April 2008
Welcome to the April Issue of Bidding Frenzy.
eBay's finally taken a breather from earth-shattering core changes this month. So take advantage of the lull to explore some new eBay strategies...
At the top of the list, our feature article this month tells you how to take advantage of one of the biggest social networking sites around -- so you can get even more exposure for your listings!
We'll also fill you in on eBay's latest security measures -- and what you NEED to do to list your items from more than one computer.
Always wanted to start your own web store, but didn't want to invest the money to try it out? Find out how to get your own eBay ProStore -- FREE -- for six months!
And if you've been considering earning money promoting your own products through eBay's in-house affiliate program, find out how eBay's made it even easier for you!
To new eBay profit streams!
2. Updates on eBay Live! 2008
We reported last month that this year's eBay Live! will be held on June 19 - 21 in Chicago.
It's three days of seminars, demos, networking, and flat-out FUN, all built around making your buying and selling experiences successful.
Here's the latest on eBay Live!
- Hotel Discounts and FREE shuttle service
Special hotel room rates are available for attendees (first come, first served) -- http://pages.ebay.com/ebaylive/hoteltravel/ -- with a free shuttle service between the hotels and the event.
- Agenda Builder
Registered users have access to an Agenda Builder that can be used to pick out the event sessions, labs and discussions.
- And Finally -- The Headline Act
This year's eBay Gala headliner will be Grammy-nominated artist Chris Isaak!
- Register for eBay Live by April 30th and save $45.
3. Tell eBay where to find you so nobody can hijack your account!
Any site that boasts millions of members is bound to run into privacy and safety issues. Hackers and scammers will find a way to mess with just about any system, so it's a relief to note that eBay is keeping an eye on holes in their own security.
eBay has just launched a Trusted Selling with Identity Confirmation program to stop the criminals who steal eBay members' account information and use it to defraud people.
It starts with phony emails that trick members into clicking a link and entering their eBay User ID and password. Then the scammers list items in that person's name... accepting payment for items without shipping anything to the buyers.
| Protect yourself from identity theft on eBay. Visit the Security & Resolution Center and learn how to spot fake emails! |
These bad guys are getting increasingly sophisticated. To combat them, eBay's security team is now collecting data on the specific computers you use to conduct your buying and selling activity.
Once they have this information collated, eBay will check up on any selling activity on your account from a different computer. This should happen sometime in June.
So if you try to list an item for sale from a friend's computer, or one in a hotel business center, you'll receive an automated call to the phone number you have registered... to confirm it is really you. You may also be prompted to verify your identity in other ways.
For the moment, this new security measure only applies to sellers, although it could be extended to buyers in the future.
IMPORTANT... update your registered phone numbers!
News of this added security is very welcome! Just remember that you NEED to make sure your contact details are current so you don't run into any problems down the road.And if you have a cell phone, it's a good idea to make sure that number is listed as well, so you can be contacted wherever you are.
Update your contact information now at Update eBay Registration Information.
Workshop May 6th
eBay's Trust & Safety team will be hosting a workshop about the new Trusted Selling with Identity Confirmation program on May 6, during which they'll be discussing the system in more detail and fielding questions.
Check the General Announcements board for more information about participating in the workshop.
4. Feature Article: Facebooking with eBay
In a melding of two great online communities, you can now list your eBay auctions on Facebook!
If you haven't already signed up to Facebook and have been wondering what all the fuss is about, it's one of the most popular social networking sites on the Internet today.
Facebook members post information about what they're doing or thinking, news, photos, their interests... just about anything really. You can also become "friends" with people you know, or people you meet through the website.
Your friends are automatically updated when you add information to your profile, which allows them keep an eye on what you're up to.
If you're already a Facebook user, you'll be familiar with the News Feed that shows up on your Home page -- this is where your friend updates appear. It looks a bit like this...
You can see that all sorts of information is posted in the News Feed, including advertisements. Most Facebook members check their Home page regularly, so they know what their friends are up to.
The News Feed is also interactive. If you notice a friend joining a group that appeals to you, for example, you can click the link and check it out for yourself. (The linked text is blue.)
