How To Make Money On Ebay

the official pocket guide for australian sellers
money on
make
how to
todd alexander
Australias leading eBay expert
money on
make
how to
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the official pocket guide for australian sellers
money on
todd alexander
make
how to
Todd Alexander is an employee of eBay but wrote this book independently of his employment. While recognising this book as The Official Guide . . ., eBay takes no responsibility for its content and readers are advised that using the content of this book does not necessarily mean that the reader will have success buying and selling on eBay. The contents of this book contain the views of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of eBay. eBay International AG is the exclusive owner of all rights in the title to, interests and good will in the eBay identification and use of the above in this book is by permission.
First published in 2010 Copyright Todd Alexander 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. Arena Books, an imprint of Allen & Unwin 83 Alexander Street Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100 Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218 Email: info@allenandunwin.com Web: www.allenandunwin.com Cataloguing-in-Publication details are available from the National Library of Australia www.librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au ISBN 978 1 74237 036 1 Set in 11/13 pt ITC Berkeley Oldstyle Std by Bookhouse, Sydney Printed in Australia by McPhersons Printing Group 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Safe trading tips for eBay sellers Becoming an eBay seller Sourcing products to sell Preparing and creating listings Save time with Turbo Lister Providing outstanding customer service Managing your inventory with Selling Manager Pro Branding and marketing Optimising your success 69 90 120 vii 1 7 12 23 32 58
Chapter 10 Tax, legal and eBay policy considerations 129 Summary Appendix: eBay fees 137 140
Introduction
No doubt the majority of Australians have heard of eBay as a place to buy a wide selection of items, usually at great prices. Compared to international markets, Australia has been slow to adopt e-commerce, with few of the major retail stores offering a comprehensive online offering. Over the years, eBay has become the primary destination for the majority of online shoppers. Here are some statistics that will help you to decide whether selling on eBay could provide you with additional incomewhether that is personal, or supplementary to your business: eBay has a global presence in 39 markets. Your items do not have to be offered for sale in every market, but you can add them selectively for no additional fee. eBay has approximately 88.4 million active members worldwide. In Australia alone, 5.35 million unique visitors went to eBay.com.au in December 2008 (Nielsen//NetRatings Netview). On an average day for eBay Australia, a baby item is sold every 24 seconds; a DVD is sold every 18 seconds; a toy is sold every
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viii How to Make Money on eBay
18 seconds; and a piece of womens clothing sells every 6 seconds. eBay users worldwide trade US$2000 worth of goods every second. But the figures alone only tell part of the story. The simple fact about eBay is that it grants you and your business instant access to one of the busiest shopping platforms on the planet. Your items can be available for sale 24 hours a day, seven days a week (regardless of whether you intend to work those hours or not). Buyers love eBay because they can shop from the comfort and safety of their own home at a time that is convenient to them, and they dont have to fight over parking spaces or with trolleys that lead them in the opposite direction. The other thing eBay offers is transparency. At any given time, you can see what items are for sale, who is selling them, how much they sell for, and how frequently they sell. This is the kind of information most businesses would pay a lot of money for to find out about their competitors or potential markets for their products. This does mean your own sales are open to inspection, of course, but smart businesses work to streamline their business models so they can continually stay one step ahead of the competition. And so it is that very year, hundreds of thousands of people clean out their garages and cupboards and sell things they no longer need. Some trawl through garage sales and markets looking for those rare or unique items that might fetch a great price on eBay, making a little bit of profit along the way. Selling on
Introduction
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eBay is open to just about everyonebut how do some people turn it into a money-making venture? There are countless books, courses, e-guides and the like that promise to teach you how to make millions of dollars on eBay in your first year . . . all from the comfort of your own home. Some even suggest that you can do this working as little as one hour a day. While these things might conceivably be possible, the reality of the situation is that making money on eBay requires a serious business approach, as well as a thorough examination of the options available to you, and a lot of trial and error. In Australia, the most successful eBay sellers (and some of them do sell more than $1 million worth of items each year) are those with large warehouses, multiple staff members and various supply channels of stock, a lot of it from overseas. While not everyone will need to start that big, knowing eBays advanced selling techniques at the outset will help ensure you get the finer details right from the very beginning. Successful eBay businesses have displayed fantastic growth rates, but they require careful planning and a thorough knowledge of eBays systems and processes. Like anything, making a lot of profit doesnt tend to happen easilyotherwise everyone would be selling on eBay and wed all be millionaires. This book is an advanced selling guide for people and businesses who want to use eBay to either establish an online channel to complement an existing business, expand their online presence, or for those wanting to start a business from scratch using eBay as their primary channel. Before you get into this book, it is advisable to read How to Use eBay/How
How to Make Money on eBay
to Use PayPal by Todd Alexander (Hachette Livre Australia, 2008)it covers all of the basics of buying and selling on eBay Australia and using PayPal, the online payment mechanism widely used on eBay. There are also chapters on online safety, which are a must for anyone buying or selling online. Each chapter of this book is designed, in the simplest way possible, to help ensure you are aware of, and are using, the multitude of selling tools available to streamline an eBay business. Making a profit is not only about securing the right products at the right price and being able to sell them successfully, its also about ensuring you have a great reputation and lots of repeat customers. More importantly, profit is also about minimising your other business costs, and when it comes to selling on eBay, one of the most expensive is the time it can take to sell hundreds or thousands of items. Not every tool covered in these chapters will be necessary for your eBay sales. They are provided here as options, and after reading the book you should choose those that are most suitable to your skills, your products, and how much time and resources you have to invest in selling on eBay. Establishing the right business systems upfront is the only way to help optimise your performance on eBay, and beyond. Each month, more than 5 million people visit eBay Australia (Nielsen//NetRatings Netview), and there isnt a single business in the country that would turn down traffic like that! According to June 2006 AC Nielsen research, 52,700 Australians make their full- or part-time living on eBay, and for more than 17,500 it is their primary or only source of income.
Introduction
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Why not add your name to the list? Like any way of making profit, nothing is guaranteed, but arming yourself with the right knowledge is key. Before we begin, there are four basic rules to making money on eBay. Observe these, and youll be well on your way to realising maximum profit. 1 Source the right products for the right price. 2 Provide the kind of service that separates you from your competitors. 3 Market your products better than any of your competitors. 4 Continually look for ways to improve your business model.
Chapter 1
Safe trading tips for eBay sellers

Much has been written about the dangers of trading online. In actual fact, selling on eBay or your own website generates no greater security threat than starting your own retail or wholesale business. When selling online, remaining safe can be achieved by using simple commonsense.
Passwords
As your eBay sales grow, you may need more than one person to access your eBay and PayPal accounts. Remember that anyone with your eBay password has the ability to alter business-critical functions, and even has the ability to purchase items on the site. Keep a record of all employees/colleagues who know your eBay password, but never put the password in writing or circulate it via email. The password should be a combination of letters and numerals, and a mixture of upper and lower case. For added security, consider changing your passwords on the first of
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every month. This means that only those employees who need to gain access to eBay on a daily basis will know it, and past employees, or those who have changed roles, will not be able to maintain access. In order to sell on eBay, all sellers must offer PayPal (the eBay-owned online-payment mechanism). Your PayPal password should be guarded more carefully. Only those who are empowered to make financial decisions for your company should be granted access to your PayPal account as, once logged in, they can transfer funds or pay for items bought online, and they may also be able to gain access to your bank account and credit card information.
Financial accounts
In order to limit the threat of loss, it is advisable to open a bank account and a PayPal account and have a credit card all of which are only used for business purposes. Limit the amount of funds available in each so that if their security should be breached, your loss is limited to a low amount. Some banks now offer mobile phone password protection when transferring money to new accounts, while your credit cards TCV number (located on the back of the card) means a person must have the card in their possession in order to use it. Stay on top of your financial records. Always double-check your financial statements and query any unfamiliar amounts with your bank immediately. For PayPal, you can limit the type of access your employees can gain if you open a business account. In doing so, different passwords allow
different employees access to the areas of the site you specify. Again, if you see any activity on your PayPal account that looks questionable, contact PayPal immediately.
Spoof mail
Spoof is an unfortunate reality of the online world. Spoof emails are created by criminals to try to trap you into entering sensitive or financial information online. Once gained, your information can then be used for fraudulent transactions. Recent developments have made it easier for law-enforcement professionals to track down online fraudsters, but the best way to avoid being the victim of online fraud is to use protection. Make sure all the computers you use for your eBay sales are enabled with security software. Never enter your personal or financial information into a website with which you are unfamiliar. If an offer or reward sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you receive an email purporting to be from eBay, PayPal or your financial institution, and it asks you to enter your password via email, report it as spoof (forward it to spoof@ebay. com.au, spoof@paypal.com.au, or check your banks spoof mail forwarding address). When making an online payment, make sure the site uses a verified security gateway. To avoid receiving spoof altogether, create an email address that is difficult to guess. For
example, if your eBay user ID is abc123, dont make your email address abc123@hotmail.com or your contact email info@abc123.com.au. Online fraudsters have sophisticated software to help them guess your contact information, leaving you open to unsolicited email that can be a nuisance or a threat to running your business.
PayPal seller protection on eBay

PayPal offers sellers on eBay protection on qualifying transactions in the event that the sale should be the subject of a credit card chargeback, or when a buyer claim is made through PayPals online dispute process for items not received or significantly different to what was described by the seller. Seller protection is provided at no extra charge. In order to make a claim, a seller must: sell an item on eBay and accept payment into their Australian PayPal account (the item must be a tangible good, not digital or a service, for example); send the item via an approved postal service to the buyers address, as stipulated on the PayPal transaction page (approved postal services include those that can provide proof of shipment, an official acceptance by the shipper and documentation showing the recipients address). Note that where a seller cannot provide the necessary documentation, and the buyer is able to prove their item was not received or was different to as
described, the seller will have to finance the cost of providing the buyer with the refund. This is the same as usually occurs for retail stores.
T i p : Check with your supplier in instances where a product is broken or faulty, as they may also provide you with a refund that you can pass on to your buyer.
The full list of eligibility criteria for PayPals seller protection on eBay can be found at: https:// www.paypal.com/au/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/ ua-outside#spp-policy.
Budgeting for loss

Operating any business successfully means preparing for some losses. Sensible business plans will calculate an anticipated percentage of loss and include this in their budget and performance targets. For stock, this is commonly known as shrinkage. Shrinkage occurs when a product is damaged or lost in transit (from the supplier to you, or from you to your customer), from theft or from an accounting error (incorrect quantities received or sent). A sensible percentage to plan for is around 510 per cent, depending on the type and quantity of products you plan to sell. If your business cannot sustain writing off that level of shrinkage, you should revisit your profit margins to decide whether there is an adequate market for your products. Other losses than can commonly occur in business are unpaid items that may have inadvertently been sent to the buyer before payment was received, items
that were paid for with a stolen credit card or via an account takeover (when a criminal gains access to a bank or financial account), or, in some circumstances, where a payment is reversed by the buyer via their financial provider. While some banks and insurance agencies (and PayPalsee above) provide coverage and support for shrinkage, not budgeting for it at all will mean your projected profit margins are unlikely to be reached. See Chapter 10 for more information regarding insurance for your business.
Chapter 2
Becoming an eBay seller
Business registration
If you have not done so already, register as a business on eBay. This may not seem an important or obvious step but, increasingly, eBay is looking for ways to identify which of its sellers consider themselves businesses. In the future, businesses may be subject to special promotional offers and specific marketing support from eBay. To register as a business: Click the Register text link at the very bottom of any eBay page. Next, click the link at the top of the registration page that says: Want to open an account for your company? Fill in the relevant information for your business, and accept the terms and conditions at the bottom of the page. Click Continue.
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Choose your User ID. Remember to choose an ID that reflects your business name and/or the products you sell. Your user ID is how people will come to remember you, so choose carefully. Create a password. Click Continue. Now check your email and follow the steps to confirm your business registration. If you are already registered on eBay and you would like to change your account to become a business account, here are the steps involved: Click the My eBay link at the top of any eBay page. Sign in to the site (if not already signed in). On the left-hand navigation of My eBay, under the My account heading, click on personal information. On the next page, on the Account type line, click on the Edit link on the right-hand side. Sign in again to confirm your identity. Next, type in your business name and select your business type. Click the Change to business account button.
PayPal tips for businesses

PayPal is the eBay-owned online payment system widely used by buyers on eBay, and online in general. As covered in Chapter 6, it is advisable to offer a choice of payment options to your buyers, and some eBay sites include a minimum requirement that you must accept PayPal, or process credit card payments through PayPal.
Before you sign up to PayPal, you should be aware of some of the key features that PayPal offers businesses. There are three account types to choose from when signing up to PayPal: 1 personal; 2 premier; or 3 business. It might sound obvious, but businesses should sign up for a business account because it comes with the following advantages: unlimited credit and debit card payment acceptance; ability to accept subscriptions and recurring payments; ability to accept mass payments (from multiple buyers at once); multi-user access (see page 2); and ability to brand your PayPal account with your business name. PayPal charges a low fee per local transaction (currently 30 cents) and a percentage fee of the total payment (including postage). The percentage you pay depends on your PayPal account and the total amount of payments you have received into your PayPal account in the previous month. Additionally, you need to apply to have merchant rates assigned to your accountit is a one-time application, and you will automatically receive discounted rates as long as you meet the minimum criteria of payments received and have your account in good standing. These are the fees applied to your total monthly payments:
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Under $5000 = 2.4 per cent $5000.01 to $15,000 = 2.0 per cent $15,000.01 to $150,000 = 1.5 per cent Above $150,000 = 1.1 per cent To apply for merchant rates you will only be able to see the application form within your account once you have achieved more than $5000 in payments. PayPal also offers a special rate for accounts that sell a large volume of low-value items. You need to apply for micropayments and be aware that the rate will apply to all of the items you accept payment for, regardless of their value. The rate is 5 per cent plus 5 cents per transaction. To find out more information and to apply, go to: https://micropayments.paypallabs.com/.
Selling internationally
One of the most powerful advantages that eBay brings to sellers is the opportunity to list your item for sale globally. Few other marketplaces have the power, and the sheer buyer numbers, to match that proposition. The even better part is that you do not need to pay additional fees to have your item seen by buyers in any part of the world. Before you decide whether to list your item for international sale, there are a few things you should consider: If you speak another language, mention this in your listings or even have parts of your listings in the foreign language.
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Think carefully about the currency you wish to list your item in. If you list on eBay.com.au and make your item available to another country, your product will generally appear in Australian dollars. However, if you go directly to the relevant site (a full list is available on the eBay. com.au homepage), your item will appear in the local currency of the site you have chosen. Some sellers establish multiple user IDs, each one specialising in the sale of products to a particular eBay market. Make sure you are fully aware of the importing laws and regulations in each marketdo your research thoroughly as otherwise you may be inadvertently breaking the law. Research what tariffs may be payable on receipt of the goods. Make sure your buyers are also aware of these charges and who will need to pay for these. Refer to the Australian Government website to ensure you have all the relevant information, at: http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/export. The Australian Trade Commission is an Australian Government body that assists small businesses with exporting. Find out if you qualify for assistance by visiting: http://www. austrade.gov.au/.
Chapter 3
Sourcing products to sell

