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When you list something for sale on eBay, you want to make sure that your auction attracts as much interest — and possible buyers — as possible. Showcase your eBay auctions and your Web store operations with these tips:
- Research the product using eBay's search engine before you start listing it. So many people just dive into creating an eBay listing without checking to see how similar items have performed on eBay in the past. That's like buying a share of IBM stock without knowing its closing price, 52 week range, or other key financials. The beautiful thing about eBay is that you can perform a free search of eBay's records for the past 15 days to see how the item has previously sold. When you search for completed listings, you can learn many things to help you sell your product.
- Leverage your product catalog by re-using pictures and descriptions whenever possible. If you're selling products from your catalog, don't reinvent the wheel. Simply copy and paste your product photos, description, title, and any other information into your eBay listing. This way, you can put an item up for sale and retain the same information that customers would see on your Web store. Try to add a watermark to your pictures that has your Web store name in it. Not only does this prevent your competitors from re-using your pictures, but it also lets customers see the name of your business!
- Make sure that your product descriptions are both comprehensive and organized. When someone takes a look at your eBay auction page, your goal is to have enough information in that auction description that the buyer has zero questions and is ready to place a bid. Therefore, you need to create a structured approach to your description, using white space and formatting to lay out the information in a way that doesn't overwhelm the reader. Also, you need enough information to answer any potential customer's concerns without becoming tedious or overbearing. When they come to your Web store, the average customer is more focused and knows what they want. On eBay, they love to click around and browse, so you have to do more to hook them and convince them to buy.
- Include your Web store "look and feel" into your auction descriptions as much as possible. Include your store logo, colors and buttons as part of the auction description section. Simply copy and paste the HTML code from one of your Web store pages and put the essential elements in your eBay auction description section. Remember: Don't put any direct links to your Web store from your eBay auctions.
- Introduce every one of your eBay winners to your Web store after they win an auction. Once you have a successful auction with a new customer, that relationship is yours to mold, which means that you can talk about more than just the eBay auction. When the auction ends, you will get an e-mail with the results of the auction, including the high bid amount and, most importantly, the e-mail address of the high bidder. You could use eBay's invoicing tool, but consider sending your own e-mail, welcoming that new user to your Web store and describing what you have for sale.
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