So, what does this all have to do with eBay?
Well... now you can show your eBay listings in the Facebook News Feeds. That means all your Facebook friends will see your auctions when they appear... which instantly gives you a much larger audience.
Here's how it works...
Go to your selling preferences in My eBay to link your Facebook profile to your eBay account, or use the link on the "Congratulations" page after you've listed an item through the Sell Your Item form.
After that, whenever you list a new item, it will automatically be included in Facebook News Feed.
If you've never shared a listing with Facebook before, you'll get an invitation whenever you successfully list an item.
Once you start sharing, all the items you list for sale on eBay will continue to be sent to Facebook, until you turn off sharing in My eBay.
If you don't want to share, click Cancel on the confirmation page rather than Confirm.
To stop or re-start sharing, you can go to My eBay and edit your sharing preferences whenever you want.
However...
There are a couple of things you need to remember, though. eBay's shill bidding policy doesn't allow bids from anyone who has more access to your item information than the general eBay Community.
This means your friends aren't allowed to bid on an auction-style listing.
But if you want your Facebook friends to be able to buy your items, simply list them as Buy It Now or for a Fixed Price.
It's still okay to offer auction-style bidding on your items, but your Facebook friends just won't be able to bid. eBay recommends that you block bids from their eBay accounts.
So the big question is... will this turn into more sales for you?
Well, as always we suggest you make sure all the basics are in place for your listings before you try anything else.
We're talking about descriptive and vibrant item descriptions, great pictures, the right keywords in your title, and good Detailed Service Ratings at the very least! But it's always good to remember that social networking sites like Facebook continue to rise in popularity... and that's a market you can't ignore forever.
In fact, Facebook's members in the US alone increased by 98% from 2007 to reach 24.9 million unique users by the end of March this year! So in all likelihood, you already have a bunch of friends on Facebook, even if you haven't used it yourself!
It looks like eBay will allow listings to be displayed on other social networking sites if the Facebook venture is successful, so this is definitely a strategy to keep an eye on for the future.
For more info, check out eBay's Help page.
5. More eBay incentives for free shipping
eBay seems determined to make shipping less of a deterrent to buyers.
First they made sure Detailed Seller Ratings had a specific category for shipping, meaning sellers now have to be super efficient or their ratings will drop.
Then shipping charges became a factor in how well listings were ranked in Best Match searches.
Now eBay is encouraging sellers to offer free shipping to their buyers by making two changes:
Free Shipping for eBay Stores with Markdown ManagerWith so many measures now in place to make sure shipping costs don't deter buyers, we wouldn't be surprised to see even more incentives added by eBay as the year rolls on. Watch this space! Check out eBay's FAQs for more info on how to create a Free Shipping sale.
You will now be able to create a Free Shipping sale in the Markdown Manager -- a service for eBay Stores that lets you put your items on sale.
You can add a Free Shipping sale to any of your individual listings or in bulk. When an item is part of a Free Shipping sale, buyers will see a Free Shipping icon on the item page.
Free Shipping Icon for all Sellers
A new Free Shipping icon will also appear whenever any seller has selected "standard free shipping" in their listing. You don't need to use the Markdown Manager to be able to add the icon.
6. eBay's TOP SECRET keyword-finding tool can rocket your listings to the top of the search results!
Keywords in your listing title play a huge part in where your listing shows up in the search results, now that Best Match is the default search format.
In our March Bidding Frenzy we talked about how you should test your listing title to make sure they're ranking as high as they can. Well here's a great tool that can do a lot of that testing for you!
With the BayEstimator, you simply type your listing heading into the Title box and click Submit.
The free Bay Estimator shows you:
- The most popular keywords, so you can add them to your heading
- How any changes to your heading compare with the original
- What keywords buyers like... or dislike!
- The best category for your item
Once you learn how to make the most of this tool it can help you if you're stuck in keyword limbo. And since Best Match looks like it's here to stay, the sooner you start putting top keywords in your listing titles, the higher they'll show up in the search rankings.
For a full list of instructions on how to use the BayEstimator, click here.