Here is the plain and simple truthevery tip and instruction in this book will not make you a success without you sourcing the right product to sell on eBay. Selling products with a proven market, at the right price, and the right amount of supply are among the key ingredients to ensuring your eBay success. By success, the inference here is size of turnover and amount of profit. You could specialise in selling a small quantity of high-priced items, each with a good margin. Take refrigerators, for example. Selling five to ten each week at $2000 per item makes you a pretty sizable business, and if your profit margin is 10 per cent on each item you can see that youre well on the way. But you can also sell 1000 CDs each week for $10 each. A turnover of $10,000 a week sounds like a lot, but by the time you subtract all your overheads . . . in actual fact your business may not be sustainable in the long term.
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T i p : When weighing up your businesss potential for success, you should get professional advice from an accountant or financial adviser.
Net profit is the amount remaining after all your expenses have been subtracted. Here are some of the business costs you need to consider, all of which eat away your gross profit to deliver your net profit: cost of purchasing each item; cost of having the item delivered to you by the supplier, unless its free; phone calls, letters and travel to your actual and potential suppliers; eBay fees; PayPal fees; bank and credit card fees; postage and packaging costs not paid for by your buyers; cost of printing flyers, invoices, thank-you notes, etc., and the cost of the paper theyre printed on; other marketing costs (such as Google ads, letterbox drops, print advertising, etc.); electricity costs of running a computer and printer, and the lights over your head; cost of the petrol it takes to deliver your products to the post office, and the cost of maintaining your car to do so; cost of your computer and printer, and any other equipment you use to make your business professionalthe telephone, fax, filing cabinets, software, etc.; the hourly rate you pay anyone to help you (you may have friends or family who help out for
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free, but the bigger your business gets the less you can rely on free labour); cost of storage/warehousing (this includes space in your houseif you cant use it to do anything other than run your business, it becomes an additional cost); cost of items that are lost, stolen or damaged (although some may be covered by insurance see Chapter 10); and accounting, legal and other professional fees. . . . and this isnt by any stretch of the imagination an exhaustive list of overheads. All of a sudden your $10,000 turnover a week for selling CDs turns into $200 net profit, and for the 65 hours it takes you to sell and send up to 150 CDs every day, youre paying yourself the grand amount of $3.08 per hour! Dont forget to pay your taxes. Being online, eBay is a transparent marketplace, which means everyone can always see what products you are selling and at what price. They can even see the ones youre not selling. This means that every move you make can be scrutinised, and copied, by new and existing competitors. This is why an online business needs to continually evolve and always be on the lookout for new directions.
Completed-items search
It may sound obvious, but the best place to start your research for finding the right products to sell on eBay is by conducting a completed-items search on the site. Here, you will see a list of recently
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sold and unsold items, their price, the seller, the description, the postage costs . . . everything you need to gauge why an item was or was not successful. More importantly, youll also get to see how many iems were listed. You should at least start with a rough idea of what type of product you would like to sell. If youre completely new to this, start with a product that youre a passionate user ofit will make your job of marketing easier, not to mention answering questions from your customers. You can browse an entire categorys past sales to try to find clues that will help identify inventory gaps on eBay. If you look hard enough, they certainly do exist. To conduct a completed-items search, click Advanced search at the top of any eBay page, type in your product keywords or choose a category from the drop-down list, check the Completed listings box and then click the blue Search box. Items that sold will show the amount in green, unsold items in red, and multiple-quantity items that did not sell out completely will be in black. Here are some questions to ask when browsing through completed items. They will help you find whether there is a possible inventory gap that your items could fill. What is the cheapest sale price? Do you have enough gross margin to compete on price? Of all the products listed, how many sell? (Be sure to include all the items within a multiplequantity listing.) If you source that product, how quickly do you need to sell it? How often does a product sell on eBay? (This is known
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as sales velocityyou dont want hundreds or thousands of products sitting there not selling, because the longer they dont sell the less cash from sales you will have to purchase more products.) Who is the seller? Are they located in Australia or overseas? Is their feedback better than yours? What is the item title and description like? Could you do a better job marketing the item to prospective buyers? Good enough to have them buy the item from you and nobody else? How much postage does a successful seller charge, and can you compete? Where you cannot find any history of the item you want to sell, this does not necessarily mean youre going to make a fortune by flooding the site with thousands of products. Search for similar items, try alternative keywords and spellings, and perhaps even check an international eBay site or conduct a search on Google to see if someone has already cornered the market in that item.
Networking to find products to sell

When I tell people I work at eBay, I am still amazed by the number who say Ive always wanted to sell on eBay, and of these, the high proportion that are business people who want to use eBay as an additional channel to their existing sales. If you are continually looking for new product opportunities, as all successful business minds should be, always carry your eBay business card with you. Take every
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opportunity to explain to people that you run a business selling other peoples products on eBay and are always on the lookout for new lines. Meeting possible leads is only part of the equation, however. You should have on standby a presentation ready to email or print and send to potential suppliers that explains your business model, highlights some of your previous successes and outlines the opportunity for sales on eBay. Communications with potential suppliers should always be professional. If your eBay business looks as though it is run out of a backyard garage, why would a supplier choose you to extend their sales when they could just as easily do it themselves?
Wholesalers and manufacturers

Once youve discovered what type of product you want to sell, make a target list of manufacturers and wholesalers you want to approach to provide you with products. This will be a long, slow process, so get ready to invest some hard yards. A lot of companies you contact out of the blue will not even return your callsyou need to be intelligent about who you approach within the business. Start with a sales and/or marketing director. A quick internet search can often unearth the name and contact details of relevant personnel within most companies. Be realistic about where you start; if you have zero feedback and have never sold on eBay before, its unlikely youll get a multimillion-dollar company to sell directly to you. Aim for a business
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that has enough product, but not too many products, for you to manage as a re-seller. Here are some basic concepts you should address in your pitch to a prospective supplier: Who are you and what is your work history? What is eBay? A lot of businesses have still not explored it fully, so think like a business and relay some of the more compelling propositions eBay has to offer, such as the number of members, quality of the search experience, the feedback system, etc. Why is your eBay business a good choice for re-selling this type of product? What is the potential size of the market for this type of product on eBay? How can selling the product on eBay be considered complementary to the existing businessand not in conflict with their own sales channels, or their other re-sellers? What terms and conditions would you expect under a proposed agreement? What would they charge at wholesale, and what would you sell for on eBay? What are some examples of your eBay branding? Remember, you have to sell yourself!
Internet searches
If you are patient, the right combination of keywords in an internet search can reveal a host of local and international websites that feature wholesalers and their products. Some are open marketplaces, others give you the opportunity to advertise your own
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business with an outline of the services you offer. We could provide you with a list of ten great sites, but finding supply is one of the best-kept secrets on eBay and if every reader of this book flooded a particular site, well, there wouldnt be any competitive advantage anymore, would there? Be patient and creative with your searches and you will find some opportunities.
T i p : Remember to be safe online! If an offer looks too good to be true, it probably is. Merely having a website does not mean that a business is legitimate. Before you part with your money, consider using an escrow service that will hold your payment in trust and only release it once you have indicated you have received, and are satisfied with, the products.
Importing
Over the years, Ive spent a lot of time working with some of eBays most successful sellers. A considerable number of them import items from overseas. Importing brings with it a distinct set of opportunities and challenges. Start by referring to the Australian Governments Customs website http://www.customs. gov.au for important information regarding your obligations as an importer. There are a number of documents, fees and rules you need to be aware of before beginning an import business. It is best to seek professional legal and accounting advice on the implications of importing items from overseas. Your next step should be to search on international eBay sites. Chances are, other sellers have checked
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these sites to see what is available, and for how much. What you really need to do is look for a gap in the marketsomething that is not readily available on eBay anywhere in the world. Throughout the year, a number of organisations hold importing conferences and exhibitions designed to help Australians establish contacts with international businesses. You can also make contact with various embassies that will refer you to trade organisations within their country. The experience of most other sellers is the need to establish face-to-face communications and relationships with foreign businesses to help ensure a smooth working relationship. By working with foreign government agencies, youre more likely to be assured quality leads than you are if you attempt to establish contacts once you arrive.
Become an eBay trading assistant

Trading assistants are people who sell products on eBay on behalf of other people or businesses. eBay has a directory of all trading assistants, and although the volumes can be relatively modest, it is a good way to find some extra products to sell. While most of the clients you provide this service to tend to be people with several unique items left after clearing out their houses, there is nothing to stop you from promoting yourself as an eBay trading assistant to businesses with high volumes of inventory. Trading assistants enter into individual agreements with clients and can set their own terms of trade. Some take a percentage of the final price of the item,
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for example, while others charge a minimum fee per item, or a combination of the two. To become a trading assistant, you must have: sold at least four items in the past 30 days; a feedback score of 50 or more; a minimum feedback percentage of 97 per cent positive; and an eBay account in good standing. Once you qualify and register as a trading assist nt, you will be featured in eBays directory. a For more information and to view the directory, go to: http://tradingassistant.ebay.com.au/ws1/eBayISAPI. dll?TradingAssistant&page=main.
eBay file exchange

If you have an existing product catalogue and you wish to upload your products to eBay without having to familiarise yourself with eBays Sell your item form or other listing tools, the eBay file exchange may be a suitable solution for your business. Using the file exchange is free, but you must meet eBays minimum seller requirements: you need to have been registered as a seller on eBay for at least 90 days, and must have listed at least 50 items in any of the three previous calendar months. To continue using the tool you must maintain this minimum number of listings.
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Features of eBay file exchange
The tool allows businesses to upload listings via a CSV (comma-separated values) or tab-delimited file. The exchange populates particular eBay listing information such as item specifics, but presumes a minimum knowledge of using spreadsheet programs such as Excel or Access and will require some familiarity with eBays selling fields, such as format, duration, etc. For more information on eBay file exchange go to: http://pages.ebay.com.au/file_exchange/. For more information regarding uploading products to eBay, refer to chapters 5 and 7, and the solutions directory featured in Chapter 9.
Chapter 4
Preparing and creating listings
Item photo
The first thing buyers are generally attracted to when they look for an item on eBay is the picture that appears in search results. Buyers skip over listings that do not have a picture and, similarly, avoid photos of items that are blurry or too small. If you have a professional catalogue of the items you want to sell on eBay, you do have the option of uploading images from your own website by using the existing URL. However, the majority of new eBay businesses will need to invest the time to create eye-catching, competitive product images that pique your potential buyers interest immediately.
T i p : Copying images and/or descriptions from other websites or other eBay sellers may be infringing copyright law and should be avoided.
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When taking a photo of your items, here are some basic things to consider: Can you see enough detail of the product? Move the camera towards the image, dont use zoom. Have the product set against a plain (preferably white) background. Use a tripod to avoid shaky hands and blurry photos. Avoid using flashes; use natural light where available. Place the product in situ. For example, for clothing, its advisable to invest in a mannequin or have a friend model them for you rather than laying them flat.
Item price
Lets put this as bluntly as possible: you could have the best product and the best service in the world, but if you dont compete on price you will miss out on sales. In Chapter 3, we covered the concept of profit margin. To be successful on eBay you need to ensure there is a market for your product that will sell at the price that will make you a sustainable net profit. Do your research thoroughlyon eBay, on other e-commerce sites and even offlineto ensure that you will be able to sell your products at a highly competitive price. It is true that some sellers will gain competitive advantage by having the best reputations, the best designed listing and by providing the best service, but, especially in this economic environment, it is
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the bargain that is going to attract the most buyer attention. Remember most people shop on eBay because of the perception that it has the biggest range at the best value. Smart eBay businesses also need to be agile. You may start with one or even no competitors, but due to how transparent the marketplace is, it wont take long before someone starts selling the same product as you, and usually at a cheaper price. Make sure you have some ability to discount if the situation requires it. Providing the best value for any specific product will also assist your ranking in eBays search results. See below.
Item title
The third thing buyers pay attention to is the title. You only have 55 characters for your item title, and you should use that space to the absolute best of your ability to promote the product on sale. Not only are superfluous terms such as cool, l@@k and w0w rarely searched for by buyers, but youre also wasting the potential to have your item appear higher in search results. Your item title should be a simple list of highly relevant product keywords that buyers will search for. Refer to Chapter 8 for tips on finding the most relevant terms for your product. For example, New Apple iPod Touch 32GB MP3 2nd Gen contains more popular search terms than Look New iPod TouchCool for Kids.
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T i p : Remember to include the obvious! Browse through the DVD category and youll begin to appreciate how many listings do not contain the term DVD, or listings without the word book in the Books category.
Item description
Now that your photo, price and item title have brought your potential buyer to your listings View item page, you need to keep their attention and lure them into a sale. At the top of the page, feature either a larger, clear picture of the item, or immediately list critical product details. Be factual and avoid flowery or overly expressive language, unless your item is a one-of-a-kind and buyers will find the background story relevant and appealing. Once youve described the item as factually, thoroughly and professionally as possible, clearly list your payment and postage details. Include as many options as possible and do not discourage or favour any particular options. This is the buyers choice, and if they favour a particular method they should not be discouraged from using it. Avoid excessive design, colouring, font sizes and styles. It creates an impression that the seller is unprofessional and in some cases can make it harder for the buyer to read what youre selling. Finally, avoid terse, threatening or lengthy messaging around your trading terms. There are countless sellers out there who go to great pains to warn you against buying their product. Its fair to outline your general terms of trade, as any good retailer will do, but 200 lines of bold, capped red
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text yelling at buyers to beware will only turn more of your prospective customers away. No business can afford to do so and remain sustainable for the long term.
Item categorisation
It is imperative that you categorise your item as accurately as possible when you list it on eBay. Not only will buyers be able to find it more easily, but eBays search algorithm rewards listings of more relevant categorisation by promoting them higher in search results. Category is the most obvious and important tool of classification. Within the DVDs category, for example, sellers are presented with around eighteen sub-category options. If you list your DVD in a category with the word other in it (such as Other DVD genres) then you will lose all buyers who browse for that title within Comedy. Similarly, miscategorisation may lead to your account being limited by eBay (refer to Chapter 10). Many categories also include item specifics. These are important product attributes relevant to the category, such as region, format and condition within DVDs. eBay recently introduced a new search functionality that allows buyers to select multiple product attributes to refine their searches. If you do not specify item specifics, your listings may be grouped with other listings in the non specified categoryhardly appealing for buyers! Finally, some categories include pre-filled item information, also known as catalogues. These will
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pre-fill certain product features within your listing. Wherever these are available they should be used, as they help provide more relevant information for buyer searches, and whats more they can reduce the time it takes you to complete a listing.
Choosing the right format

