Starting an ebay shop

[David P]

After way too long getting everything together our ebay shop is about to go live and I was wondering if anyone had any tips for us on how to go about this in terms of getting our name out there.
Especially with the new best match search engine on there I am not quite sure how it is bezt for a new shop to get going. Maybe it will just have to be quite a slow build up of reputation really not sure.

[chris nangle furniture]

hi david what are you going to be selling on the shop ?
just curios as I sometimes sell on ebay and have ponderd the shop but then never done anything about it
good luck chris

[GeekSRV]

A good way, Is to buy a domain name that's relevant to your shop and put up a small holding page which you could update at regular intervals with links to best selling items in your shop or new arrivals.

[MH1]

In all honesty, everyone is struggling with the best match search criteria introduced on ebay.

From my own experience I would say:

Value for money will get you sales, as it always has.

Great feedback will get you sales

List 30 day BIN with high amounts if possible, rather than list 30 of the same item individually, perhaps list 4 lots of 8-9 at a time spread through the month.

It will take time, but gradually you will creep up the rankings.

One other thing, the new best match search on ebay seems to be dynamic, so each user on ebay searching for the same item can get totally different results. It's too early for anyone to claim they have the answers on the best match search yet.

[David P]

We currently sell leather goods things like wallets belts etc and we are going to start off with handbags before hopefully expanding if all goes well.

So if it is dynamic it sounds like it could take quite awhile before people work out what is applicable to most people when searching.

[ccjo]

We are silver powersellers & have sold through an Ebay shop for a couple of years now. We sell more from shop listings than auctions as a general rule.

With all the changes introduced these last couple of months it's hard to make suggestions but I would say:

feedback, feedback, feedback. Work hard at keeping your DSR ratings high & brace yourself for unfair feedback you can do nothing about.
Keeping prices a little higher in the shop works for us.
Ensure people can see your shop categories in every auction listing.

As for the new search set up - the jurys still out here! Best of luck anyway,

Jo

[David P]

Cheers jo
How much of a problem have you had with unfair negging? Is it something pretty much guranteed to happen then? We are quite worried about this because due to the nature of the leather our bags are made them they will alter in colour from the picture a little bit, is this the sort of thing that could cause a lot of problems?

[Christiane]

Cheers jo
How much of a problem have you had with unfair negging? Is it something pretty much guranteed to happen then? We are quite worried about this because due to the nature of the leather our bags are made them they will alter in colour from the picture a little bit, is this the sort of thing that could cause a lot of problems?

You need to be as specific as possible in your listings, mentioning colour may vary from the picture, etc. The more precise the description, the better. Check your potential competitors lsitings.

I sell an item and the average size is 7cm. I had a buyer telling me my description is incorrect, it should be 6.5cm, for the sake of 0.5mm!!!!!!

Just be prepared for silly questions, and, oh erm, a few parcels ''going missing'' in the post.

Ship fast and first class post (for your items you may want to send recorded), buyers don't want to wait and it's good for your feedbacks.

The dynamic best match search could still work for you, it's absolute nonesense so you might end up on page 1! Read a bit on the ebay shops forum, you'll see what I mean!

[MH1]

I've noticed a 50% reduction in traffic since the financial crisis in the USA, and the larger sellers are swamping listings, but still struggling to sell much.

Ebay has quite a few problems at the moment, which also translates to the sellers.

[ccjo]

Assume you'll get a few unfair negs & it won't hurt as much when they turn up!

All our negs have been unjustified in our view but that's irrelevant as you are judged on your DSR's & feedback so just bite your tongue & keep going.

As just.b says, all you can do is minimise the chances so the sensible buyer can see you are trying your best. Keep postage prices reasonable but post fast & always with some form of proof of postage. You'll be amazed how many items go missing......


Along with a very accurate description I recommend including nice clear images, lots of them with close ups & an indication of size in one photo (eg with a ruler next to the bag) & always of the item your selling not a stock photo. Might be worth including a statement saying something like

"natural materials do vary in colour/texture & by purchasing this bag you are accepting these natural variations as a feature of the item".

We also make reference to variations in display colours due to variations in monitor settings just to be sure!!

Don't forget to include your returns policy in your listings too.

Jo

[David P]

Yeah I think include somesort of a disclaimer is a great idea.
Been reading the shop forum on ebay and people seem generally unhappy with all the changes so It might be really bad timing us just starting lol.

[ccjo]

Yes, there are a lot of changes & we are keeping a very close eye on things like profit margin (ie accounting for the extra fees).

Don't forget though, Ebay is still of form of marketing: people need to see you to buy from you & we make many sales at full retail price on our website because they got a taste of us on Ebay. I'm no marketing expert but I remember the phrase "7 contacts before they buy" (or something similar!) & seeing you on Ebay is another chance.

On that note, make sure your 'About Me' page is up to date & useful to your customer. You can also put a link to your website on that page without risking getting listings pulled!

Better go do some work on my new Amazon shop - hoping to pick up some sales here that we have lost on Ebay this last couple of weeks!

Regards,

Jo

[Red Eye Media]

Have you considered running your own parallel online shop?
Our system is fully search engine optimised so if you have good content, you will get listed on the major search engines.

We would be happy to help if needed.

Regards
Richard Grove

[MH1]

You can also put a link to your website on that page without risking getting listings pulled!


Errrr, you might want to re-check that, lots of changes recently, that was one of them.

I can't remember when or if it has started but if it hasn't it is only a matter of a short time before there is no link allowed to your site.

[ccjo]

Thanks for the heads up - you can never rest on your laurels - better go checking the depths on Ebay t's & c's .......

Jo

[David P]

I reckon if they did stop that linking it could lose them quite a lot of sellers because many only use it advertising wise

[Christiane]

I had a live link in my listings and got nicely told off to remove them all. I have seen people with dead link ie. without the www, not sure if they are happy with that. I only keep a link in the About Me page now, like ccjo said.

[David P]

I think people with dead links are just waiting to have their listings pulled, doubt it is worth the risk

[Donkeysheep]

I agree with MH 1 it works for us.

we have an ebay shop smartkidsonline. follow the ebay shop reccommendations use RSS and ensure the wording in your shop description has plenty of key words in it. apart from you core items sell some differant stuff thats seasonal, that will pull additional customers in give more brand awareness, good items such as bicycles work well to bring in people. look at the stats pages and know when to finish your auctions. have a good mix of inventory, auction and buy it now.

crucially there is no science to this, ignore the how to guides for sale- time, effort and good customer care will provide results - just like any business - good luck