Using ebay to drive traffic to your site

[japancool]

Has anyone done this successfully and got any tips/success stories to share?

The ebay fees are so high that using it as a sales platform (for me) is just not practical if I want to stay competitive and make a decent margin, so I don't actually want any sales from it, just the exposure.

 

[wayzgoose]

I would say that the competition is fierce on Ebay and there are far too many sellers willing to make 50p on a sale (or a loss!) but I really don't think that the fees are high for the exposure that you get. Personally, I've always found that Ebay buyers buy on Ebay and it's quite difficult to get them to transfer to your site.

 

[antropy]

The ebay fees are so high that using it as a sales platform (for me) is just not practical if I want to stay competitive and make a decent margin

A lot of people think this, but it's not always true. There are plenty of eBay sellers that make very decent sales and a very decent margin. You just need to make sure that you can get good enough prices from your suppliers and that your operation is efficient.

Also what makes you think that if you can't be sell on eBay you'll be able to sell through your own website? In many ways it's harder to sell through your own website because you're competing with the entire Internet, not just other eBay sellers.

So I think the best thing to do is to become competitive and make sales on eBay and have your own website too and you'll find that slowly both of them will begin to make sales.

 

[japancool]

A lot of people think this, but it's not always true. There are plenty of eBay sellers that make very decent sales and a very decent margin. You just need to make sure that you can get good enough prices from your suppliers and that your operation is efficient.

Also what makes you think that if you can't be sell on eBay you'll be able to sell through your own website? In many ways it's harder to sell through your own website because you're competing with the entire Internet, not just other eBay sellers.

So I think the best thing to do is to become competitive and make sales on eBay and have your own website too and you'll find that slowly both of them will begin to make sales.

Sadly, for me, it is true.

I can't compete on ebay sellers who are shipping directly from the Far East. My cost prices aren't low enough at this stage, and they don't have to charge VAT. I can compete with them when I sell through my own site.

What makes me think I can sell through my site? Well, I'm already doing it.

I don't need ebay publicity, but if I could find a good way to utilise it, I will - after all, why not? It's another channel, but if it's not economical, then it's not practical.

I disagree that you're competing with the whole internet if you're selling through your own website. Effectively, you're only competing with the sites on the first few page results and as long as your SEO is good, it's very feasible. I operate in a niche market, and I'm now in the top five for certain key terms and rising on others.

I'm just looking to see what other people have done and if it can apply to me.

 

[antropy]

Very interesting reply.

Personally when I'm shopping on eBay, even if I'm trying to get the best deal, I may often choose the lowest price of the UK sellers. Shipping from the far east takes far too long for most eBayers and I've had problems with the quality of items.

Well that's good that you're selling enough to be VAT registered, your site must be doing quite well.

I still think you should concentrate on finding a way to sell your products on eBay, perhaps you need to get lower prices from suppliers, perhaps you need to get really good listing designs and push the UK supplier/high quality aspect?

 

[japancool]

Very interesting reply.

Personally when I'm shopping on eBay, even if I'm trying to get the best deal, I may often choose the lowest price of the UK sellers. Shipping from the far east takes far too long for most eBayers and I've had problems with the quality of items.

Because of what I sell (Japanese hobby kits and toys), quality isn't an issue - people are looking for that specific product rather than a substitute - that is to say, they're not looking for a generic kit, but they're specifically looking for an X-Wing fighter made by a particular supplier. But the point you make about looking for the lowest price is very true on ebay, that's the problem. They'll usually go for the one that's 50p cheaper. People coming to my site are usually looking for a UK supplier.

Many customers are prepared to pay a premium for a UK reseller and there's a fair amount of interest from customers in other European countries too, which I hadn't really considered. That's one in favour of the EU!

Well that's good that you're selling enough to be VAT registered, your site must be doing quite well.

I'm below the VAT threshold, but I reckon it's advantageous to be VAT registered. While I'm in my startup phase, which I am at the moment, it helps with cashflow as I can claim back for startup costs. As a new entrant, I think it also gives potential customers a level of comfort to see that they're dealing with a limited and vat registered company. And anyway, if all goes according to plan, I will pass the threshold at some stage. I've managed to reach my first year monthly sales target in my second proper month of operation (although to be fair, the target was quite low), so that's good, I need to maintain the momentum. I'm always on the lookout for opportunities for publicity, so ebay was/is a potential outlet.

