool(SellingManager)available for free, but it lacks the advanced inventory management features of SMP. SellingManagerProis $9.95permonth, but is free for a 30-day trialperiod. Ifyousubscribe toastore (seeChapter8),SellingManagerProisfree.

Selling Manager Pro summary

OnceyouhavesubscribedtoSMP,withinMyeBay,click on the ‘SellingManager Pro’ link in the left-handnavigation.YourSMPsummaryisaone-pagesnapshot showing you all your listings, recent sales and outstanding actions, such as listings awaiting payment andpostage. Fromhere every link takesyou directly to the relevant listings, so you will not need to scroll through your entire inventory to see just those listings that currently have bids, for example.

Seller dashboard

The ‘seller dashboard’ is also visible in the SMPsummary. eBay’s seller dashboard gives you guid-ance to your performance as a seller, and highlights possibleareasforimprovement.Giventhatyoursellerperformance can impact your ability to remain on the site, and also the position your listings appear in within a search result, it is imperative to ensure your performance is acceptable.


Sellerdashboardfeaturesinclude:• Detailedsellerratings:here,yourDSRsare

comparedwithothereBaysellersovera30-dayor twelve-month period.

• PowerSellerstatus:youcanchecktoseewhetheryoucanqualifyasaneBayPowerSeller.

• Policycompliance:checkheretoseeifyouhavecommitted any policy violations.

• Buyersatisfaction:yourcustomerserviceratingis listed here.

• Accountstatus:eBaywillalertyouheretoyouraccount payment status.

It is advisable to check your seller dashboard on a regular basis to ensure you are not in danger of being suspended from the site, or having your account restricted.


Figure 7.1: The seller dashboard

Creating products in the inventory

WithinSMP,youcancreateproductswithmultiple-listing templates. For example, you can create aproductforasingleDVD,butassigntothatDVDalisting that is auction, a listing that is Buy It Now, andalistingthatdisplaysontheUKeBaysite.Foreach product you create, you can also input critical


informationsuchasamountinstock,costprice(tohelpcalculateyourprofit),andyoucanmanageyourproducts within folders.

To create a new product, click on ‘Inventory’beneath the ‘SellingManager Pro’ link from the‘MyeBayviews’optionsintheleft-handnavigation.Scrolldowntothebottomofthepageandclickonthe‘Createproduct’button.

Figure 7.2: Create a new product listing

All of this information is for your reference only and cannot be viewed by your buyers. To create a new product, complete the following steps:1 Enter in the name of your product. If you do

not need multiple listings per unique product, you may wish to group similar products together,suchasbooksorDVDs,forexample.

2 Enter in your custom label.


3 Choosetosaveyournewlistinginanexistingfolder or create a new product folder.

4 Specifythequantityyouhaveavailable.5 Enter the average unit cost, which is how

much you pay per item. This will assist you in calculating your profit post-sales.

6 Enter your restock information and choose whether to be alerted when you are low on stock. If yes, choose the minimum quantity you want to have available before being alerted.

7 Enterinthevendor(orsupplier)information.8 Enter any notes, such as how long it takes to

ship, where the item is located in your ware-house, etc.

9 Click‘Saveandcreatelisting’.

Youwill then be taken through to eBay’s ‘Sellyour item’ form to create an eBay listing for theproduct.

Now that you have one listing template beneath thatproduct,it’seasytocreatemultipletemplatesandedit them as needed. This way, all the information you enter—such as start price, postage and payment options, and your listing design—will be carried over to all of the new duplicates you create.

Figure 7.3: Edit template screen


Here is what you can do with a template by checkingtheboxnextto‘Template1’:• Inthedrop-downbox,youcanassignauto-

mationrules(seebelow),deleteautomationrules,editthetemplatename(changeitfrom‘Template1’),ordeletethetemplate.

• ‘Edit’allowsyoutomakechangestotheactuallisting.

• ‘Sellagain’sendstheitemlivetoeBay.• ‘Duplicate’copiesthislistingexactly.• ‘Duplicateas’copiesthislistingbuttakesyouto

the‘Sellyouritem’formtoedittheinformation.• ‘Createnew’startsanewlistingfromscratch.• ‘Edittemplates’allowsyoutobulk-editallyour

listings(seebelow).• ‘Movetemplates’letsyoumovethemtoanother

folder.

Editing your listings in bulk

eBay makes changes to its policies that sometimes result in sellers needing to change their listings to comply. If you have 1000 products live at any one time, you can imagine how time consuming it would betoediteverysingleoneindividually.InSMP,youcanedityourlistingtemplatesinbulk.Fromwithinthe product folder, check the listing templates you wanttoedit,thenclick‘Edittemplates’.

Onthenextpage,selectwhichinformationfromyour templates you would like to edit. This includes basicinformationsuchastitle,subtitle,etc.Youcanmake bulk changes to payment options, postage, poli-cies,andsoon.Youcannoteditlistingdescriptions


here, but you can add more information to each description.Click‘Continue’.

Next,reviewyourtemplates,thenclick‘Save’.

Managing SMP folders

Fromtheproduct inventory,youcanmanageyourproduct folders in a number of ways:1 Usethedrop-downboxtoviewonlyproducts

in that folder.2 Clickthe‘Managefolders’linktoadd,edit,

move, copy or delete product folders.3 Usetheinventorysearchfieldtolocateitemsby

title, product name or custom label.4 Clickthe‘Storecategory’drop-downboxtosee

products listed in particular store categories.5 Checkthe‘Status’fieldtoseeproductsthatare

either low on stock or out of stock.6 Click on the relevant links in this row to sort

listings alphabetically, or by quantity in stock, success ratio, selling price, custom label or date submitted to eBay for sale.

Figure 7.4: Managing product inventory folders


Creating listings quickly in Excel

IfyouprefernottouseeBay’s‘Sellyouritem’formtocreate listings, with some basic knowledge you can create thousands of listings quickly and efficiently usingExcel.

The first step is to select which type of listing template you want to complete. Within My eBay, scrolldownthepageuntilyoucometo‘Sellertools’intheleft-handnavigation.Click‘Filemanagementcentre’.Onceinthefilemanagementcentre,beneath‘Upload’click‘Selecttemplate’intheleft-handnaviga-tion. There are several templates to choose from, both inCSVandExcelformat.• Productinventorytemplate,liketheonecovered

onpage73.• Itemspecificstemplate—chooseacategoryyou

wish to list in and the template will include a listof‘Itemspecifics’foryoutofillin,relatedto the product you wish to sell. Completing these fields is essential as it helps improve your ranking in search results. If using this template, once you have chosen your category you should alsodownloadthe‘Itemspecificsdefinitions’data to ensure your fields are accurate.

• Catalogtemplate—selectedeBaycategoriesimport a catalogue of products for you to choose from, matching the product code with some basic information about it.

• Basictemplate—onlyusethisforcategoriesthatdo not have item specifics, as there are no cata-logue or item specifics fields for you to fill in.


T i p : ✔ Before you start using eBay’s file management

centre, refer to the user guide here: http://pages.ebay.

com.au/file_exchange/SMP_FMC_User_Guide.pdf.

OnceyouhavedownloadedyourblankExcelorCSV template, you can fill in the necessary infor-mation for each field. To ensure you get the right content within each field, it is advisable to create one listing on eBay, then download that listing in Excelsoyoucancopyrelevantfields.

To do so, in the file management centre beneath ‘Download’ click ‘DownloadFiles’ in the left-handnavigation. Choose which type of listings you would like downloaded, and the email address you want the downloaded file sent to.Click ‘Save’. Youwillbe notified via email when the file is available for viewing,oralternativelyclick‘Completeddownloads’after a few minutes.

WithinExcel,youcannowcopyeachlineorfield,andusethe‘Findandreplace’functionalitytoeasilycreate hundreds, or thousands, of unique listings or editexistinglistingtemplatesinbulk,butfirstreadmore information about importing files below.

Importing your listing files

Be mindful that only those files that are complete and have all relevant information, and with the right style of text,will be able to be uploaded toeBay. It is advisable to test one or two listings first before spending your time creating thousands of listings only to find you have a small error in the input fields. Remember to refer to the user guide


here (http://pages.ebay.com.au/file_exchange/SMP_FMC_User_Guide.pdf)before you start this process.

To import or upload your new listing templates, inthefilemanagementcentrebeneath‘Upload’click‘Uploadinventory’intheleft-handnavigation.Click‘Browse’tofindtherelevantfileonyourcomputer,thenclick‘Upload’.

Now thatyouhavecreatedyourproductand/orlisting templates inSMP,youcanassignautomaticrules to each listing.

