RSS feed
eBay Tips 2008: That's all folks.

eBay Tips 2008: That’s all folks.

Thanks very much for giving me the chance to spout off every day for a month about eBay and ecommerce and the like. Thanks, especially, for the comments and conversations that have taken place. It has been fascinating to read the views expressed. So I thought I'd finish with a sort of summary ... Read more »
eBay Tips 2008: Marketing Off-eBay

eBay Tips 2008: Marketing Off-eBay

Whether or not you take any trading off-eBay, there is a potentially huge opportunity for you in taking some of your marketing away from eBay. 10% of the UK's internet traffic settles on eBay. But 90% of it is buzzing elsewhere. You might be simply promoting your eBay Shop or pimping your own ... Read more »
eBay Tips 2008: Classifieds and Comparison Shopping

eBay Tips 2008: Classifieds and Comparison Shopping

As I've written before in this series, there was a time when there was just eBay when it came to individuals selling online. But now the scene is more fragmented. Buyers are changing their habits and willing to buy using different formats and services. If you haven't thought about Classified sites ... Read more »
eBay Tips 2008: Other Marketplaces and Channels

eBay Tips 2008: Other Marketplaces and Channels

It's totally right and natural for any eBay seller to want to find profits and growth in other marketplaces. However, it's at that point that many draw a blank. There has been a tendency for new sites to seek to become the 'eBay killer' with a strategy fuelled by antipathy or anger resulting from ... Read more »
eBay Tips 2008: What about a website?

eBay Tips 2008: What about a website?

Of all the eBay sellers I've met over the years, I've never met one who regretted setting up their own website. But almost every single one I've spoken to regrets not having done it sooner. I think that every seller dependent on the eBay monster needs some sort of independent online presence. It ... Read more »
eBay Tips 2008: There may be trouble ahead.

eBay Tips 2008: There may be trouble ahead.

What would you do if eBay pulled the plug? It could happen. What if a change makes eBay untenable for you? What if the developments to Search and Browse, combined with a few unsavoury Feedback, mean that your items are appearing at the bottom of the pile? Just like in the Thunderbirds, anything ... Read more »
eBay Tips 2008: Pimp your Parcels

eBay Tips 2008: Pimp your Parcels

So far, we've only looked at online modes of marketing and branding. But there is one very obvious opportunity to connect with your buyers in a visceral way: by branding your parcels and using them to market. There are two particular advantages of using this channel. Firstly, it's free from ... Read more »
eBay Tips 2008: 4 Marketing Must Dos

eBay Tips 2008: 4 Marketing Must Dos

Here's a washing list of things that I haven't mentioned so far, that you should be doing. If not, you're a maniac. About Me Page: Just about nothing is free on eBay and yet this free option isn't taken up universally. Your About Me page is a freeform page that you can customise, design and ... Read more »
eBay Tips 2008: Consistent eBay Marketing and Branding

eBay Tips 2008: Consistent eBay Marketing and Branding

The only really important aspect of your on-eBay branding and marketing is consistency. You don't have the full gamut of options on the site that most businesses have so making sure that you extract the most from the ones you do have is vital. Everything you do on the site is an opportunity to tell ... Read more »
eBay Tips 2008: Why Marketing and Branding is Important

eBay Tips 2008: Why Marketing and Branding is Important

I've read enough books about marketing and branding to know that whole forests have been sacrificed for nought. A lot of crap has been written but not much of it explains much about why it's important. Or rather they do, using dictionaries of meaningless terminology. I like to think about ... Read more »
eBay Tips 2008: Stock Discipline

eBay Tips 2008: Stock Discipline

In any sort of retail business there is, what in many ways resembles, a gamble at the core. Can you sell the stock you buy at a price, and in sufficient quantities, without having too much leftover, and still turn a profit? You'll become more expert at this as time goes by, but it must be said that ... Read more »
eBay Tips 2008: Email Efficiency

eBay Tips 2008: Email Efficiency

One of the big sinks of time for any seller is dealing with emails from potential buyers and also dealing with the comms from buyers. It seems to me that there isn't really a way of escaping from these (sometimes peculiar and moronic missives) so there is real merit in minimising the impact on your ... Read more »
eBay Tips 2008: The ‘Henry Ford' Thing

eBay Tips 2008: The ‘Henry Ford’ Thing

I once asked a particularly robotic, unimaginative and starched new employee at eBay (replete with crisp light blue shirt, tshirt underneath and immaculately pressed chinos) what he'd be doing. He replied, confidently; 'I will manage the process.” He's doubtless doing well and is probably ... Read more »
eBay Tips 2008: Profit from Efficiency

eBay Tips 2008: Profit from Efficiency

I've met thousands of eBay sellers over the years: an admirable bunch for the most part, let me tell you. There have been a few nutters and wastrels, of course, but mostly I've met extremely hard-working, decent, ambitious and honourable folks. In fact, if I have a general criticism of the eBay ... Read more »