I still think you should concentrate on finding a way to sell your products on eBay, perhaps you need to get lower prices from suppliers, perhaps you need to get really good listing designs and push the UK supplier/high quality aspect?

The UK/European supplier thing is the main USP. I'll eventually be able to get costs down once I've established a track record but I can't put prices up too high, otherwise people will buy the same products from the Far East direct. I'll probably have to drop the idea until my costs fall enough to make it practical.

Ultimately, the plan is to conquer the European-wide market, but that might have to wait until next week.

 

[TotallySport]

out of interest, do you sell on ebay? and if so whay is the percentage of sales on ebay compared to direct customers to your site? also how do you advertise your site?

 

[japancool]

out of interest, do you sell on ebay? and if so whay is the percentage of sales on ebay compared to direct customers to your site? also how do you advertise your site?

No, my business doesn't sell on ebay. I originally used ebay to test the market and gauge if demand was there at the price I was going to sell at.

I advertise my site using AdWords and Facebook, but I'm going to wind down those campaigns soon. Now that my SEO is working and I've built an audience, I don't really need them. I decided to take the plunge and spend a fairly substantial sum on SEO (substantial compared to the rest of the investment I've put into the business).

The most effective form of advertising has probably been on community sites. Site promotion takes up most of the time I have to work on this business nowadays.

 

[TotallySport]

who is managing your facebook and PPC campaigns?

 

[JJWinst]

I too would like to know this^

May I suggest listing your item's on eBay at the price you wish to sell at. If you get no sales, you get no sales, however your company name will be on the site and you may get some click throughs on your site by customers "googling" your shop name..

It may even be worth operating at a lower margin on eBay and the purchases you get try to push them customers to your site (i,e by sending them an email after their purchase, a leaflet in the package etc..)

 

[TotallySport]

for clarification I don't want to know a who specifically, I want to know if its you or are you out sourcing it, and if its you how much time are you putting into it.

 

[japancool]

who is managing your facebook and PPC campaigns?

Me at the moment.

The actual campaigns largely run themselves, although I could probably optimise the AdWords campaign some more. My CPC is around 14p, I'm sure I could bring that down.

Managing the Facebook page takes a bit more time, but I try to keep it updated fairly regularly. Not every day but I try to do at least one update a week or whenever I have something to say. I wasn't a regular Facebook user myself before I created the business page, so I started off kind of using it as an advertising site but now that I understand what gets people engaged a bit better, it's been more effective.

 

[TotallySport]

Right, at present I think your looking at things from the wrong direction.

I am under the impression that your looking at you business on a sale to sale basic, eg you buy x for £10, sell it for £20 and therefore your business is working well.

IMO and you will get this point over time, but you should look at it as, your business has total takings of £1000 and you purchased them for £500, and your costs are £350, so your net profit is £150, now your business s doing well.

Basically your happy to pay a fee for advertising your products in search engines organic results, and get a professional to do it, but your not prepared to do that elsewhere.

I would be trying to build my turnover quickly, doing this will also give you the ability to buy more products and build a bigger client base, both will allow you to bring marketing costs down and to bring buying prices down.

Look at taking on someone to do your PPC, that should be bringing in money, but it will take time and effort to research what works and what doesn't.

Ebay can work, think of the charges are advertising fees, trying to find things that work, and use that to drive sales on ebay and then drive those users to your site.

Also look at amazon, the market is much bigger there.

 

[japancool]

I understand your point, and you are right, I looked at it in that way when I started the business.

My issue with ebay are, in a nutshell:
1) Will I get repeat business from ebay buyers? Will I be able to convince them to come to the site rather than buy from ebay? If the answer is no, and they just continue to buy on ebay, that is ultimately not the primary sales channel I want to use, because it won't be a sustainable business in the long run.
2) How effective is it compared to the other areas in which I am spending my marketing budget at the moment?

Now, I don't know the answer to these questions at the moment. The goal of any ebay selling will ultimately be to drive buyers to the site. If buyers can just buy from me on ebay, what incentive is there for them to come to my site? That's what this thread is really about, not about successful selling on ebay.