Listing automation rules

ByusingSMP’sautomatedlistingrules,youcansavean enormous amount of time that you’dnormallyhave to spend managing your listings and inventory. The rules available enable you to:• keepaminimumnumberoflistingsactiveatall

times;• scheduleyourlistings;• re-listonceifanitemdoesnotsell;• re-listcontinuouslyuntilanitemsells;and• re-listcontinuouslywhetheritsellsordoesn’t

sell.

To apply a rule to a listing or product, click ‘Inventory’under ‘SellingManagerPro’ in the left-hand navigation of My eBay. To the right-hand side of each of your listings, choose ‘Assign automation rules’ fromthedrop-downbox.Onthenextpage,select which rule you would like to apply, then click ‘Assign’.


Figure 7.5: Automation rules

If at any stage you wish to suspend your listing automationrules,under‘SellingManagerPro’intheleft-hand navigation of My eBay click ‘Automation preferences’.Scrolltothebottomofthepagetogettothe ‘Listingautomationschedule’thenselectthedates you would like your automation suspended. Click‘Apply’.Tochangeatanytime,simplyunchecktheboxandclick‘Apply’.

Managing active and unsold listings

SMP automatically groups together your listings,dependingon their status.Under ‘SellingManagerPro’ in the left-handnavigation ofMy eBay, click‘Active’or‘Unsold’.

Fromyour‘Active’list,usingthedrop-downboxon the right-hand side you can:• changetheformatofthelisting;• assignnewautomationrules;• sellasimilaritem(pre-populatesalisting

template with the same information so you can editittobecomeanotheritem);


• reviseyouractivelisting;• addtothedescription;and• endthelistingearly.

Fromyour‘Unsold’list,usingthedrop-downboxon the right-hand side you can:• sellasimilaritem;• re-list;or• re-listasstoreinventoryifyouritemwas

auctionorfixedprice.

Usingthebuttonsatthebottomofyourlist,youcan also add notes to the listing for your own infor-mation,orsavethelistingtoyourSMPInventory.

Managing sold items

Inasimilarway,SMPalsoallowsyoutomanageyoursold items conveniently in one place. Often the post-sales process can be the more time-consuming aspect of selling on eBay, so it is important to automate as much of this as possible.

Figure7.6showsthe‘solditems’screen.Thereisalotoffunctionalityonthispage,andit’sworthgettingto know what each of the time-saving features are. Rememberthatcheckingmultiplelistingswillallowyou to perform a lot of these functions in bulk to all selectedlistings.The‘Solditems’screenallowsyouto do the following:1 Searchforspecificbuyeremailaddresses.2 Searchforsolditemswithincertainstore

categories.


3 Look for all listings that are awaiting payment, awaiting postage or paid and posted.

4 Change the time period of sold items to look at.5 Aftercheckingtheboxnexttotherelevant

listing, change the item to:a paymentreceived;b posted;orc payment received and posted.

6 Aftercheckingtheboxnexttotherelevantlisting, choose to:a emailthebuyer;b printpackingslips/invoices;c leavefeedbackforthebuyer;d sellasimilaritem;e re-listtheitem;f sendittoyourarchivedfolder;g download/exportthelistingtoyour

computer;h revisetheactualpostagecostoftheitem;i savetoyourinventory;orj add a note.

7 Click on any of the hyperlinked headings or the symbols to change the order of your sold items by:a picture/nopicture;b recordnumber;c buyerID;d format;e totalprice;f saledate;g numberofemailssent;h whetherthebuyerhascompletedcheck-out;i paid/unpaid;


j posted/notposted;k whetheryou’veleftfeedbackornot;l feedbackleftforyoubythebuyerornot;m whethertheitemhasbeenre-listedornot;

n whether a buyer has accepted a second-chanceofferornot;or

o your custom label. 8 Usethedrop-downboxto:

a sellasimilaritem;b viewthesalesrecord;c printpackingslips/invoices;d emailthebuyer;e re-listtheitem;f sendittoyourarchivedfolder;org markposted(iftheitemhasbeenpaidfor).

9 Clickontherecordnumbertoseethebuyer’sdetails, transaction details and notes.

10 ClickonthebuyerIDtoseethebuyer’sfeedback profile.

11 Clickonthebuyer’semailaddresstosendthem an email.

12 Click on the item title to see the actual listing.13 Click on the price to see transaction details.14 Click on the number to see what emails you

sent the buyer, and when.15 Click on any of the symbols to view the sales

status and notes for each listing.


Figure 7.6: Managing sold items

Leaving automated feedback for buyers

SMPallowsyoutoautomaticallyleavefeedbackforyour buyerswhen certain conditions aremet. Youcan leave a random comment from a list created by you or eBay, and choose to do so when:• thebuyerhaspaidfortheitem;or• thebuyerhaspaidfortheitemandleftyou

positive feedback.

T i p : ✔ Being a great seller and providing great service

means recognising what a buyer’s obligations are for

each sale. In essence, all a buyer is contracted to do

once they buy from you is pay for the item. It is therefore

advisable that businesses that want to be seen to be

providing outstanding service automatically leave positive

feedback for buyers on payment.


To automate leaving feedback for buyers, under ‘SellingManagerPro’intheleft-handnavigationofMy eBay click ‘Automationpreferences’.Check the‘Automaticallyleavethefollowingpositivefeedback’box, then choosewhich option youwouldprefer.Click‘Apply’.

Youcanchangeyourstoredlistofcommentsbyclickingthelinkonthispagetoo.Youcanstoreupto ten positive feedback comments.

T i p : ✔ Make sure you brand your feedback with your

store name or seller ID. Double-check your comments

for spelling errors and make sure the message is

professional in tone. Don’t use CAPS and don’t use

punctuation marks to make images like this, * * * *, as

they’re generally off-putting and don’t enhance your

business reputation.

Sending automated emails to buyers

SMP also allows you to send automated emails tobuyers—drastically reducing the amount of time and effort required to provide outstanding service. Bear in mind that some buyers elect to receive automated end-of-item emails from eBay, so be careful not to inundate your buyers with communication. The email templateswithinSMParefullycustomisableandcanbe individualised for your buyers.

To automate sending emails to buyers, under ‘SellingManagerPro’intheleft-handnavigationofMyeBayclick‘Automationpreferences’.Checkwhichof the automated emails you would like to send, and


whether you would like to have a copy of the email sent to you. Email types include:• winning-buyernotification;• paymentreminder;• paymentreceived;• itemposted;and• feedbackreminder.

Once you’ve selectedwhich email you’d like tosend,click‘Apply’.

On this page, you can also edit each of the various emailtemplatesbyclickingonthe‘Editxxxtemplate’link. Once in the email template, if you have a store you can choose to include your store header. The auto textinsertionbox(seepage88)allowsyoutoinsertitem- and buyer-specific information into your emails so that each one appears individualised, adding more professionalism to your communi cations. Check the boxesifyouwouldliketoincludepaymentinforma-tionandyourcross-promotions(highlyadvisable).


Figure 7.7: Automated text email

Downloading your sales history and other SMP files

A successful business should keep track of all sales andbuyerinformation.SMPonlystoresinformationinyour‘Archived’folderfor45daysafteratransactionends. It is therefore advisable to export your salesinformation and save it to your computer for future reference, and for your records. To download your sales history or other files from SMP, click ‘Filemanagementcentre’intheleft-handnavigationofMy


eBay.Thenbeneaththe ‘Downloads’heading,click‘Createadownloadrequest’.Onthenextpage,choosewhich type of record you would like to download (‘Active’,‘Sold’,‘Archived’,etc.),thenclick‘Save’.

90

Chapter 8

Branding and marketing

All successful businesses spend time and resources creating a brand to attract and retain customers, and marketing to get it known. On eBay, remember that unless you are the only seller of your type of product, you will be competing with hundreds, if not thousands, of other eBay sellers. Imagine that eBay is one gigantic shopping mall and you are one of 80 electronics stores.Howwill youmakecustomers notice you first, and visit your store before theother79?Marketyourbrandtoyourcustomerdemographic—ifyou’resellingelectronics,yourimagecould be a tech-centred one, or if selling baby items your image could be tailored to new parents.

On eBay, a lot of this hard work is done for you, because eBay spends millions of dollars every year tobringpeopletotheplatform.Butoncethere,it’syour responsibility to make your listings stand out aboveandbeyondeveryoneelse’s,andagreatwayof doing this is by using an eBay store.

Branding and marketing 91

What is an eBay store?

Storesallowyoutodisplayallofyourlistingstogether,inonebrandedareaofthesite.It’slikehavingyourvery own website on eBay, with all of your selling policies, promotions and special marketing features. When you open a store, buyers can click through to your area of eBay to see everything you have for sale.Storeownersshouldtakethetimetocreateadynamic, stylish and strongly branded store to attract asmanybuyersaspossible—it’saboutmakingyoureBay name as professional as you can.

In addition to these benefits each store level is assigned adifferent fee structure, so it’s importantto choose the best one for your business. See theAppendixformoreinformation.