Getting the right picture, description and categorisation for your item is only part of the equation in attracting more buyers to your listings. Another crucial element is ensuring you list your particular product in the right format. On eBay, there are a number of formats/options to choose from. Below is a list and a brief outline of what types of products may be best suited to each. Auction: rare, high-demand, highly collectable items of uncertain value. Auction with Buy It Now: unique items with a recognised general value. Fixed price (Buy It Now): common products with a widely known value. Fixed price (Buy It Now) with best offer: common products that are often subjected to haggling, such as appliances. Classifieds (only available in selected categories): vehicles, services, real estate. Second-chance offers (available on all auction and fixed-price listings): allows you to make a second offer to buyers who have not actually won your item.
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Also bear in mind that eBay has different pricing for different formats. Refer to the Appendix.
Best match: eBays search algorithm

On most eBay sites around the world, and in most categories, the search default is to an algorithm called Most relevant or Best match. eBay does not reveal what the precise algorithm equation is, and it does vary from site to site and, in some cases, from category to category. As an eBay seller, improving your search ranking can make the difference between being a successful seller and one who struggles to compete with others in their category. Best match was designed to encourage healthy competition among sellers by rewarding those who offer the best service and value with the top position in search results, rather than defaulting the position on a time-ending basis. Below are eight tips for helping to improve your ranking in eBays search. None are surefire solutions to success, but being aware of, and attempting to optimise your performance in, each of them will assist your ranking considerably. 1 Value: eBay strives to drive value for its buyers. If you are the most expensive seller, or the one who offers the most expensive postage options, the search algorithm is more likely to demote your listings. 2 Relevance: make sure your item title is as relevant as possible to the product you are listing and, simultaneously, is highly relevant to the name of the category you have listed your
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item in. For example, listing a DVD cleaner in the Romance DVDs category will most likely result in your listing being demoted. Popularity: for fixed-price listings, your chances of ranking higher are improved if your listing has multiple items and has a recent history of sales. For example, if you list ten identical shirts in one listing and you sell three of the ten, your ranking is likely to be higher than if you sell five of the same shirt as five individual listings. So in order to further boost your success, the more of the same item you can sell within one listing the better. You therefore need to compete on price, service, photo, title, description and so on to attract as many buyers as possible to improve your sales of that item. Service: a sellers detailed seller ratings (see Chapter 6) are critical to your ranking in search results. Make sure you offer great service to all your buyers so they rank you highly on item description accuracy, your communication, your postage costs and how long it takes them to receive the item. Changes: if you change any detail in your listing it is likely to impact your ranking in a search. For example, changing the price of your item is likely to re-set your listing as new, losing any previous sales data you have gathered so that your popularity ranking will effectively be lost. Policy violations: if you are a seller with a poor track record in eBay policies, you will most likely be demoted in search rankings. It is therefore vital that you understand all of eBays
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listing and seller policies (see Chapter 10), and that you do your utmost to ensure you never violate them. Furthermore, if eBay contacts you with a request to follow up a buyer complaint, you should attempt to resolve the matter as soon as possible. 7 Listing duration: for auctions, it makes sense that those ending soonest will receive some positive weighting in the search rankings. For fixed price, however, the aim is to gather as much sales history for an individual listing as possiblea 30-day listing has a greater chance of achieving this than a three- or seven-day listing, for example. 8 Experience: while it is true that listings with a sales history are likely to receive positive balance in the search ranking, those fixed-price listings without a history should attempt to emulate the most successful items. This means competing on price, service and relevance.
Chapter 5
Save time with Turbo Lister
What is Turbo Lister?

Turbo Lister is eBays fast, free and easy listing tool. It allows you to create professional looking listings quickly and edit them in bulk. You can duplicate listings to save time, and create templates for similar products so that all standard information remains the same and all you need to do is add product-specific details. Its much faster and more convenient than listing directly on eBay, especially for businesses with deep product ranges. Setting up your template is the only time-consuming part. Once thats done it can be copied thousands of times, with editing product-specific information a simple function away. Turbo Lister enables you to: edit your listing quickly and easily; customise your options to create and edit new listings; add photos and preview your listings without being connected to the internet;
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automatically insert payment terms, postage and any messages you wish to include; set up templates so you only have to enter this information once; schedule your listings to start whenever you wish; and upload up to 3000 listings to eBay with a single click.
Who should use Turbo Lister?

Turbo Lister is primarily aimed at those listing anything from a few hundred to a few thousand listings at a time. It is not recommended for businesses with their own listing tools or inventory systems, as in this instance a third party listing or inventory tool may be more suitable. For information, see Solutions Directory on page 127.
How do I download Turbo Lister?

Before you download Turbo Lister, first check to see if you have the following computer system requirements: Windows Vista, Windows 2000 or Windows XP (Windows XP recommended). 450 MHz or faster processor (Pentium III or higher recommended). 256 MB RAM. At least 250 MB free hard disk space is required, but 500 MB is recommended. Internet connection. Internet Explorer 5.5 or later.
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To download Turbo Lister, go to http://pages. ebay.com.au/help/sell/turbo-lister-install.html and click on the Download the Turbo Lister program here link.
T i p : Because Turbo Lister is not an online tool, it needs to be sent online to eBay to check for relevant updated information. Before starting a large amount of work creating or editing your listings, you should always check for updates to important information like category numbers and fees. To check for updates, click on Tools, then Check for program updates in the top navigation menu.
Finding your way around Turbo Lister

Most of the actions you need to perform in Turbo Lister are done via the top navigation menu and the sub-navigation menu. When referring to the top navigation menu, we mean File, Edit, View, Tools and Help, just below the Turbo Lister logo. The sub-navigation menu will not always be active, but includes the pictorial buttons on the second line, from New through to Help.
Figure 5.1: Navigation menus
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T i p : When you first open Turbo Lister, tips will appear in a pop-up box. Its worth leaving this enabled to check for important updates and to learn handy hints. It can be closed each time by clicking on the Close button in the bottom right-hand corner. To disable the tips, unselect the Show tips at startup box in the bottom left-hand corner. To see these tips at any time, choose Help, then Turbo Lister tips from the top navigation menu.
Figure 5.2: Tips pop-up box
Importing listings into Turbo Lister

The first thing you need to do is import your existing listings (if you have any) from eBay so you can store and edit them within Turbo Lister. To do this click File, then Import items, From eBay listings, from the top navigation menu. Next, choose which of your eBay listings you would like to import by checking the relevant boxes. Then click Import.
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How to Make Money on eBay Figure 5.3: Importing existing listings
Depending on where your listings were located within My eBay or Selling Manager Pro, your listings will now appear within Turbo Listers Inventory or Listing activity fields in the left-hand navigation. The left-hand navigation is a group of your folders, and each can be expanded by clicking on one of the small arrows to the right.
Save time with Turbo Lister Figure 5.4: Locating imported files
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Note that you can also import listings from a file on your computer. To do this, on the top navigation click File, then Import items, then From file.
Creating a new listing/new template

Lets start by creating a new listing from scratch. Refer to Chapter 4 for more tips on creating a great item listing. It is best to create a new listing by going to the inventory and opening the My items folder. Once in the folder, click New, then Create new listing, or New, then Create new template. You will now be taken to the fields you need to complete in order to create a listing from scratch. However, note that you can simply copy an existing listing and change the
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fieldsit is very simple to do so and instructions are listed on page 49.

Title 1 Complete the item title. Be sure to only use
highly relevant searchable keywords. You have 55 characters, so do not waste any space on pointless terms such as l@@k or cool. If creating a template you may wish to leave this blank or put in a generic label such as DVD R4 new so you can add individual product details later. 2 Complete the listing subtitle if you need to add more information and have it appear below the title in the search results list. Note that this incurs an additional fee. Leave blank for templates unless you have a standard subtitle you want applied to all similar products, such as Australian seller, 100% feedback, free postage.
Figure 5.5: Inserting title
Check the ABC box to conduct a quick spell check. At the top of the field, the ? will take you to Turbo
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Lister Help, and the + allows you to customise the fieldswell cover these on page 55.
Category
Next, choose the most appropriate category information for your item. If creating a template, you may wish to leave this blank to add individual product details later, or alternatively you can create a template for each product that will share the same category (e.g. Comedy DVDs, Drama DVDs, etc.). 1 Choose a previously used category by clicking the drop-down arrow, or alternatively click Select to see a complete list of eBays current category structure. 2 Note that some categories are enabled with item specifics, which prompt you to choose from a list of product descriptors applicable to your item. Always use these where available as they can help increase the exposure of your items. Click Select to add item specifics, or Edit to change them. If you choose a category that has pre-filled information catalogues attached to it, you will be prompted to add brand, product type or model to match your product with the information eBay has stored on its servers. For more information, see Creating multiple items with pre-filled information on page 53. 3 Create additional exposure for your category by advertising it in a second category. Note that this incurs an additional fee. 4 If you own an eBay store, choose relevant store categories. (See Store categories, page 100.)
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How to Make Money on eBay Figure 5.6: Inserting category
Pictures
Leave this field blank if creating a template, unless you want all products to have the same image. To add a picture: 1 Click on Click to insert a picture. 2 Find the picture on your computer and click Insert. 3 Add additional pictures by repeating the process. Note that this incurs an additional fee.
Figure 5.7: Inserting a picture
Your product image appears here.
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Item description
Imagine you are a buyer and include all the relevant information you need to successfully sell your item. For templates, only include information that will be applied to all products, such as payment and postage information. 1 You can type your description and use the simple design in the box provided or, alternatively, scroll down and click the Description builder button to edit font, colour and style, and add additional design components.
Figure 5.8: Adding description and design components
Here, you can: a choose to use one of eBays inbuilt listing designs. This is free for Turbo Lister users; b change the layout of the page;
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c use one of eBays photo-upgrade options; d change the font style, size, emphasis, colour
or alignment. Also add bullet or numbered points, or use indents; e copy or paste information from/to another source; f choose one of eBays marketing inserts such as Sellers other items for cross-promotion, or your store logo (if you have one); g change the size of the page or conduct a spell check; h alternatively, add in your own HTML code to create a highly stylised listing; i and finally, preview how your item will look on eBay. Once finished with your item description, click Save. 2 If you want to add a custom label to the product that only you can see, to help with ordering or classifying your items, do so in the Inventory field. 3 Scroll down to the bottom of the Design or HTML view to add a counter to your listing. This will tell you the number of people who view your listing while it is live on eBay.
Selling format information
For templates, only fill in the selling format infor ation m that will be the same across all like products.
Save time with Turbo Lister Figure 5.9: Adding selling format information
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1 Choose whether you want to list your item at
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a fixed price (Buy It Now) or as an auction. In some categories you can also choose classified format. Enter your price, or the auction start price. Specify how many of this item you have for sale. Select the duration of your listing. Bidder IDs are now anonymous on eBay so there is no need to check the Private listing box. Next, choose whether you would like to add any of eBays Listing upgrades to help increase the exposure of your item.
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How to Make Money on eBay Figure 5.10: Optional listing upgrades
7 Under Postage options, choose the various
services you will offer to your local and (if chosen) international buyers. There are two postage options to choose from: calculate postage and flat rate. If you choose to allow buyers to calculate their postage you can: a Choose calculated postage to allow buyers to self-calculate postage costs based on their own postcode. b Enter in the weight of the item. c Specify any additional handling costs. d If you know the package size and type, choose from the options listed and enter the dimensions.
Save time with Turbo Lister Figure 5.11: Item specifications for delivery
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OR if you choose flat rate postage:

e Choose flat-rate postage to all buyers. f Specify which postage services you offer. g Specify the cost per item, and for each
additional item.
h Specify whether buyers can pick the item up
from you, and if that entails a cost. Create combined postage discounts: this link takes you to eBay to set up general rules around combined postage for your listings. j Specify your domestic handling time (how long it will take you to post the item once it has been paid for). k Repeat for international delivery if you are willing to send your item overseas. l Make sure your item location is correct. m To edit, click Postage options.
i
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How to Make Money on eBay Figure 5.12: Delivery options
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8 Choose which payment methods you will
accept. Note that you must accept PayPal on some eBay sites, so this box may be automatically checked for you.
Figure 5.13: Payment options
9 Finally, specify any instructions or policies
your buyers need to be aware of, or specify which buyers (if any) you would like to block from buying your items.
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How to Make Money on eBay Figure 5.14: Additional instructions or policies
At the bottom of the screen you will see a number of options. The arrows (a) will allow you to move into the next listing in your folder, if you have one. (b) allows you to apply your Turbo Lister defaults to this listing (more on that on page 56). (c) shows you a quick preview to review all information. (d) allows you to create another listing the same as this one, meaning you can easily edit product details without having to change other fields.
Figure 5.15: Program options
Once you are happy with your listing, click Save or Save as template in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
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Copying/editing existing listings

Now that you have created your first listing, everything gets easier! You can copy (duplicate) and edit your listings in bulk. This is especially important if you need to perform a mass update of your listings based on changes made to the eBay site. To edit or copy multiple listings, simply hold down your Control button and select multiple listings. To select all, highlight any listing, right click your mouse and click Select all. Lets say you are selling a total of five different DVDs, all similar to The Piano. In your My items folder: 1 Click Duplicate to create copies of this listing and specify the number of copies you want. 2 To change the listing format of this listing, click Change format. 3 To upload the listing to eBay, click Add to upload. 4 If you want to edit the listing in the template, click Edit. 5 To edit in this line view make sure Edit mode is checked, then simply double-click the editable fields in each row. Leaving in View mode will mean you can double-click on any listing to access the template to edit. In this example, The Piano DVD template has been duplicated five times and the seller has gone in to edit item titles, categories, item specifics, photos and start prices. All other fields can be left the same as they are all DVDs, and there are five copies of each to sell.
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To preview how a listing looks, click Preview. To print, click Print. To delete, click Delete. Synchronize . . . will update your Turbo Lister information with eBay information. 10 View online will take you to eBay.
Figure 5.16: Editing listings
6 7 8 9
T i p : If there are certain options you do not want to see when creating or editing a listing, you can turn off certain features or check boxes. To do this, just click Customise in the top right-hand corner of the area you want to streamline. This can help make it even faster to complete a listing in Turbo Lister.
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Bulk editing
To edit multiple listings at once, highlight all listings you wish to edit. Choose Edit from the top navigation panel, then click Edit multiple items. You will then be taken to a screen that allows you to edit certain fieldsthese edits will be applied to all listings you have highlighted. Beware that changing fields marked Multiple values will overwrite all existing information for that listing. In the description field, anything you write can be added to the bottom or top of the description, or replace it altogether. You can change text that is common to all of your listings (bulk edit) using the Search and replace feature. Highlight all listings you would like to edit, choose Edit from the top navigation panel, then click Search and replace. This is especially useful if you need to change your postage information, returns policy or payment information, if you have included text about these in your item description. For example, you can replace We accept Bank Deposit, Cheque, Cash and PayPal with We only accept PayPal.
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How to Make Money on eBay Figure 5.17: Search and replace function
Note, you can choose to replace text in the listing title, subtitle, your custom (inventory) label and/or the listing description. You can also mass edit your listings by exporting them into an Excel (CSV) file. To do so, highlight the listings you need to edit, click File in the top navigation, then click Export selected items. Once in Excel, highlight the necessary fields, click Edit in the top navigation of Excel, click Replace, then follow the same process as outlined above. Next, youll need to re-import your listings back into Turbo Lister, so in Turbo Lister click File from the top navigation, then Import items, then From file to retrieve the file from your computer.
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Creating multiple items with pre-filled information