I already get people coming to the site from ebay, by virtue of AdWords. These buyers are, by their very nature, interested in looking at a UK retailer, as that's what my ad makes pretty clear. So will direct selling on ebay be more cost effective than that?

I don't really know the answer to that right now, and I have to choose where I spend my marketing budget, otherwise it would be too easy to let my CPA spiral through the roof.

 

[ronnie7272]

1) Will I get repeat business from ebay buyers? Will I be able to convince them to come to the site rather than buy from ebay? If the answer is no, and they just continue to buy on ebay, that is ultimately not the primary sales channel I want to use, because it won't be a sustainable business in the long run.

The answer is yes. Stick a letter, leaflet or catalogue in with the packaging you send to the ebay customer. Encourage them to go to your website. If need be, stick a discount code on the sales literature. Perhaps you can offer a free gift but they need to go to the website and register (join your mailing list) to receive the free gift. There are loads of methods you can use to entice an ebay customer to becomes a website customer. Maybe include a free promotional gift in with the first order e.g. A branded mug or you can be creative and brand something else which your specific target audience would really appreciate.

 

[moo-tique]

Hi,

In the early stages of launching our business, we focused heavily on using eBay as our prime method of advertising our products. Being a niche product, it was a good way of testing the marketing not only from a cost point of view, but also getting an idea of what products where selling above the rest. It was also a good way of introducing our products whilst our website was still in development.

Moving on 12 months, and now that our website has been up and running for some time, we use eBay for an entirely different reason now, marketing our website. Every week, we list 2/3 items at a competitive price and marked slightly lower from our website price as well as offering free postage. In most cases it doesn't generate any sales for us but what it does do quite well is get people on our website.

Make your listing as attractive as possible to get people interested and let the rest take care of itself.

 

[japancool]

Hi,

In the early stages of launching our business, we focused heavily on using eBay as our prime method of advertising our products. Being a niche product, it was a good way of testing the marketing not only from a cost point of view, but also getting an idea of what products where selling above the rest. It was also a good way of introducing our products whilst our website was still in development.

Moving on 12 months, and now that our website has been up and running for some time, we use eBay for an entirely different reason now, marketing our website. Every week, we list 2/3 items at a competitive price and marked slightly lower from our website price as well as offering free postage. In most cases it doesn't generate any sales for us but what it does do quite well is get people on our website.

Make your listing as attractive as possible to get people interested and let the rest take care of itself.

Are you allowed to put details of your website in your listing? If it doesn't generate a lot of sales, how do you get people from the listing to the website? Mine is also a niche product, so I'm interested to hear any tips.

 

[eldevs]

I think this is a rumor that goes around the net for people who are desperate enough to drive traffic to their site. Personally, I don't think ebay is an advisable method to get traffic. Not unless you're selling just a very popular brand at a very low price. That might urge me to read an ad and probably hit on the link.

 

[TotallySport]

I think this is a rumor that goes around the net for people who are desperate enough to drive traffic to their site. Personally, I don't think ebay is an advisable method to get traffic. Not unless you're selling just a very popular brand at a very low price. That might urge me to read an ad and probably hit on the link.

Do you or have you sold on ebay as a businesses?

 

[japancool]

I think this is a rumor that goes around the net for people who are desperate enough to drive traffic to their site. Personally, I don't think ebay is an advisable method to get traffic. Not unless you're selling just a very popular brand at a very low price. That might urge me to read an ad and probably hit on the link.

What's a rumour?

 

[beasty]

What's a rumour?

I cannot confirm it but I heard from a guy that knows a guy that his little sisters youngest cousins best mates drunken teacher reckons its a way of informal and crappy info being passed around, eventually someone will feel like they KNOW STUFF.

Knowledge gained only from the internet is not worth the paper it is written on, but this is just a rumour

 

[japancool]

I cannot confirm it but I heard from a guy that knows a guy that his little sisters youngest cousins best mates drunken teacher reckons its a way of informal and crappy info being passed around, eventually someone will feel like they KNOW STUFF.

Knowledge gained only from the internet is not worth the paper it is written on, but this is just a rumour

I want to know what exactly the poster I quoted claims is a rumour. The bit about ebay being used to drive traffic to people's sites perhaps? That's the point of this thread.

 

[japancool]

I think you will use a free services which are provided by amazon.