How can I subscribe to a store?

Tosubscribetoastore,goto:http://cgi3.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ChangeProductSubscription&productId=3.

Ifyouneedtocloseyourstore,goto:http://cgi3.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?CancelProductSubscription&productId=3.

Subscription levels

There are currently three different subscription levels for stores.1. Basic store ($14.95 per month)• Showcaseallyourlistingsinyourstorefront.• DrivebuyerstoyourcustomURL.


• Listin‘Storeinventory’formatforaslowasAU$0.40for30days.

• Use‘Merchandisingmanager’tocross-sellyourinventory on your bid and check-out pages.

2. Featured store ($99.95 per month)Getallthe‘Basic’storebenefits,plusthefollowing:• Cross-sellingofyourstoreinventoryonallyour

listings pages.• Priorityplacementin‘Relatedstores’sections.• FeaturedplacementontheeBaystoreshome

page.• Primepositioninginthetop-leveldirectory

pages where you have items listed.

3. Anchor store ($499.95 per month)Getallthe‘Basic’and‘Featured’storebenefits,plusthe following:• Showcaseplacementofyourlogowithinthe

eBay‘Storesdirectory’pages.• Premiumplacementin‘Relatedstores’sections

ofthe‘Searchandbrowse’pages.

Designing your eBay store

Once you have subscribed to a store, you will get access to the design and functionality of the store via My eBay. In the left-hand column of My eBay you should see a list of shortcuts down near the bottomofthepage,andonefor ‘Managemystore’.Alternatively,under the ‘Account’ tab at the topofMyeBayyouwillfindalinkto‘Subscriptions’,whichwill take you to the right page to edit your eBay


store.Under‘Activesubscriptions’,findthe‘Managemystore’linktotakeyoutothe‘Managemystore’menu.

Figure 8.1: ‘Manage my store’ link

In the left-handnavigationunder ‘Store design’are the various options you have to change the layout or design of your store. To begin, click on ‘Displaysettings’.IfyouwanttocreateyourowneBaystorefromscratchusingHTML(alanguageusedtodesignwebpages),jumpforwardtopage101tothe‘Customdesign your store’ section of this chapter.ThefollowinginformationisforusingexistingeBaytemplates to create your store.


Figure 8.2: ‘Manage my store’ menu


Entering the basic information

Clickonthe‘Change’linkontheright-handsideof‘Basic information’ to create the basics of yourstore.

Figure 8.3: Basic information

1. Store name

Firstofall,createyourstorename.Thenameofyourstorewill influence theURL (orwebsite address)


of your store. Consider using a name that reflects the kind of products you sell, such as ‘Aideen’sHomewares’or ‘Jeffrey’sTools’.Yourstorewillalsoinfluence how people find you when they search forparticularproductsonGoogleorotherinternetsearch engines.

2. Store description

The store description also influences internet search results.Forexample,ifyouwereAideenyoumightwrite a description like the following: ‘Aideen’sHomewares is your one-stop internet shop for buying everything to do with your home—kitchenware, appliances, cutlery, crockery...’. Remember toinclude any brand names that you sell. Imagine you are describing your entire business in one or two sentences and that people will visit your store basedonwhatyoutellthem.Yourkeywordsshouldbe ones that regularly get used on internet search engines.

T i p : ✔ If you go to Google, you can find a list of the

most frequently searched terms by category. Go to www.

google.com.au/insights/search/#—you can search over

the last 90 days, for example, or the past twelve months.

Choose from this list the terms that best represent what

you sell, but don’t use any that aren’t closely aligned

with your products or else you’ll waste the traffic coming

to your eBay store via search engines.


3. Store logo

Finally,chooseaneBay-designedstorelogo,oraddyourown(itmustbe310x90pixelsinsize).Again,the logo should be pleasing to your target audience and should ideally include your store name and logo and/orbranding(colours,style,etc.).

Once you’re finished, click ‘Save changes’ at thebottom of the page.

Store theme and display

Nowyou’re back on the ‘Display settings’ page of‘Managemy store’, scroll down to the ‘Theme anddisplay’section.Hereiswhereyouchoosethelayoutof your store, and apply design colours.

Figure 8.4: Theme and display


1. Store theme

Click on the ‘Edit current theme’ or ‘Change toanother theme’ link on the right-hand side of thepage.Fornewstoresubscribersthiswillsay‘Createtheme’.eBaygivesyoutwelvecolourthemestochoosefrom. Choose the design that is best aligned to the typeofproductyouareselling.Forexample,blackmay not be the best colour if you’re selling girls’clothing!Clickingon‘Editcurrenttheme’willallowyou to slightly alter your chosen template’sdefaultcolours, giving you the opportunity to create a truly unique looking eBay store.Click ‘Save settings’ atthe bottom of the page to return to the ‘Manage my store’menu.

Remember,ifyouwanttocreateyourownthemeand design from scratch, read how to do so under ‘Customdesignyourstore’onpage101.

2. Left navigation bar settings

Backinthe ‘Managemystore’menu,youcannowchoose which navigation options you would like buyers to see when they come to your store. Click on the ‘Change’ link on the left-hand side to alteryour store settings.• Searchbox:enablesbuyerstosearchfor

particular keywords when they come to your store.

• Categories:showseitherthecategoriesyouhavecreated for your store or the categories you have listed your items in on eBay. Categories allow


buyers to browse all like products in your store without having to conduct a search.

• Productfinders:ifyouhavea‘Featured’or‘Anchor’store,buyerscanuseaproductfinder(alsoknownasitemspecifics)tonarrowdowntheir searches within your store by product attributes, such as size, type, colour, etc.

• Buyerdisplayoptions:allowsindividualbuyersto change the way they view items in your store (changingto‘Timeleft’or‘Viewbypictures’,forexample).

• Storepages:allowsbuyerstonavigatetheirway to your other custom-made pages, if you havethemwithinyourstore(moreonthisonpage101).

3. Store header display

At the top of every store page you create is the store header. By clicking ‘Change’ (see above) you canenteradditionaltext,picturesornavigationbuttonsto help your buyers find their way around your store, orpromotecertainfeatures.Forexample,youmayhave a sale and want everyone to know that it is 25 per cent off all items. Or you may wish to announce the release of a new product.

Here, you can also choose which eBay header you would like buyers to see at the very top of your store. Forexample,doyouwantthemtoseethefulleBayheader (which allows buyers to browse the entireeBay site), or theminimal headerwhich removesthis functionality?


4. Item display

The‘Itemdisplay’featureletsyouchoosethedefaultway your buyers will see the listings within your store—achoicebetween‘list’viewor‘gallery’(picture)view. Additionally, you can also choose the default sort order of your store listings—ending first, highest priced, lowest priced, or newly listed.

Choose the option that is best aligned with your businessmodel.Forexample,ifyoulisteverythingatauction,‘Endingfirst’wouldbethenaturaldefault.However, if all your listings are bargain-oriented and fixedprice, youmay choose ‘Lowestpriced’ or, topushyourlatestinventory,‘Newlylisted’.

Store categories

Fromthe ‘Managemystore’menu,click the ‘Storecategories’linkbeneath‘Storedesign’intheleft-handnavigation.

eBaystoresallowyoutocreateupto300customcategories. While for every item you list on eBay you choose an eBay category, in stores you have more flexibility. For example, youmaywish to create acategorythatcollectstogether‘salesitems’,oreBay’scategory structure may not be as comprehensive as youneedsoyoucouldcreate‘BlueT-shirts’,‘WhiteT-shirts’, etc. Buyerswill only see these categoriesonce they are in your store, and they are designed to help them navigate through your items more easily.


T i p : ✔ Be mindful not to overwhelm your buyers

with too much choice, or continually change your

categories—both will only confuse prospective buyers

and likely result in fewer sales. Use store categories to

logically arrange your items in a way that buyers will

find simple to use and that will guide them to the most

relevant products.

To add a category, simply click ‘Add category’ inthe top right-hand corner of the page. Here you canalso reorderyourcategories (althoughkeepingthemalphabeticalishighlyrecommended),renamecategories, and delete ones you no longer need.

Custom design your store

Fromthe‘Managemystore’menu,clickthe‘Custompages’ link beneath ‘Store design’ in the left-handnavigation.

Aside from the standard layout and store page that is covered in previous pages, you can also add selected custom pages to your store. eBay gives you seven basic custom pages to choose from—including ones that showcase your items, allow additional pictures(perhapsofyourwarehouse, forexample),as well as special promotion pages.

This is also where you can create a new store pagefromscratch,withoutusinganyofeBay’spre-designed templates. To do so, you need to know HTML (a language used to createweb pages). Ifyou’reunfamiliarwithHTMLtherearemanybooksand websites that can help you, and once you get the hangofitit’snotverydifficult.Mostdesignersand


design agencies know the language and can create a dynamic, strongly branded web page for your store. To create a unique HTML page, enter the code into the‘1TextSection/HTML’field.

