Tune Up Your eBay Store for The Christmas Season

The eBay Seller's News, October 2007, Volume 7, No. 10

Learn How To Sell More on eBay with The Newsletter for Professional
eBay Sellers by:  Skip McGrath

In This Issue:

Musings

1. Tune Up Your eBay Store for The Christmas Season
2. Niche of The Month: Selling Stainless Flatware
3. Four Ways To Grow Your eBay Business
4. How To Kill Bids on Your Auctions
5. eBay Flag Words That Will Get Your Auctions Cancelled
6. Operation Hug-a-Hero: Supporting Military Kids Who Have Lost a Parent
7. New Wholesale Sources for October 2007

"What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do" ~ Bob Dylan

Musings

We just finished our first eBay Boot Camp. Most events of this type are put on by one person, but I joined forces with some other eBay experts to give attendees a broader look at eBay. Lynn Dralle presented her take on selling art, antiques, collectibles and other used goods. Lynn uses an entirely different style than I do which made it interesting as the students could evaluate the different methods and adapt what they liked from each. Part of Lynn's lessons included an actual garage sale trip where the entire class visited four garage sales. Then they came back and Lynn actually showed the class how she listed several of the items she bought.

Cindy Shebley is an expert in Photography and video and presented two lessons on those subjects as well as helped out with the auction reviews and showed us how she runs her eBay sales --again, she uses a different style than Lynn and I do which made it interesting.

Jen Cano flew in from Salt Lake City to give a great presentation on research and specifically how to use the HammerTap Research tool. This was excellent. Even though I have been using this tool for over a year or so, I learned several new techniques that I can use to promote my auctions and increase my conversions and final values. If you decide to try HammerTap, Jen puts on an excellent webinar every Wednesday at Noon Pacific Time that you can --and should, take advantage of. HammerTap is still offering a special deal for my readers where you can get a free 10-day trial and save $10 a month on the subscription if you use this link.

I have been publishing for 7 years but my newsletters are indexed in the archives for about two years. This is because information can quickly become out of date. I keep getting email from readers who want the special $50 introductory discount of WorldWide Brands OneSource. Although it is mentioned in the old newsletters it is no longer available, but you can still get the $20 discount they offer my readers by using this link: www.worldwidebrands.com/skipmcgrath

If you have purchased either The Wholesale Buying System or The Complete eBay Marketing System then you have access to my file of wholesale sources for eBay sellers. I want to apologize that I have been a little remiss lately in updating my sources, but we are in the process of doing this now. We will be adding several hundred new sources --many of them small specialty manufacturers, over the next few weeks. So check into your members-only website frequently to see the new listings. I promise to do a better job with the updates as we go on through the year.

If you haven't bought one of these and are thinking of doing so --remember: Don't buy both. The entire Wholesale Buying System is included in the Complete eBay Marketing System.

There are a lot of membership and subscription websites and programs offered on the web whereby you sign up for a monthly membership and you get access to training, tools, resources and so on. A few months ago I told you about Jim Cockrum's new program My Silent Team where a number of experts contribute materials and time to the site to help members learn to sell on eBay as well as use other techniques to make money on the internet. Jim now has well over a thousand members. His members are raving about the program and it continues to grow.

A few weeks ago, another eBay expert, and former eBay Platinum PowerSeller, Mike Enos, launched a new site called Auction TNT that I am really excited about. Where most sites offer information and training materials, Mike is offering a suite of eBay tools and services to compliment his information. I signed up myself and am already using two of the services and will be adding some more over the next few weeks. Mike has a limited time offer where you can get a trial membership for just One Dollar.