Some products on eBay can be listed using pre-filled item information. This works by accessing a stored catalogue on eBay and returning product information to add to your listing. To create new multiple items using pre-filled information, on the sub-navigation menu click New, then Multiple items with pre-filled information. Choose the eBay site where you wish to display your listing, then click Next. Then, choose your product type from the drop-down list, and enter the brand, product or model number of the item you wish to find pre-filled information for. Once you have completed your list, hit Next and Turbo Lister will access eBay to find the information you require. You may be required to select from a number of close-matching products for each keyword you enter.
Sending your listings to eBay

Once you have finished editing and/or creating your listings and you are ready to send them live to eBay, highlight the relevant listings then drag them into the Waiting to upload folder in the left navigation. There are a number of options in the Waiting to upload folder. Click Tools in the top navigation to: send all listings to eBay; send selected listings to eBay;
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send all listings to Selling Manager Pro (this is an optional tool you need to subscribe to on eBay; refer to Chapter 7); or calculate what your listing fees will be. Alternatively, choose from one of the upload buttons to change the order of the listings, schedule your listings to start at a particular time, calculate fees or upload your listings to eBay.
Figure 5.18: Upload buttons
T i p : The Activity log folder in the left navigation will be active once you send listings to eBay. It shows you the status of your listings, so if you ever forget what youve done this is a good place to start!
Using Turbo Lister to organise your listings

You can create new folders to organise your listings into similar product types, formats, or even which eBay site you list on. To do so, on the top navigation bar click File, New, Folder. Alternatively, click New in the sub-navigation menu, then click Create new folder. Another way to do this is to right click where you want your new folder to be placed in the left navigationMy items, for examplethen click New folder. You can also move your listings between folders by simply dragging them with your mouse.
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You can change the order of your listings in any folder. Just click on any of the grey column headers to reorder your listings by the relevant field.
Figure 5.19: Reordering listings by column headings
To customise the number and order of columns you would like to see within any folder, click View, then Customise columns in the top navigation. Then check the box next to the column you want to see, or change the order of the columns by moving them up or down. Click OK to save your preferences. You will need to do this for each group of sub-folders you create. If you have a lot of listings and want to find one quickly, you can use Turbo Listers Searching for items function in the top right-hand corner of the sub-navigation menu. This will search for the keyword(s) in all of the listings within the highlighted folder. Click on the magnifying glass to narrow your search to item title, or description, etc.
Setting your Turbo Lister options and preferences

In the top navigation click Tools, then Options. Each subheading here can be very useful for setting standards across all your Turbo Lister listings.
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Personal information allows you to connect your Turbo Lister with an eBay User ID and also a PayPal email address for using payment. Seller options allows you to choose which eBay sites you would like to list on, access your eBay store (if you have one), change the default Create new setting within Turbo Lister, and default to one eBay site and one selling format for each new listing you create in Turbo Lister. Defaults can be chosen for auction, fixed-price (Buy It Now) and classified-format listings. Here, you can create default text to appear on all your listings (such as payment methods, sales policies, etc.) so every time you create a new listing this information will automatically appear. Choose default information for description, price, quantity, postage, etc. Advanced options can change the way Turbo Lister works when updating and synchronising your information. You can also set a Turbo Lister password within Turbo Lister options to make it more secure. Once you have set your new preferences and options, remember to click Apply or OK to save your changes.
Turbo Lister Help

More information about using Turbo Lister can be found by clicking Help in the top navigation menu. In the Help section of Turbo Lister you can browse help topics or search for particular keywords. There are also links to eBay Help pages and an online tutorial.
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T i p : From time to time, you may need to know what version of Turbo Lister you are using. To find out, in the top navigation click Help, then About Turbo Lister. Within the text that appears, you will see Version . . ..
Backing up Turbo Lister

It is advisable to back up your Turbo Lister database regularly to ensure you do not lose your information. The default location of your data is in My documents within the Turbo Lister backup folder. Alternatively, you can choose to save it elsewherefor example, on your own computer. To back up the data, simply click File, then Backup database in the top navigation. You can also set backup reminders. Click Tools, then Backup reminder in the top navigation.
Chapter 6
Providing outstanding customer service
eBays Feedback system

Most people who have ever heard of eBay would be aware of its online reputation system, known as Feedback. Feedback is a transparent customer rating, there for all potential buyers to seeand it captures what percentage of your sales have resulted in a buyer giving you a positive, neutral or negative rating. And while sellers receive a rating, there is also the opportunity for sellers to provide feedback to buyers too. However, eBay recently removed the option for sellers to leave buyers anything other than positive feedback. This decision was made after a number of buyers told eBay that receiving what they felt was undeserved negative feedback drove them to eventually leave the site for good. And, when you think about retail generally, there isnt an obvious example of where a retailer has an opportunity to grade buyers on their performance. The obligation on
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buyers is to pay for an item if they have completed check-out. Once this is done, a professional seller will automatically leave positive feedback for the buyer. The old adage of you cant please everyone is true even in business. You can offer one customer a level of service they think is excellent and offer the same service to another customer who rates it as poor. Rating is a subjective process. It is more or less inevitable that, the more you sell on eBay, you will eventually receive a negative Feedback rating. This is the nature of business, and the key is to learn from the experience and take any necessary steps you can to prevent it from happening again.
eBays detailed seller ratings (DSRs)

Buyers also have the opportunity to rate sellers on four components of their performance: 1 the accuracy of the item description, and whether the item was received as described; 2 communication; 3 time taken to receive the item; and 4 cost of postage/delivery. Known as detailed seller ratings or DSRs, these scores pit you against every other eBay seller on the site and can heavily influence your ranking in search results. You should monitor your ratings regularly, and if you see a downward trend take every step to understand why it is happening and rectify the situation. Here are some reasons why you might be given a poor rating:
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You havent passed on postage savings or are not competitive on postage. You have not used item specifics or the item description to specify the condition of your item accurately enough. Your product photographs are not accurate. You have not clearly conveyed the right information to your buyers. It is therefore crucial to set the right expectations in your buyers mind before they choose to purchase from you.
Setting the buyers expectations

As covered in Chapter 4, a surefire way of deterring potential buyers is to list paragraph after paragraph of complicated terms of trade. Even the tone of your listing can deter buyers, or the fact that you have used capped textwhich online is interpreted as yelling. Put yourself in the buyers shoes and read your terms of trade as subjectively as possible. Would you buy from someone whose item description included threats to buyers if they do not pay within a specified time period? The more successful sellers on eBay are those who convey concise and clear terms of trade that are reasonable, and are presented in a tone that is both professional and friendly. Here are some tips for clearly setting the right buyer expectations: Describe your item in as much detail as possible. This not only includes the condition of the item, but the various product attributes
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that may result in your buyer being satisfied or disappointed if not conveyed correctly. For example, if you say red vase but you really should have said maroon, or if youre listing an electronic accessory and you fail to mention the type of voltage or outlet required. Buyers are purchasing an item they have never seen before so be as explicit as possible in all aspects of your description. Indicate how long it will take you to respond to your buyers questions. Few sellers will be online every minute of every day, so in your listing outline your operating hours, including those of your customer support department. Let your buyers know how often you go to the post office to send your items (every single day?) and/or give them a clear estimate of how long it will take to receive their item. Let buyers know your standard practice for leaving feedback (as soon as the buyer has paid?). If you go on holidays, use Holiday hold (see Chapter 8) or end all of your listings, because if youre not around to answer emails or send the itemeven if only for three daysyour buyers need to know this. If youd like to get paid sooner, add a message to your listing along the lines of we ship our items directly to you as soon as payment is cleared, so faster payment methods such as PayPal mean you get your item faster. We appreciate payment within two days of the item being bought.
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Communicating with buyers

As mentioned above, when you list an item for sale on eBay youre generally expecting someone to purchase a product they have never seen, from someone they have never met. Some buyers are more cautious about the experience, while others want to be expressly certain they are buying exactly what they want or need. Buyers are encouraged to ask sellers questions (ASQ) if there is anything about the item, or the trade terms, they are unsure of. Be prepared to answer these questions, and do so in a timely manner. Here are some tips on communicating clearly and effectively with your buyers: Add an FAQs (frequently asked questions) section to your listing, and your store if you have one. If you do not have a store, add an About me page with your FAQs on it (for more information see: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/ account/about-me.html). Consider establishing an auto-responder to your inbox if you are receiving a high volume of emails and will take more than a few hours to respond. For example, Thank you for your email. We will aim to respond to you within eight hours, but you may also wish to see our Questions page at . . .. If buyers ask you questions about a listing, even ones you consider a waste of time, add the missing information to your listing/template and make sure you check the box that will
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automatically add the question and answer to the bottom of the live listing. At all times, keep your tone polite and professional. Like any business, you will one day come across a buyer who is rude and/or unreasonable . . . welcome to customer service! The mere fact that you are selling on eBay means you should be aware of customer service principles and ensure you uphold them at all times. The better service you offer, the more chances you will have to retain your buyers and increase your sales.
Payment options
When you go to a store, isnt it annoying when they dont accept the payment type you prefer to use? Sure, you might follow through with the purchase regardless, but you generally think twice about returning to the store again. The same is true of eBay sellersthe more choices you give a buyer, the more potential you have to complete a saleand have them return as loyal customers. Though you are within your rights to express a preferred option, it is unwise to state violent objections to a particular payment method and, whats more, this may in fact be against eBay policy (refer to Chapter 10).
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PayPal
As covered in Chapter 2, PayPal is the eBay-owned online payment mechanism. Below are some of the advantages of accepting PayPal: Buyers can pay you without having to share financial information such as credit card or bank account numbers. Both buyers and sellers may be protected under PayPals Buyer and Seller Protection. Buyers may be protected for up to $20,000 on qualifying items, giving them peace of mind when using PayPal. Most payments are instant. Payments received into your PayPal account are easily reconciled with your eBay listings, and PayPal is fully integrated into the eBay site, meaning once a buyer has paid the item should be marked as such within My eBay. Buyers can pay via credit card, bank account or stored PayPal balance.
Bank deposit
While most eBay buyers are comfortable transferring funds into your bank account, it is not a standard business practice to allow customers to do so. As a business seller, one of the disadvantages of having buyers use this option is that often they neglect to adequately label their payments and, if youre selling hundreds of items with the same price point, reconciling payments can be exhausting. Buyers tend not to be aware of how difficult it is to reconcile, and
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any subsequent delays in receiving their products may result in the seller receiving negative feedback. It is true, however, that a small percentage of buyers are not comfortable using credit cards online and this is one method of payment that is easily accessible. There is generally very little protection available to buyers using this form of payment.
Cash on pick-up
Some sellers on eBay charge buyers a handling fee for coming to pick up their items. Think how you would feel as a buyer if you walked into an appliance store, paid for your item and then drove around the back to pick it up only to then be told you have to pay $5 to have the staff member bring the appliance to your van. You do not have to offer cash on pick-up, and if you think the hassle of doing so is an inconvenience then choose not to offer it rather than charge for it. Some buyers deliberately search for items in their local area, so if you dont offer cash on pick-up you may be limiting your sales.
Cheque/money order
If you would like to offer your buyers the option of paying the old-fashioned way, make sure you clearly communicate that there will be a delay in receiving their items as you will wait for the payment to clear into your bank account. Not every business seller on the site accepts these payment methods, so consider your target market and the likelihood they will use this option.
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Credit cards
Credit card payments can be processed on eBay via PayPal. Alternatively, you may already have credit card facilities in your business, in which case you can accept the buyers credit card details over the phone or online.
T i p : Sellers need to be aware of the fact that they cannot actively discourage the use of PayPal on eBay, and cannot charge additional fees for accepting a particular form of payment.
Delivery options
Leave it up to your buyer to decide what they would prefer. Carefully consider your pricing and offer the following options: overnight or express post (some buyers are prepared to pay a premium); standard postage; courier; insurance or registered post (for an extra cost); extra padding for an additional cost; dismantling of your productsuse this option selectively, but in the case of something as simple as CDs or DVDs, for example, some sellers offer to send only the disc and the insert, which means the item can be sent for next to nothing; and pick-upsome buyers love coming to pick up their items.
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Free postage
In recent years, e-commerce companies have begun to appreciate that postage was impacting their ability to compete with offline retail. There has been a trend to increasingly offer free postage to compete with those stores that bombard television, radio and print with news that they are on sale. One of the benefits to operating an online business is fewer overheads; one of the disadvantages is the growing need to absorb postage costs. eBay is no exception to this trend. Increasingly, sellers are being encouraged, and rewarded, for offering free postage. More importantly, buyers have come to expect it in most cases. It is therefore advisable to consider utilising free postage as one of your business tactics. You can usually absorb most of the costs in the overall price of your products.
Australia Post
Most people and some businesses assume that Australia Post operates using a one size fits all mentality. It is not the case. The more volume you send, the better the price you receive. Some sellers have an account, which means their items are collected by Australia Post; others get access to a priority queue. You need to check with your local post office about the services they offer, but dont fall into the trap of checking with only one branchnot all outlets offer the same services, so its wise to conduct a thorough research. And dont rely on the Australia Post website to give the best information because it
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is rarely tailored to your specific needs. Just like you should get to know your bank manager, get to know your postmaster, and your local postie too!
T i p : Dont assume you know the most cost-effective way of sending items. Ask many questions, and ask many people. Some products can pass as letters rather than parcels; others are calculated differently depending on cubic size or weight. Experiment with your packaging to ensure you are paying the lowest possible amount per item.
Couriers
Most couriers offer fast delivery with reliable tracking, which means you will know where your product is at all times. Choose a courier company that is professional, one that will enhance your reputation. Some couriers offer discounts simply because you are an eBay seller. Others quote standard price options over the phone but are willing to negotiate once they know what sort of volumes you could potentially be sending their way.
T i p : When you call a courier company for the first time to get quotes, dont speak to the person who answers the phone; ask to speak to someone who manages new business accounts.
Chapter 7
Managing your inventory with Selling Manager Pro
What is Selling Manager Pro?

Imagine a program that automates most of the processes on eBay. It re-lists items for you when the listing ends, it tells you when youre running out of stock, it automatically emails your buyers for you and even leaves them feedbackall without you having to press a single button. It might sound too good to be true, but it isnt. Its called Selling Manager Pro (SMP), and its eBays sales and inventory management tool. Realistically, it will take you about an hour or two to dive in and learn how to use it properly, and a few hours to set up all your listing rules, but once youve done that the amount of time you spend performing basic post-sales processes is greatly reduced.
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Features of Selling Manager Pro include: a display of all listings with their current status (live, bids, sold, paid, feedback, etc.); bulk re-list options; automatic re-list options; invoices and packing labels; email and feedback default templates; bulk feedback; and tracking of any unpaid items.
Who should use Selling Manager Pro?

