Posts Tagged ‘ebay powerseller’
5 More Ways to be a Successful eBay PowerSeller
Friday, March 7th, 2008
In the last article, 5 Ways to be a Successful eBay PowerSeller , I talked about the huge benefits that achieving PowerSeller status can bring to your business, as well as 5 ways you can make your eBay listings stand out and bring in more buyers.
In this article, I’m going to tell you about 5 more ways to achieve that all important PowerSeller status - this time by focusing on customer service. Your customers are how you make sales, and no matter how pretty your pictures are, or how well written your titles and descriptions are - if your customer service skills aren’t up to par, you’ll still lose sales.
1. Customer Service
This cannot be stressed enough. Nothing irritates a buyer more than sending a query about an item to a seller and not getting a response for several days. This delay could even result in the buyer deciding not to buy your item at all. Customer Service is absolutely key to obtaining and keeping a perfect, or near perfect, feedback rating. On eBay, feedback is a Seller’s only way of assuring a buyer that they are trustworthy and respected. Second only to quality Photos - your Feedback rating is also critical to becoming a successful PowerSeller - so make sure to dedicate enough time and focus every day to your quality of Customer Service.
2. Personalized Service
A buyer is a person too, with emotions and feelings. They need to feel as though they are more than just a number. Most buyers expect to be treated as just another number, so when you go the extra mile to focus especially on them, it makes them walk away with a smile on their face. Not only do you end up getting another positive feedback rating, they will end up coming back for more!
The key to effective personalized service is to create an email template that can be personalized for each buyer without taking up a great deal of time. An email template should be ready to use for when an item sells, to thank the winning bidder for bidding on your auction and provide them with the final costs and options to pay. This is typically done through eBay’s Invoice service, so your template would simply be pasted into the comments. Most of the time the only edit you need to make is to address the specific buyer by their User ID.
The next phase of personalized service comes when the buyer has paid, and once you’ve shipped the item. Always issue an email to the buyer informing them that the item has been shipped. Take this opportunity to thank them for providing you with their business, and telling them that you hope they will return in the future. You do not need to retype the entire email for every buyer - just initially write up a creative and well-written template letter, and then insert the appropriate User ID or Name, and the correct email address.
If you take a small amount of time to provide the appearance that you’ve gone that extra mile, your buyers will greatly appreciate it. Far too few sellers do it - and when they learn that you do, you will be guaranteed return customers, and your profits will soar.
3. Make a Personal Seller Profile Website or Blog
Another important way to let your buyers get to know you and your expertise is to create a personal website or blog. This doesn’t have to be anything complicated, but you should at least offer a single webpage with a short bio and outlining the sort of items you sell and why. Also include photos of yourself, your family, or pets using the same MyPhotosHub.com account as you used for the photos in your listings. This way there is no additional cost, and you can use and reuse these same photo links anywhere on the internet, including any forums or blogs that you visit.
When a buyer can see that you are a real person, and not just another faceless eBay user ID, they will feel much more comfortable giving you their hard-earned money in exchange for your product. Remember, it’s all about building relationships and trust - and ultimately helping the customer feel comfortable buying from you, not only this time, but over and over again.
4. Communication is Critical!
This can’t be stated often enough. When a buyer emails a question while the auction is listed and running, answer it as soon as you can. When a buyer asks about costs for shipping, even though you posted shipping costs on your listing, take the time to reply to them with the shipping costs to their zip code. They may be an older person who doesn’t understand how the shipping calculator works, or they simply may not have seen it. So always take the time to help people understand your listing, and you’re that much more likely to get not only one bid, but also multiple bids - and a high final price at the end of the auction.
While items are en-route to buyers, they may become nervous if there is a delay, or a storm, and will write to you with concern. Always take the time to reassure them that the item was shipped, and it is safely on its way. Add that you are certain they will love the product when they receive it. The power of suggestion is a reality, and when they receive it - they will love it!
Also, communication becomes most critical is when there are problems. An item might have broken or become damaged during shipment. You need to work with the buyer to resolve submitting insurance claims - or if you happened to have packaged the item poorly because you were in a hurry, accept the responsibility and simply issue a refund. It isn’t the end of the world - you will have made plenty of profit by this point. It will also prove to them, and to other buyers, that you are a trustworthy seller, and that you stand by your word and your products.
