Pulling sales from ebay & amazon to own site

[patrick47]

Hi,

I am a long time lurker on the site, not really been able to add much in the past, so i apologise for my first post being a question.

Currently operate large Ebay and Amazon stores and also our own website. The website is currently being re-done and when launched (couple of weeks), we really want to drive traffic to our site and ideally pull sales away from ebay and amazon and divert to our site (Lots of money to be made from just cutting fees)

Already spend healthy chunks on PPC and run an SEO Campaign.

I assume there are lots of people trying to do this, if so, what techniques are you using and is it working.

Any suggestions welcome,

Thanks for your time.

Pat

 

[johndon68]

I know a lot of businesses who sell on eBay and, when they ship the goods to buyers, they include a flyer for their website...

John

 

[MH1]

You can try with ebay but amazon will kick you off if they even suspect you trying this.

All said and done it's not an easy thing too achieve, many ebay buyers like buying through the ebay site for the extra protection and power it gives them.

 

[johndon68]

amazon will kick you off if they even suspect you trying this.

Which is why I didn't mention Amazon in my reply.

On eBay, you can have your website linked to as long as it's on your 'Me' page and the link does not take you directly to a page on the site where it is possible to purchase anything...

John

 

[Merchant UK]

Hi,

I am a long time lurker on the site, not really been able to add much in the past, so i apologise for my first post being a question.

Currently operate large Ebay and Amazon stores and also our own website. The website is currently being re-done and when launched (couple of weeks), we really want to drive traffic to our site and ideally pull sales away from ebay and amazon and divert to our site (Lots of money to be made from just cutting fees)

Already spend healthy chunks on PPC and run an SEO Campaign.

I assume there are lots of people trying to do this, if so, what techniques are you using and is it working.

Any suggestions welcome,

Thanks for your time.

Pat

Hi Pat,

What i did when i had my ebay store was to include links back to my site with delivery options and T&C's. i also made my banners clicable back to my site and lastly i made sure my ebay prices were more expensive than my online store.

That way i found that more people were buying from my site as opposed to ebay, although i did managed to sell a few on ebay which was about £10 dearer.

Not sure about Amazon but my ebay store was up for well over a year with no problems. Good thing about ebay is that the Discription keywords do rather good on the google searches so really your just using it for marketing as opposed to actually selling

Good Luck

 

[MH1]

Which is why I didn't mention Amazon in my reply.

I never said you did, I was replying too the OP's wish to move business from Amazon and ebay to his own website.

 

[patrick47]

Thanks for the advice, flyers or modified invoices was somethng I was going to look into, plus my terms etc already link into my site.

Apart from that there's not really much which can be done.

 

[silvermusic]

It's something I've been actively trying to do for years with eBay. It's damn hard work, so much so that apart from the obvious like flyers in with package, links in emails, etc. I've given up. The percentage who do transfer over to your web site will be small, people feel safe buying on eBay and they have so much shoved down their throats about how unsafe it is to buy off eBay. Though I feel times are changing and buyers generally are getting smarter and a bit more savvy that there's more to life than eBay which has it's own internal economy.

Having said that, I no longer list all my stock on eBay, only that which sells fast and/or makes a decent margin, kind of like a showcase if you like. The more interesting and esoteric stock I keep only on the web site. Two different sets of customers is no bad thing either, it's worked quite well for me, though I appreciate it can be frustrating even when your web site prices and offers are better than on eBay. you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink, as my father use to be fond of saying.

 

[hagrid han]

Yeah,I too think the ebay is both safety and cheap. You can quickly get the goods,or get the payment.While if you truly wanna to do business,or in china,why not try alibaba.Seaching the products you need and the products you want to sell.Thank you!

 

[patrick47]

It's something I've been actively trying to do for years with eBay. It's damn hard work, so much so that apart from the obvious like flyers in with package, links in emails, etc. I've given up. The percentage who do transfer over to your web site will be small, people feel safe buying on eBay and they have so much shoved down their throats about how unsafe it is to buy off eBay. Though I feel times are changing and buyers generally are getting smarter and a bit more savvy that there's more to life than eBay which has it's own internal economy.

Having said that, I no longer list all my stock on eBay, only that which sells fast and/or makes a decent margin, kind of like a showcase if you like. The more interesting and esoteric stock I keep only on the web site. Two different sets of customers is no bad thing either, it's worked quite well for me, though I appreciate it can be frustrating even when your web site prices and offers are better than on eBay. you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink, as my father use to be fond of saying.

Times are changing, ebay is changing not the customers so much. Ebay is moving towards a marketplace like amazon, almost bribing its stores (through incentives like top rated seller) to offer the best service, so it can shake off the trust issues it has.

I feel there is a place for ebay as we all know, as there is a huge following, but gone are the days of being able to run a business solely through ebay as new rules are forever restricting the seller.

I think i'll have to stick with the flyers and emails then, but continue to pile money into my PPC and alternative advertising.

 

[JElder]

Also, build up your email list, and send out regular offers and updates - this will gain more business, and hopefully have them come to your site rather than elsewhere.

 

[paretowasright]

Also, build up your email list, and send out regular offers and updates - this will gain more business, and hopefully have them come to your site rather than elsewhere.

Jonathan...just to clarify are you saying get all the e-mail addresses of your e-bay customers and email market to them from your main online store?

 

[JElder]

Yup - unless you need to maintain two separate brand identities for other reasons.

Obviously ensuring you get opt-in permission!