SMP is really aimed at high-volume sellers on eBay who do not have their own listing or inventory management tools, although some sellers who do use external software still use some elements of SMP, such as the automated feedback function.
How do I subscribe to Selling Manager Pro?

Selling Manager Pro can be used on any operating system. The only other computer system requirements are an internet connection and one of these browsers: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or later, Mozilla Firefox 1.5 or later, Apple Safari 2 or later. You do not need to download any special software to use SMP; it is all available from within eBay. Once you subscribe, all of your selling links within My eBay will be replaced with SMP functionality. To subscribe, go to http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/sell/ selling-manager-subscription.html#subscribing.
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eBay has a basic version of the tool (Selling Manager) available for free, but it lacks the advanced inventory management features of SMP. Selling Manager Pro is $9.95 per month, but is free for a 30-day trial period. If you subscribe to a store (see Chapter 8), Selling Manager Pro is free.
Selling Manager Pro summary

Once you have subscribed to SMP, within My eBay, click on the Selling Manager Pro link in the lefthand navigation. Your SMP summary is a one-page snapshot showing you all your listings, recent sales and outstanding actions, such as listings awaiting payment and postage. From here every link takes you directly to the relevant listings, so you will not need to scroll through your entire inventory to see just those listings that currently have bids, for example.
Seller dashboard
The seller dashboard is also visible in the SMP summary. eBays seller dashboard gives you guidance to your performance as a seller, and highlights possible areas for improvement. Given that your seller performance can impact your ability to remain on the site, and also the position your listings appear in within a search result, it is imperative to ensure your performance is acceptable.
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Seller dashboard features include: Detailed seller ratings: here, your DSRs are compared with other eBay sellers over a 30-day or twelve-month period. PowerSeller status: you can check to see whether you can qualify as an eBay PowerSeller. Policy compliance: check here to see if you have committed any policy violations. Buyer satisfaction: your customer service rating is listed here. Account status: eBay will alert you here to your account payment status. It is advisable to check your seller dashboard on a regular basis to ensure you are not in danger of being suspended from the site, or having your account restricted.
Managing your inventory with Selling Manager Pro Figure 7.1: The seller dashboard
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Creating products in the inventory

Within SMP, you can create products with multiplelisting templates. For example, you can create a product for a single DVD, but assign to that DVD a listing that is auction, a listing that is Buy It Now, and a listing that displays on the UK eBay site. For each product you create, you can also input critical
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information such as amount in stock, cost price (to help calculate your profit), and you can manage your products within folders. To create a new product, click on Inventory beneath the Selling Manager Pro link from the My eBay views options in the left-hand navigation. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Create product button.
Figure 7.2: Create a new product listing
All of this information is for your reference only and cannot be viewed by your buyers. To create a new product, complete the following steps: 1 Enter in the name of your product. If you do not need multiple listings per unique product, you may wish to group similar products together, such as books or DVDs, for example. 2 Enter in your custom label.
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3 Choose to save your new listing in an existing
folder or create a new product folder. 4 Specify the quantity you have available. 5 Enter the average unit cost, which is how much you pay per item. This will assist you in calculating your profit post-sales. 6 Enter your restock information and choose whether to be alerted when you are low on stock. If yes, choose the minimum quantity you want to have available before being alerted. 7 Enter in the vendor (or supplier) information. 8 Enter any notes, such as how long it takes to ship, where the item is located in your warehouse, etc. 9 Click Save and create listing. You will then be taken through to eBays Sell your item form to create an eBay listing for the product. Now that you have one listing template beneath that product, its easy to create multiple templates and edit them as needed. This way, all the information you entersuch as start price, postage and payment options, and your listing designwill be carried over to all of the new duplicates you create.
Figure 7.3: Edit template screen
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Here is what you can do with a template by checking the box next to Template 1: In the drop-down box, you can assign automation rules (see below), delete automation rules, edit the template name (change it from Template 1), or delete the template. Edit allows you to make changes to the actual listing. Sell again sends the item live to eBay. Duplicate copies this listing exactly. Duplicate as copies this listing but takes you to the Sell your item form to edit the information. Create new starts a new listing from scratch. Edit templates allows you to bulk-edit all your listings (see below). Move templates lets you move them to another folder.
Editing your listings in bulk

eBay makes changes to its policies that sometimes result in sellers needing to change their listings to comply. If you have 1000 products live at any one time, you can imagine how time consuming it would be to edit every single one individually. In SMP, you can edit your listing templates in bulk. From within the product folder, check the listing templates you want to edit, then click Edit templates. On the next page, select which information from your templates you would like to edit. This includes basic information such as title, subtitle, etc. You can make bulk changes to payment options, postage, policies, and so on. You cannot edit listing descriptions
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here, but you can add more information to each description. Click Continue. Next, review your templates, then click Save.
Managing SMP folders

From the product inventory, you can manage your product folders in a number of ways: 1 Use the drop-down box to view only products in that folder. 2 Click the Manage folders link to add, edit, move, copy or delete product folders. 3 Use the inventory search field to locate items by title, product name or custom label. 4 Click the Store category drop-down box to see products listed in particular store categories. 5 Check the Status field to see products that are either low on stock or out of stock. 6 Click on the relevant links in this row to sort listings alphabetically, or by quantity in stock, success ratio, selling price, custom label or date submitted to eBay for sale.
Figure 7.4: Managing product inventory folders
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Creating listings quickly in Excel

If you prefer not to use eBays Sell your item form to create listings, with some basic knowledge you can create thousands of listings quickly and efficiently using Excel. The first step is to select which type of listing template you want to complete. Within My eBay, scroll down the page until you come to Seller tools in the left-hand navigation. Click File management centre. Once in the file management centre, beneath Upload click Select template in the left-hand navigation. There are several templates to choose from, both in CSV and Excel format. Product inventory template, like the one covered on page 73. Item specifics templatechoose a category you wish to list in and the template will include a list of Item specifics for you to fill in, related to the product you wish to sell. Completing these fields is essential as it helps improve your ranking in search results. If using this template, once you have chosen your category you should also download the Item specifics definitions data to ensure your fields are accurate. Catalog templateselected eBay categories import a catalogue of products for you to choose from, matching the product code with some basic information about it. Basic templateonly use this for categories that do not have item specifics, as there are no catalogue or item specifics fields for you to fill in.
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T i p : Before you start using eBays file management centre, refer to the user guide here: http://pages.ebay. com.au/file_exchange/SMP_FMC_User_Guide.pdf.
Once you have downloaded your blank Excel or CSV template, you can fill in the necessary information for each field. To ensure you get the right content within each field, it is advisable to create one listing on eBay, then download that listing in Excel so you can copy relevant fields. To do so, in the file management centre beneath Download click Download Files in the left-hand navigation. Choose which type of listings you would like downloaded, and the email address you want the downloaded file sent to. Click Save. You will be notified via email when the file is available for viewing, or alternatively click Completed downloads after a few minutes. Within Excel, you can now copy each line or field, and use the Find and replace functionality to easily create hundreds, or thousands, of unique listings or edit existing listing templates in bulk, but first read more information about importing files below.
Importing your listing files

Be mindful that only those files that are complete and have all relevant information, and with the right style of text, will be able to be uploaded to eBay. It is advisable to test one or two listings first before spending your time creating thousands of listings only to find you have a small error in the input fields. Remember to refer to the user guide
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here (http://pages.ebay.com.au/file_exchange/ SMP_FMC_User_Guide.pdf) before you start this process. To import or upload your new listing templates, in the file management centre beneath Upload click Upload inventory in the left-hand navigation. Click Browse to find the relevant file on your computer, then click Upload. Now that you have created your product and/or listing templates in SMP, you can assign automatic rules to each listing.
Listing automation rules

By using SMPs automated listing rules, you can save an enormous amount of time that youd normally have to spend managing your listings and inventory. The rules available enable you to: keep a minimum number of listings active at all times; schedule your listings; re-list once if an item does not sell; re-list continuously until an item sells; and re-list continuously whether it sells or doesnt sell. To apply a rule to a listing or product, click Inventory under Selling Manager Pro in the lefthand navigation of My eBay. To the right-hand side of each of your listings, choose Assign automation rules from the drop-down box. On the next page, select which rule you would like to apply, then click Assign.
Managing your inventory with Selling Manager Pro Figure 7.5: Automation rules
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If at any stage you wish to suspend your listing automation rules, under Selling Manager Pro in the left-hand navigation of My eBay click Automation preferences. Scroll to the bottom of the page to get to the Listing automation schedule then select the dates you would like your automation suspended. Click Apply. To change at any time, simply uncheck the box and click Apply.
Managing active and unsold listings

SMP automatically groups together your listings, depending on their status. Under Selling Manager Pro in the left-hand navigation of My eBay, click Active or Unsold. From your Active list, using the drop-down box on the right-hand side you can: change the format of the listing; assign new automation rules; sell a similar item (pre-populates a listing template with the same information so you can edit it to become another item);
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revise your active listing; add to the description; and end the listing early. From your Unsold list, using the drop-down box on the right-hand side you can: sell a similar item; re-list; or re-list as store inventory if your item was auction or fixed price. Using the buttons at the bottom of your list, you can also add notes to the listing for your own information, or save the listing to your SMP Inventory.
Managing sold items

In a similar way, SMP also allows you to manage your sold items conveniently in one place. Often the postsales process can be the more time-consuming aspect of selling on eBay, so it is important to automate as much of this as possible. Figure 7.6 shows the sold items screen. There is a lot of functionality on this page, and its worth getting to know what each of the time-saving features are. Remember that checking multiple listings will allow you to perform a lot of these functions in bulk to all selected listings. The Sold items screen allows you to do the following: 1 Search for specific buyer email addresses. 2 Search for sold items within certain store categories.
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3 Look for all listings that are awaiting payment, 4 5
awaiting postage or paid and posted. Change the time period of sold items to look at. After checking the box next to the relevant listing, change the item to: a payment received; b posted; or c payment received and posted. After checking the box next to the relevant listing, choose to: a email the buyer; b print packing slips/invoices; c leave feedback for the buyer; d sell a similar item; e re-list the item; f send it to your archived folder; g download/export the listing to your computer; h revise the actual postage cost of the item; i save to your inventory; or j add a note. Click on any of the hyperlinked headings or the symbols to change the order of your sold items by: a picture/no picture; b record number; c buyer ID; d format; e total price; f sale date; g number of emails sent; h whether the buyer has completed check-out; i paid/unpaid;
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j posted/not posted; k whether youve left feedback or not; l feedback left for you by the buyer or not; m whether the item has been re-listed or not; n whether a buyer has accepted a second-
chance offer or not; or

o your custom label. 8 Use the drop-down box to: a sell a similar item; b view the sales record; c print packing slips/invoices; d email the buyer; e re-list the item; f send it to your archived folder; or g mark posted (if the item has been paid for). 9 Click on the record number to see the buyers
details, transaction details and notes.

10 Click on the buyer ID to see the buyers 11 12 13 14 15
feedback profile. Click on the buyers email address to send them an email. Click on the item title to see the actual listing. Click on the price to see transaction details. Click on the number to see what emails you sent the buyer, and when. Click on any of the symbols to view the sales status and notes for each listing.
Managing your inventory with Selling Manager Pro Figure 7.6: Managing sold items
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Leaving automated feedback for buyers

SMP allows you to automatically leave feedback for your buyers when certain conditions are met. You can leave a random comment from a list created by you or eBay, and choose to do so when: the buyer has paid for the item; or the buyer has paid for the item and left you positive feedback.
T i p : Being a great seller and providing great service means recognising what a buyers obligations are for each sale. In essence, all a buyer is contracted to do once they buy from you is pay for the item. It is therefore advisable that businesses that want to be seen to be providing outstanding service automatically leave positive feedback for buyers on payment.
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To automate leaving feedback for buyers, under Selling Manager Pro in the left-hand navigation of My eBay click Automation preferences. Check the Automatically leave the following positive feedback box, then choose which option you would prefer. Click Apply. You can change your stored list of comments by clicking the link on this page too. You can store up to ten positive feedback comments.
T i p : Make sure you brand your feedback with your store name or seller ID. Double-check your comments for spelling errors and make sure the message is professional in tone. Dont use CAPS and dont use punctuation marks to make images like this, * * * *, as theyre generally off-putting and dont enhance your business reputation.
Sending automated emails to buyers

SMP also allows you to send automated emails to buyersdrastically reducing the amount of time and effort required to provide outstanding service. Bear in mind that some buyers elect to receive automated end-of-item emails from eBay, so be careful not to inundate your buyers with communication. The email templates within SMP are fully customisable and can be individualised for your buyers. To automate sending emails to buyers, under Selling Manager Pro in the left-hand navigation of My eBay click Automation preferences. Check which of the automated emails you would like to send, and
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whether you would like to have a copy of the email sent to you. Email types include: winning-buyer notification; payment reminder; payment received; item posted; and feedback reminder. Once youve selected which email youd like to send, click Apply. On this page, you can also edit each of the various email templates by clicking on the Edit xxx template link. Once in the email template, if you have a store you can choose to include your store header. The auto text insertion box (see page 88) allows you to insert item- and buyer-specific information into your emails so that each one appears individualised, adding more professionalism to your communications. Check the boxes if you would like to include payment information and your cross-promotions (highly advisable).
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How to Make Money on eBay Figure 7.7: Automated text email
Downloading your sales history and other SMP files

A successful business should keep track of all sales and buyer information. SMP only stores information in your Archived folder for 45 days after a transaction ends. It is therefore advisable to export your sales information and save it to your computer for future reference, and for your records. To download your sales history or other files from SMP, click File management centre in the left-hand navigation of My
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eBay. Then beneath the Downloads heading, click Create a download request. On the next page, choose which type of record you would like to download (Active, Sold, Archived, etc.), then click Save.
Chapter 8
Branding and marketing

All successful businesses spend time and resources creating a brand to attract and retain customers, and marketing to get it known. On eBay, remember that unless you are the only seller of your type of product, you will be competing with hundreds, if not thousands, of other eBay sellers. Imagine that eBay is one gigantic shopping mall and you are one of 80 electronics stores. How will you make customers notice you first, and visit your store before the other 79? Market your brand to your customer demographicif youre selling electronics, your image could be a tech-centred one, or if selling baby items your image could be tailored to new parents. On eBay, a lot of this hard work is done for you, because eBay spends millions of dollars every year to bring people to the platform. But once there, its your responsibility to make your listings stand out above and beyond everyone elses, and a great way of doing this is by using an eBay store.
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What is an eBay store?

Stores allow you to display all of your listings together, in one branded area of the site. Its like having your very own website on eBay, with all of your selling policies, promotions and special marketing features. When you open a store, buyers can click through to your area of eBay to see everything you have for sale. Store owners should take the time to create a dynamic, stylish and strongly branded store to attract as many buyers as possibleits about making your eBay name as professional as you can. In addition to these benefits each store level is assigned a different fee structure, so its important to choose the best one for your business. See the Appendix for more information.
How can I subscribe to a store?

