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Auction Strategists Newsletter
Brought to you by Jenni Hunt
www.jennihunt.com
In this newsletter:
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1. The eBay Bombshell – How Is Your Business Affected?
2. Heads Up:
– Auction Overhaul – Time for an Extreme MakeOver?
– What does “Moo” and Customer Service Have In Common?
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1. The eBay Bombshell – How Is Your Business Affected?
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Not too long ago eBay dropped a bombshell… It is no a surprise that eBay is raising their fees – they seem to announce this every year. (If you haven’t heard about the changes eBay is making, Skip McGrath has done a wonderful job comparing the new changes to eBay’s old policies… you can read about it here: http://blog.skipmcgrath.com/public/item/195904.
The changes eBay is making are being talked about everywhere… and there is one thing I have noticed as I have browsed around different forums. The changes seem to be affecting each seller differently based on their business strategy. Let’s look at the following four seller scenarios for a better understanding…
1. First of all, there are those sellers who start their auctions super low to motivate bidders to bid. A low starting bid (a penny or ninety-nine cents) is enticing to bidders because they see it as an opportunity to possibly get a great deal on an item. There is also the point that if there are two identical items offered at two different prices, bidders will bid on the lower of the two. This seller will not benefit as much from the drop in insertion fees. They will, however, be impacted by the higher final value fees. The only way this benefits this seller is if they have a deadbeat buyer who doesn’t pay. When you report a non-paying buyer, you get more of your money back on the final value fee refund.
2. Secondly, there are those sellers who use eBay to test the market. Before making a large investment in a product, many sellers will test the market by offering a few of the item they are considering on eBay. The changes are good news for these sellers because your loss has greatly decreased if the item does not sell. This is also good news for new sellers who have previously been scared off by the insertion fees. The learning curve for new sellers just got less intimidating.
3. What about sellers who USE eBay to drive traffic to other businesses? These sellers aren’t looking to sell items on eBay; rather, they are looking to capture the attention of eBay visitors (traffic) and lure them to their non-eBay businesses. Yes, this is legal – and there are ways to do this without breaking any of eBay’s policies or rules. If this idea intrigues you, I highly recommend you take a look at Jim Cockrum’s best selling ebook, The Silent Sales Machine. Jim does an excellent job of breaking down this process step by step and has a way of getting those creative juices flowing. (You can check out The Silent Sales Machine here: http://www.jennihunt.com/recommends/silentsalesmachine.htm). If you are already using eBay to drive traffic to your business – but, you want to learn more. I have to share with you one of the best membership sites available. This site is run by Jim Cockrum as well – and, he has gathered the largest group of eBay experts to participate in this community. Learn more here: http://www.my-silent-team.com.
4. Finally, sellers who are taking advantage of eBay’s affiliate program are smiling big time at these changes! As I mentioned in my free report, How Can eBay’s Rising FVF’s Be Good?, eBay’s commission structure for its affiliates is based on the final value fees. Higher final value fees mean higher commissions for those using eBay’s affiliate program. (If you haven’t read the report, you can get your copy here: http://www.auctionstrategists.com/noselling.htm)
Like all businesses, eBay has to change to grow and survive. Only time will tell whether these changes will promote growth for eBay… but, keep in mind – growth for eBay means more eBay buyers. And an increase in eBay buyers can translate to more customers. As sellers we can expect that this isn’t the last time we will see fee increases or policy changes. The best way to combat the potential negative impact of these changes is to build diversity into our business models. Putting all of your eggs into one basket is not a good idea. I recommend having multiple revenue streams coming into your business – just in case. I am not suggesting that you leave eBay (that is a decision you have to make based on what is best for your business)… I am suggesting that you take a creative look at where your revenue is coming from and consider creating additional streams of income. Whether that means selling as an eBay affiliate, building a non-eBay business that you can use eBay to drive traffic to, or starting some of your auctions at a penny – that’s up to you. But, you can bet that eBay is going to keep on changing… and to best take advantage of the incredible opportunity eBay provides, maybe we should be open to changing too.
Jenni Hunt
http://www.jennihunt.com
PS. I’ve been getting a lot of questions about BANS and eBay’s affiliate program – and I’m putting together an FAQ based on these questions that should be available in the next few days… I did want to quickly mention that BANS is sold through Clickbank – and Clickbank has a very strict policy that requires those who list their products with them offer an 8 week refund policy.
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2. Heads Up
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***HEADS**UP***
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Do your auctions need an overhaul? Are your competitors getting all the bids? The Auction Overhaul package is everything you need to give your listings a good kick in the pants… Learn valuable tips and techniques to listing your auction so it stands out from your competition… This is a hands ON program that includes worksheets, reports and a training video to walk you through every important step in listing an auction. http://www.auctionoverhaul.com
But, don’t use that link to purchase! Through Monday, March 3 – you can save $20 using this link: http://tinyurl.com/2zmlnh
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***HEADS**UP***
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How do you separate yourself from the competition on eBay? Stepping up your customer service is one way to set yourself apart and make an impression to increase repeat customers. One way to do this is to provide a coupon card in your package to your customer. Many sellers include a business card; however, I’m suggesting taking it a step further. Get customers coming back to your listings by sending them a card with a coupon on it. You could include a shipping discount… a dollar discount on their next purchase… something simple to bring them back to your listings.
If you have a website that is related to the products you are selling, I’d recommend using a card in your packages to entice your eBay customers to visit your website. Just including your website address (url) usually isn’t enough to get them to visit your site – get creative and make an offer will entice them. You could offer a discount of sorts for website sales… or maybe a free report on a topic that would be of interest. We’ll dig into these ideas in future issues…
Grab your customer’s attention by using these cool moo cards – http://www.moo.com
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Copyright 2008 Jenni Hunt, www.jennihunt.com