Frequently asked questions

Finally,everystoreshouldcreateaFAQspage.Theseare common among most websites and anticipate yourbuyers’frequentlyaskedquestions.Enteryourquestions and answers in simple, easy-to-follow language. Consider questions such as:• Whatarethepostagecosts?• HowcanIcontactcustomersupport?• Howlongdoesittaketoreceivemyitems?• CanIpickupmyitem?

Youcancontinuetoaddtotheseasmorequestionsare asked by your buyers.

The number of custom pages you can create depends on your store subscription level. You canalso edit,delete andhide (deactivate) your custompageswithin this area of ‘Managemy store’, andselect which page will be the one buyers first see when they come to your store—known as the store homepage.Click ‘Apply’ at thebottomof thepageto save your designs.

Store promotion boxes

Throughout your store, you have the ability to display promotionboxesonvariouspages.Promotionboxesare an ideal way to keep buyers within your store


by showing them more of what you have to offer. Rememberthatretainingyourbuyers isoneof thekeys to making money on eBay, and your store should promote all aspects of your business professionally but let the products remain the true stars of the show.

From the ‘Managemy store’ menu, click the‘Promotionboxes’linkbeneath‘Storedesign’intheleft-handnavigation.Youcanuse‘Guidedsetup’toapplydefaultpromotionboxes,orclickonthe‘Createnewpromotionbox’buttontodesignyourown.Thethreedifferenttypesofboxesallowyouto:1 Advertiseitems(chooseproductsthatarenewly

listed,endingsoon,oronsale).2 Linktootherpartsofyourstore(suchasFAQs

ortradingterms).3 Impartgeneralmessagestoyourbuyers(suchas

payment information or links to signing up to yourstorenewsletter—seepage107).

First, choose the type of promotion box youwould like. Click ‘Continue’. Then decidewhereyour promotion boxwill be located on the page,andwhichpagesitwillbevisibleon.Next,definethebox’scontentandcolour.Thisisalsowhereyougivethepromotionboxatitle.Notethatthecolourswill default to those chosen by you when you created your store, but you can edit these at this step. And finally,click‘Save’tosendyourpromotionboxlive.Repeattheprocesstocreatemore.


Bring more buyers to your store

Listing frame

If you have an eBay store, one of its primary objectives is to keep attracting potential buyers, or ‘traffic’.The more traffic that comes to your store, the more cost-effective it is to run, and the more opportunities you have to extend your brand awareness, buildbuyer loyalty and, ultimately, sell more items. And that’sthewholepointoflistingoneBay.

Listing frames show up in all your items on eBay—so every time someone views one of your items, they will see your store logo, store header, store categories and links to your other store pages.

Fromthe‘Marketingtools’menu,clickthe‘Listingframe’linkbeneath‘Storemarketing’intheleft-handnavigation. Then, from the ‘Listing page’ options,choose which parts of your store you would like to display within your item listings, and select the other elements you would like to include such as logo, searchboxand,mostimportantly,‘Addtofavouritestores’ link(whichallowsbuyers to findyouagaineasilyfromwithintheirMyeBayFavourites).

Click‘Apply’toaddthelistingframeinstantlytoall of your current and future listings.

Search engine keywords

Fromthe‘Managemystore’menu,clickthe‘Searchenginekeywords’linkbeneath‘Storedesign’intheleft-hand navigation.


This feature will help buyers outside of eBay find you when they are conducting searches on sites like Google.Itisimperativethatyouuseonlykeywordsthat are specifically related to the products you sell, andrememberthatitcantake30daysormoreforsearch engines to find your pages. The importance of this feature cannot be underestimated, and those sellers who use it most effectively will gain a real competitive edge.

Foreachpageofyourstore,youhavetheabilityto addup to six search engine keywords.Donotrepeat the same word, as this is viewed as keyword spamming and will be rejected by the search engines. Try to be specific about the products you are selling, andrefertoGoogletofindthemostpopularsearchesrelated to your category. It is also advisable to use words that are synonymous.

Clickonthe‘Edit’linknexttoeachofyourstorepages, enter up to six terms or phrases and click‘Save’.

T i p : ✔ A great idea is to check out Google’s ‘Adwords’

feature, which shows you the most common searches for

terms similar to what you’re looking for. Did you know,

for example, that more people search for the term ‘eBay

books’ than they do ‘eBay book’? Find the tool at: https://

adwords.google.com.au/select/KeywordToolExternal.

HTML builder

Create attractive links to your eBay store to use within your eBay listings, or off eBay on sites such asFacebook,MySpaceor evenyourownwebsite.


Wherever people can find you online, they should be abletofindtheproductsyouhaveforsale—it’sallabout marketing your brand at any given opportunity, andconsideringallofthatexposureisforfreeyouhave nothing to lose.

Fromthe‘Managemystore’menu,clickthe‘HTMLbuilder’linkbeneath‘Storedesign’intheleft-handnavigation. Choose whether you would like to build a simplelink,anadvancedlink(moreattractivedesign)or an off-eBay link, then choose whether you would like to link to a particular item, one of your store pages or a search within your store.

Though this will take you fifteen minutes or so to set up, that is a small investment to make given the potential increase in traffic to your store.

Listing feeds: bring more buyers to your store from outside eBay

Like search engine keywords, listing feeds allow your storetobefoundandviewedexternaltoeBay.com.au. RSSfeedsallowcertainbuyerstosubscribedirectlyto your store content and see whenever it gets updated. If you advertise your store onGoogle oron shopping comparison sites such as http://au.shopping.com, you will need to provide files that are constantly up-to-date.

Todo so, from the ‘Marketing tools’menuclickthe‘Listingfeeds’linkbeneath‘Storemarketing’inthe left-handnavigation.Next,make your listingfeedchoices,thenclick‘Apply’.


Now that you have designed a professional, appealing store and helped to ensure you drive as much traffic to it as possible, it’s time to turn to other storefeatures which will assist you in retaining customers. Customerswhohave a positive experience buyingfromyouwillwanttoreturn,andit’safundamentalof business success that retaining loyal customers is cheaper and easier than attracting new customers.

Help secure repeat business

Mailing lists

eBay stores give you the ability to email your customers free of charge. Just think of the possibilities of sending highly relevant and appealing emails to everyonesubscribedtoyourdatabase.Youget100free emails per month, with each additional email costing just one cent. As mentioned earlier, this is one of the key levers to eBay success—retaining your customers and keeping them engaged.

Before you can send an email to buyers, you need to create amailing list. From the ‘Marketingtools’menu,clickthe‘Mailinglists’linkbeneaththe‘Emailmarketing’linkunder‘Storemarketing’intheleft-hand navigation.

Youcancreateuptofivedifferentmailinglistsforyourbuyerstosubscribeto.Forexample,youmaycreatea‘Newrelease’mailinglist,oran‘Itemsonsale’list.Forsimplicity, it’sadvisable toonlycreateonelist and fill it with items that are the most appealing at the time you send the email. When you consider just how many sellers there are on eBay, if every one


of them had five mailing lists to choose from, buyers would be inundated with emails. The secret here is to name your mailing list in a way that will attract buyers’attentionandlurethemin.Ifyousellvastlydifferent types of product it is advisable to create a different list for different product types—for example,‘Collectablebooks’and‘HardrockCDs’.

Click‘Createmailinglist’,typeinyourappealingmailing-listname,thenclick‘Save’.

Email marketing

From the ‘Marketing tools’menu, click the ‘Emailmarketing’ linkunder ‘Storemarketing’ inthe left-handnavigation.Click the ‘Create email’ button.Youhavetheopportunitytocreateupto100emailseach month, but remember not to inundate your subscribers.It’sbesttosendirresistibleeye-catchingoffers less frequently than it is to send run-of-the-mill offerings every day or week. As a general guide, once a fortnight or once a month is what to aim for, depending on how regularly you change your product offering or prices.

Step 1: Decide what type of email to sendYouhavetheoptionofcreatingsixtypesofemailsto send to your buyers.1 Welcome email: may be sent to new

subscribers. It is also advisable to hit them with a special offer on sign-up to keep them engaged.

2 Ending soonest: orders your items by the time they are due to end.


3 Newly listed: orders your items by the time they are listed for sale on eBay.

4 Previous purchase: sent only to buyers who have purchased a certain number of items recently.

5 Items on sale: promotes discontinued products.6 Custom email: create an email with any content

you desire.

Step 2: Choose the design and layout of the emailRemembertokeepthedesignofyouremailthesameasthedesign(colours,themes)ofyourstore.Thisisimportant for brand consistency and building buyer loyalty. Choose from the following layout options:• Showcaseandgalleryview:showssomelarge

pictures and some smaller pictures of your items for sale.