So if you are serious about learning how to sell on eBay and the internet, out of all the dozens of membership programs out there, these are two that get my strongest recommendation.

eBay has just launched the public beta version of eBay Desktop. eBay Desktop lets you manage most of your normal eBay activity without having to use your web browser. You can search, bid on, and watch items right from the eBay Desktop application, all while getting alerts about their status. One of the features I like most is the Favorite Search feed, which lets you download items from your favorite searches and browse through them, even when you're not online! This is a feature to aid buyers and I am for anything that does that.

eBay also announced it will soon release a new integrated payment system from PayPal that will allow buyers to pay for multiple items and edit shipping information without leaving the PayPal account.

Let's get started.

[top]

1. Tune Up Your eBay Store for The Christmas Season

It is not yet Halloween and we still have Thanksgiving to get through, but now is the time to spruce up your store for the coming holiday selling season. You may be one of those last-minute shoppers like me, but there are millions of well-organized people who are starting the Christmas shopping already.

eBay has finally started a new TV advertising campaign --Shop Victoriously. It's not their best campaign, but not too bad and they do seem to be running a pretty aggressive schedule on many of the top new shows. eBay has also announced they will be repeating the successful catalog mailing they sent out last year.

The first thing you want to get organized is your inventory. It is already too late to order some Christmas merchandise, but you should be restocking anything you can now. I looked over my product sales for the past two months, and just doubled the orders for all of my top-selling products to make sure I have enough inventory to last through the season.

Here are some tips to increase your holiday sales:

• Launch auction-format listings and place the same items in an eBay store listing. Now use your auction to drive sales to your store. Don't rely on the store icon in your listing for traffic. Invite people to visit your store with a hypertext link right in your auction description. Here is an example:
  
  Don't wait for this auction to end. You can buy this item now from my eBay store with free shipping.
  
  
• Notice that I used free shipping to entice buyers to my store. Free shipping is a great holiday promotion. I offer free shipping from my store and when someone uses the Buy-it-now price. Just build the cost of the shipping into your price. This does work. I looked at my sales from last October/November and over 40% were store and fixed-price sales where I offered free shipping.
  
  
• You can promote your store from off of eBay. If you have a website, blog or newsletter you can promote your store listings with eBay's new feature Stores to Go. Stores To Go is an eBay utility that will place your store listings right in your web site or blog or html newsletter. It only takes a few minutes and is free.
  
  
• Don't forget the eBay email marketing campaigns. Go to your Manage My Store link and set up your email categories.
  
  
• eBay provides a really good marketing tutorial for eBay store owners with links to all of the features at http://pages.ebay.com/storefronts/promoting.html. These include the ability to optimize your listing feeds so people can find you on the internet, links to the email marketing campaign and even offline promotional flyers.
  
  
• Lastly be sure and check out eBay's Holiday Merchandising Hot List.

[top]

2. Niche of The Month: Selling Stainless Flatware

At my eBay Boot Camp last week, Lynn Dralle took our group garage saleing. One of the items she came back with was a complete set of Oneida stainless flatware for twelve that she bought for just $75. When we returned to the room Lynn demonstrated how to research flatware styles and prices on Priceminer and Replacements.com.

Lynn researched the prices and it turned out that the particular pattern she purchased would bring about $300 by selling the pieces and the chest individually to people looking for replacements or to expand a set. People often buy, or receive a gift of, a place setting for 8 and want to expand it to 10 or 12. So you can sell pieces individually and by the place setting. Depending on the patters a place setting can sell for anywhere from $5.00 to as much as $50.00 with some really hard to find patterns going for up to $100. The serving pieces go for more.

I wanted to know if this was a viable niche so I did some research on eBay and HammerTap and it turns out that the flatware replacement market is a huge seller on eBay.

There are three types of flatware: sterling silver, stainless steel and silverplate. Often, the stainless will sell for more than the silverplate. Look for good brand names like Oneida, Dansk, Pflatzgraft, Reed & Barton, etc.

Since over time you could be dealing with several hundred, or even thousands of pieces, you could go broke launching auctions. So the main strategy here is to launch auctions for a portion of your inventory and then list the bulk of it in your eBay store. People have learned to search eBay stores when looking for flatware.

