| Home | Testimonials | Buyer Central | Seller Central | Newsletter | Auction Resources | Glossary |
|
|||
|
Learn How To You are about to start page 3 of the start your own eBay business tutorial, I hope that you are gaining a better understanding of what it takes to start an auction business. If you have any questions or feel that there is an area I have overlooked, please send me an email. Market Analysis Market analysis is very important to determine what sells and what doesn't. When you're paying eBay $100 listing fees for featured auctions or $20.00 listing fees for category featured dutch auctions, you need to continually evaluate the profit potential, profit margin, and sales percentage of your products as relates to the length of auction, type of auction (featured, featured in category, bold face title, etc), description & sales pitch, price, and a number of other factors. I'm not going to provide you with a complete plan for performing a market analysis because this isn't an economic manual, but I will give you a few tips. The best way to perform market analysis on your products is to use a spread sheet which automatically calculates your best-selling items and recommends which items you should discontinue and which items you should feature. The auction manager I reccomended before (Auction Tamer) can help make this a simple and quick task In particular, you should evaluate the following points FOR EACH OF YOUR PRODUCTS:
Performing a market analysis is one of the most important ways to maximize your net revenue once you have listed enough auctions to collate plenty of raw data. I use an easy-to-use tool called ProfitCalc to help me perform my market analysis. It turns a long laborious task into mere minutes of work. Trial and Error - It Works As I have indicated, trial and error is one major tool for success. It works, pure and simple. Don't be afraid to try out new ideas or to feature dozens of your most popular products. Find out what sells and what doesn't - continually order new products from your supplier that you feel will become big hits on eBay Do not get into a rut selling the same thing over and over again; you will saturate the market after a few months. The most important use for trial and error on eBay is to use the regular auctions as a testing ground for your new merchandise to determine its sales percentage and corresponding marketability, as well as its profit margin. You can then make an educated decision as to whether or not to feature the auction or choose the dutch option, or both. Impulse selling is much like impulse buying - you regret it soon afterwards. Don't waste your money on the fancy options on eBay until you first use trial and error on all of your products. Writing Your Sales Pitch Successful sellers on eBay know how to write an item description (sales pitch) that instantly perks the browser's interest and then draws them in after a few sentences. The first part of your eBay sales pitch is the title, which should be catchy and immediately focus a potential customer on your auction. If you get them to click on your auction, then you have won half the battle. I recommend bold-face titles at all times using catch words such as:
I also suggest using all caps so that your title stands out above the rest. DO NOT use fancy symbols or other "cheesy" ways to attract attention to your auction. Such tactics immediately turn off most potential customers and make your business look unprofessional and even ridiculous. A big part of your sales pitch is the picture that you attach to your auction, but you must also provide an enthusiastic and energizing description that makes your potential buyer feel like he/she needs your product. Before you start writing the sales pitch, refer to the profile of potential customers in your niche market that you should already have compiled.
A successful sales pitch appeals to the base interests and self-interest of the customer. When writing a sales pitch, attention to psychology counts more than attention to writing style. You need to make your item description APPEAL TO THE TYPE OF CUSTOMER WHO WILL BE VIEWING YOUR AUCTION. I recommend using some basic HTML coding to enhance the description, but I do NOT suggest giant letters and distracting objects such as blinking, animations, or more "cheesy" items in that regard. Your potential buyer wants to know what your product will do for him, and does not need a lot of useless distraction. Again, your item description must appeal to the profile of the buyer and promote a feeling of professionalism and trust in your company. Complementing Your Auctions With A Website An internet E-Commerce (the ability to accept credit cards) capable website will greatly enhance your eBay auctions. It is relatively easy to learn how to set up a basic website. However, if you are like me, setting up a website sounds complicated and scary. But it doesn't have to be; I use a service called iPROBuilder to help me design and host my websites. iPROBuilder includes all the bells and whistles: an easy-to-use online site builder, domain name registration, unlimited web hosting, unlimited e-mail accounts, pop-ups, opt-in mailings, and much more. With iPROBuilder, you can create profit-pulling web sites in 24 hours or less, with no technical or design experience. This is absolutely essential for eBay sellers because it gives you the ability to accept credit cards not only on your website but as payment for your eBay auctions! I have known vendors who tripled and even quadrupled their profits on eBay simply by accepting Visa / Mastercard. The best way for you to accept credit cards on your website is to use PayPal. Not only can you use PayPal to accept auction payments, but PayPal gives you the tools to set up your website with a shopping cart and full E-Commerce capablility. Learn more about PayPal. After setting up a website with your products, you can use eBay as a free advertising tool for the new webpage! I receive hundreds of hits each day just by featuring a few of my auctions. I make a profit on the auctions but I also make a residual profit when eBay customers visit my website. If you are like me and are not artistically talented, then I highly reccomend paying a professional banner creation company to create a catchy banner for your site and then linking it to all your eBay auctions. This creates a two-fold benefit; eBay users who see your banner may click on it to visit your site, and they will also consider you to be a more professional and established seller than much of your competition because you spent the time and money to create a high-class banner. Logo Creator is a company I have used on several occasions to create logos for my websites and I have been very happy with their work. Combined with your feedback rating, this gives you an edge over the competition - and the slightest edge can literally translate to millions of dollars a year! To continue on to the next page of the tutorial please click here. To return to the previous page click here.
Questions or Comments?
Privacy Policy
Disclaimer
Copyright Auction-Essentials 2002-2003 All Rights Reserved |
 
 
|
||