You could even store where they purchased and use this in your email template, or set up a 'new customer' email that is sent x days after an eBay purchase with 'you may also be interested in...' and your top products on your site.

It all depends on you customer return rates and frequencies, but it's always worth trying to keep in touch with someone who has purchased from you in the past.

 

[silvermusic]

Yup - unless you need to maintain two separate brand identities for other reasons.

Obviously ensuring you get opt-in permission!

You could even store where they purchased and use this in your email template, or set up a 'new customer' email that is sent x days after an eBay purchase with 'you may also be interested in...' and your top products on your site.

It all depends on you customer return rates and frequencies, but it's always worth trying to keep in touch with someone who has purchased from you in the past.

A really quick way to loose you eBay account is for eBay to get compliants about being spammed, read the eBay user agreement carefully. I have actually known a seller lose their account for doing this. I'm not saying it doesn't go on, I know it does and the big brands are the worst culprits, but something to keep in mind. However, PayPal addresses is a different matter and no they're not always the same, so don't be tempted to use eBay addresses instead.

Same goes for Google checkout, if they've opted out, don't be tempted to add them anyway, Google take a very dim view of it.

 

[paretowasright]

Yup - unless you need to maintain two separate brand identities for other reasons.

Obviously ensuring you get opt-in permission!

You could even store where they purchased and use this in your email template, or set up a 'new customer' email that is sent x days after an eBay purchase with 'you may also be interested in...' and your top products on your site.

It all depends on you customer return rates and frequencies, but it's always worth trying to keep in touch with someone who has purchased from you in the past.

NOT a good idea if you want any future with e-bay.

 

[ppinc]

as far as I know you can contact the customers when you sold them something already (emails, flayers, newsletters, etc.) I think it is a good strategy...
of course both ebay and amazon do not like you trying to sell product you advertise on their website behind their backs...

 

[alanc]

as far as I know you can contact the customers when you sold them something already (emails, flayers, newsletters, etc.) I think it is a good strategy...
of course both ebay and amazon do not like you trying to sell product you advertise on their website behind their backs...

From the AMAZON SERVICES EUROPE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS AGREEMENT:
[You] will not, directly or indirectly: ...
(b) use any Amazon Transaction Information for any marketing or promotional purposes whatsoever
(e) target communications of any kind on the basis of the intended recipient being an Amazon.co.uk user

 

[Rainbow Chasers']

Package tape with your website address printed on.

Flyers are marketing - actually asking them to visit your site. Tape isn't - it gives them the opportunity, it suggests - it is just tape after all!

 

[paretowasright]

Package tape with your website address printed on.

Flyers are marketing - actually asking them to visit your site. Tape isn't - it gives them the opportunity, it suggests - it is just tape after all!

That is a good idea dependent on what product category you are in.
One of our clients in skincare had to remove their company name from the returns address as a lot of parcels were going 'missing' and it significantly reduced after they did it.

 

[alanc]

One of our clients in skincare had to remove their company name from the returns address as a lot of parcels were going 'missing' and it significantly reduced after they did it.

I heard of another company (different market sector) that had precisely the same experience.

 

[jules12345]

the art of making a website is the domain name.

they see it they smile they remember it

my site is called whiffyskunk.com

this is the real difference between being creative and having a chance and not being creative and being a sheep

simple

 

[paretowasright]

the art of making a website is the domain name.

they see it they smile they remember it

my site is called whiffyskunk.com

this is the real difference between being creative and having a chance and not being creative and being a sheep

simple

Jules what relevance does this have to the thread or were you on the Sherry last night!...please explain...

 

[patrick47]

the art of making a website is the domain name.

they see it they smile they remember it

my site is called whiffyskunk.com

this is the real difference between being creative and having a chance and not being creative and being a sheep

simple

I partly agree with what you say, but not entirely.

For people to remember your site you need a memorable domain, but it also has to be related to your business otherwise people wont remember it when they need it.

whiffyskunk, great dont get me wrong its different, but if in 2 years i needed you, would my head think of a smelly skunk. If the domain is creative and also linked to your business then i would (say whiffyskunkhosting or something as it would stand out, plus would be beneficial to an SEO campaign), for me theres a fine line between creativity and functionality/practicality.

Our domain is short (3 short words) personal to us and also includes our main search keyword so i would say bang on. Its memorable and SEO friendly.

 

Hi,

I am a long time lurker on the site, not really been able to add much in the past, so i apologise for my first post being a question.

Currently operate large Ebay and Amazon stores and also our own website. The website is currently being re-done and when launched (couple of weeks), we really want to drive traffic to our site and ideally pull sales away from ebay and amazon and divert to our site (Lots of money to be made from just cutting fees)

Already spend healthy chunks on PPC and run an SEO Campaign.

It would be best to e-mail your customers and tell them where you have moved / you have your own website. Close your eBay account and concentrate on promoting your website. Simple.

I don't think diliberately spamming customers/ users just to close your account is wise in the long run; as somebody else suggested; it could damage your relations with eBay in future if you ever needed to use them again.

 

[paretowasright]

The BS. about safe buying on E Bay and Amazon is based on their feedback system which is a total rip off to sellers.
The buyer will come to you just be patient and work on policy which is favorable to buyers same time do not tolerate stealing and both E Bay and Amazon do encourage that.
I truly believe that any client will come to you if you do offer better price and after all e bay and amazon add to your price at least 20% if not more .
Peter

I totally disagree with this as if you price your items up 20% all your competitors will clean up unless you are in a niche market with no competitors