eBay Edge

Phil. So true.

We are also seeing advertising budgets move towards social media campaigns. It sure is fun to watch.

If you are interested, I would like to invite you to participate on inSocialMedia.com

Respectfully,

Nelson Bruton ...

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Phil, Thanks for the hints on the best/worst timeframes for posting. But I wonder if the study that you mentionned was explaining why some periods were better than other. Great Posting. Frequentia ---------------------- http://frequentia.net The etools Megastore for Webmasters http://directory.frequentia.net ...

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I think this approach is valid in many settings. However, the demands of your audience should ultimately dictate the style in which you write your materials. For example, in my company's industry--enterprise risk and compliance management--being too conversational can have a negative effect. Our prose needs to convey both information about our product as well as confidence in how we do business. Our audience brings a wealth of industry knowledge and expertise with them, and our collateral must reflect our understanding and capabilities for solving industry problems. Our products, therefore, must be presented in a professional and clear manner. In summary, your style must meet the demands of your audience. Often, the simpler more conversation style is by far the best method to communicate. However, depending on your industry, this may not be the best fit for your audience. To see how my company works to walk the line between conversational and complex language, check out our website at www.archer-tech.com.

Web Commerce Trends and Social Marketing has Extended to the Book Trade AbellaBooks.com is a locally owned small business you can support it if you have a website by placing a small link on your site. Big thanks to all our supporters, if you have any problems or questions don't hesitate to contact us. Copy and paste the code to your site, you can edit the code to fit your site's needs. Add an AbellaBooks.com Link to your website Buy New and Used Textbooks at Abella Books Buy New and Used Textbooks at Abella Books ...

Web Commerce Trends and Social Marketing has Extended to the Book Trade AbellaBooks.com Abella Books, is among the nation?s oldest, and largest buyers and sellers of New, Used, reconditioned, pre-owned K-12 and college student textbooks. As a result, purchasing your pre-owned textbooks has never been easier. We have nearly doubled the size of our textbook inventory to provide you with unparalleled access to the highest quality pre-owned textbooks at cheap discount prices. AbellaBooks.com is a locally owned small business you can support it if you have a website by placing a small link on your site. Big thanks to all our supporters, if you have any problems or questions don't hesitate to contact us. Copy and paste the code to your site, you can edit the code to fit your site's needs. Add an AbellaBooks.com Link to your website Buy New and Used Textbooks at Abella Books Buy New and Used Textbooks at Abella Books ...

I've asked myself the last three question in your post time and time again. While I do agree that reviews are becoming a staple part of the consumer's spending process, you are right to let the consumer know that there is still room for malicious reviews that are not from genuine consumers but competitors. So if you choose to research before purchasing, make sure to keep this fact in mind. Thanks for a very insightful post.

Viral anecdotal stories influence emotion, as well. e.g. friend of a friend totaled SUV and survived, etc. The perception trumps facts, and only God knows why people love to ignore facts. It's like a national pastime.

There's value in selling intangibles like warnings and expertise. Authority is critical -- I like Robert Cialdini's writings on this subject. I'll check out the Authority Black Book, too.

Showing people "how to avoid" spending or wasting money or time on stuff is also appreciated.

The more you get in return. it's an old saying but so true. Especially in the era of internet marketing. One of the best free reports I've read lately is the Authority Black Book . Jack Humphrey goes into the details of building those valuable relationships and setting yourself up as an authority on the subject by way of "giving away" what others are probably charging for.

...even when confronted by facts. Look at the SUV craze. Ask anyone who owns an SUV and one of the three reasons they drive one will be safety. Now NHTSA sats show that SUVs are less safe than cars but people still cite safety as a reason for buying one. Now look at minivans. They have the same amount of seats, cargo room, luxuries, better gas mileage . . . but there is a stigma attached to minivans.

The implied value of a experts only product is very compelling.

There is a lot of fear based selling going on today. The war on terror is one of them and defense companies are taking it to the bank. But what I have found useful is to use fear to make a product seem more valuable. A simple phrase like "Not for beginners" or "Experts only" can compel most people to choose the next model up for fear that they may "grow out of" the basic model. Everybody thinks they are an expert and I think it is a dare to some of the more macho egos out there.

Mr. Dunn, could you write about the advanatges/disadvantages of ebay payment methods: PayPal, ProPay, etc.? Might make for an interesting post.

