The popular auction site, eBay, was once synonymous with people looking to get rid of the old items that they no longer needed or wanted. The old adage that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure has been proven true by eBay millions of times over. Every item finds its price, is sold, and both buyer and seller leave the online transaction feeling content. Fast forward to 2020, and eBay has become so much more than a site to sell your unwanted junk. It’s now a valid platform from which to launch a retail business.
Globally, eBay is the number one online auction site that now caters for those businesses that want to sell goods for fixed prices. Importers are able to launch on eBay, artisan craftspeople can sell their unique wares on the site, and declutterers are still able to make some extra cash from their attic finds. If you are keen to set up a fully-fledged money-making business on eBay, check out these pointers to help you create an eBay empire.
Branding
Every business needs branding that is recognizable and synonymous with top quality items and customer service. This is no different on eBay. As a new retail startup, you can set up a business account with eBay to provide you with favorable listing and selling fees, and higher visibility on the platform. Your brand needs to work across your entire online presence. Alongside eBay, you may have social media accounts to direct traffic to your listings. You need to direct your potential buyers with astute digital marketing to your shop pages by utilizing keywords, hashtags, and SEO to make your brand stand out above all the others.
Descriptions
It’s crucial that you describe your items accurately. Being truthful is vital if you are to build up a bank of positive feedback on the site. If a buyer is debating between purchasing from you or one of your competitors, they will rely on feedback to make a decision.
Ensure that you create product listings with a pattern in mind. Use subheadings, be clear and concise, and try to avoid a wall of prose. This does nothing but intimidate your potential buyer who won’t have the time or inclination to filter through wordy passages. If you find that your items are struggling to sell, check out these tips to refresh product pages to help you reinvigorate interest in your products. Ensure that you spellcheck your descriptions and use correct grammar and punctuation to exude professionalism.
Customer Service
If you know that you can deliver an item in forty-eight hours, state that you will get it to your end-user in seventy-two. This process of underpromising and overdelivering is crucial to create the illusion that you are going the extra mile for your customer. When someone purchases one of your items, follow up with a thank-you email alongside a promise to keep them updated when their delivery is dispatched. Add tracking information if you can to give your customer peace of mind that their item is on its way. Ensure that you pack any item you post carefully with decent bubble wrap or tissue paper. Don’t scrimp and use the postage and package price that you charge your buyers to recoup any costs incurred for decent packaging materials. Your customer will be more than willing to pay to ensure that their item doesn’t get damaged in transit.
Photography
The first thing potential buyers will look at when they stumble across your listings will be the photographs. As a business, you can no longer get away with those out of focus snapshots or product images with random clutter in the background. You need professional quality images to back up your professional brand.
Purchase a mobile white room, or place some white screens behind your products when photographing them. It doesn’t matter whether you are taking shots of a custom printed tee-shirt, an exhaust or an electrical component, you need an unfussy clear background so that your product stands out. Ensure that you utilize all twelve photographs you are allowed, showing off your item from every angle, with a mixture of close-up and wide-angle shots. If you sell vintage or antique items, list the flaws and show these in your images. Being honest and transparent is necessary to secure a solid reputation online and buyers will expect imperfections in such old wares.
Building a retail empire on eBay can be challenging, especially with increasing competition from rivals, but follow this guide, and you have every chance of seeing your new startup thrive.