Effective Advertising and Info Management

If your items aren’t selling, then you might have a bad pricing strategy. There as many pricing strategies in the world as there are buyers - if you look at two businesses selling the same thing, often the only difference you’ll be able to find between them is pricing.

The ‘Few Dollars More’ Strategy.

Here’s something you might not have thought of. If you set your auction’s starting price to what you would usually charge for Buy it Now, while setting the Buy it Now price a few dollars above, you can make a profit by setting off an interesting psychological reaction in the buyer’s mind.

Here’s what they’ll think. They want the item, but why should they bother bidding for it? After all, they could use Buy it Now for just a few dollars more, and be sure of getting it! Doing things this way makes the value of the Buy it Now option extra clear to the buyer, and makes them more willing to pay extra for the privilege.

The ‘One Dollar Less’ Strategy.

This is simple, but requires you to keep an eagle eye on your competition. As soon as they start a Buy it Now auction for an item you stock, start an auction for one of those items yourself. Match the title closely, but price your item one dollar less than theirs. This will mean that your auctions will sit together in the search results, and who’s going to see both and go for the one that’s a dollar more expensive?

The ‘Free Shipping’ Strategy.

Buyers really hate paying for shipping. With Buy it Now, you might find it easier to incorporate the shipping cost into the main price of the item, and then write “free shipping” in the auction’s title. You’d be surprised how many buyers would prefer to pay one price including shipping for the auction, instead of having shipping added on at the checkout. Again, this is psychological: they pay the same at the end, but it doesn’t feel like they’ve paid an unnecessary ‘extra’ cost for Internet shopping.

The ‘Go for It’ Strategy.

If you’d like a slightly more risky strategy, try this. List your item for the maximum duration (ten days), starting the listing on a Thursday so it goes across two weekends and finishes on a Sunday. Set the starting price to the minimum (one cent).

What you’re trying to do here is give bidders as long as possible to discover your auction, so that they push the price up themselves. Pay for a few upgrades like bold and highlight, to give them a helping hand. If you do this right, you can make a much bigger profit than you would have with any Buy it Now price, especially with a medium or high value item.

Since running your auction for longer means that more people see it, you should always take the longest duration of ten days, right? Not always. In the next email, we’ll talk about how long your eBay auction should run for.

Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

ABOUT EBAY:

Founded in September 1995, EBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) is The World’s Online Marketplace® for the sale of goods and services by a diverse community of individuals and small businesses. Today, the EBay community includes more than a hundred million registered members from around the world. People spend more time on EBay than any other online site, making it the most popular shopping destination on the Internet.

WHY SELL ON EBAY?

Generally people sell on EBay to supplement their income, liquidate an estate, to rid of unwanted items from their collections, or use it in lieu of a yard sale to sell things that they no longer want or need. Becoming even more common are those sellers who purchase new products at wholesale prices and re-sell them on EBay for a profit. You don’t have to sell full-time on EBay though. You can sell as many or as few items as you want. It’s a great money making hobby. Keep your day job and sell on EBay in the evenings and on the weekends.

The more work that you put into selling on EBay, the more money you are typically going to make. This is very appealing to many sellers. However, selling on EBay, like any other business, can be hard work. A big motivation for those that end up selling on EBay is the desire to own a business; to be their own boss. EBay is perfect for starting a small sales business because of the low initial set-up costs - it’s low risk.

REGISTERING ON EBAY:

If you do not already have an account with EBay, you’ll have register in order to buy or sell on the EBay auction site. For buyers, all that EBay requires is your name, address, e-mail and telephone number. For sellers, you’ll also need to provide credit card information. EBay uses a secure system to receive your credit card number, so there is no risk that anyone can intercept your credit card number. If buying on EBay, there will be no charge. If you sell on EBay, your credit card will be automatically charged on a monthly basis for any listing fees and commissions.

EBAY/AUCTION PRICING:

Most items sold on EBay are sold for between $5 and $50. Partly because there are just more items that happen to fall into that range of values, and partly because most buyers are comfortable spending that amount on an Internet auction.

EBAY/AUCTION DESCRIPTIONS:

Writing a thorough and accurate item description can be a big challenge for sellers, especially new ones, when creating an auction listing. Search other listings similar to yours and create and produce an informative, professional description of the item(s) you are selling.

What is the secret to making money on EBay?

Attract as many bids as possible and bring back repeat customers!

How do you attract bids and bring back repeat customers?

Establish credibility, present your auctions professionally, offer a guarantee, include a photograph of your item, and maintain an exemplary feedback record. Always ensure your customers are happy, and they always will be if you provide an accurate description.

Remember, when an EBay buyer bids on one of your auctions they are not initiating a transaction with a well-established company with a proven track record like an Amazon.com, they are placing their trust in someone who could very easily no longer be in business tomorrow. The only thing that the buyer has available to them to assess the legitimacy of your auction is your EBay feedback record and the quality of your EBay auction listing. The goal of your EBay auction should be to differentiate your auction from the others by convincing bidders that what you’re selling is legitimate, and that when paid, you’ll quickly deliver the product in excellent condition.

Once you are comfortable with your EBay business, you can incorporate that business with a retail business by starting your own website and web presence.

Shannon Davidson

http://www.officesetting.com

Shannon has been performing virtual assistance for over 13 years. She provides administrative and technical services such as transcription, data entry, logo design, web creation, and many other services to businesses and individuals. Shannon is also a freelance writer and provides articles and research information to businesses and individuals.