7. Vote for your favorite eBay stores -- and borrow a few good ideas
eBay reports that there was a huge response to last month's Best in Stores Contest, with over 12,000 entries from store owners...
The judges chose four finalists in each of the following categories:
- Best Shopping Experience
- Best Store Marketing
- Best Looking Store
- Best Simple Store
Voting is open from April 16 - 30, with the winners announced in mid-May.
The lucky store owners who win will see their hard work pay off to the tune of a $1,500 cash prize and a paid trip to eBay Live! in Chicago on June 19 - 21.
8. eBay's affiliate program update
Since eBay launched its in-house affiliate program at the beginning of the month, over 10,000 affiliates have already joined and are earning cash.
As we discussed in last month's newsletter, becoming an affiliate is nothing more complicated than adding a widget or link from your own website to eBay. You can even link to your own listings!
eBay has now also added a few more resources to help make the affiliate process even easier for you:
- A video tutorial showing everything, from where to begin, to running reports on your progress.
- New guides to walk you through how to get started and how to migrate your old link to the new platform -- and don't forget... if
you're already an eBay affiliate you have to change your old links by May 1st!
- The eBay Partner Network blog to keep you up-to-date on news related to the program.
9. Try out an eBay ProStore FREE for six months
If you've been a Bidding Frenzy reader for any length of time, chances are you've heard us say this before: If you want to ramp up your eBay earnings, get an off-eBay website, too.
Then you can use your website to:
- Drive more traffic to your eBay listings
- Sell more of your items
- Cross-promote your eBay items and your web store items
- Get a 75% credit off your store fees for driving people to your own store listings!
- ... and much more. (See Bidding Frenzy Issue 23 for more ways to profit from your website)
You can use ProStores to set up an off-eBay website that's completely integrated with your eBay business and requires no HTML knowledge -- 24-hour technical support is included too.
The ProStores Business plan includes a huge array of tools and services for web hosting and setup, payment and sales processing, merchandising and marketing, and inventory management. Shipping with major carriers (USPS, FedEx, UPS, Canada Post, etc.) is integrated directly with ProStores too.
eBay's newest ProStores version 9.0 also allows you to:
- Automatically import your eBay listings and store categories directly into your ProStores website.
- Connect your website inventory with your eBay inventory so you don't have to worry about double-selling items.
eBay will be sending out more information about their ProStores promotion via email over the next couple of weeks -- so keep your eyes on your inboxes!
After the free trial, Store sellers get a 30% discount from the monthly subscription fee of $9.95. You can sell up to 20 items in your Starter Store, and you'll pay a 1.5% transaction fee to accept payments.
For more information about the different levels of ProStores, visit:
http://www.prostores.com/signup.html?selected_product=BUSINESS-STORE
10. Buyers are winners with Disney
From now until the end of October, eBay is running a huge promotion with Disney to encourage more people to buy.
Seven lucky eBayers will win a one-of-a-kind Dream Come True Disney Vacation, with one of the prizes being given away each month.
Winners could enjoy a Disney Cruise Lines "Land and Sea Vacation," or a "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" holiday at the Disneyland Resort.
To enter to competition just register at ebay.com/winyourdreams and play the Instant Win Game. You'll earn an automatic entry into the monthly grand prize vacation sweepstakes.
Then, every time you make a purchase on eBay you receive a FREE collectible Disney gift, and another entry into the grand prize sweepstakes (up to two each day).
But there's a distinctly eBay spin on this contest. You can get your free collectible immediately OR save up your gift credits for something bigger each month.
The gifts range from Disney paper pals to Mickey Mouse magnets, exclusive Don "Ducky" Williams artwork, Walt Disney prints, and everything in between. What do you want to bet the Disney collectible sub-category suddenly gets a lot fatter?
If you're a seller, this is the perfect opportunity to remind your bidders to register for the competition so they can benefit free Disney collectibles that will come rolling in when they BUY.
11. Auction of the Month:
It's ALIVE! -- No price too high for Frankenstein speaker head
If you can collect it, you can find it on eBay.
And avid Frankenstein collectors have LOTS of selection (over 2,200 items worth!). But you won't find many like this Frankenstein head transistor radio speaker, listed by seller abercrombiedeek.