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean. I don't sell on Amazon and am not planning to any time in the near future.

 

[joshgeake]

I would say that the competition is fierce on Ebay and there are far too many sellers willing to make 50p on a sale (or a loss!) but I really don't think that the fees are high for the exposure that you get. Personally, I've always found that Ebay buyers buy on Ebay and it's quite difficult to get them to transfer to your site.

Add I've got exactly the same experience from people that buy on Amazon. They're all single line orders, they're all low value and they never come back directly. You can't even market directly to them.

Amazon's great if you want to boost your turnover but I really question whether it's worth it for profitability.

As for FBA, here's an example...

The RRP for a book on FBA is £4.99. The FBA selling fee for that is £1.96 meaning you need to be buying it for at least £3.03 (40% discount) to make a profit.

Now that may be possible but say the book actually sells for £3.49 (because of the marketplace effect) and you're now paying £1.73 for the FBA fee. You're going to have to be buying it for less than £1.76 to turn a profit, that's a massive 65% supplier discount. Add to that the cost of getting it to Amazon and the cost of their storage if it doesn't shift within a number of days...it doesn't add up for low value or highly available product.

I've come to the conclusion that Amazon's either going to destroy online business or destroy itself.

 

[14Steve14]

Are you allowed to put details of your website in your listing? If it doesn't generate a lot of sales, how do you get people from the listing to the website? Mine is also a niche product, so I'm interested to hear any tips.

Links to take someone away from ebay and buy elsewhere are not permitted. What you can do is to add a watermark to the image, you can mention the website and that is about it. Once you have made a sale, you can add details of your website into the order that you have taken. A business card can be added, and any other promotional thing you can think of. The theory is that the ebay buyer know knows of your websitew and might purchase from there. (I included a website price list which had cheaper prices than on ebay)

 

[silvermusic]

What you can do is to add a watermark to the image, you can mention the website and that is about it.

Be careful what advice you give out, taken directly from eBay and coming in to affect in the next few weeks....

Can I use watermarks in my picture?


Yes. Watermarks are allowed for the purpose of establishing picture ownership to protect your intellectual property. Watermarks are only permitted for ownership and attribution and need to meet the following guidelines.

Watermarks:

•May not be used for marketing.
•May not obscure the image in the picture.
•May only use an eBay user ID or company name.
•May not contain specific information about your product or customer service.
•Must be no bigger than 5% of your picture and at a transparency level of no more than 50%

Once you have made a sale, you can add details of your website into the order that you have taken. A business card can be added, and any other promotional thing you can think of. The theory is that the ebay buyer know knows of your websitew and might purchase from there. (I included a website price list which had cheaper prices than on ebay)

I've never understood the logic of telling someone who's just bought something from you on ebay that it's cheaper on your web site. As a customer I would be very pee'd off and feel cheated, it certainly wouldn't make me want to do business with you again. If you're going to try to get people from ebay to your web site make sure that those products on both are the same price, there's good reason I only put a limited number of line on ebay, it's a showcase.

However, having said that, getting ebay buyers over to your web site has got very much harder over the years. Buyers are continually warned not to deal outside of ebay and many like the fluffy security that buying on ebay gives. You will get some who'll happily buy from you directly but don't beat yourself up too much trying.

eBay buyers tend to be the least profitable and most demanding buyers generally, I'd much rather attract non-ebay customers who spend far more per transaction.

 

[14Steve14]

I've never understood the logic of telling someone who's just bought something from you on ebay that it's cheaper on your web site. As a customer I would be very pee'd off and feel cheated, it certainly wouldn't make me want to do business with you again. If you're going to try to get people from ebay to your web site make sure that those products on both are the same price, there's good reason I only put a limited number of line on ebay, it's a showcase.

Most people I have spoken to, and advice gained from these forums, is to charge more for items on ebay than you do on your website. Selling on ebay incurs more costs and charges that from selling from a website, so charge more, cover your costs. If you dont cover costs you will be out of business quickly. My last listings contained a warning that the products may have been available cheaper on our website. That alone increased web sales. No mention was made of the website, only the business name so people could search for the site. Not against ebay rules. Adding a business card, a price list and a business invoice had an effect. Ebay customers weree looking at the site and did indeed buy from the site, so it is possible to get ebayers out of ebay.