Sourcing flatware is pretty easy. I went by our two local thrift stores yesterday and each store had a complete set. One was selling for $60 and the other one for $125. Both of them came in flatware storage chests which are also big sellers. A chest in good condition can go for as much as $50. You also often see flatware at garage sales and estate sales.

The other thing to look for is the little extras. When I looked at the flatware set for $125 at the thrift shop, I opened the storage drawer and there was a set of silver plated knife rests and some small specialty items like a pickle fork and a set of little dessert spoons in sterling silver . These extra oddball pieces can often bring good money.

[top]

3. Four Ways To Grow Your eBay Business

Once you find your niche and your eBay business is profitable, the next step is to grow it. Top eBay sellers call this scalability. I am not sure if that is a real word or not, but scalability means designing your business in such a way that you can scale it larger simply by adding more products and/or more auctions. There are four basic ways to scale your business for growth:

1. Learn The Art of Upselling

Every time you make a sale you have an opportunity to make an upsell. When you send out your payment notice or end of auction notice, include an offer in your email to add another product or double the size of your order. For example whenever I sell one of my Rachael Ray knife sets, I always offer the opportunity to add a knife sharpener with the order. As Christmas approaches when you sell something you can ask the seller if they would like to buy two of the item so they have one for a gift. The theory here is that is someone likes one of your products they might also like to give it as a gift.

2. Add More Products

The ability to add more products depends on your product niche. If you are in an extremely narrow niche such as collectible depression glass then you have to find a lot more depression glass to grow your business. This presents two problems. First, it can be difficult to find rare pieces. Second, if you do, you run the risk of putting too much similar product into the marketplace (eBay) and depressing the prices. You have just become your own competitor. The obvious solution to this problem is to expand into a related niche such as another style of glassware.

If you work in a niche that has lots of related products, rather than just getting more of the same products which could possibly depress prices by increasing the supply, you would want to expand into related products that the same customer would buy. For example if you carried a line of high-quality dog collars and leashes, you could expand into grooming tools, dog-training books, dog beds, car ramps and car carriers and so on. You don't want to go as far as becoming a general supplier of all dog-related goods or you will be competing with Petco. You would want to find an example of each of these items that has some uniqueness to it such as an original design, or low cost, or very high quality.

3. Raise Your ASPs

The other way to scale your business is to raise your Average Selling Price ( ASP). There are several ways to do this. You can move up the quality scale to higher-priced items in your niche, or you can start selling sets of things instead of individual items. Back to the dog collar example, you could offer a matching dog collar and leash as a set in addition to selling the two products separately. As another example when I started out selling chef's knives, I was selling individual knives. Now I sell complete sets. The sets represent about 25% of my sales now and this has raised my average selling price by about 40% as some of these sets sell for as much as $300.

4. Pre-Sell Your Products

One woman sells bird seed. No one wants to buy a year's worth of bird seed at one time, so instead of selling single packages, she sells a deal whereby your order enough seed for the spring and summer season and she mails it to you in three separate shipments over the season. She makes one larger sale rather than three small ones and she has the customer's cash up front for the larger sale but she doesn't have to ship 2/3rds of the order until later. This strategy doesn't work with very many products by depending on your product you might be able to find a variation.

[top]

4. How To Kill Bids on Your Auctions

Why would you want to know how to kill a potential bid? So you won’t do it.

I am continually amazed by some of the statements I see in auctions that seem designed by sellers to turn away bidders. For the past three years I have been keeping a file of the ones I come across. Here is a list of the best –or should I say worst policy statements I have seen in an eBay auction. All of these were taken from actual auctions.

The spelling, punctuation and grammar errors are theirs --not mine.

“If you are not going to pay then don’t bid me. I will chase you down and find you if you win this auction and don’t pay me.”

"Send cash or money order only. I don't take Paypal anymore because they always cheat me."

