Rise to the Top of eBay's Best Match - Powerful Tips!
eBay recently changed its default for results on Best Match. 80% of buyers NEVER change how search results are displayed. You want to be at the top of these search results to catch the "lazy" buyers who aren't going to change the search result order, and get the clicks.
Watch this 10-minute video about how to optimize your listing in eBay's Best Match Results. A summary:
1) Your listing's title is much more important than ever - certain words result in more clicks.
2) Learn how to use eBay Research Labs (FREE) to optimize key words in your title and strategically use all 55 characters in your item title.
3) Learn how to determine what words "buyers like" when they search for a particular product.
This video is well worth watching, and only takes 10 minutes.
Little things bug me - like photos on eBay that aren't up to par. I've sold over 15,000 items on eBay, most of them clothing. I just think that if you are putting your item in front of millions of people around the world, you should take a few minutes to make your item, and your photo, look as neat, clean, and attractive as possible.
Here are my top 5 pet peeves when it comes to photos of clothing on eBay. (All photos taken from eBay listings.)
The sideways shot. I never understand this one. One click on "rotate" and the image is upright. You practically have to stand on your head to figure out what the item really looks like.
Clothes hanging in trees. I just don't get this one. Here is a listing for a "really cool hippie dress" (actual title). I guess so. It looks pretty free and easy blowing in the wind and hanging in a tree. I wonder if a guitar and a headband comes with it.
The wrinkled garment. These shorts look like they have lived under a child's bed for a year. 5 minutes with an iron would do wonders.
Clothing laid out on a bed. Call me a germaphobe, that's fine. All kinds of things go on in beds. I mean, we have all seen the Dateline special where they go around to motel rooms with the ultraviolet light and look at all the "stuff" left behind on beds. Enough said.
The "huge lot of clothing" thrown together where you can't tell what anything is. It may be more effective to photgraph each item individually and make a collage for your gallery photo.
50 Tips to Boost eBay Sales - From Jenny How's Blog
My friend and colleague Jenny How has posted a comprehensive list of "50 Strategies for Boosting Your Online Sales." I'd like to elaborate on two of her points - underpromise and overdeliver. What does this mean anyway?
It means that you shouldn't make promises you can't keep. The concept is to have your customer set their expectations lower that your plans for service.
For example, your shipping policy might be, "Item ships within 24 hours." You might want to revise it to, "Item ships within 3 business days." You may very well ship every day, but life gets busy, unexpected things happen, and from time to time you won't be able to keep that promise. Your customer would rather be pleasantly surprised when his order arrives early, rather than be disappointed that is does not arrive when expected.
Use the 5 Whys to explore the cause and effect of "underpromise overdeliver" as related to your customers. (The 5 Whys is a method used to get to the root of a problem - you ask why 5 times.)
Example:
1st Why: Why did my customer leave negative feedback? Because he was mad didn't receive his item as quickly as promised and it was a gift for someone. It didn't get there on time.
2nd Why: Why didn't he receive his item as quickly as promised? Because I was too busy to ship his order in the time promised.
3rd Why: Why were you too busy to ship his order? Because I have too much to do and can't keep up with all my shipping.
4th Why: Why can't you keep up with your shipping? Because I am trying to be competitive and offer shipping within 24 hours on all orders.
5th Why? Why are you trying to ship everything within 24 hours? Because it sounded like a good idea at the time.
So, good ideas can backfire. Better to underpromise and overdeliver than to have an upset or disappointed customer who is going to leave a negative feedback.
Golf, or polo style shirts are a men's wardrobe staple. Men wear them to the office, as casual sportswear, around the house for every day wear, and of course, to play golf. Golf shirts have been the core product in my eBay store since 2003 and I've sold over 10,000 of them.
Check out my new eBook, "The Golf Shirt Bible - How to Profit Selling Golf Shirts on eBay." This 40-page eBook explains all the nuts and bolts of selling men's golf shirts including brand names;, top selling tournament logos, best selling fabrics, colors, and sizes. You'll also learn important details to include in the description and key words to drive more traffic to your auctions.
With summer right around the corner, now is the perfect time to experiment with selling golf shirts in your eBay store.
The latest rage in laptop computers has made its way to eBay. The Eee (triple e) notebook computer by ASUS is showing up on eBay for a starting price of $299.00.
If you aren’t familiar with the Eee notebook computer, it is going to revolutionize the way we access the internet. This microcomputer is about the size of a personal DVD player with a 7 inch (diagonal) screen. It is small enough to fit in a briefcase, purse, or even coat pocket – saving travelers time in airports when going thru security check points.
The system operates with a touch pad and is portable, packable, durable, and perfect for travelers or anyone needing internet access on the go. It includes Windows XP Home Edition, 8GB of memory, a webcam, stereo speakers, microphone, Ethernet access, and weighs only 2 pounds. The batteries last for 3 ½ hours before recharging is needed.
The Eee is a Godsend for travelers who just need to check email, check bank accounts, or write a blog post. The price is more than reasonable for all it can do, and the fact that it can be replaced fairly inexpensively (compared to traditional laptop comptuers) if lost or damaged in transit when traveling.
More problems with eBay sellers. Some are just wonderful, some are absolutely atrocious. Here is another story of an eBay seller I did business with this week. Notice the apathy, lack of professionalism, and outright rudeness of this eBay seller.
1) Purchased item on May 18. Paid immediately with Paypal.
2) Heard nothing from seller regarding receipt of payment, ship date, etc.
3) Emailed seller on May 22 inquiring status of order.
4) Received this response on May 23, "Item shipped May 21. Doesn't matter when you pay, we ship when we get around to it."
5) Waited. Waited. Waited. Nothing arrived.
6) Opened "item not received" dispute on May 28 - 7 days after the item was supposedly shipped via First Class Mail from less than 100 miles away.
7) My message on dispute, "According to seller, item shipped May 21. Have not received item and sufficient time has passed for item to have arrived."
8) Message from seller on dispute, "No comment."
9) Second message from seller (after asked to provide shipping information), "Again, no comment."
10) Received refund.
11) Left negative feedback.
The lazy bum never mailed it. I did get my refund, but what a hassle. Reordered the item from another seller and received it in 2 days. To quote the great Forrest Gump, "eBay is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get."
eBay Policy Change - No More Outgoing Links on About Me Pages?
Corrrect me if my interpretation is wrong. On eBay's Announcement Board on May 19, this statement (along with others not discussed here) was released by John McDonald, Sr. Director of eBay Trust and Safety:
Updated Links Policy
Starting in July, an updated Links Policy will take the place of links guidelines that were previously covered in several policy areas. Under the updated policy, only specific types of links are allowed in a seller's listing or other content on eBay, including eBay store pages, About Me pages, eBay Blogs, Reviews and Guides, and forums. Allowed under the new policy are links to:
1) Any page on eBay or an eBay property including Paypal, StubHub, and Half.com.
2) Photos of the item for sale, as long as the page displaying the photos does not offer, or link to a site that offers a product of service for sale off eBay.
3) Embedded videos within a listing, as long as the content and format comply with all eBay policies for videos.
So, does this mean no more affiliate links on About Me pages? No more links to eBay Membership groups, Big Crumbs, Silent Sales Machine newsletters, or other eBay systems? No more links to your website to try to recruit business directly from your site?
This one needs clarification. Granted, the About Me page was the one loophole still out there regarding outside links, and many sellers have a presence on eBay specifically for the purpose of directing traffic to their own website to capture the eBay segement of the consumer market. Is this over now, too?