When I said about adding a watermark to ebay images I was fully aware of the rules. You can put your business name on the image, as long as it complies with the guidelines.

 

[silvermusic]

Most people I have spoken to, and advice gained from these forums, is to charge more for items on ebay than you do on your website. Selling on ebay incurs more costs and charges that from selling from a website, so charge more, cover your costs. If you dont cover costs you will be out of business quickly. My last listings contained a warning that the products may have been available cheaper on our website. That alone increased web sales. No mention was made of the website, only the business name so people could search for the site. Not against ebay rules. Adding a business card, a price list and a business invoice had an effect. Ebay customers weree looking at the site and did indeed buy from the site, so it is possible to get ebayers out of ebay.

I'm well aware of eBay costs, been selling on there for well over a decade with 20,000+ feedback. ;-) However, my point still stands, as a customer I don't care about what any particular venue costs your business, your costs are of no concern to me. Rubbing my nose in it that you're charging less for the same product I've just bought from you if I had bought it via a different venue??? With my customer hat on I'd be really annoyed. Also, advertising anything on an ebay listing that's outside of ebay no matter how clever you may think you are is playing with fire nowadays. In the old days you could get away with all sorts of stuff.

As for the mechanics of costs to your business and what prices/margins are, only you can decide whether something is worth putting on eBay. In my case I make enough profit to quite happily call eBay a bonus but at a reduced margin. With the advantage that if you have the right product it can sell huge quantities very quickly. I see far too many people put entire ranges of everything possible on eBay no matter what the margin after ebay costs. To my mind that's the wrong way of doing things.

 

[Rough Outline]

Japancool, what's your website? PM me if you want.

 

[japancool]

Japancool, what's your website? PM me if you want.

I can do, but why do you ask?

 

[japancool]

I'm well aware of eBay costs, been selling on there for well over a decade with 20,000+ feedback. ;-) However, my point still stands, as a customer I don't care about what any particular venue costs your business, your costs are of no concern to me. Rubbing my nose in it that you're charging less for the same product I've just bought from you if I had bought it via a different venue??? With my customer hat on I'd be really annoyed. Also, advertising anything on an ebay listing that's outside of ebay no matter how clever you may think you are is playing with fire nowadays. In the old days you could get away with all sorts of stuff.

As for the mechanics of costs to your business and what prices/margins are, only you can decide whether something is worth putting on eBay. In my case I make enough profit to quite happily call eBay a bonus but at a reduced margin. With the advantage that if you have the right product it can sell huge quantities very quickly. I see far too many people put entire ranges of everything possible on eBay no matter what the margin after ebay costs. To my mind that's the wrong way of doing things.

I sort of came to the same conclusion. I use ebay personally to buy and sell, and I don't want my personal account suspended if my business account gets into trouble.

The only way I can see around the issue of customers being annoyed that something they've just bought is available more cheaply on the website is to put some high-profile items on ebay that I don't put on the website as a loss-leader. But equally, if they're high profile and will attract viewers on ebay, then I want to sell those directly through my site and not for naff all profit or a loss on ebay.

I feel there's more scope to own and engage with the customer if they buy through my website. I don't know how other people use ebay, but I look at what I want to buy first and then look at the seller second. If it's a seller who I've bought from before, that's great, I know what to expect, but I'm not necessarily looking to buy from that seller, I'm looking for the best price. It would be a deciding factor only if two sellers had the same, or similar prices.

 

[silvermusic]

The only way I can see around the issue of customers being annoyed that something they've just bought is available more cheaply on the website is to put some high-profile items on ebay that I don't put on the website as a loss-leader. But equally, if they're high profile and will attract viewers on ebay, then I want to sell those directly through my site and not for naff all profit or a loss on ebay.

You can't do it, eBay is a venue for selling product, not a place to advertise your business off eBay. Considering selling at a loss on ebay is commercial suicide, bargain hunters will find and buy your product on ebay at rock bottom prices. Your lack of profit won't worry them, they buy via eBay for their security and peace of mind. If you can't make a sensible margin on specific products when you sell them on eBay then there's a simple answer, don't.

I feel there's more scope to own and engage with the customer if they buy through my website. I don't know how other people use ebay, but I look at what I want to buy first and then look at the seller second. If it's a seller who I've bought from before, that's great, I know what to expect, but I'm not necessarily looking to buy from that seller, I'm looking for the best price. It would be a deciding factor only if two sellers had the same, or similar prices.