“Don’t bid unless your feedback is at least 25. I don’t deal with eBay cherries. I will cancel your bid if you have less than 25 feedbacks.”

“Yes I am making money on the shipping. What did you expect me to do, ship it at my cost.”

"You are buying AS IS. AS IS means AS IS. Don't complaint to me if you don't like the item because I only sell AS IS."

“please bid good price on my cd because I am very poor and need money bad and right away. i only take money order or put cash in evelope and mail right away and i will be nice to you in feedback and god bless you too if you are a nice person.”

“I ship this item I will wait 7 days for you to post feedbacks if you dun do it I will hit you with negative.”

“After the auction you can post positive feedback for me. If you do I will return it and if you post negative I will give you one two.”

“I only ship on Thursday. If your payment arrives after Thursday noon then you will have to wait a week until I ship again. If you dont like this then dont bid.”

“I charge the correct shipping cost plus a $5 handling fee to cover my time for wrapping and standing in line at the post office. Do not bid if this is not okeydokey with you.”

“I only take money order, cashiers check or Western Union transfer. PayPal is a screw job. They want to charge me a 3% fee on every deal. If you send a personal check I will just throw it away so please don’t bother.”

“i am selling this as is just the way it is i do the best to tell you condition and so i do not want your bid if you do not agree it is as is and that is happy for you. please pay me very quickly and leave good feedbacks and i will do same for you.”

“My shipping policy: I ship everything by priority mail on Monday and Friday. I charge the priority mail rate plus $2.00 to pay for box and packing material. I don’t guarantee anything. If you want insurance the extra cost is $5.00. I know it doesn’t cost that much to insure a package but I have to wait in line and fill out forms at the post office and keep the forms until a claim is made and that is a big pain but I will do it for $5.00.”

(From the same seller above) “My Returns Policy: No returns for any reason except if I send you the wrong item and then you need to send me a photo of what you received so I can be sure before your return it.”

[top]

5. eBay Flag Words That Will Get Your Auctions Cancelled

One of eBay's most aggressive controls is their ongoing campaign against keyword spamming. Keyword spamming is when you place brand names or other inappropriate keywords in a title or description for the purpose of gaining attention or attracting bidders to a listing. The searchable text sellers place in listings must be directly relevant to the item being sold. eBay will cancel your auctions if you violate this policy. If you are a repeat violator they will cancel or suspend your account. Here are examples of some titles that use keyword spamming:

Save $$$ with Our Repro Gucci Sunglasses

New Ladies Designer Handbags Just Like Prada

Foot Powder for Loafers, Slings and Pumps

Leather Jacket Like the One Worn by Brad Pitt

The first title uses the word Gucci to sell a non-Gucci product. The second one takes advantage of the word Prada when the seller is offering something else. In the third title shoe buyers search for words like loafer, sling, pump, etc., but the seller is selling foot powder --not shoes. In the last example the seller is taking advantage of a celebrity name and the product is not endorsed by the celebrity.

There are literally millions of auctions on eBay at any given moment and it can take a while for eBay to find an auction that violates this policy --but they will eventually find you. There are two basic ways eBay finds listings with keyword spamming. Other members report them and eBay's control tools scan auctions looking for words that tip them off. Some of these words include:

like, looks like, as, rare, not, replica, similar or similar to, style, repro or reproduction.

There are probably more, but these words will get your auction unwanted attention from eBay even if what you are selling is legitimate. Often eBay's automated system will just kill your auction and send you a notice. Then you are in the position of having to appeal your case with eBay.

[top]

6. Operation Hug-a-Hero: Supporting Military Kids Who Have Lost a Parent

If you're a long time reader, you know that I support our U.S. Military and their families. That is why I want to share this with you. Daddy Dolls, Inc. is a company run by two Marine wives that create Hug-a-Hero dolls for military kids. This is a plush doll with a full length picture of their deploying parent on it (it's often referred to as a "Daddy Doll"). This is a way for military kids to have their Daddy (or Mommy) with them, even when they are deployed. Looking at the picture gallery, you can see kids clinging to these dolls on the first day of school, when they are sick, even newborn babies still in the hospital bassinette with their Daddy Doll next to them.

