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Here's
what you should be doing now to get ready for the holiday
sales crunch.
As I write this column, I'm placing my final
orders for holiday merchandise I'll be selling
during the holiday season. Of course, I'll still
be selling my regularly stock items in my eBay
store, but the holiday season gives me a reason
(or is it excuse?) to search out and buy more
merchandise. And shopping for my eBay business
is almost as much fun for shopping for myself.
Actually, it's more fun. Why? Because I'm buying
at wholesale prices--way below retail
cost. There's a special bit of magic that goes
along with finding fun merchandise at very low
prices--because you know you're going to make
a healthy profit on all the fun stuff you buy!
Here's a quick tip to read before you
buy any merchandise for resale: Be sure to search
eBay and see how many people are selling the
item, or a similar item--and check to see if
anyone is buying. If the item is seasonal, use
your "eBay instincts" and choose items accordingly.
If you haven't starting shopping, you'd better
get on the ball because your holiday buying spree
should be over by the end of October. In the
meantime, there are a few other things you should
be doing right now to get ready for crunch time:
- Take pictures. Don't be lazy--using
the manufacturer's stock images won't set
your listings apart from those of other sellers.
Take the time to set up your own pictures
to make them unique.
- Write descriptions. Take the
time now to write descriptions for everything
you'll be selling this season. This is something
I always do whenever I have downtime, especially
for collectible one-of-a-kind items. It takes
as much time to put together a good description
for those one-shot items as for your stock
items--that's why writing whenever you have
a few extra minutes is a timesaver. Another
way I save time is I keep a folder on my
computer that contains descriptions of odd-lot
items. That way, when I'm in a rush to list,
I just open the file, modify it to fit my
item, cut and paste it, and voila, the item's
listed.
- Decide on your tools. If you're
planning to use any special tools to help
with the onslaught of new business you're
expecting during the holidays, you'd better
have more than a casual understanding of
how the tools work before you start selling
in earnest. Consider signing up to use a
new eBay service such as Selling Manager--or
signing up with a preferred service providor
like ChannelAdvisor to
smooth your holiday business frenzy. These
services were designed with the busy seller
in mind and will go a long way toward helping
your business. The holiday crunch--late October,
November and early December--is not the time
to start fresh with a service because hopefully
you'll be so busy selling, you won't have
time to figure out the ins and outs of a
good program.
- Catch up on your bookkeeping! If
your bank account reconciliation's aren't
up to date, now's the time to get that chore
done. If you haven't posted the details of
your charge card payments (known as "splits" in
QuickBooks), do that now, too. A busy holiday
and post holiday season will keep you continually
busy through March--which doesn't leave you
much time to stay on top of your books. Also,
if your memory's as bad as mine, you won't
remember the small details from month to
month.
- Line up your part-time help. If you'll
need some help packing items and shipping them
out to buyers, be sure to plan for that now.
Ask neighbors, or put a notice up at a local
college--if you're lucky enough to be close
to one--so you'll be able to interview and
find the right people for your busy rush now.
The 2005 super-selling season on eBay is about to
begin. Don't get caught up in the swirl of sales unaware.
A successful eBay PowerSeller is a prepared seller.
(Marsha Collier's column originally published © Entreprenuer.com)
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I was
lucky enough to be asked to work with Victoria Rosenborg
on her new book "PayPal For Dummies" http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0764583921/ref=ase_coolebaytools/002-0036056-3506438?v=glance&s=books as
Consulting Editor. (I also wrote the Forward). It's a great
book for anyone who wants to learn the ins and outs of
paypal and how to use the service to enhance their business.
There are new features on the summary page of Selling Manager
and Selling Manager Pro. There are two new modules – a "search" module
that allows you to locate sales related data and an "at-a-glance" module
that lets you easily get an overview of your sales. Note
that if you archive your sales at the end of the month, the
last 30 days figure will be incorrect. It seems to pick up
sales figures only from your active Sales Manager data.
One of the toughest things to figure out when you're getting
ready to sell on eBay is how to set your starting and/or "Buy
It Now" price. People break into a sweat about making
this decision, but it's really not that urgent an issue--unless
you price your item too low and it sells at a loss!