The eBay Bid Assistant attempts to address the functionality offered by Darple, but it only goes part way. In particular, the eBay Bid Assistant bids serially. As eBay describes it, ?? it will begin bidding one at a time on the items you chose, starting with the one that ends soonest.? (see http://pages.ebay.com/bidassistant/) Darple, in contrast, issues the bids in parallel, creating a real marketplace. The eBay Bid Assistant is an admission by eBay that the buyer experience on eBay has not been what buyers want. Just this month, PeSA, the Professional eBay Sellers Alliance, published an article detailing some of the problems eBay is facing and report that eBay has become a ?buyer beware? marketplace. (http://www.gopesa.org/news/index.cfm?page=ebayunheatlhymarketplace2007). Yes, the eBay Bid Assistant is an improvement, but it offers what third-party sniping agents have been offering for years and falls far short of what Darple offers. With Darple, buyers create reverse auctions, putting sellers into competition for the buyers? business, and getting the buyer the best deal. Simultaneously, a forward auction puts buyers in competition with each other, getting sellers the highest price. It levels the playing field between buyers and sellers and creates a true marketplace. The combination of a reverse auction and a forward auction enables Darple to create a double auction, like the mechanisms that a stock market uses to achieve fair pricing - buyers can see all asks, and sellers can see all bids. In addition to creating a more fair market, Darple tries to create a safer buying experience as well. Darple strives to ensure that a single user can only claim one user name so that unfair bidding practices are mitigated. Right now identity requires a student .edu e-mail, or a cell phone. Soon, newer and stronger authentication technologies will be put in place to broaden availability of Darple while continuing to ensure a safe place to do business. The combination of a more balanced, transparent pricing mechanism, along with stronger safety, results in a better buying experience. That's what buyers want ? and that's what sellers need to create a real marketplace.

Phil, I think the eBay Bid Assistant pretty much gives that functionality. Here is something I wrote up about it: http://www.allbusiness.com/specialty-businesses/home-based-businesses/4113183-1.html ...

Phil, thanks for the heads up on PayPerAction. I had not thought about it in terms of eBay stores until I read your article here. I think eBay stores may be doomed for various other reasons, but PayPerAction has the hint that it can level things outside of ebay. Hmmm going to be interesting.

Here's a temporary link for the WSJ story: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB115506439629930134-lMyQjAxMDE2NTE1ODAxNjg0Wj.html ...

I haven't read the WSJ article, so I can only comment based on your quoted paragraph. If we are discussing this quote in the context of eBay, I don't think free shipping works very well. If you offer free shipping, your prices will be higher than other sellers because you also pay a commission to eBay for the shipping portion. If you do the math, a free shipper ends up paying more eBay fees than another seller that does not do this. For the free shipper to have the same net profit, their overall prices are higher.

E-commerce User Experience http://www.nngroup.com/reports/ecommerce/ $129 for 389 pages, but well worth the expense if you are serious about ecommerce. RE: Free shipping and shopping carts. Make sure the word FREE is in the line item under shipping versus 0.00 - some buyers may think there is something wrong with the shopping cart. Look for a shopping cart that does not require you to register or provide billing information before shipping quote is given. For example, osCommerce out-of-the-box is no good in this respect since you have to register before you are given a shipping quote. Same issue with the old Yahoo! Stores. All a shopping cart needs is zip code, shipping method, and destination country (if you ship international). Personally, I like AmeriCart and ShopSite since they do not require registration or for you to provide personal information before getting a quote.

Changes occur in every field in every age. EBay also has done it to their search result pages. I also agree with you. The result will depend how much this change is convenient for the customers. They need speed but also it has to be easy to use. Rapid transparency is the key.

Any step for saving small business is welcome. If it helps them to thrive and grow then it is a good move. But before taking such decision we need to think about its impact, good sides and bad sides. Small business is already facing so many obstacles.

Hi, stumbled on this site while doing a search for the download link to the original turbolister. I reformatted my hard drive and would like tl1 back, all I can find is ebay's turbolister 2 link. They did send a link for the old program - but it was not successful. Anyone know where I can download the original? thanks!

A good sales person is also a good story teller and an attentive listener. He must listen to his customer. But there are not many people who can do this.

