An eBay Seller's Guide to New Year's Resolutions By Ina Steiner
January 5, 2009
January is typically an active time for online merchants. After the crush of fulfilling holiday orders is over, it's a great time to reassess one's business.
This year, with the changes to eBay's platform, and the determination of many online merchants to go "multi-channel," January shouldn't just be active, it should be frenetic.
I checked in with several veteran online sellers to see what was at the top of their "To-Do" list for this year and came up with five things that you should be considering for your online business in 2009.
1. Take stock. Analyze the things that worked for your business over the previous year — and those things that didn't work so well. Some PowerSellers said they plan to get rid of slow-moving inventory to better help them assess their business.
EBay PowerSeller Donna Klein said her goal is to launch a better and more profitable financial system next year. She already began getting her house in order in early fall by getting professional financial advice. "I could see that my business was growing, but compiling tax records was a major problem every April and I felt that my increased profits were going straight to the IRS."
In addition to getting a new bookkeeping system in place, Klein said she plans to liquidate the garments in her eBay Store that haven't sold in a long time. She'll send old Store items to the auction format to clear them out. This will allow her to better analyze her inventory. "I plan to both physically make the storage space more efficient, and to analyze where my most profitable areas of concentration are."
EBay PowerSeller Carol Hearn said she would be looking at her eBay sales and making some changes to the composition of her listing formats. She will evaluate the fixed-price format versus auction listing versus Store Inventory format in 2009, and said she would be weighing the "FP-GTC" (Fixed Price Good Til Cancelled) listing format judiciously.
2. Diversify. Shoppers are everywhere, and you need to be too. List on multiple marketplaces, set up a storefront or your own ecommerce-enabled Web site. Evaluate where your shoppers are congregating online, and consider engaging in social networking through sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and blogs.
There are other ways to diversify — some sellers branch out and teach others how to sell on eBay, while others do consignment sales, actually selling items on eBay on behalf of others.
Donna Klein is not only an eBay PowerSeller, she teaches others how to sell online (she's known as "the eBay Lady.") "If you are well-versed in eBay as a seller, particularly if you know some advanced techniques, and if you like working with people, you may want to diversify into teaching or consulting. There is a huge demand in many areas of the country for eBay experts."
Klein said if they are uncomfortable with public speaking, sellers may choose to offer one-on-one training with individuals. "As eBayers, we tend to take our skills for granted, but in fact, eBay is a mystery to many, and they are willing to pay us for our expertise. Besides being profitable, it can also be a lot of fun."
3. Organize your list of previous customers and keep in touch with them. Online sellers should have a system for regularly communicating with previous customers. If the list resides in your Outlook Express program, convert them to a spreadsheet format such as CSV, so they can be used by a list hosting service or mail merge. These are customers who are already interested in the type of inventory you offer. Give them a chance to opt-in to an email newsletter apprising them of your new offerings. Be sure to follow e-mail best-practices so you don't annoy your customers, or worse, run into complaints of spamming, a serious offense.
Email-hosting services such as IMN Sales in a Click are specifically geared for eBay sellers, while services like Constant Contact and Vertical Response can handle e-mail marketing from all of your other channels.
4. Use coupon sites. These types of sites have become very popular over the past couple of years, and only figure to get more popular in a downturned economy. More and more shoppers are looking for discounts before checking out their shopping cart, so get exposure on coupon sites such as RetailMeNot.com.
5. Be more efficient. Increase efficiencies by reducing costs and investing in time-saving services. This year looks to be a challenging time for everyone, and you should be looking for ways to streamline your business and become more efficient.
For instance, Carol Hearn said after Christmas, she plans to move the fixed price seasonal items to her eBay Store to save on fees, and will put the Christmas items on sale.
Lon Strickler, owner of Strickler's Celebrity Autographs said he would cut costs next year by continuing to refine his pay-per-click marketing techniques. He has learned to narrow down PPC links to items he has in inventory, and he steers customers directly to the item they are interested in. For example, instead of using a single keyword "autographs," he uses a specific string "johnny depp autographs," or instead of "baseball autographs," he uses a specific string "brooks robinson autographed baseballs."
It also makes sense to invest in services that can free up your time so you can spend your time listing, fulfilling orders and engaging in marketing efforts to bring in more sales. Klein believes in the adage, "time is money." She uses Selling Manager Pro, and has learned to use every one of its automating features to help her list more efficiently. She subscribes to Endicia for first class international labels to save trips to the post office, and in January, she will be keeping an eye on further time savers that will help her make more money.
Hopefully these insider tips will help you get motivated for a streamlined, successful 2009.
Ina Steiner is publisher of AuctionBytes.com and the EveryPlaceISell.com merchant directory.
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