To subscribe to a store, go to: http://cgi3.ebay.com. au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ChangeProductSubscription& productId=3. If you need to close your store, go to: http://cgi3. ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?CancelProductSubscr iption&productId=3.
Subscription levels
There are currently three different subscription levels for stores. 1. Basic store ($14.95 per month) Showcase all your listings in your storefront. Drive buyers to your custom URL.
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List in Store inventory format for as low as AU$0.40 for 30 days. Use Merchandising manager to cross-sell your inventory on your bid and check-out pages. 2. Featured store ($99.95 per month) Get all the Basic store benefits, plus the fol owing: l Cross-selling of your store inventory on all your listings pages. Priority placement in Related stores sections. Featured placement on the eBay stores home page. Prime positioning in the top-level directory pages where you have items listed. 3. Anchor store ($499.95 per month) Get all the Basic and Featured store benefits, plus the following: Showcase placement of your logo within the eBay Stores directory pages. Premium placement in Related stores sections of the Search and browse pages.
Designing your eBay store

Once you have subscribed to a store, you will get access to the design and functionality of the store via My eBay. In the left-hand column of My eBay you should see a list of shortcuts down near the bottom of the page, and one for Manage my store. Alternatively, under the Account tab at the top of My eBay you will find a link to Subscriptions, which will take you to the right page to edit your eBay
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store. Under Active subscriptions, find the Manage my store link to take you to the Manage my store menu.
Figure 8.1: Manage my store link
In the left-hand navigation under Store design are the various options you have to change the layout or design of your store. To begin, click on Display settings. If you want to create your own eBay store from scratch using HTML (a language used to design web pages), jump forward to page 101 to the Custom design your store section of this chapter. The following information is for using existing eBay templates to create your store.
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How to Make Money on eBay Figure 8.2: Manage my store menu
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Entering the basic information

Click on the Change link on the right-hand side of Basic information to create the basics of your store.
Figure 8.3: Basic information
1. Store name
First of all, create your store name. The name of your store will influence the URL (or website address)
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of your store. Consider using a name that reflects the kind of products you sell, such as Aideens Homewares or Jeffreys Tools. Your store will also influence how people find you when they search for particular products on Google or other internet search engines.
2. Store description
The store description also influences internet search results. For example, if you were Aideen you might write a description like the following: Aideens Homewares is your one-stop internet shop for buying everything to do with your homekitchenware, appliances, cutlery, crockery . . .. Remember to include any brand names that you sell. Imagine you are describing your entire business in one or two sentences and that people will visit your store based on what you tell them. Your keywords should be ones that regularly get used on internet search engines.
T i p : If you go to Google, you can find a list of the most frequently searched terms by category. Go to www. google.com.au/insights/search/#you can search over the last 90 days, for example, or the past twelve months. Choose from this list the terms that best represent what you sell, but dont use any that arent closely aligned with your products or else youll waste the traffic coming to your eBay store via search engines.
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3. Store logo
Finally, choose an eBay-designed store logo, or add your own (it must be 310 x 90 pixels in size). Again, the logo should be pleasing to your target audience and should ideally include your store name and logo and/or branding (colours, style, etc.). Once youre finished, click Save changes at the bottom of the page.
Store theme and display

Now youre back on the Display settings page of Manage my store, scroll down to the Theme and display section. Here is where you choose the layout of your store, and apply design colours.
Figure 8.4: Theme and display
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1. Store theme
Click on the Edit current theme or Change to another theme link on the right-hand side of the page. For new store subscribers this will say Create theme. eBay gives you twelve colour themes to choose from. Choose the design that is best aligned to the type of product you are selling. For example, black may not be the best colour if youre selling girls clothing! Clicking on Edit current theme will allow you to slightly alter your chosen templates default colours, giving you the opportunity to create a truly unique looking eBay store. Click Save settings at the bottom of the page to return to the Manage my store menu. Remember, if you want to create your own theme and design from scratch, read how to do so under Custom design your store on page 101.
2. Left navigation bar settings
Back in the Manage my store menu, you can now choose which navigation options you would like buyers to see when they come to your store. Click on the Change link on the left-hand side to alter your store settings. Search box: enables buyers to search for particular keywords when they come to your store. Categories: shows either the categories you have created for your store or the categories you have listed your items in on eBay. Categories allow
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buyers to browse all like products in your store without having to conduct a search. Product finders: if you have a Featured or Anchor store, buyers can use a product finder (also known as item specifics) to narrow down their searches within your store by product attributes, such as size, type, colour, etc. Buyer display options: allows individual buyers to change the way they view items in your store (changing to Time left or View by pictures, for example). Store pages: allows buyers to navigate their way to your other custom-made pages, if you have them within your store (more on this on page 101).
3. Store header display
At the top of every store page you create is the store header. By clicking Change (see above) you can enter additional text, pictures or navigation buttons to help your buyers find their way around your store, or promote certain features. For example, you may have a sale and want everyone to know that it is 25 per cent off all items. Or you may wish to announce the release of a new product. Here, you can also choose which eBay header you would like buyers to see at the very top of your store. For example, do you want them to see the full eBay header (which allows buyers to browse the entire eBay site), or the minimal header which removes this functionality?
100 How to Make Money on eBay
4. Item display
The Item display feature lets you choose the default way your buyers will see the listings within your storea choice between list view or gallery (picture) view. Additionally, you can also choose the default sort order of your store listingsending first, highest priced, lowest priced, or newly listed. Choose the option that is best aligned with your business model. For example, if you list everything at auction, Ending first would be the natural default. However, if all your listings are bargain-oriented and fixed price, you may choose Lowest priced or, to push your latest inventory, Newly listed.
Store categories
From the Manage my store menu, click the Store categories link beneath Store design in the left-hand navigation. eBay stores allow you to create up to 300 custom categories. While for every item you list on eBay you choose an eBay category, in stores you have more flexibility. For example, you may wish to create a category that collects together sales items, or eBays category structure may not be as comprehensive as you need so you could create Blue T-shirts, White T-shirts, etc. Buyers will only see these categories once they are in your store, and they are designed to help them navigate through your items more easily.
Branding and marketing 101
T i p : Be mindful not to overwhelm your buyers with too much choice, or continually change your categoriesboth will only confuse prospective buyers and likely result in fewer sales. Use store categories to logically arrange your items in a way that buyers will find simple to use and that will guide them to the most relevant products.
To add a category, simply click Add category in the top right-hand corner of the page. Here you can also reorder your categories (although keeping them alphabetical is highly recommended), rename categories, and delete ones you no longer need.
Custom design your store

From the Manage my store menu, click the Custom pages link beneath Store design in the left-hand navigation. Aside from the standard layout and store page that is covered in previous pages, you can also add selected custom pages to your store. eBay gives you seven basic custom pages to choose fromincluding ones that showcase your items, allow additional pictures (perhaps of your warehouse, for example), as well as special promotion pages. This is also where you can create a new store page from scratch, without using any of eBays predesigned templates. To do so, you need to know HTML (a language used to create web pages). If youre unfamiliar with HTML there are many books and websites that can help you, and once you get the hang of it its not very difficult. Most designers and
design agencies know the language and can create a dynamic, strongly branded web page for your store. To create a unique HTML page, enter the code into the 1 Text Section/HTML field.
Frequently asked questions

Finally, every store should create a FAQs page. These are common among most websites and anticipate your buyers frequently asked questions. Enter your questions and answers in simple, easy-to-follow language. Consider questions such as: What are the postage costs? How can I contact customer support? How long does it take to receive my items? Can I pick up my item? You can continue to add to these as more questions are asked by your buyers. The number of custom pages you can create depends on your store subscription level. You can also edit, delete and hide (deactivate) your custom pages within this area of Manage my store, and select which page will be the one buyers first see when they come to your storeknown as the store homepage. Click Apply at the bottom of the page to save your designs.
Store promotion boxes

Throughout your store, you have the ability to display promotion boxes on various pages. Promotion boxes are an ideal way to keep buyers within your store
by showing them more of what you have to offer. Remember that retaining your buyers is one of the keys to making money on eBay, and your store should promote all aspects of your business professionally but let the products remain the true stars of the show. From the Manage my store menu, click the Promotion boxes link beneath Store design in the left-hand navigation. You can use Guided setup to apply default promotion boxes, or click on the Create new promotion box button to design your own. The three different types of boxes allow you to: 1 Advertise items (choose products that are newly listed, ending soon, or on sale). 2 Link to other parts of your store (such as FAQs or trading terms). 3 Impart general messages to your buyers (such as payment information or links to signing up to your store newslettersee page 107). First, choose the type of promotion box you would like. Click Continue. Then decide where your promotion box will be located on the page, and which pages it will be visible on. Next, define the boxs content and colour. This is also where you give the promotion box a title. Note that the colours will default to those chosen by you when you created your store, but you can edit these at this step. And finally, click Save to send your promotion box live. Repeat the process to create more.
Bring more buyers to your store

Listing frame
If you have an eBay store, one of its primary objectives is to keep attracting potential buyers, or traffic. The more traffic that comes to your store, the more cost-effective it is to run, and the more opportunities you have to extend your brand awareness, build buyer loyalty and, ultimately, sell more items. And thats the whole point of listing on eBay. Listing frames show up in all your items on eBayso every time someone views one of your items, they will see your store logo, store header, store categories and links to your other store pages. From the Marketing tools menu, click the Listing frame link beneath Store marketing in the left-hand navigation. Then, from the Listing page options, choose which parts of your store you would like to display within your item listings, and select the other elements you would like to include such as logo, search box and, most importantly, Add to favourite stores link (which allows buyers to find you again easily from within their My eBay Favourites). Click Apply to add the listing frame instantly to all of your current and future listings.
Search engine keywords
From the Manage my store menu, click the Search engine keywords link beneath Store design in the left-hand navigation.
This feature will help buyers outside of eBay find you when they are conducting searches on sites like Google. It is imperative that you use only keywords that are specifically related to the products you sell, and remember that it can take 30 days or more for search engines to find your pages. The importance of this feature cannot be underestimated, and those sellers who use it most effectively will gain a real competitive edge. For each page of your store, you have the ability to add up to six search engine keywords. Do not repeat the same word, as this is viewed as keyword spamming and will be rejected by the search engines. Try to be specific about the products you are selling, and refer to Google to find the most popular searches related to your category. It is also advisable to use words that are synonymous. Click on the Edit link next to each of your store pages, enter up to six terms or phrases and click Save.
T i p : A great idea is to check out Googles Adwords feature, which shows you the most common searches for terms similar to what youre looking for. Did you know, for example, that more people search for the term eBay books than they do eBay book? Find the tool at: https:// adwords.google.com.au/select/KeywordToolExternal.
HTML builder
Create attractive links to your eBay store to use within your eBay listings, or off eBay on sites such as Facebook, My Space or even your own website.
Wherever people can find you online, they should be able to find the products you have for saleits all about marketing your brand at any given opportunity, and considering all of that exposure is for free you have nothing to lose. From the Manage my store menu, click the HTML builder link beneath Store design in the left-hand navigation. Choose whether you would like to build a simple link, an advanced link (more attractive design) or an off-eBay link, then choose whether you would like to link to a particular item, one of your store pages or a search within your store. Though this will take you fifteen minutes or so to set up, that is a small investment to make given the potential increase in traffic to your store.
Listing feeds: bring more buyers to your store from outside eBay
Like search engine keywords, listing feeds allow your store to be found and viewed external to eBay.com.au. RSS feeds allow certain buyers to subscribe directly to your store content and see whenever it gets updated. If you advertise your store on Google or on shopping comparison sites such as http:// au.shopping.com, you will need to provide files that are constantly up-to-date. To do so, from the Marketing tools menu click the Listing feeds link beneath Store marketing in the left-hand navigation. Next, make your listing feed choices, then click Apply.
Now that you have designed a professional, appealing store and helped to ensure you drive as much traffic to it as possible, its time to turn to other store features which will assist you in retaining customers. Customers who have a positive experience buying from you will want to return, and its a fundamental of business success that retaining loyal customers is cheaper and easier than attracting new customers.
Help secure repeat business

Mailing lists
eBay stores give you the ability to email your customers free of charge. Just think of the possibilities of sending highly relevant and appealing emails to everyone subscribed to your database. You get 100 free emails per month, with each additional email costing just one cent. As mentioned earlier, this is one of the key levers to eBay successretaining your customers and keeping them engaged. Before you can send an email to buyers, you need to create a mailing list. From the Marketing tools menu, click the Mailing lists link beneath the Email marketing link under Store marketing in the left-hand navigation. You can create up to five different mailing lists for your buyers to subscribe to. For example, you may create a New release mailing list, or an Items on sale list. For simplicity, its advisable to only create one list and fill it with items that are the most appealing at the time you send the email. When you consider just how many sellers there are on eBay, if every one
of them had five mailing lists to choose from, buyers would be inundated with emails. The secret here is to name your mailing list in a way that will attract buyers attention and lure them in. If you sell vastly different types of product it is advisable to create a different list for different product typesfor example, Collectable books and Hard rock CDs. Click Create mailing list, type in your appealing mailing-list name, then click Save.
Email marketing
From the Marketing tools menu, click the Email marketing link under Store marketing in the lefthand navigation. Click the Create email button. You have the opportunity to create up to 100 emails each month, but remember not to inundate your subscribers. Its best to send irresistible eye-catching offers less frequently than it is to send run-of-the-mill offerings every day or week. As a general guide, once a fortnight or once a month is what to aim for, depending on how regularly you change your product offering or prices.
Step 1: Decide what type of email to send
You have the option of creating six types of emails to send to your buyers. 1 Welcome email: may be sent to new subscribers. It is also advisable to hit them with a special offer on sign-up to keep them engaged. 2 Ending soonest: orders your items by the time they are due to end.
3 Newly listed: orders your items by the time they
are listed for sale on eBay.