I'm trying to get all these crazy business ideas out of my head (my firends family and co-workers are sick of hearing them) and tell stories at the same time. I don't have the expertise for most of these, but maybe others do. Sometimes humourous, sometimes serious, definitely out of the box: http://businessideahaystack.blogspot.com/ ...

Hi Phil: While browsing this blog, my eyes caught the name "Bob Leduc". He has been around for many years and is considered a marketing expert. Your article is very helpful, especially considering that I am planning to embark on post card promotion of a new product wish I am planning to launch. Keep up the good work. Internet marketing guy http://www.mscsrrr.com ...

i agree i've learned the hard way that success is earned NOT a given and at the moment my ebay sales have slipped but my site is my plan B ...

A primary source of motivation is in having others share positive personal experiences. It removes the barriers of mistrust and says it's ok to try. You are right people are ready to buy in most cases and a good eBay approach and business scheme can really create a great source of income for those who try. http://www.smallbusinessinternetmarketingcenter.com/Product%20Review%20Center/reviews/e_bay.htm ...

oh yes - i totally agree! people do like buying things. even little trinkets can get one excited - especially stuff that can be conversation pieces. sublime shopping! :) ...

An ecstasy true! A good salesman is he who can make his or her buyer ecstatic about buying and this called "THE ART OF SELLING." The message is very simple but the task is a very tough one to conduct.

That's great advice, Phil. Even if one did manage to hit it big all at once, they would probably be so overwhelmed that it would not serve them or their customers well.

Your right on. People can care less about what something does, but they will listen to anything you have to say regarding what something can do for them and what they can get out of it.

Mr.Phil Dunn. We are writing from Georgian republic (post soviet country).our country as an independent state develops more and more. This process was especially hard in high mountainous regions. The population of these regions are very poor, but with your help these regions will have a big potential of development. Because there were created such important part of Georgian material culture, as weave of carpets handworks and etc. All of these beautiful handworks are made of hand with ecological clean paints and plants. Except this our country is the most beautiful and has the oldest culture. Because many foreign tourists visit our country every year. Exactly development of the family tourism and handworks of arts are remedy of poverty in these regions. We ask for your help for create little workshops and for development family tourism. We can send you photos of these subjects. Thank for attention. MANANA TSIKLAURI ...

Stories act as a wonderful lead in and provide a personal trust bridge to those who read them. Stories allows your customer the opportunity to trust your offer and at least for the first time purchase adds the feasability of personal discovery. This can lead to second time sales through the development of customer loyalty, providing the trust of the customer wasn't violated with the first purchase (honest stories are an absolute must).

YES!! I completely agree with you. Offering something that is beneficial to your customer is the best thing you could ever do to close your sales. "How To" products are hot right now. Hot to giveaway and hot to sell. The problem is not every business has "How To" ebooks/articles available out there. However, I really believe it's worth your time finding it. Once you find it, you'll see your sales soar ...

That's a brilliant booklet. I think we can all learn to improve on how we write auctions to sell the benefits. I think we also must tell the truth about the condition on an item we are selling. That's the only way to build customer loyalty. I'm reminded of Churchill in WW2 as he had a hard position to sell. He said:"We shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old." ...

I work part time and have just opened an Ebay shop to sell used books on Ebay uk. You are so right about how it needs to stay fun, especially after a long day at the other workplace! Two ways I have learnt are not to try to do too much and to make sure auction listings end at a convenient time for me, as well as for buyers, especially if there are a lot of them.

I am currently looking for all positives ways I can to grow my online business. If you have suggestions on the best wy to recruit for serious affiliates and sales please inform me. Thank you. http://incredibledeals.ordershipping.com/Marketing/DD_index.asp ...

I am currently looking to expand my business. This is great information. Thank you http://incredibledeals.ordershipping.com ...

Great advice. The reviews on Amazon definitely help sell the books. Trip Advisor does the same with travel.

Great advice. The reviews on Amazon definitely help sell the books. Trip Advisor does the same with travel.

If you have your own website you can link images on it of a selection of items in your shop. The html builder in the left column of Ebay's 'manage my shop' will give you the html to paste on your site. It's an impressive but easy to do feature.

good points. If your meserable your contacts will know it too. Even when working online it is telepathed to them. It shows in your response time, the way you post your products, how often you up date your website and in the ways you conduct your business such as customer service. As the man says, take a deep breath and then have fun.

so much good advices! i will come back ...