• Showcaseview:showsonlylargepicturesofitems for sale.

• Galleryview:showssmallerpicturesofitemsfor sale.

• Listview:showswhatyouhaveforsaleinthesame list view as appears on eBay.

• Textonly:writecustommessagestoyourbuyers.

• Custom:useHTMLtodesignanappealingandprofessional-looking email.

Once you have chosen your layout, click ‘Continue’.


Step 3: Choose who will receive your email and add the content• Checkyourrelevantmailinglists(youwillneed

tohavecreatedtheseearlier,asperpage107).• Choosehowmany(ifany)purchasesyour

buyersneedtohavemadeinthepast90daysto receive the email.

• Underadvancedoptions,youcanchoosetosend to subscribers based on how long they havebeenonyourmailinglist(youmightwant to send a one-year anniversary email to saythankyoufortheirloyalty,forexample),or send to subscribers based on how they have responded to emails in the past.

• Decidewhethertheemailwillbesentonarecurring basis and whether to send more than yourlimitof100permonth(atanadditionalcostofonecenteach).

• Enteryoursubjectline.Emailsubjectlinesgenerally make or break their success, as buyers tend only to open those with an appealing title. Forexample,‘Booksforsale’isnotasappealingas‘Massiveclearancesale!Allbooksupto80percentoff ’.

• Choosewhethertoshowyourstoreheader(moreonthisonpage99).

• Enterapersonalmessagetoyourbuyers,remem-bering to keep it succinct and professional. Learn from some of the emails you receive from other companies, and make the tone of your communi-cationsconsistentwithyourstore’simage.

• Choosewhichitemstofeatureinyourshowcase(ifyouhavechosentheshowcaselayout).You


can do this manually by adding one item at a time from your current list of items for sale, or have them chosen automatically at random. Also choose here whether to display them horizontally or vertically.

• Choosehowtodisplayyouritemlistandhowmany items to include—they will be chosen automatically depending on which type of email yousend(‘endingsoonest’,‘newlylisted’,etc.)

• Choosewhethertodisplayyoursellerfeedbackwithin the email—a must-do if you have 100 per cent feedback.

Click ‘Previewandcontinue’orclick ‘Savedraft’to come back to the email at another time.

Step 4: Check your emailCarefully check your email for spelling and gram-matical errors. Make sure you have chosen the best title and the most appealing products, and that your email looks and feels just as professional as any you receive from a large retailer. Let a colleague, friend or familymembercheckittoo—makesureit’sperfectbefore sending.

Click ‘Editemail’ tomakechanges, ‘Sendemail’tosend,or‘Savedraft’toreturntoitlater.

Pending/sent emails

If you have saved an email as a draft, or an email has been programmed to be sent in the future, it will appear inyour ‘Pending emails’ list,which canbe


accessedfromthe‘Marketingtools’menu.Clickthe‘Pendingemails’linkunder‘Emailmarketing’beneath‘Storemarketing’intheleft-handnavigation.

It will take up to a few hours after you send emails for themtoappear inyour ‘Sentemails’ list.Oncethey are visible, you can easily duplicate messages to create similar ones, and view the results from theemailsyou’vesent.Clickthesubjectlineoftheemail to see statistics such as number of recipients, numberofemailsopened,numberofbids/purchasesthat eventuated as a result of sending the email and number of clicks on the email.

T i p : ✔ You should always keep a record of the

performance of each email you send, and optimise

the title, layout and offering so that each new email

outperforms the last one. There is no point spending

time creating these emails if you do not intend to monitor

the results they bring. Remember, only the ten most

recently sent emails are displayed, so transfer the results

(and examples) of each to your computer before they

disappear.

Managing subscriber lists

You can view all yourmailing-list subscribers inoneplace. From the ‘Marketing tools’menu, clickthe ‘Subscriber lists’ linkunder ‘Emailmarketing’beneath‘Storemarketing’intheleft-handnavigation.Here is where you can also block certain subscribers so that you can retain control over who signs up to receive information about your latest offers.


Promotional flyers

When you purchase from a major retailer they might include a promotional flyer in the shopping bag, but usually the bag itself and the receipt will include the company’s logo. This is also a formof brandawareness and helps businesses build a repeat-buyer base.Remember,aswementionedearlier—it’smorecost-effective to bring a buyer back than it is to find a buyer who has never purchased from you before.

Promotional flyers can be printed to be included within the package you send to your buyers.

T i p : ✔ Only send flyers if you can print them in

colour—black-and-white flyers just don’t cut it and are

likely to cheapen your brand, making your items look less

appealing and thereby doing more harm than good.

From the ‘Marketing tools’ menu, click the‘Promotional flyer’ link beneath ‘Storemarketing’in the left-hand navigation. Next, click ‘Createpromotionalflyer’.

From the ‘Create f lyer’ options, you have achoice of:• whichcomponentsofyourstore’sdesignto

includeintheflyer’sheader;• usingaborderwithyourstore’scoloursor

oneofeBay’spre-designedthemes(makesureyou stay consistent with your overall store branding);

• includingaconcise,professionalandappealingmessage;

• currentitemstodisplayinanitemshowcase;


• currentitemstodisplayinalistview;• includingoneortwoofyourpromotionboxes;and• includingadditionalinformation,suchas

returnspolicyorpaymentinstructions.(Onlyinclude customer-friendly information here. Ifyouhavea300-wordreturnspolicy,forexample,you’relikelytoturnprospectiverepeatbuyersaway.)

Click‘Previewflyer’.Again,makesureyoucheckit thoroughly for spelling and grammatical errors. Whenyou’vefinishedreviewingit,click‘Savesettingsandprintflyer’.Youcanprint immediatelyorsaveit and send it to a professional printer if you do not have a good quality colour printer.

Yourflyerwillbesavedinthe‘Promotionalflyer’section of ‘Marketing tools’ for you to print againwhenever you need it, or edit before reprinting. Consider using the flyer in the following ways:• Includeonewitheveryitemyousendtobuyers.• Asklocalcafesifyoucanleavesomeonthe

counter.• Doyourownletterboxdroptogeneratemore

local business—make sure your flyer includes thefactthatyou’relocal,andevenincludeacalltoaction,suchas‘supportanewlocalbusiness’.

• Takethemwithyouwhereveryougo—younever know who you might meet who you could turn into a new loyal buyer.


Other marketing tools

Markdown manager

Perhaps now more than ever, buyers are looking for great value.Remember that, thoughyoumaybeasmall- to medium-sized store on eBay, you are still effectively competingwith every retailer (whetheronlineornot)inAustralia,sounlessyouhaveuniqueitems buyers cannot find anywhere else, your price needs to be competitive. Sometimes, pointing outyour value by way of specifying a percentage off or similar will attract more attention.

Markdown manager allows you to reduce the price of your store items, and clearly marks them forbuyerstoseethattheyhavebeenreduced.Fromthe ‘Marketing tools’menu, click the ‘Markdownmanager’ linkbeneath ‘Itempromotion’ intheleft-handnavigation.Thenclick‘Createsale’.Onceyouhave done this you will need to:• createasalenameforyourrecords(buyersdo

notseethis);• chooseastartandenddateforthesale;• chooseeitherapercentageordollarvalue

discount, and decide whether to include free postage;

• decidewhichlistingsthesalewillapplyto.Youcan choose specific categories, formats, or select individualitemsyourselfbyclickingthe‘Selectlistingsindividually’link;and

• choosetoautomaticallysendanemailtoyoursubscribers to inform them of the sale.

Onceyou’vecompletedalltheinformationfields,click‘Createyoursale’.


T i p : ✔ Sales should be used sparingly. We’ve all walked

past those rug shops or leather stores that permanently

display ‘Sale!’ signs. They tend to lose their ‘call to

action’ by permanently appearing to be on sale. Sales

should create a sense of urgency for buyers so that, in

their minds, if they don’t purchase right away they’ll be

missing out on an irresistible bargain that won’t appear

again for some time.

Cross-promoting items

Never miss out on an opportunity to cross-promote youritemstoprospectivebuyers.Ifthey’researchingfor a mobile phone, for example, they may becompletely unaware that you also sell phone covers—unless you specifically point it out to them.

Fromthe‘Marketingtools’menu,clickthe‘Cross-promotion’ link beneath ‘Item promotion’ in theleft-handnavigation.Click the ‘Manage’ button tocreate or change your cross-promotion rules.

Here, you can choose whether to show buyers who view one of your items, or buyers who bid on or win an item, a selection of your other products. Choose items from one of your own store categories or from the categories they’re listed in on eBay.Here, you can also change the default order of your cross-promotions and delete them.