4 Previous purchase: sent only to buyers who
have purchased a certain number of items recently. 5 Items on sale: promotes discontinued products. 6 Custom email: create an email with any content you desire.
Step 2: Choose the design and layout of the email
Remember to keep the design of your email the same as the design (colours, themes) of your store. This is important for brand consistency and building buyer loyalty. Choose from the following layout options: Showcase and gallery view: shows some large pictures and some smaller pictures of your items for sale. Showcase view: shows only large pictures of items for sale. Gallery view: shows smaller pictures of items for sale. List view: shows what you have for sale in the same list view as appears on eBay. Text only: write custom messages to your buyers. Custom: use HTML to design an appealing and professional-looking email. Once you have chosen your layout, click Continue.
Step 3: Choose who will receive your email and add the content
Check your relevant mailing lists (you will need to have created these earlier, as per page 107). Choose how many (if any) purchases your buyers need to have made in the past 90 days to receive the email. Under advanced options, you can choose to send to subscribers based on how long they have been on your mailing list (you might want to send a one-year anniversary email to say thank you for their loyalty, for example), or send to subscribers based on how they have responded to emails in the past. Decide whether the email will be sent on a recurring basis and whether to send more than your limit of 100 per month (at an additional cost of one cent each). Enter your subject line. Email subject lines generally make or break their success, as buyers tend only to open those with an appealing title. For example, Books for sale is not as appealing as Massive clearance sale! All books up to 80 per cent off. Choose whether to show your store header (more on this on page 99). Enter a personal message to your buyers, remembering to keep it succinct and professional. Learn from some of the emails you receive from other companies, and make the tone of your communications consistent with your stores image. Choose which items to feature in your showcase (if you have chosen the showcase layout). You
can do this manually by adding one item at a time from your current list of items for sale, or have them chosen automatically at random. Also choose here whether to display them horizontally or vertically. Choose how to display your item list and how many items to includethey will be chosen automatically depending on which type of email you send (ending soonest, newly listed, etc.) Choose whether to display your seller feedback within the emaila must-do if you have 100 per cent feedback. Click Preview and continue or click Save draft to come back to the email at another time.
Step 4: Check your email
Carefully check your email for spelling and grammatical errors. Make sure you have chosen the best title and the most appealing products, and that your email looks and feels just as professional as any you receive from a large retailer. Let a colleague, friend or family member check it toomake sure its perfect before sending. Click Edit email to make changes, Send email to send, or Save draft to return to it later.
Pending/sent emails
If you have saved an email as a draft, or an email has been programmed to be sent in the future, it will appear in your Pending emails list, which can be
accessed from the Marketing tools menu. Click the Pending emails link under Email marketing beneath Store marketing in the left-hand navigation. It will take up to a few hours after you send emails for them to appear in your Sent emails list. Once they are visible, you can easily duplicate messages to create similar ones, and view the results from the emails youve sent. Click the subject line of the email to see statistics such as number of recipients, number of emails opened, number of bids/purchases that eventuated as a result of sending the email and number of clicks on the email.
T i p : You should always keep a record of the performance of each email you send, and optimise the title, layout and offering so that each new email outperforms the last one. There is no point spending time creating these emails if you do not intend to monitor the results they bring. Remember, only the ten most recently sent emails are displayed, so transfer the results (and examples) of each to your computer before they disappear.
Managing subscriber lists
You can view all your mailing-list subscribers in one place. From the Marketing tools menu, click the Subscriber lists link under Email marketing beneath Store marketing in the left-hand navigation. Here is where you can also block certain subscribers so that you can retain control over who signs up to receive information about your latest offers.
Promotional flyers
When you purchase from a major retailer they might include a promotional flyer in the shopping bag, but usually the bag itself and the receipt will include the companys logo. This is also a form of brand awareness and helps businesses build a repeat-buyer base. Remember, as we mentioned earlierits more cost-effective to bring a buyer back than it is to find a buyer who has never purchased from you before. Promotional flyers can be printed to be included within the package you send to your buyers.
Tip: Only send flyers if you can print them in
colourblack-and-white flyers just dont cut it and are likely to cheapen your brand, making your items look less appealing and thereby doing more harm than good.
From the Marketing tools menu, click the Promotional flyer link beneath Store marketing in the left-hand navigation. Next, click Create promotional flyer. From the Create flyer options, you have a choice of: which components of your stores design to include in the flyers header; using a border with your stores colours or one of eBays pre-designed themes (make sure you stay consistent with your overall store branding); including a concise, professional and appealing message; current items to display in an item showcase;
current items to display in a list view; including one or two of your promotion boxes; and including additional information, such as returns policy or payment instructions. (Only include customer-friendly information here. If you have a 300-word returns policy, for example, youre likely to turn prospective repeat buyers away.) Click Preview flyer. Again, make sure you check it thoroughly for spelling and grammatical errors. When youve finished reviewing it, click Save settings and print flyer. You can print immediately or save it and send it to a professional printer if you do not have a good quality colour printer. Your flyer will be saved in the Promotional flyer section of Marketing tools for you to print again whenever you need it, or edit before reprinting. Consider using the flyer in the following ways: Include one with every item you send to buyers. Ask local cafes if you can leave some on the counter. Do your own letterbox drop to generate more local businessmake sure your flyer includes the fact that youre local, and even include a call to action, such as support a new local business. Take them with you wherever you goyou never know who you might meet who you could turn into a new loyal buyer.
Other marketing tools

Markdown manager
Perhaps now more than ever, buyers are looking for great value. Remember that, though you may be a small- to medium-sized store on eBay, you are still effectively competing with every retailer (whether online or not) in Australia, so unless you have unique items buyers cannot find anywhere else, your price needs to be competitive. Sometimes, pointing out your value by way of specifying a percentage off or similar will attract more attention. Markdown manager allows you to reduce the price of your store items, and clearly marks them for buyers to see that they have been reduced. From the Marketing tools menu, click the Markdown manager link beneath Item promotion in the lefthand navigation. Then click Create sale. Once you have done this you will need to: create a sale name for your records (buyers do not see this); choose a start and end date for the sale; choose either a percentage or dollar value discount, and decide whether to include free postage; decide which listings the sale will apply to. You can choose specific categories, formats, or select individual items yourself by clicking the Select listings individually link; and choose to automatically send an email to your subscribers to inform them of the sale. Once youve completed all the information fields, click Create your sale.
T i p : Sales should be used sparingly. Weve all walked past those rug shops or leather stores that permanently display Sale! signs. They tend to lose their call to action by permanently appearing to be on sale. Sales should create a sense of urgency for buyers so that, in their minds, if they dont purchase right away theyll be missing out on an irresistible bargain that wont appear again for some time.
Cross-promoting items
Never miss out on an opportunity to cross-promote your items to prospective buyers. If theyre searching for a mobile phone, for example, they may be completely unaware that you also sell phone covers unless you specifically point it out to them. From the Marketing tools menu, click the Crosspromotion link beneath Item promotion in the left-hand navigation. Click the Manage button to create or change your cross-promotion rules. Here, you can choose whether to show buyers who view one of your items, or buyers who bid on or win an item, a selection of your other products. Choose items from one of your own store categories or from the categories theyre listed in on eBay. Here, you can also change the default order of your cross-promotions and delete them.
Promoting similar items: encouraging healthy business competition
If youre a confident business on eBay, you should open yourself up to a little bit of healthy competition
from some other sellers. Those with the strongest branding, most appealing products and best service will usually win. You have the opportunity to promote your items with other sellers similar items within certain eBay pages and emails. Its excellent additional exposure and, even better, it comes for free. From the Marketing tools menu, click the Promote similar items link beneath Item promotion in the left-hand navigation. Bear in mind that other sellers items will also appear on some of your own pages.
Favourite seller top picks
Some buyers choose to see their favourite sellers top picks either within My eBay or via email. This is another opportunity to show your buyers your latest and greatest products, or those recently listed as sale items. Buyers can choose to receive emails weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. From the Marketing tools menu, click the Favourite seller top picks link beneath Item promotion in the left-hand navigation. Choose to automatically select from your list of items based on the criteria you specify, or manually select specific items. If automatic, at the bottom of the page click Edit criteria to choose whether your items will contain specific keywords, come from a particular category and be within a certain price range, and how they will be sorted for the buyer. Click Apply to save your settings.
Using your brand on eBay emails

Customising end-of-auction emails
Some buyers opt in to receive emails from eBay when they have won an auction or purchased an item. These are known as end-of-auction emails. All these emails sent by eBay are generic and contain general eBay branding. Smart businesses use these to help promote their own brand. From the Marketing tools menu, click the Customise end of auction emails link beneath Logos and branding in the left-hand navigation. Next, click the Change link on the right-hand side of the page. Choose whether to display your store logo and whether to add a custom message. The body of the email can include a number of auto-text options from eBay. What this means is your email will be populated with relevant facts based on the actual listing, such as the buyers name, the item title, item price, and so on. Write your message and choose from the drop-down list of auto-text options, clicking Insert each time you want a new field added. The email has a 2000 character limit and is free to send to all buyers who opt in to receive the end-of-auction emailmore free exposure for your brand and yet another opportunity to retain customers.
Customising invoice emails
Another type of email sent by eBay to some buyers is the invoice email, which is sent to those who have opted in to receive an email about how to pay for an item.
From the Marketing tools menu, click the Customise invoice link beneath Logos and branding in the left-hand navigation. Next, click the Change link on the right-hand side of the page. Choose whether to display your store logo and whether to add a custom message.
Holiday hold
Imagine going to one of your favourite shops only to discover it is closed. There is no sign to say why, the door is just locked. Or worse yet, you buy from an online store and dont receive your item after three weeks because theyre on a beach somewhere. Most businesses close down over a holiday period, and if you plan on being away from your store for an extended length of time you need to let your buyers know. Communication is the key to keeping customers happy. During this time, you can make your store items unavailable to buyers and/or display a holiday message within your store/in all of your listings. From the Manage my store menu, click the Feature list link, then click Holiday hold. Check the Turn holiday settings on box, then choose where to display your message, nominate whether buyers will still be able to purchase your items, and add your message. Remember to be professional and concise, thanking your valued customers for their ongoing support throughout the year, and so on. Then click Save settings.
Chapter 9
Optimising your success
eBay Sales Reports Plus

Sales reports provide you with a basic financial snapshot of your listings and sales on eBay. They are an efficient way of summarising your monthly accounts and cross-checking them against your own paperwork to ensure you have captured everything correctly.
How do I subscribe to Sales Reports Plus?
There are two options for subscribing to Sales Reports: 1 The basic Sales Reports program is free to subscribe to. 2 Sales Reports Plus is $6.99 per month (the first 30 days are free) and offers more advanced analysis, including sorting information by category, format and buyer counts, and includes
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Optimising your success 121
the ability to download information. Note that Sales Reports Plus is free for eBay store subscribers. To subscribe, go to: http://pages.ebay.com.au/ ducation/ e learn-to-sell-sales-reports.html. Once you have subscribed, your reports will be available within My eBay by clicking on Subscriptions in the left-hand navigation, then View my reports.
What information does Sales Reports Plus show?
Sales Reports Plus aggregates your sales history by individual weeks (the most recent four weeks) and by month (two months prior). All of your reports for the past 24 months are automatically archived (both monthly and weekly reports). To view them click Archived reports in the Sales Reports Plus left-hand navigation. Information in the sales summary report includes: total sales in dollars; number of ended listings; number of ended items; number of sold items; average sale price per item; comparison of this months sales to the previous three months and percentage growth; summary of eBay and PayPal fees paid; number of items unpaid for by buyers; and eBay subscriptions you began or cancelled.
Information in the Sales by category, Sales by format, Ending day, Ending time and Duration reports include the same information as above but broken down by each of these differentiators. You can also print the report by clicking Print in the top right-hand corner, or click Download to export the report to your computer. Wait for the report to download, then click Continue when it is complete.
Traffic reports
If you subscribe to an eBay store, you get access to free reports that show you where your buyers are coming from, and how they are finding your store. This will help you understand how to optimise your store in search engines, and what products your buyers are most interested in.
How do I find traffic reports?
To find your traffic reports, click on Subscriptions under My account in the left-hand navigation of My eBay. On the next page, click Manage my store. On the Manage my store page, scroll down and on the left-hand navigation under Reports click on Traffic reports. These reports are provided by Omniture and you will need to sign in again (using your eBay user ID and password) to get access to the reports.
What information do traffic reports show?
My summary: shows total page views, visits, homepage views and most popular pages for the current month. Site traffic: shows total page views, unique visitors and total visits by day. Finding methods: shows which site people were on immediately prior to visiting your store, which search engines people used to find your store, and which keywords buyers used to search for and find your store. Most of this information can be shown by rank, or trended over time. To see trends, click on Trended in the top right-hand corner of the page. Reports can be printed directly from your screen, or downloaded in Word, Excel, PDF, HTML or CSV formats. You can choose to see the current month, or use the calendar in the top left-hand corner to see the information correlating to individual days, weeks or months in the past. To view a report covering a range of dates, click Range next to Calendar in the top left-hand corner.
Marketplace research by Terapeak

Terapeak is eBays market research tool. It provides invaluable information around products, prices and general trends on eBay. It highlights the drivers of buyer demand and helps you determine the most
effective way to list your products. The four basic areas it covers are: 1 products; 2 sellers; 3 categories; and 4 hot products. Terapeak can help you identify inventory gaps on eBay, stay ahead of the competition on hot products and give you a better insight into what buyers are looking for. Imagine owning a retail shop and managing to find out your competitors best-selling products, how buyers find them and how their shop is merchandised to optimise sales. In essence, that is what Terapeak can do for you on eBay.
How do I subscribe to Terapeak?
It costs $24.95 per month to subscribe to Terapeak with optional add-ons, such as Hot searches, starting at $2.95. To subscribe, go to: http://pages.ebay.com.au/ marketplace_research/.
What information do the reports show?
Product reports can help you identify the best way of selling particular products based on keywords in the item title. Seller reports, on the other hand, can track your competitors movements, every single day! If you want to stay ahead of the competition, this part of the Terapeak tool will prove to be invaluable.
T i p : While it makes a lot of sense to know what your competition looks like, it is also vital that you balance the amount of time you invest in researching their movements. Obsessing about competition will just distract you from the real task at handselling as many products as possible.
To get started, simply enter the relevant keywords at the top of the page, choose the relevant eBay site, narrow your search by category (if applicable) and select the date range you wish to cover. The report shows sales results broken down by: average start price; average sale price; total number of listings; percentage sell-through (what percentage of listings ended with a sale); which day of the week had the most sales; the most popular duration; the most popular time of day to sell these items; the most popular format; the most popular category; highest priced items; total sales (over the time period); total successful listings; total bids; bids per listings; average number of sellers per day; and the actual listings that match your search criteria, which you can order by start price, end price or number of bids.
What is the title builder?
Within the product report, click the Title builder link in the left-hand navigation. Enter in the most obvious keywords for your product and the tool will automatically match those words with the most popular terms also used by sellers listing the same product. Take the guess work out of using your 55-character spaces in your item title and let the tool do the hard work for you.
What can the category report be used for?
This report will help you get a complete overview of the category in which your items are listed. It shows: a list of all items; sales trends; and top sellers (which can be sorted by total sales, total listings, successful listings, bids and items sold).
What is Hot research?
Hot research looks at the entire eBay site of your choice and ranks categories, searches, products and titles by their success rate. This is a great opportunity to help narrow your search for what products to sell on eBay. The report highlights: the category with the highest sell-through rate, plus a ranking of how high demand is growing in that category;
a list of the most popular buyer searches on eBay (by category); and a list of the most popular keywords in a title (sorted by their sell-through rate, average price and number of items sold). You can refine this by category, or by typing in some keywords that appear in your own item titles to see what other sellers use to optimise sales. Hot titles shows actual listings and the total success of the listing, including how many successful items it generated, bids, average price, etc. This can also be filtered by category and specific keywords. To find out more information, go to: http://pages. ebay.com.au/marketplace_research/.
T i p : When using Terapeak, make sure you change the default eBay site for every search you conduct to ensure youre researching the correct market.
eBay solutions directory