By all means have fun and take a plunge. There are so many ways to make it happen. And please be creative. Sometimes we take what we do way to serious and end up loosing the focus of why we started in the first place. Business is a means to an end, and almost always that was to fulfill a dream or expectation. Why not get in touch with your dream and reassess if the direction you?re going in is what you really want. If it is then let's party. Either go back to your original business plan (the document with all the dust). If you didn?t do one then shame on you and get busy. This is the number one reason people loose their way and their spark or you can go to someone that has found success. They can guide you and help you rebuild a successful process that brings back your focus and certainly the thrill of the chase.

Well being involved in the development of customer service and customer experience management I don't find this at all surprising. It basically stems from a product centered organization. These organizations focus almost entirely on product sales and customer acquisition for their cash flow. They have high abandonment rates, low customer loyalty and their customer retention is quite pale. Such organizations are caught up into sales metrics and in meeting sales goals. However research has shown that those organizations or businesses that focus on customers, building relationships first and building customer loyalty through fostering quality customer experiences out perform them by nearly 40%. Interesting number, it cost less to keep them. The point here is what you echoed above. Care about your customers first. Know them, understand them and then you will be able to fulfill their needs within your product scope when the time comes. You will be more niche sensitive and will spot changing market trends long before others, for more information check out. http://www.smallbusinessinternetmarketingcenter.com or at http://www.customerdevelopmentcenter.com ...

It seems really a good idea to be closer to the sales men in the ebay.But what can inquirement do ?Sorry ,i forgot to introduce myself to you .I am momo,working in a foreign trade company .China. I come across a big question that the trasaction on the net also unbelievable .I always feel confused about it .but dont find the best solution.

Yes, we have sent products to third-party review sites and have them link to us. It helps us by spreading the inbound traffic around and not be as dependent on Google. Its like reading full-page ad from our company in a magazine versus having a reporter in that same magazine making a recommendation. People are likely to trust the reporter more than the advertisement.

We found charging a higher handling fee on eBay increased sales in the category we sell in (computers & electronics). 1) We save on eBay fees which we can pass on to our eBay customers as lower prices. If you list a product for $20 plus $5 shipping vs $15 plus $10 shipping, you pay $5 more of eBay Final Value Fee (FVF). At least with a higher handling, the buyer and seller get a little back instead of eBay getting everything. 2) When you sort by price, we appear first before the next seller which gives us a competitive edge 3) It doesn't matter what you charge as shipping. A seasoned eBay buyer will know that the order total is most imporant in the end.

I've been toying with the BETA but am not impressed. I use the original TurboLister because I find it runs faster and it does what I need better than the BETA. I think software developers forget that usability is more important than features. Apple iPod doesn't have a lot of features, but it plays music (and now video) extremely well. To be fair, it is a BETA still so they have time to address the speed issue at least.

Here's a good tip on marketing your eBay store or any store. When you search on a keyword on eBay, you will also see a list of "related searches" just below the search box. Use keywords that apply to your product in the title. Since most buyers on eBay use Title (and to a lesser degree Titlte & Description), having a search engine friendly title is extremely important. Maximize your title real estate and exclude words like "L@@K", "WOW", etc. I have found that titles with relevant keywords that high human readability increase sales. More relevant page views = more sales.

Even though, like you mention concerning the issue of communication between sales and marketing, as an "ancient" gripe. Still, just because it's something that has been noticed for a while doesn't mean that a company is doing it right. What is amazing to me is the tremendous value a sales department could be if mined correctly and continuously. But if the company won't do it, those that are selling their products sure should take advantage of it. It's a great idea for those that will follow it.

Thank you Marina http://stores.ebay.com/marinamode ...

Re: French clothing -- looking good. I can't read Francais, but it appears that you're doing all the right things with presentation, simplicity, good photography. Looks like denim is in. I've communicated with quite a few folks who sell clothing, and it seems one of the big challenges is to offer a compelling reason for purchase -- usually hard to find items, odd sizes or deep discounts. In my book we talk a lot about how these types of sales work in the retail world. Add-on sales after big ticket purchases are key -- thought on the Web buyers jump in at many different points. In the brick and mortar world reps can steer buyers to big items first and then load up the cart. Do you have any experience with how this translates on the Web?