Promoting similar items: encouraging healthy business competition

If you’re a confidentbusinesson eBay, you shouldopen yourself up to a little bit of healthy competition


from some other sellers. Those with the strongest branding, most appealing products and best service willusuallywin.Youhavetheopportunitytopromoteyour itemswith other sellers’ similar itemswithincertaineBaypagesandemails.It’sexcellentadditionalexposureand,evenbetter,itcomesforfree.

Fromthe‘Marketingtools’menu,clickthe‘Promotesimilar items’ linkbeneath ‘Itempromotion’ in theleft-handnavigation.Bearinmindthatothersellers’items will also appear on some of your own pages.

Favourite seller top picks

Somebuyers choose to see their favourite sellers’top picks either within My eBay or via email. This is another opportunity to show your buyers your latest and greatest products, or those recently listed as sale items. Buyers can choose to receive emails weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.

Fromthe‘Marketingtools’menu,clickthe‘Favouritesellertoppicks’linkbeneath‘Itempromotion’intheleft-hand navigation. Choose to automatically select from your list of items based on the criteria you specify, or manually select specific items. If automatic, atthebottomofthepageclick‘Editcriteria’tochoosewhether your items will contain specific keywords, come from a particular category and be within a certain price range, and how they will be sorted for thebuyer.Click‘Apply’tosaveyoursettings.


Using your brand on eBay emails

Customising end-of-auction emailsSomebuyersoptintoreceiveemailsfromeBaywhenthey have won an auction or purchased an item. These are known as end-of-auction emails. All these emails sent by eBay are generic and contain general eBaybranding.Smartbusinessesuse these tohelppromote their own brand.

From the ‘Marketing tools’ menu, click the‘Customiseendofauctionemails’linkbeneath‘Logosand branding’ in the left-hand navigation.Next,clickthe‘Change’linkontheright-handsideofthepage. Choose whether to display your store logo and whether to add a custom message.

The body of the email can include a number of auto-textoptionsfromeBay.Whatthismeansisyouremail will be populated with relevant facts based ontheactuallisting,suchasthebuyer’sname,theitem title, item price, and so on. Write your message and choose from the drop-down list of auto-textoptions,clicking‘Insert’eachtimeyouwantanewfield added. The email has a 2000 character limit and is free to send to all buyers who opt in to receive the end-of-auction email—more free exposure foryour brand and yet another opportunity to retain customers.

Customising invoice emailsAnother type of email sent by eBay to some buyers is the invoice email, which is sent to those who have opted in to receive an email about how to pay for an item.


From the ‘Marketing tools’ menu, click the‘Customiseinvoice’linkbeneath‘Logosandbranding’intheleft-handnavigation.Next,clickthe‘Change’link on the right-hand side of the page. Choose whether to display your store logo and whether to add a custom message.

Holiday hold

Imagine going to one of your favourite shops only to discover it is closed. There is no sign to say why, the door is just locked. Or worse yet, you buy from an online store and don’t receive your item afterthreeweeksbecausethey’reonabeachsomewhere.Most businesses close down over a holiday period, and if you plan on being away from your store for an extended length of time you need to let yourbuyers know. Communication is the key to keeping customers happy.

During this time, you can make your store items unavailabletobuyersand/ordisplayaholidaymessagewithinyourstore/inallofyourlistings.

From the ‘Managemy store’ menu, click the‘Feature list’ link, thenclick ‘Holidayhold’.Checkthe‘Turnholidaysettingson’box,thenchoosewhereto display your message, nominate whether buyers will still be able to purchase your items, and add yourmessage. Remember to be professional andconcise, thanking your valued customers for their ongoing support throughout the year, and so on. Thenclick‘Savesettings’.

120

Chapter 9

Optimising your success

eBay Sales Reports PlusSales reports provide youwith a basic financialsnapshot of your listings and sales on eBay. They are an efficient way of summarising your monthly accounts and cross-checking them against your own paperwork to ensure you have captured everything correctly.

How do I subscribe to Sales Reports Plus?

There are two options for subscribing to SalesReports:1 ThebasicSalesReportsprogramisfreeto

subscribe to.2 SalesReportsPlusis$6.99permonth(thefirst

30daysarefree)andoffersmoreadvancedanalysis, including sorting information by category, format and buyer counts, and includes

Optimising your success 121

the ability to download information. Note thatSalesReportsPlusisfreeforeBaystoresubscribers.

To subscribe, go to: http://pages.ebay.com.au/education/learn-to-sell-sales-reports.html. Once you have subscribed, your reports will be available within My eBaybyclickingon‘Subscriptions’intheleft-handnavigation,then‘Viewmyreports’.

What information does Sales Reports Plus show?

SalesReportsPlusaggregatesyoursaleshistorybyindividualweeks(themostrecent fourweeks)andbymonth (twomonths prior).All of your reportsfor thepast 24months are automatically archived(bothmonthly andweekly reports). To view themclick ‘Archived reports’ in the Sales Reports Plusleft-hand navigation.

Information in the sales summary report includes:• totalsalesindollars;• numberofendedlistings;• numberofendeditems;• numberofsolditems;• averagesalepriceperitem;• comparisonofthismonth’ssalestotheprevious

threemonthsandpercentagegrowth;• summaryofeBayandPayPalfeespaid;• numberofitemsunpaidforbybuyers;and• eBaysubscriptionsyoubeganorcancelled.


Information in the ‘Sales by category’, ‘Sales byformat’, ‘Endingday’, ‘Ending time’ and ‘Duration’reports include the same information as above but broken down by each of these differentiators.

You can alsoprint the report by clicking ‘Print’in the top right-hand corner, or click ‘Download’toexportthereporttoyourcomputer.Waitforthereport to download, then click ‘Continue’when itis complete.

Traffic reports

If you subscribe to an eBay store, you get access to free reports that show you where your buyers are coming from, and how they are finding your store. This will help you understand how to optimise your store in search engines, and what products your buyers are most interested in.

How do I find traffic reports?

Tofindyourtrafficreports,clickon‘Subscriptions’under‘Myaccount’intheleft-handnavigationofMyeBay.Onthenextpage,click‘Managemystore’.Onthe‘Managemystore’page,scrolldownandontheleft-handnavigationunder‘Reports’clickon‘Trafficreports’.ThesereportsareprovidedbyOmnitureandyouwillneedtosigninagain(usingyoureBayuserIDandpassword)togetaccesstothereports.


What information do traffic reports show?

• Mysummary:showstotalpageviews,visits,homepage views and most popular pages for the current month.

• Sitetraffic:showstotalpageviews,uniquevisi-tors and total visits by day.

• Findingmethods:showswhichsitepeoplewereon immediately prior to visiting your store, which search engines people used to find your store, and which keywords buyers used to search for and find your store.

Most of this information can be shown by rank, or trendedovertime.Toseetrends,clickon‘Trended’in the top right-hand corner of the page.

Reportscanbeprinteddirectlyfromyourscreen,ordownloadedinWord,Excel,PDF,HTMLorCSVformats.

Youcanchoosetoseethecurrentmonth,orusethe calendar in the top left-hand corner to see the information correlating to individual days, weeks or months in the past. To view a report covering a rangeofdates,click‘Range’nextto‘Calendar’inthetop left-hand corner.

Marketplace research by Terapeak

TerapeakiseBay’smarketresearchtool.Itprovidesinvaluable information around products, prices and general trends on eBay. It highlights the drivers of buyer demand and helps you determine the most


effective way to list your products. The four basic areas it covers are:1 products;2 sellers;3 categories;and4 hot products.

Terapeak can help you identify inventory gaps on eBay, stay ahead of the competition on hot products and give you a better insight into what buyers are looking for. Imagine owning a retail shop and managingtofindoutyourcompetitor’sbest-sellingproducts, how buyers find them and how their shop is merchandised to optimise sales. In essence, that is what Terapeak can do for you on eBay.

How do I subscribe to Terapeak?

Itcosts$24.95permonthtosubscribetoTerapeakwithoptionaladd-ons,suchas‘Hotsearches’,startingat$2.95.

To subscribe, go to: http://pages.ebay.com.au/marketplace_research/.

What information do the reports show?

Product reports can help you identify the best way of selling particular products based on keywords in theitemtitle.Sellerreports,ontheotherhand,cantrackyourcompetitors’movements,everysingleday!If you want to stay ahead of the competition, this part of the Terapeak tool will prove to be invaluable.

http://pages.ebay.com.au/marketplace_research/



T i p : ✔ While it makes a lot of sense to know what

your competition looks like, it is also vital that you

balance the amount of time you invest in researching

their movements. Obsessing about competition will just

distract you from the real task at hand—selling as many

products as possible.