5. Essential Investments to Succeed as a PowerSeller
While you don’t want to be blowing too much of your profit on services that support your eBay business, there are a few services that are not only a must, but they also will save you a great deal of costs in the long-run.
You need to sign up for a full-service Paypal account (not the free version). This will cost about a 3-4% fee on every payment that is sent to you - but the increase you see to both your volume and your final sales price by offering Paypal makes up the difference and then some. Remember - for any serious eBay PowerSeller, Paypal is an absolute must.
You will need to make some purchases that will reduce your time and energy during shipping - this includes a decent digital shipping scale that will weigh packages up to 10 pounds. You will also want to pick up a bulk supply of inexpensive clear packing tape, a high-quality packing tape dispenser (this is a lifesaver), and rolls or sheets of bubble wrap as cheaply as you can find it. Furniture or department stores often throw away reams of the stuff…just go in and ask if you can take it off their hands.
And finally you need to sign up with an image-hosting service that is flexible, fast, and provides quality and personal customer service. It is difficult to find image hosting services that are reliable - and the last thing you need are all of the beautiful photos that you’ve taken to turn into a big red "X" just before your auctions are about to close. While you could spend $150 to $200 a year on web hosting with moderate bandwidth - a much more cost effective and efficient approach is to sign up with a service like MyPhotosHub.com. For only $6.95/mo you can host 80 MB of photos (at 80k per photo - about 1000 photos!). The service is reliable and fast - and I haven’t been able to find any other service out there that can serve up auction photos as quickly and reliably.
Turn your Free Time Into Profit
The fastest way to quickly become an eBay Powerseller, or to ramp up a slow eBay business into a powerhouse of volume and sales, is to carefully follow the steps that I’ve provided above. There is no more enjoyable way to spend spare time that most folks waste watching television…and it is wonderfully rewarding the moment you receive that first notice from eBay that due to your remarkable sales over the previous three months, you have qualified for PowerSeller status!
Good luck - and may good fortune shine upon your auctions!
Tags: boosting sales, E-Commerce and E-Business, ebay, ebay powerseller, Generating More Sales, powerseller, Ryan Dube, Sales
Posted in News & Articles | No Comments »
5 Ways to Be a Successful eBay PowerSeller
Thursday, March 6th, 2008
There are a number of ways to successfully advance as an eBay PowerSeller. As an 8 year Seller on eBay, with a 100% feedback rating of over 1000, I’ve come to recognize several things that work, and several others that don’t, when trying to build a successful business as a PowerSeller on eBay.
What is an eBay PowerSeller?
eBay is constantly monitoring the volume of sales of its members. Any seller that can achieve a consistent Sales volume (at least $1000 in gross sales, or 100 items sold per month) for three consecutive months, as well as maintaining a feedback rating of 98% or better, will qualify to become a PowerSeller. These qualifications are reviewed every three months, so a long-time Seller may shift in and out of PowerSeller status depending on sales volume.
However based on those qualifications - there are two obvious secrets to becoming and remaining an eBay PowerSeller: (1) Sell high volume. (2) Keep your customers happy.
To become a PowerSeller, you do nothing except sell. eBay will invite you when they determine you meet the criteria.
Why Become a PowerSeller?
There are a number of fantastic ways that eBay rewards their PowerSellers. These include the following benefits:
- Priority eSupport, Toll Free Phone support, and even an Account Manager (for higher tier/volume sellers).
- Since Feb 20, 2008, PowerSellers enjoy up to 15% discounts on Final Value Fees.
- 5% to 25% more exposure than average sellers for those with ratings over 4.6 in the last 30 days.
- Unpaid Item Protection - crediting Listing Feature Fees when a buyer doesn’t pay.
- Personalized sales and Feedback data
- Nifty looking PowerSeller icon next to your user ID (attracting more sales!)
- Exclusive access to the PowerSeller-only discussion board.
Obviously the benefits are not only useful to save money - but those benefits will lead to a higher volume and higher sales. Essentially, becoming a PowerSeller on eBay ensures that with continuing work, you will remain a successful PowerSeller.