What do you think about my ebay store : http://stores.ebay.com/marinamode ...

I believe this is something you should take up with eBay support. Contact them via the following page: http://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/index.html ...

There could be. You'll need to evaluate production costs, processes and efficiency.. then figure out how to price the items correctly so you can cover costs. Then you'll need a marketihng and promotion strategy. Proficient shipping capabilities are a must, too.

we tried to purchase item number 8786096348 but before we could confirm payment details the page expired. Therefore we have said we will buy an item which is a Norwich City Shirt but do not know where to send the cheque and do not want to be thought of as bad payers. Please can you help and give us an address for the seller Vinny. If you can e mail us we can arrange payment. Thank you I hope you can help us.

Hello 3/27/06 Because i was forced to stay home,my profession was creating orginal masterpieces in Artif,silk flower arragements,they are one of a kind,a customer call me and wanted something special for her husband as she was having a Birthday party for him,and he was a hunter,so i made him a ten pointed Deer,in basket i made became a forest.he delighted with it..so all are special.is their a market on line for My Profession?

Thanks for the heads up Phil. Here is the download link for anyone interested: http://pages.ebay.com/turbolister2/?ssPageName=CMDV:AB ...

Phil, It look like those didn't do very well. Looks like a couple of them were pulled. eBay's been coming down pretty hard on this bizzare stuff lately it seems.

It actually goes beyond have ready answers. She is smart in providing the answer as it adds value to what she is already offering. By re emphasizing the obvious in a positive way she is creating a positive impression, and an experience that will lead to customer loyalty through respect and trust. If you use pat answers you better make them believable and honest. Customers are good at reading between the lines and can smell a blow off and arrogant disdain faster than you can say it. Be careful in what you say, personalize it and be truthful. As a customer experience coach I will tell you to do it any other way will alienate your potential customers for return purchases.

Thanks Phil for your kind words. When you get a chance please check out my blog http://onlinesellertips.blogspot.com/. I am expanding on the idea of how to use blogging platforms as marketing tools. And I would love to know what you and your readers think about the free bloggin platforms and their value in marketing.

In an article about Moore's law, I recently read an interesting thing. Several years ago the number of bytes produced eclipsed the number of printed alphabet characters produced... meaning the production of hard drives, flash drives, memory chips, etc that store data outpaced the production of characters in print -- in magazine, newspapers, books, etc. I'm not sure if it was cumulative (i.e. number of characters ever produced). Bytes are the dirt of digital real estate. You have to do something with them. Content or structure is important, of course, as is location, location, location. One way to locate in front of your target prospect is to give them a bit of your beautiful dirt on a key chain in the form of presentations, animations, photos, text and so on.

Great stuff Phil. It will be interesting to see what happens with the thumb drive market, particularly with the smaller ones. The smaller ones have been somewhat devalued by the larger ones (and the larger ones keep getting larger and cheaper). These days, drives under 100 megs aren't very valuable to purchasing consumers, but as give-aways they should be great. You're right - they would make great branded stuffers I wonder if the smaller ones will last or eventually go by the way of the floppy disk?

Hi Denise - Coud you offer a little more info? Two questions: 1) What was the email like? 2) Is this an opt-in list of prospects? Generally speaking, you can risk alienating people if you send "hard sell" promos or offers without their initial inquiry. eBay itself has rules about this, too (if the list is internal to eBay -- for example a newsletter list generated through an eBay Store).

I have a question about marketing eBay auctions. I sent an email to a list of prospects who have expressed interest in the topic covered by my product. At the time, the high bid was $1 so my prospects could get a good deal. Is this unethical or frowned upon to let people know about auction items? I got feedback from one person that she thought it was not appropriate and felt it would alienate my list. I felt I was letting them know about an opportunity to get my product well below the retail price. Comments? Thanks!

I am very excited about your postings, Phil. I'll be using the information not only for myself, but to educate my organizing Clients on what works, and what doesn't when they're "letting go." Thanks!

Phil, welcome to All Business! I write about eBay from time to time, but I am by no means a true eBay expert. I look forward to your expertise here.

Welcome Phil. This is great timing because I'm just begining to explore using eBay to sell my audio products. This is a tactic my mentor Tom Antion recommends for creating another source of revenue. I'm blogging about it on my other blog at http://www.biztipsblog.com. I'm very excited to start following your blog here.