Your goal here is to make money, not lose it. So the first
thing you need to consider is how gutsy you should be when
it comes to your business. In the business world, this is called
measuring your "risk tolerance." (I, for one, have
an incredibly low risk tolerance!)
There are those who say that the greater the risk, the higher
the chances for success. And this may be true. Certainly when
you're in Las Vegas, you have a better chance of winning big
if you're betting big. But your eBay business may be your livelihood.
So pricing an item is important, and being glib with the money
you need to pay next month's rent is probably not prudent.
You can increase your chances of eBay success with this breakdown
of the three most popular ways to set your starting price:
- Set the starting price at $1--with no reserve. There's
been much talk about the attraction of starting your items
at just $1. There's certainly a definite benefit to that, as
prospective buyers will see your listing and think they're
the only ones to see your low-priced item--and that they'll
be win it at a bargain.
But instead of $1, I recommend you list for 99 cents--see
the list of listing fees below to understand why. Once you
list an item at 99 cents, prospective buyers will perceive
the deal and begin to bid. The item will generate competition,
and bidders will hopefully drive up your selling price in a
flurry of (possibly last minute) bidding. One caveat here:
If your initial bidder gets no competition, your item may have
to sell for your starting bid of 99 cents!
How do you avoid that? Before you list your item, follow
one of my cardinal rules by running a "Completed listings" search
on the item. To do this, type the keywords for your item in
the search box that appears in the upper right hand corner
of every eBay page. Once you get your results, scroll down
the page, and on the left, you'll see a "Search Options" area
defined in yellow. In this area, there's a "Completed
listings" box you can check to narrow your results.
Once you have the completed listings results, click the "Sort
by" drop down menu in the upper right hand corner above
the list and sort your results to show "Price: highest
first." Prices for items that have successfully sold will
appear in green, bold text. Now you know the highest price
you may expect to get for your item. If the price is close
to your target, feel free to start the bidding at 99 cents.
But if no one on eBay is buying your item, or if the selling
price is below your cost, you might consider not selling the
item at this time. eBay is cyclical--your item may be in demand
in the future.
- Start the bidding at your cost. A more
popular tactic is to start the bidding so the opening bid
will cover your investment
in the item. Use the listing fees schedule below to help you
gauge your best starting price. For example, starting an item
at $25 versus $24.99 will double the item's listing fee from
60¢ to $1.20. Over time, those pennies add up and eat
into your profits.
| |
Starting
|
Listing Fee
|
| |
$0.01--$0.99
$1.00--$9.99
$10.00--$24.99
$25.00--$49.99
$50.00--$199.99
$200.00--$499.99
$500.00 or more |
$0.25
$0.35
$0.60
$1.20
$2.40
$3.60
$4.80 |
Although setting a starting price that's equal to your cost
isn't as attractive to prospective bidders as starting at
99 cents, there's less chance you'll lose money on your transaction.
- Start the bidding at a discount price. For
new items, another option is to start the bidding at
a discount to the "street
value" of the item. The street value is the common,
discounted price for the item in general commerce. To
get an idea of this
price, go to a site like www.froogle.com and enter the
name of your item and the model number (if that's applicable).
I like Froogle in particular because it lists website's
product
pricing right along with the pricing on many eBay stores,
so
you can get a good idea of the going value of your item.
After you know the going street value of the item, you
can choose
a price that's somewhat less--this way, bidders who've
done their homework think they're getting a deal on your
item.
You can also use the information you gleaned from
your street value price research to set your "Buy It Now" (BIN)
price. (This is the price you set so a prospective buyer
can purchase your item immediately if they're so inclined.)
I usually
make the BIN price a few dollars more than the discount
price--this strategy works very well for my items.
Doing your research--even before purchasing an item to sell
on eBay--is an ideal business practice. Because it's the time
you spend on your business that can move you closer to eBay
success.
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If you have eBay questions, let me know and I'll try to answer
them in future newsletters.
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Marsha Collier's Cool eBay
Tools Newsletter
Copyright 2005 The Collier Company, Inc. All rights
reserved. ISSN Applied For
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