Bit of advice, the vast majority of eBay buyers are price whores seeking out the very best price they can, pennies difference can mean the difference between selling hundreds or nothing. They don't care much between one dealer and the next most of the time. eBay is full of busy fools selling at silly prices and going bust, and there's plenty more to fill their boots when they do.

eBay can work well provided you know what you're doing. It's all too easy to get into price wars especially on popular lines. You need to also think of them as eBay's customers, not yours. If the numbers work for you to sell on eBay great, if they don't then spend money elsewhere to gain sales on your own site.

 

[Risky]

you can also use fiverr to drive traffic as potential customers will see that you are reliable and then you can ask some of your more loyal customers to look at your website for a wider rang eof options, deals etc

 

[japancool]

you can also use fiverr to drive traffic as potential customers will see that you are reliable and then you can ask some of your more loyal customers to look at your website for a wider rang eof options, deals etc

How would I use fiverr to drive traffic to my site? I'm not selling a service, and there's nothing I sell that starts at $5. I don't see how it's going to make my potential customers think I'm reliable.

 

[HobbyMounts]

MAILCHIMP!

Set up a Mailchimp account, link it to your PayPal account, every customer that buys on Ebay will be added to an email campaign list which you can then send emails too promoting your website, special offers, etc.

Works like an absolute charm, just don't over-do the emails and make them something special!

I got about 500 new subscribers in around two weeks and it's growing every day.

For me, Ebay isn't great for profit either but it has other benefits.

 

[silvermusic]

MAILCHIMP!

Set up a Mailchimp account, link it to your PayPal account, every customer that buys on Ebay will be added to an email campaign list which you can then send emails too promoting your website, special offers, etc.

Works like an absolute charm, just don't over-do the emails and make them something special!

I got about 500 new subscribers in around two weeks and it's growing every day.

For me, Ebay isn't great for profit either but it has other benefits.

I would suggest you read the eBay User Agreement and Privacy Policy VERY carefully before doing this, you're playing with fire.

 

[HobbyMounts]

Mailing lists
Sellers are allowed to invite other members to join a mailing list as long as the email is related to a transaction and the mailing list invitation is not the primary purpose of the email.

I don't see there is a problem?

However, the mailing list is generated via PayPal not Ebay, so maybe their t&c's are more important than Ebays?

 

[14Steve14]

I would suggest you read the eBay User Agreement and Privacy Policy VERY carefully before doing this, you're playing with fire.

I would not bother reading any of those policies, I would be more concerned about your customers details being added to a mailing list without their permission. As with all mailing lists you have to opt in rather than opt out, but you do have to give the customer the option.

You are palying with fire by not giving the customer the option. Data protection is important and the ICO (Information Commisioners Office) would frown upon adding customers without their knowledge or permission.

Have a carefull read of this page http://www.ico.org.uk/for_organisat...onic_communications/the_guide/electronic_mail

 

[14Steve14]

Forgot to add the very first line of your websites privacy policy

We are committed to protecting your privacy. We will only use the information that we collect about you lawfully in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998

 

[HobbyMounts]

Thanks for the info Steve, that link was very interesting.

What is 'soft opt-in' (Regulation 22(3))?


This is what the law states:
You may send or instigate the sending of electronic mail for marketing purposes to an individual subscriber where:

• you have obtained the contact details of the recipient in the course of a sale or negotiations for the sale of a product or service to that recipient;
• the direct marketing material you are sending relates to your similar products and services only; and
• the recipient was given a simple means of refusing (free of charge except for the cost of transmission) the use of their contact details for marketing purposes when those details were initially collected and, if they did not refuse the use of those details, at the time of each subsequent communication.

If you satisfy these criteria, you do not need prior consent to send marketing by electronic mail to individual subscribers. If you cannot satisfy these criteria, you must not send marketing by electronic mail to individual subscribers without their prior consent.

I'm guessing Mailchimp have it covered in that if someone has bought from you on Ebay/PayPal, then you have obtained the contact details of the recipient in the course of a sale or negotiations for the sale of a product or service to that recipient;


I think that shows the way Mailchimp works is perfectly legal.