posted on July 23, 2004 03:53:16 PM
I've had an ebay store for almost a year. I've just recently started using Vendio and I'm using the Vendio gallery. I originally liked the ebay store because it allowed me to cross promote other items in similar categories. I've never really used the stores to post fixed-price store listings as I was afraid that no one would find them and that they would just sit around.
I'm now experimenting with trying to post store listings so that I don't have to keep paying the relisting fees if the item doesn't sell. Does anyone have any ideas on the effectiveness of this? Do you find that the gallery works well enough to drive people into the store? I read a post earlier saying that sometimes people only shop through the store and indeed, I've seen sellers who seem to only have store items for sale. How does one drive people into the store effectively?
Any comments would be appreciated- you are all very knowledgeable and very helpful as I've been reading a lot of your posts.
posted on July 23, 2004 04:29:30 PM
Without knowing what you sell, I can't say for sure how effective this will be for you. I sell a lot of stone and Fluorite items. I will run an item a couple of times and then put it in my store while putting out a new item. I make sure that my cross promotions are set just the way I want them. (example) If I have a fluorite point that just isn't moving in my ebay store, I will have it in the cross promotions of everything that I have out on auction. I have found, for me, this works really well because that right person see this and takes it, even if they didn't like what they originally started by looking at. Another thing that I do is have certain things go "On Sale" in my store. Amazing what people will do when they are saving only a dollar or two.
I also have a link in the end of my listing that people can use instead of trying to figure out which of the buttons at the top of the page that they want to use. Hope that this is of some small help.
Kevin
during the summer, when things are slow, i only use my eBay store. i put all unsold inventory in the store for the summer and work on regular listings for the fall. starting in the fall, any unsold items go right into the store.
i do pretty well at it during the summer, regular steady sales, and the buyers seem to be finding me. the only reason i can think of for this is the wording in the title - for example, if your listing title is "average widget" and that's what everyone else calls theirs, the buyers won't find you. ***but***, if you title your item just a little differently, let's say "average widget, great condition, size whatever, etc.", it then stands out in a search. the more specific you can be in the title, the more your listing will stand out. that said, i tend to sell collectibles and antiques. i would think this would be harder with clothing, CDs, videos, etc., things that are more generic.
good luck with it! so far, i've been very happy with my store. as i mentioned in another post, have also stopped torturing myself on free listing days. the stuff brings more in the store with no extra work.
posted on July 23, 2004 04:58:43 PM
That's great advice from both of you. I sell mostly collectible vinyl and sometimes musical equipment. The music gear goes well in the auctions so I have no problem there, but I'm finding vinyl to be a bit inconsistent sometimes. If I put a low starting bid on something rare, I usually find that it shoots up much higher than I would've probably listed it in my store. Of course, as you probably know, that doesn't mean that the record is "worth" that much or that the next time I list the same item that it will even come close to that price. Indeed, often times I'll find that the next auction will be sort of a disappointment and I'll be upset that I didn't try to start with a higher price. It all depends on luck with that obscure stuff- is someone seeking it out or what-have-you.
Lately I've been finding that people like the Buy It Now option and I'm starting to think about just listing stuff in the store and cutting down my ebay fees, which can really cut into my month! I've been doing the vinyl thing on ebay for over a year, seriously for the last few months (I have 592 FB rating, 100% positive) and have been collecting customers to try to sell directly. I'm strategizing here and your advice is helpful indeed.
posted on July 23, 2004 05:35:03 PM
I've been wanting to comment on the Ebay stores for a while.
Actually, I've been shopping the stores a LOT lately and have bought a few things. Like I had to replace my cell phone last week and I surfed Ebay and then remembered to look in the stores. Found one for $16.00 which was cheaper than auction(s) so I was a happy camper
So I think the store aspect is catching on IMHO. I do like being able to just buy it outright and not wait!
posted on July 23, 2004 06:00:05 PM
I've noticed the eBay store listings a lot more lately when I'm searching and I, too, have bought several things from eBay stores.
Like Glassgrl, I like to just buy the thing instead of hanging around for days waiting for an auction to end.
Good news for those of you who have stores! Who knows? Maybe I'll set up one for myself some time, some day... Whenever...
posted on July 23, 2004 07:58:13 PM
I knew with half going away, I needed to find an alternative. Ebay auctions was not the answer, just too expensive to list a lot of this stuff. The ebay store has worked out tremendously for me. I started listing things after June 10. I really started most of the work after an extended vacation for me that ended July 8. I've sold 360 ebay store items in that time. I didn't start doing auctions again until last week, so many of these people found me other ways than ebay auctions. Business has picked up with the me resuming auctions though, that is for sure. I was initially unhappy with the demise of half.com but I can see now that at least for me, it looks like I will be doing more business this way. (I also took another look at amazon and signed up for the professional account there, and am pleasantly surprised at those results too...)
Friends don't let Friends say stupid things like Friends don't let friends vote Republican!