Rare collectible items like this can be worth a lot of money -- so it pays to take extra steps to make sure your item sells for what it's worth.
When you're selling a rare collectible -- especially one with a high price tag -- there are a few things you need to do to capture your sale.
Let's take a look at what one eBay seller is doing to sell his one-of-a-kind, vintage Frankenstein head speaker:
- Explain WHY your item is rare. Seller does a great job letting you know right up front why his Frankie head speaker is so hard to come by. As he says in his auction listing...
"This is one of the hardest to find Frankenstein monster memorabilia pieces around. In the 1960's a kid could only get this speaker if they sent in for it. They could send to a Captain Company (a division of Warren Publishing) advertisement located in an issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland.
Warren Publishing collapsed in 1983. The left over toys remaining in their warehouse were destroyed."
- Take LOTS of good quality photos. Include as many as you need to accurately show the item's flaws, identifying marks, color, condition... and any other details that can help you make the sale.
Make sure you also take close ups, and multi-angle shots. The seller includes 12 photos in total -- all of which can be viewed in a large size.
You don't need a room full of high-tech camera equipment or a degree in photography to take effective product shots. A digital camera and a little know-how can produce high-impact, professional-looking shots that enhance your product descriptions and encourage more people to place higher bids on your auctions.
Read Bidding Frenzy Issue #6 to learn our must-know tips for taking great product shots.
- Show off your item with a video: Video adds a "wow" factor to your auctions, but it also shows off your item in a way photos can't. And if you can invest in a rotating platform like this one used in this seller's listing, your item will stand heads above the rest. (Watch Seller's YouTube video now.)
- Detail the item's condition. A collectible's value is closely tied to the item's condition. "Mint-condition" collectibles can sell for much more than those just in "good condition." That's not to say you can't get a high price for a collectible with flaws (it's certainly happened before).
But you need to be up front about what these are -- to avoid nasty surprises that can result in negative feedback.
- Offer a deferred payment plan. Take the sting out of expensive items by pointing out deferred payment plans. This seller links to the eBay MasterCard, which offers new users 6 months, no payments, no interest when paying through PayPal.
- List in several categories to get more exposure. Chances are there are not as many people searching for Frankenstein transistor radio speaker heads as there are people looking for baseball cards. So to make sure YOUR auction ends up in front of the most monster-smitten eyeballs possible, try listing in several categories.
This seller has listed in two: Monsters/Frankenstein and Monsters/Other... and if others are applicable, consider listing in those too.
- Know how much your item is worth. If you know you're sitting on a rare collector's item, you might want to consider putting a reserve price on your auction.
A reserve price is the minimum you'll sell the item for, and the amount is kept secret during the auction. As bids come in, the listing will display the text "Reserve not met" until someone bids the reserve amount or more.
Be aware, however, that the hidden reserve price can frustrate bidders and discourage bids. People don't want to invest the time on an item they may not be able to afford.
This seller put a reserve price on his auction -- and the item didn't sell even though it received 8 bids up to $610. It's hard to say whether reserve price is to blame or the right buyer just hasn't come along yet.
Our Advanced eBay Mentors recommend two different options:
- Start the bidding at the lowest price you're willing to sell the item for, OR
- Set a high Fixed Price and use Best Offer to find out what people are actually willing to pay
Here's an example where a relisted Frankenstein Pinball machine sold after advertising a "No Reserve" price:
- If at first you don't succeed... Rare, kitschy items can just take longer to sell. So don't give up if your item doesn't sell right out of the gate. Choose the longest auction length possible, and relist it at LEAST twice. You perfect buyer is out there somewhere! If you're not getting any bids or watchers, then start re-evaluating your listing strategies.
12. Final Thoughts
Thanks for taking the time to read our Issue of the Bidding Frenzy newsletter and as always, we wish you continued success on eBay.
We love getting comments and questions from our readers, and we read every one! If you have any questions or comments about this issue, or want to suggest topics for future issues, please email us at:ebaynewsletter@marketingtips.com
Until next month, happy eBaying!
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