There are literally thousands of tools available to help you optimise your eBay success. In fact, globally eBay supports an entire cottage industry dedicated to helping buyers and sellers be more efficient. Most of these tools and services come at a cost, and any sensible business operator will carefully balance the return on investment with these options. Generally, eBay does not support any particular provider, outside of the tools it owns. eBay does, however, grant supporting businesses access to its solutions directory, and there you will
find a host of providers in the following subject areas: complete solutions; listings; inventory management; photo hosting; merchandising and listing enhancements; email management; check-out; postage; sourcing products; category-specific solutions; data analysis; research; technical services; and developers. To see the complete list, go to: http://cgi6.ebay.com. au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?SolutionsDirectory.
Chapter 10
Tax, legal and eBay policy considerations
Twelve eBay rules every seller must know

To protect the eBay marketplace from illegal and unfair practices, eBay has a number of rules in place in regard to listings and sellers. If sellers violate any of these rules, the end result may be that your entire account is suspended, all of your listings cancelled or youre banned from eBay altogether. If your listings get ended, all bids/watches on those items will be lost and youll not only have to contact eBay and take the necessary steps to reinstate your account, youll also have to go through the process of re-listing every one of your items. Its a costly and time-consuming exercise, and one that should be avoided at all costs. As per eBays user agreement, it is the sellers responsibility to stay up-to-date with the latest policies and policy changes, but below is a list of
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commonly overlooked policies that every seller must know. 1 Keyword spamming, or using keywords or brand names inappropriately to attract buyers to your listing to artificially improve your ranking in searches, is prohibited. Examples include like Apple, breaking up the names of common brands like Sass y Dress Bide Now for Sass + Bide. The simplest way to avoid keyword spamming is to stick to keywords that apply only to your item. Avoid terms such as like, similar to, etc. For a full outline see: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/ keyword-spam.html. 2 You may not include links in your listings to pages that offer to trade or sell goods off eBay or links to subscribe to mailing lists outside eBay. For a full list see: http://pages.ebay.com. au/help/policies/listing-links.html. 3 Limited use only of HTML and JavaScript is permitted in your listings. For instance, you may not include dropping cookies, redirects or automatic pop-ups. For a full list see: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listingjavascript.html. 4 Misleading titles, such as when you say a second-hand item is new, is worth $X at retail when it is not, is located in Australia when it is not, etc., are against policy. For more infor mation see: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/ policies/misleading-titles.html. 5 Avid miscategorisation of listings. eBay has over 50,000 categories worldwide, so youre
Tax, legal and eBay policy considerations 131
bound to find one that suits your item. It is against eBays policies to list your item in a category unrelated to it. For more information see: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/ listing-categorization.html. 6 Actions that avoid paying eBay fees are prohibited. This can be done innocently, for example, where you list a shirt and advise buyers in your listing that you have matching hats and to contact you for prices. For more information see: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/ listing-circumventing.html. 7 There is a limit to how many identical listings a seller can list. It currently stands at twenty listings, and you cannot use multiple seller IDs to avoid this policy. For more information see: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listingmulti.html. eBay does allow similar items to be sold within the one multi-quantity Buy It Now listing. However, you can only offer a choice of colour and size. If selling red and black shirts in small and medium (that are otherwise identical) you must specify the minimum quantity you have of each. For example, 10 means you must have in stock ten of both sizes in each colour, i.e. ten red small, ten red medium, ten black small and ten black medium. 8 Shill bidding occurs when a seller bids on his/ her own auctions, or has friends do so. It is against policy because it artificially inflates prices, which is unfair to genuine buyers. Also be aware that you should not allow genuine customers to bid from your own
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computereBay has tools in place to monitor bids coming from individual computers. For more infor mation see: http://pages.ebay.com. au/help/policies/seller-shill-bidding.html. eBay members are not allowed to interfere with another members listings. This includes offering to sell an item off eBay or emailing another sellers buyers to warn them against buying from that seller. For more information see: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/ transaction-interference.html. Seller non-performance is when a seller delivers an item that is not the same as was listed, or provides sub-standard service. The best way to avoid this is to provide as much accurate information in your listing as possibledont leave anything to the buyers imagination. Also, if your performance drops below an acceptable standard, eBay may demote your exposure in search listings and restrict discounts on fees or access to promotions. For more information see: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/sellernon-performance.html. eBay does not allow sellers to surcharge buyers for using selected payment methods. Such costs should be built in to the item price. For more information see: http://pages.ebay.com. au/help/policies/listing-surcharges.html. You are not allowed to add GST on top of the item priceall prices must be inclusive of GST. For more information see: http://pages. ebay.com.au/help/policies/seller-gst.html.
For a comprehensive list of selling policies on eBay, refer to the information and links at this page: http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-ov.html. For example, if you want to list an item for pre-sale, you must ensure that the buyer can receive the item within twenty days of payment.
T i p : Important changes made to the site that could impact how you sell on eBay will always be made at the Announcements section of the site, located at: http:// www2.ebay.com/aw/marketing-au.shtml. You should definitely bookmark the page and check it on a weekly basis to ensure you do not miss information that may require you to change your selling practices.
Tax implications
Any business or individual considering selling a reasonable amount of items on eBay should speak to a professional financial or tax adviser to ensure they are complying with relevant laws and procedures. Further information can be found at the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website. Businesses of a certain sized turnover, for example, may be required to register for GST, or may need to have an Australian Business Number. From time to time, the ATO will audit eBay sellers and contact eBay directly for a history of sales and the necessary documentation. There is no avoiding this, so the best advice is to ensure you are complying with all tax laws and policies from the outset.
Prohibited and restricted items

As a seller, you are ultimately responsible for ensuring that your item is allowed to be sold on the eBay site. Additionally, you are responsible for ensuring the legality of any item you sell. eBay has an extensive list of items that are on its prohibited and restricted list, and contravening its policies may end in your account being suspended. Furthermore, illegal items may end in prosecution, so seek legal advice on anything you think might be considered questionable. Among eBays restricted and prohibited items are: Aboriginal art and artefacts; used clothing; electronic surveillance equipment; food; human parts; lock-picking devices; police-related items; weapons and knives; and wine and alcohol. For more information go to: http://pages.ebay.com. au/help/policies/items-ov.html.
Legal advice
Establishing your own business, even if youre starting small from your own garage, can open a whole minefield of legal considerations. Rather than be perturbed by these hurdles, consulting a lawyer at the outset could save you considerable time, money and stress in the future, should a situation arise that
may have been avoidable had you known the relevant law or statute. You should seek professional legal advice before undertaking a business venture. Some considerations include, but are not limited to: employment laws; superannuation laws; contracts for product supply and/or delivery; and business law.
Insurance
Before commencing your eBay business, speak to your insurance provider about the best options available for you. Some things for you to consider, among others: insuring your stock to protect from loss, theft and damage; if operating from home, increasing home and contents insurance to cover your eBay salesrelated assets; and insuring yourself for loss of income.
eBays user agreement

Before you begin investing serious time, commitment and money into your eBay business, it is advisable to thoroughly read eBays user agreement and privacy policy. After all, by becoming an eBay member you have agreed to be bound by eBays policies, which means that if you breach any of them you may be suspended from the siteeffectively ending your business overnight. It is standard business practice
(and commonsense) to ensure you read, and fully comprehend, any user agreement before agreeing to its terms. eBays user agreement can be found at: http://pages. ebay.com.au/help/policies/user-agreement.html. Its privacy policy can be found at: http://pages.ebay.com. au/help/policies/privacy-policy.html. There are links to both at the very bottom of every eBay page.
Where to get help

From time to time, you will undoubtedly need some help getting your head around how eBay works. The good news is youre not alone! eBay has a multitude of assistance available and it can all be found by visiting the Contact us page at: http://contact.ebay.com. au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ShowCUPortal&_trksid=m38. (Theres a link at the top of every eBay page.) eBay also has discussion boards where sellers and buyers meet to offer advice and tips and to discuss eBay-related topics. You can find these boards at: http://pages.ebay.com.au/community/chat/index. html?_trksid=m38. Some professional and amateur groups of sellers have also formed to help each other. eBay does not officially endorse any of these groups, but they can be found online, or keep a lookout for mention of them on eBays discussion boards.
Summary
There are no secrets to being successful on eBay. The most successful eBay sellers are those who approach selling on the site with a business mindset. Take a realistic, practical approach to selling. In summary, here are the main points: Ensure you can secure supply of your products at the right price. Do your research to ensure there is adequate demand for your product on eBay, which means you will achieve the price you need to maintain enough profit to recover all of the costs associated with selling on eBay. Use all of the marketing levers available on the site to boost your selling profile and make your products appear irresistible to as many buyers as possible, and use the right strategy to lure as many of your buyers back to your listings as you can. Compete with other sellers on price, service and marketing.
137
Make sure you are fully aware of all of eBays rules and policies, and that you are abiding by them. Continually look for ways to improve your business modelsource new types of products, experiment with different selling strategies on eBay and test your pricing. In the past I have referred to eBay as a 10,000-page manual. It is a complex site, but there is no reason for any seller to understand every single aspect of its operation. If there is a key to success, its knowing what you need to know, and knowing what isnt so important to your business. You could spend hours or days reading through pages on the site, or teaching yourself new things, only to find they are not applicable to your business. On the other hand, there could be crucial information youre missing, which could mean the difference between moderate or fantastic success. Learn from other sellers. Look at how they promote themselves and find ways to do it better. Take opportunities to meet other sellers and learn their tips for selling successyoull be surprised how many view eBay as a community and are willing to help you along the way. Try to teach yourself a new part of eBay each and every week. Within one year, youll know 50 new things. Be selective and choose those topics that are most applicable to your business. Try selling overseas, try listing at auction if you never have before, learn more about your business by using one of the research tools covered in these pages . . .
Summary 139
Theres no need to pay thousands of dollars on courses designed to make you an eBay success. As mentioned in the Introduction there are no guarantees, and what you make out of eBay will depend on the effort you put in before you start, while youre selling, and after the sale is completed.
Appendix
eBay fees
In September 2009, eBay Australia announced that it was changing its fee structure to assist businesses by lowering upfront costs and thereby reducing the risk of listing large quantities on the site. eBay only made changes to its Buy It Now format and retained auction pricing at the same level it has been for longer than the past four years. There are now four different types of pricing on eBay Australia. For a full table of all of eBays fees, go to http:// pages.ebay.com.au/help/sell/fees.html
Non-store subscribers
Auctions3, 5, 7, 10 day durations
Insertion fees based on start price of:

AU$0.01AU$0.99 AU$1.00AU$19.99 AU$20.00AU$49.99 AU$50.00AU$99.99 AU$100.00AU$399.99 AU$400.00 and up AU$0.30 AU$0.50 AU$0.75 AU$1.50 AU$2.50 AU$3.50
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eBay fees 141
Final value fees based on sale price of:

AU$0.01AU$75.00 AU$75.01AU$1000.00AU 5.25% of the closing price 5.25% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 2.75% of the remaining closing price (AU$75.01AU$1000.00) 5.25% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 2.75% of the initial (AU$75.01AU$1000.00) plus 1.5% of the remaining closing price (AU $1000.01closing)
Over AU$1000.01
Buy It Now3, 5, 7, 10 day durations
Insertion fees based on start price of:

AU$0.01AU$0.99 AU$1.00AU$19.99 AU$20.00AU$49.99 AU$50.00AU$99.99 AU$100.00AU$399.99 AU$400.00 and up AU$0.30 AU$0.50 AU$0.75 AU$1.50 AU$2.50 AU$3.50
Final value fees based on sale price of:

AU$0.01AU$75.00 AU$75.01AU$1000.00 5.25% of the closing price 5.25% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 2.75% of the remaining closing price (AU$75.01AU$1000.00) 5.25% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 2.75% of the initial (AU$75.01AU$1000.00) plus 1.5% of the remaining closing price (AU $1000.01closing)
Over AU$1000.01
Store subscribers
For all store subscribers, auctions are charged at the same rate as non-store subscribers (above) but Buy It Now is charged at the following rates.
Buy It Now3, 5, 7, 10, 30 day durations
Basic store AU$0.40 Featured store AU$0.30 Anchor store AU$0.10
Insertion fees are charged as a flat single fee, regardless of start price or quantity of items within the listing. Final value fees are charged per item, based on the sale price.
Basic store AU$0.01 AU$75.00 AU$75.01 AU$1000.00 7.9% of the closing price 7.9% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 5% of the remaining closing price (AU$75.01 AU$1000.00) Featured store 7.4% of the closing price 7.4% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 4% of the remaining closing price (AU$75.01 AU$1000.00) Anchor store 7% of the closing price 7% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 3.5% of the remaining closing price (AU$75.01 AU$1000.00)
eBay fees 143

Over AU$1000.01 7.9% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 5% of the initial (AU$75.01 AU$1000.00) plus 3.5% of the remaining closing price (AU$1000.01 closing) AU$14.95 7.4% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 4% of the initial (AU$75.01 AU$1000.00) plus 3% of the remaining closing price (AU$1000.01 closing) AU$99.95 7% of the initial AU$75.00 plus 3.5% of the initial (AU$75.01 AU$1000.00) plus 2.5% of the remaining closing price (AU$1000.01 closing) AU$499.95
Subscription fees for stores are charged monthly
Store subscribers also get additional fee benefits including Free gallery for Buy It Now (add a photo to the search results, usually AU$0.59), Free additional photos in listings (normally AU$0.20 each) and Gallery plus for AU$0.99 (adds a supersize picture to the search results, normally AU$2.49).

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the official pocket guide for australian sellers

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the official pocket guide for australian sellers

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viii How to Make Money on eBay

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Safe trading tips for eBay sellers

How to Make Money on eBay

Safe trading tips for eBay sellers

How to Make Money on eBay

PayPal seller protection on eBay

Safe trading tips for eBay sellers

Budgeting for loss

How to Make Money on eBay

Becoming an eBay seller

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PayPal tips for businesses

Becoming an eBay seller

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Becoming an eBay seller

Sourcing products to sell

Sourcing products to sell

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Sourcing products to sell

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Networking to find products to sell

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Wholesalers and manufacturers

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eBay file exchange

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Features of eBay file exchange

Preparing and creating listings

How to Make Money on eBay

Preparing and creating listings

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Preparing and creating listings

How to Make Money on eBay

Choosing the right format

Preparing and creating listings

Best match: eBays search algorithm

How to Make Money on eBay

Preparing and creating listings

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What is Turbo Lister?

Save time with Turbo Lister

Who should use Turbo Lister?

How do I download Turbo Lister?

How to Make Money on eBay

Finding your way around Turbo Lister

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Importing listings into Turbo Lister

How to Make Money on eBay Figure 5.3: Importing existing listings

Creating a new listing/new template

How to Make Money on eBay

fieldsit is very simple to do so and instructions are listed on page 49.

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