To get started, simply enter the relevant keywords at the top of the page, choose the relevant eBay site, narrowyour searchbycategory (if applicable) andselect the date range you wish to cover. The report shows sales results broken down by:• averagestartprice;• averagesaleprice;• totalnumberoflistings;• percentagesell-through(whatpercentageof

listingsendedwithasale);• whichdayoftheweekhadthemostsales;• themostpopularduration;• themostpopulartimeofdaytoselltheseitems;• themostpopularformat;• themostpopularcategory;• highestpriceditems;• totalsales(overthetimeperiod);• totalsuccessfullistings;• totalbids;• bidsperlistings;• averagenumberofsellersperday;and• theactuallistingsthatmatchyoursearch

criteria, which you can order by start price, end price or number of bids.


What is the title builder?

Within theproduct report, click the ‘Titlebuilder’link in the left-hand navigation. Enter in the most obvious keywords for your product and the tool will automatically match those words with the most popular terms also used by sellers listing the same product. Take the guess work out of using your 55-character spaces in your item title and let the tool do the hard work for you.

What can the category report be used for?

This report will help you get a complete overview of the category in which your items are listed. It shows:• alistofallitems;• salestrends;and• topsellers(whichcanbesortedbytotalsales,

total listings, successful listings, bids and items sold).

What is ‘Hot research’?

‘Hot research’ looks at the entire eBay siteof yourchoice and ranks categories, searches, products and titles by their success rate. This is a great opportunity to help narrow your search for what products to sell on eBay. The report highlights:• thecategorywiththehighestsell-throughrate,

plus a ranking of how high demand is growing inthatcategory;


• alistofthemostpopularbuyersearchesoneBay(bycategory);and

• alistofthemostpopularkeywordsinatitle(sortedbytheirsell-throughrate,averagepriceandnumberofitemssold).Youcanrefinethisby category, or by typing in some keywords that appear in your own item titles to see what other sellers use to optimise sales.

‘Hot titles’ shows actual listings and the totalsuccess of the listing, including how many successful items it generated, bids, average price, etc. This can also be filtered by category and specific keywords.

To find out more information, go to: http://pages.ebay.com.au/marketplace_research/.

T i p : ✔ When using Terapeak, make sure you change

the default eBay site for every search you conduct to

ensure you’re researching the correct market.

eBay solutions directory

There are literally thousands of tools available to help you optimise your eBay success. In fact, globally eBay supports an entire cottage industry dedicated to helping buyers and sellers be more efficient. Most of these tools and services come at a cost, and any sensible business operator will carefully balance the returnoninvestmentwiththeseoptions.Generally,eBay does not support any particular provider, outside of the tools it owns.

eBay does, however, grant supporting businesses access to its solutions directory, and there you will




find a host of providers in the following subject areas:• completesolutions;• listings;• inventorymanagement;• photohosting;• merchandisingandlistingenhancements;• emailmanagement;• check-out;• postage;• sourcingproducts;• category-specificsolutions;• dataanalysis;• research;• technicalservices;and• developers.

Toseethecompletelist,goto:http://cgi6.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?SolutionsDirectory.

129

Chapter 10

Tax, legal and eBay policy considerations

Twelve eBay rules every seller must knowTo protect the eBay marketplace from illegal and unfair practices, eBay has a number of rules in place in regard to listings and sellers. If sellers violate any of these rules, the end result may be that your entire account is suspended, all of your listings cancelledoryou’rebannedfromeBayaltogether.Ifyour listings get ended, all bids/watches on thoseitemswillbelostandyou’llnotonlyhavetocontacteBay and take the necessary steps to reinstate your account,you’llalsohavetogothroughtheprocessofre-listingeveryoneofyouritems.It’sacostlyandtime-consuming exercise, and one that should beavoided at all costs.

As per eBay’s user agreement, it is the seller’sresponsibility to stay up-to-date with the latest policies and policy changes, but below is a list of


commonly overlooked policies that every seller must know. 1 Keyword spamming, or using keywords or

brand names inappropriately to attract buyers to your listing to artificially improve your rankinginsearches,isprohibited.Examplesinclude‘likeApple’,breakingupthenamesofcommonbrandslike‘SassyDressBideNow’forSass+Bide.Thesimplestwaytoavoidkeyword spamming is to stick to keywords that apply only to your item. Avoid terms suchas‘like’,‘similarto’,etc.Forafulloutlinesee: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/keyword-spam.html.

2 Youmaynotincludelinksinyourlistingstopages that offer to trade or sell goods off eBay or links to subscribe to mailing lists outside eBay.Forafulllistsee:http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-links.html.

3 LimiteduseonlyofHTMLandJavaScriptispermittedinyourlistings.Forinstance,youmay not include dropping cookies, redirects orautomaticpop-ups.Forafulllistsee:http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-javascript.html.

4 Misleading titles, such as when you say a second-handitemisnew,isworth$Xatretailwhen it is not, is located in Australia when itisnot,etc.,areagainstpolicy.Formoreinfor mation see: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/misleading-titles.html.

5 Avid miscategorisation of listings. eBay has over50,000categoriesworldwide,soyou’re

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/keyword-spam.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/keyword-spam.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-links.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-links.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-javascript.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-javascript.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/misleading-titles.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/misleading-titles.html

Tax, legal and eBay policy considerations 131

bound to find one that suits your item. It is againsteBay’spoliciestolistyouriteminacategoryunrelatedtoit.Formoreinformationsee: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-categorization.html.

6 Actions that avoid paying eBay fees are prohib-ited.Thiscanbedoneinnocently,forexample,where you list a shirt and advise buyers in your listing that you have matching hats and tocontactyouforprices.Formoreinformationsee: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-circumventing.html.

7 There is a limit to how many identical listings a seller can list. It currently stands at twenty listings, and you cannot use multiple seller IDs toavoidthispolicy.Formoreinformationsee:http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-multi.html. eBay does allow similar items to be sold within the one multi-quantity Buy It Now listing. However, you can only offer a choice of colour and size. If selling red and black shirts insmallandmedium(thatareotherwiseiden-tical)youmustspecifytheminimumquantityyouhaveofeach.Forexample,‘10’meansyoumust have in stock ten of both sizes in each colour, i.e. ten red small, ten red medium, ten black small and ten black medium.

8 Shillbiddingoccurswhenasellerbidsonhis/her own auctions, or has friends do so. It is against policy because it artificially inflates prices, which is unfair to genuine buyers. Also be aware that you should not allow genuine customers to bid from your own

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-categorization.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-categorization.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-circumventing.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-circumventing.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-multi.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-multi.html


computer—eBay has tools in place to monitor bidscomingfromindividualcomputers.Formore infor mation see: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/seller-shill-bidding.html.

9 eBay members are not allowed to interfere withanothermember’slistings.Thisincludesoffering to sell an item off eBay or emailing anotherseller’sbuyerstowarnthemagainstbuyingfromthatseller.Formoreinformationsee: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/transaction-interference.html.

10 Sellernon-performanceiswhenasellerdelivers an item that is not the same as was listed, or provides sub-standard service. The best way to avoid this is to provide as much accurate information in your listing aspossible—don’tleaveanythingtothebuyer’simagination.Also,ifyourperformancedrops below an acceptable standard, eBay maydemoteyourexposureinsearchlistingsand restrict discounts on fees or access topromotions.Formoreinformationsee:http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/seller-non-performance.html.

11 eBay does not allow sellers to surcharge buyers forusingselectedpaymentmethods.Suchcostsshouldbebuiltintotheitemprice.Formore information see: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-surcharges.html.

12 YouarenotallowedtoaddGSTontopoftheitem price—all prices must be inclusive of GST.Formoreinformationsee:http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/seller-gst.html.

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/seller-shill-bidding.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/seller-shill-bidding.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/transaction-interference.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/transaction-interference.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/seller-non-performance.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/seller-non-performance.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-surcharges.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-surcharges.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/seller-gst.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/seller-gst.html


For a comprehensive list of selling policies oneBay, refer to the information and links at this page: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-ov.html. Forexample,ifyouwanttolistanitemforpre-sale,you must ensure that the buyer can receive the item within twenty days of payment.

T i p : ✔ Important changes made to the site that could

impact how you sell on eBay will always be made at the

‘Announcements’ section of the site, located at: http://

www2.ebay.com/aw/marketing-au.shtml. You should

definitely bookmark the page and check it on a weekly

basis to ensure you do not miss information that may

require you to change your selling practices.

Tax implications

Any business or individual considering selling a reasonable amount of items on eBay should speak to aprofessionalfinancialortaxadvisertoensuretheyare complying with relevant laws and procedures. FurtherinformationcanbefoundattheAustralianTaxationOffice(ATO)website.

Businessesofacertainsizedturnover,forexample,maybe required to register forGST, ormayneedtohaveanAustralianBusinessNumber.Fromtimeto time, the ATO will audit eBay sellers and contact eBay directly for a history of sales and the necessary documentation. There is no avoiding this, so the best advice is toensureyouarecomplyingwithall taxlaws and policies from the outset.