Operation Hug-a-Hero provides these dolls to kids whose families can't afford them. This year, Daddy Dolls Inc. is part of Snowball Express 2007 (www.snowballexpress.org). This nonprofit organization sent 900 military kids who lost a parent during the war to Disneyland. This three day event is a chance for these kids (and widows) to actually enjoy themselves and realize that they are not alone, and are not forgotten.

Here's a story about one four year old boy who attended Snowball Express 2006:

At his father's funeral, protestors had been waving banners that said "Thank God for IEDs." This had been the boy's last memory of his Dad and since then the four year old had been confused about what his Dad had been fighting for, and what his death had really meant.

At Snowball Express 2006 there was a huge parade and people waving signs. The boy got very upset because he thought it was protestors again. But his Mom explained that these people were there to support them. The banners read "You Are Loved" and other such phrases. For the first time, he understood that his Dad's sacrifice had been worth something, and that there were people who loved him and his family and had not forgotten them. It's a moving story, and there are 899 other stories from Snowball Express 2006 of how the event touched these kids. This year Snowball Express is sending over 1,000 kids to the event.

So, now back to Daddy Dolls. They are making Hug-a-Hero dolls for each of these kids as a tangible memory of their parent. It can be hugged, cried on, taken with them when they need it, etc. So, before November 30th, they need to raise $25,000 to pay for these dolls. Remember, these are military wives, not a huge corporation.

It costs $25 to sponsor a child, but they will take any donation you offer. There is a PayPal Donate button in this post which will pay them directly. This will be up on their website shortly too. If you would prefer to donate directly by credit card or by check, go to www.daddydolls.com/donation.php.

Please take a look at the gallery pictures on the Daddy Dolls website. Think about how important these dolls are to these kids. Hopefully, all of their Dads will be coming home. But imagine how much they would be clinging to those dolls if they knew their Dad would not be returning.

Let's see what a difference eBayers can make in the lives of these kids whose parent made the ultimate sacrifice.

[top]

7. New Wholesale Sources for October 2007

Many of these listings are very small manufacturers and their web sites often don't show wholesale pricing or information. If this is the case, use the contact form on the web site or call them for information.

Celebration Collections wholesale accessories for Weddings, Quince Anos and Sweet 16. They are offering an additional 10% off orders of $250 or more through October 31, 2007.

SupaNika Galleries sells antique reproduction Buddha statues and Asian home decor. Minimum opening order is $500. Their web site has been under re-construction, so if its not working, just email them at supanikagallery@yahoo.com
and ask for a catalog and pricing.

Mosser Glass has been manufacturing quality hand-pressed glass products for over thirty years. Their handcrafted glassware lines consist of Carnival, Vaseline, and Opalescent, as well as hand-decorated pieces.

Artistica features a large collection of luxurious free-hand painted Italian Ceramics and Majolica. No web site, Fax them at 305-378-0407 on your letterhead and ask for a catalog.

Da Vinci Imports is a manufacturer and importer of gifts based in Atlanta, GA. They have just introduced a line of children's tableware with the brand name ZooBuds. ZooBuds were a big hit at the New York Gift fair.

Panaria is a large wholesaler of children's and teeny-bopper novelties. I have seen many of their products selling on eBay.

Swanson Inc carries over 4000 patriotic and inspirational Christian products.

The Painted Bird creates one-of-a-kind decorative shore bird decoys from the studio of renowned wildlife carver Richard A. Morgan. Each decoy is faithfully reproduced and finished by hand. No two are exactly alike. You will have to email them for wholesale quantity pricing.

That's it for this month.

Good luck with your eBay business,

Skip McGrath