5 Most Effective Ways to become a Successful eBay PowerSeller
Being a successful eBay Seller demands discipline, good time management, and excellent organization. These are critical to managing all aspects of an eBay business. The general steps of eBay selling include Photography, Posting, Packaging, and Shipping. Each of these steps can consume much of your time if you are not smart and efficient in managing your time, and if you’re not smart where you invest money into those resources that will save you the most time. Some of the most critical resources into which you should invest include bulk-listing services, remote (cell phone) advanced research services, and photo management services. We will explore each of these in a moment.
1. Quality Photographs
One of the most important factors in not only whether an item sells, but also how much the item sells for, is how well the item is photographed. This means that the seller with the best camera that can take the closest, clearest photo wins. Most new digital cameras now have a "macro" feature that provides clear and focused close-up photos. If your current camera doesn’t have that feature, junk it and buy a new one. Again - I cannot emphasize enough how critical the photos are in selling your items…almost more important than the item itself! Beautiful photos sell an item. Typically 3 to 4 nice, clear, photos are just enough - 6 to 8 can be too much. Try to get as many angles of the item as possible, including a close-up of all markings or imperfections.
2. Reliable and High-Speed Image Hosting
This is absolutely critical to cutting down on costs. A small monthly investment will save a fortune in eBay costs. To list multiple pictures on eBay, fees are about 15 cents for each additional photo. If you want to have four additional photos on your listing, that comes to a whooping 60 cents. If you list up to 40 items in one week - that’s an additional cost of $24 a week.
A much more cost effective technique, and a well-kept secret of most PowerSellers, is using a high quality Image Hosting service such as MyPhotosHub.com . I personally prefer this particular service above any other because of the very reasonable rates. Purchasing the gold plan at under $7 a month gives you 80 MB of space and 2000 MB/month of bandwidth - more than enough space and bandwidth to handle high volume sales. This particular service even offers 360 degree spins, slide shows, and Auction Galleries - all unique features that attract buyers (and encourages sales).
3. Detailed Descriptions
When you are writing your eBay Descriptions, do not make the mistake of most beginning eBay Sellers…skimping on the description. While pictures may tell a thousand words - a well-written description is the salesman that closes the deal. You need to explain to the buyer why they cannot live without the item - how it’ll improve their d�cor, or the many uses that they will have for it in their everyday life. Be creative. You don’t need to write a book; but you should at least write a quick creative paragraph of about three to four lines that describe what the item is, the colors and size, the condition, and how and where it could be used (why the buyer can’t live without it!).
If you want a well-formatted auction, create a template in Word (or HTML) and simply edit the parts of the template that you need to for each item. This will save you a great deal of time when you are listing a high volume of items.
4. Effective Headlines
Keep in mind when you are trying to stuff as many keywords as you can into the one-line provided for the headline, that it isn’t so much the quantity of words - but the quality. You want to make sure that the specific words that buyers are looking for are placed in your headline. This is where research is critical. Before listing your item, make sure to do a "completed item" search on the item, and observe which items that have sold in the past that are most similar to yours sold for the highest price. Make note of the descriptive headline for the item, and what keywords were used. Use the same keywords and simply tailor the headline for your item.
5. Easy Payments make a Happy Seller
It may be a pain to have to swallow an average of 3% in fees for accepting Paypal payments - however the benefits far outweigh the costs. According to eBay, listings that offer Paypal are 6% more likely to sell - and typically sell for 5% more. Clearly eBay buyers prefer sellers who accept Paypal. This means having a Paypal account and accepting payment from buyers is absolutely critical if you expect to become a successful eBay PowerSeller!
It is also important to provide flexibility - so buyers who don’t have a Paypal account can still buy from you. This means accepting alternate forms of payment such as a Money Order. Some sellers don’t accept Checks, because of the possibility of check fraud; however if you make note that items will not be shipped until checks clear, then you can even safely accept personal checks without worry. Remember - the more payment options you accept, the more buyers will likely be willing to buy from you.
Tags: boosting sales, E-Commerce and E-Business, ebay, ebay powerseller, Generating More Sales, online auctions, powerseller, Ryan Dube, Sales
Posted in News & Articles | No Comments »