Prohibited and restricted items

As a seller, you are ultimately responsible for ensuring that your item is allowed to be sold on the eBay site. Additionally, you are responsible for ensuring the legalityofanyitemyousell.eBayhasanextensivelistof items that are on its prohibited and restricted list, and contravening its policies may end in your account being suspended. Furthermore, illegal itemsmayend in prosecution, so seek legal advice on anything you think might be considered questionable. Among eBay’srestrictedandprohibiteditemsare:• Aboriginalartandartefacts;• usedclothing;• electronicsurveillanceequipment;• food;• humanparts;• lock-pickingdevices;• police-relateditems;• weaponsandknives;and• wineandalcohol.

Formoreinformationgoto:http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/items-ov.html.

Legal advice

Establishingyourownbusiness,evenifyou’restartingsmall from your own garage, can open a whole minefield of legal considerations. Rather than beperturbed by these hurdles, consulting a lawyer at the outset could save you considerable time, money and stress in the future, should a situation arise that


may have been avoidable had you known the relevant law or statute. You should seek professional legaladvicebeforeundertakingabusinessventure.Someconsiderations include, but are not limited to:• employmentlaws;• superannuationlaws;• contractsforproductsupplyand/ordelivery;

and• businesslaw.

Insurance

Before commencing your eBay business, speak to your insurance provider about the best options available foryou.Some things foryou toconsider,among others:• insuringyourstocktoprotectfromloss,theft

anddamage;• ifoperatingfromhome,increasinghomeand

contents insurance to cover your eBay sales-relatedassets;and

• insuringyourselfforlossofincome.

eBay’s user agreement

Before you begin investing serious time, commitment and money into your eBay business, it is advisable to thoroughlyreadeBay’suseragreementandprivacypolicy. After all, by becoming an eBay member you haveagreed tobeboundbyeBay’spolicies,whichmeans that if you breach any of them you may be suspended from the site—effectively ending your business overnight. It is standard business practice


(and commonsense) to ensure you read, and fullycomprehend, any user agreement before agreeing to its terms.

eBay’suseragreementcanbefoundat:http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/user-agreement.html. Its privacy policy can be found at: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/privacy-policy.html. There are links to both at the very bottom of every eBay page.

Where to get help

Fromtimetotime,youwillundoubtedlyneedsomehelp getting your head around how eBay works. The goodnewsisyou’renotalone!eBayhasamultitudeofassistance available and it can all be found by visiting the ‘Contact us’ page at: http://contact.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ShowCUPortal&_trksid=m38.(There’salinkatthetopofeveryeBaypage.)

eBay also has discussion boards where sellers and buyers meet to offer advice and tips and to discuss eBay-related topics. You can find these boards at:http://pages.ebay.com.au/community/chat/index.html?_trksid=m38.

Someprofessionalandamateurgroupsofsellershave also formed to help each other. eBay does not officially endorse any of these groups, but they can be found online, or keep a lookout for mention of themoneBay’sdiscussionboards.

137

Summary

There are no secrets to being successful on eBay. The most successful eBay sellers are those who approach selling on the site with a business mindset. Take a realistic, practical approach to selling. In summary, here are the main points:• Ensureyoucansecuresupplyofyourproducts

at the right price.• Doyourresearchtoensurethereisadequate

demand for your product on eBay, which means you will achieve the price you need to maintain enough profit to recover all of the costs associ-ated with selling on eBay.

• Useallofthemarketingleversavailableonthesite to boost your selling profile and make your products appear irresistible to as many buyers as possible, and use the right strategy to lure as many of your buyers back to your listings as you can.

• Competewithothersellersonprice,serviceandmarketing.


• MakesureyouarefullyawareofallofeBay’srules and policies, and that you are abiding by them.

• Continuallylookforwaystoimproveyourbusiness model—source new types of products, experimentwithdifferentsellingstrategiesoneBay and test your pricing.

In the past I have referred to eBay as a 10,000-page manual.Itisacomplexsite,butthereisnoreasonfor any seller to understand every single aspect of its operation.Ifthereisakeytosuccess, it’sknowingwhat you need to know, and knowingwhat isn’tso important to your business. You could spendhours or days reading through pages on the site, or teaching yourself new things, only to find they are not applicable to your business. On the other hand, there couldbe crucial information you’remissing,which could mean the difference between moderate or fantastic success.

Learn from other sellers. Look at how they promote themselves and find ways to do it better. Take oppor-tunities to meet other sellers and learn their tips for sellingsuccess—you’llbesurprisedhowmanyvieweBay as a community and are willing to help you along the way.

Try to teach yourself a new part of eBay each and everyweek.Withinoneyear, you’ll know50newthings. Be selective and choose those topics that are most applicable to your business. Try selling overseas, try listing at auction if you never have before, learn more about your business by using one of the research tools covered in these pages . . .

Summary 139

There’s noneed to pay thousands of dollars oncourses designed to make you an eBay success. As mentioned in the Introduction there are no guaran-tees, and what you make out of eBay will depend on theeffortyouput inbeforeyoustart,whileyou’reselling, and after the sale is completed.

140

Appendix

eBay fees

InSeptember2009,eBayAustraliaannouncedthatit was changing its fee structure to assist businesses by lowering upfront costs and thereby reducing the risk of listing large quantities on the site. eBay only made changes to its Buy It Now format and retained auction pricing at the same level it has been for longer than the past four years. There are now four different types of pricing on eBay Australia.

Fora full tableofallof eBay’s fees,go tohttp://pages.ebay.com.au/help/sell/fees.html

Non-store subscribers

Auctions—3, 5, 7, 10 day durations

Insertion fees based on start price of:AU$0.01–AU$0.99 AU$0.30

AU$1.00–AU$19.99 AU$0.50

AU$20.00–AU$49.99 AU$0.75

AU$50.00–AU$99.99 AU$1.50

AU$100.00–AU$399.99 AU$2.50

AU$400.00 and up AU$3.50

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/sell/fees.html

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/sell/fees.html

eBay fees 141

Finalvaluefeesbasedonsalepriceof:AU$0.01–AU$75.00 5.25% of the closing price

AU$75.01–AU$1000.00AU 5.25% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 2.75% of the remaining closing price (AU$75.01–AU$1000.00)

Over AU$1000.01 5.25% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 2.75% of the initial (AU$75.01–AU$1000.00) plus 1.5% of the remaining closing price (AU $1000.01–closing)

Buy It Now—3, 5, 7, 10 day durations

Insertion fees based on start price of:AU$0.01–AU$0.99 AU$0.30

AU$1.00–AU$19.99 AU$0.50

AU$20.00–AU$49.99 AU$0.75

AU$50.00–AU$99.99 AU$1.50

AU$100.00–AU$399.99 AU$2.50

AU$400.00 and up AU$3.50

Finalvaluefeesbasedonsalepriceof:AU$0.01–AU$75.00 5.25% of the closing price

AU$75.01–AU$1000.00 5.25% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 2.75% of the remaining closing price (AU$75.01–AU$1000.00)

Over AU$1000.01 5.25% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 2.75% of the initial (AU$75.01–AU$1000.00) plus 1.5% of the remaining closing price (AU $1000.01–closing)


Store subscribers

Forallstoresubscribers,auctionsarechargedatthesamerateasnon-storesubscribers(above)butBuyIt Now is charged at the following rates.

Buy It Now—3, 5, 7, 10, 30 day durations

Basic store Featured store Anchor store

AU$0.40 AU$0.30 AU$0.10

Insertion fees are charged as a flat single fee, regard-less of start price or quantity of items within the listing.

Finalvaluefeesarechargedperitem,basedonthesale price.

Basic store Featured store

Anchor store

AU$0.01– AU$75.00

7.9% of the closing price

7.4% of the closing price

7% of the closing price

AU$75.01– AU$1000.00

7.9% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 5% of the remaining closing price (AU$75.01– AU$1000.00)

7.4% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 4% of the remaining closing price (AU$75.01– AU$1000.00)

7% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 3.5% of the remaining closing price (AU$75.01– AU$1000.00)

eBay fees 143

Over AU$1000.01

7.9% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 5% of the initial (AU$75.01– AU$1000.00) plus 3.5% of the remaining closing price (AU$1000.01– closing)

7.4% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 4% of the initial (AU$75.01– AU$1000.00) plus 3% of the remaining closing price (AU$1000.01– closing)

7% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 3.5% of the initial (AU$75.01– AU$1000.00) plus 2.5% of the remaining closing price (AU$1000.01– closing)

Subscription fees for stores are charged monthly

AU$14.95 AU$99.95 AU$499.95

Store subscribers also get additional fee benefitsincluding‘Freegallery’forBuyItNow(addaphototothesearchresults,usuallyAU$0.59),‘Freeadditionalphotos’ in listings (normally AU$0.20 each) and‘Galleryplus’forAU$0.99(addsasupersizepicturetothesearchresults,normallyAU$2.49).

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