Online auction selling secrets
I have been selling my unwanted items on the New Zealand auction site trademe for years; here are my best tips to get the most out of online selling. These are equally applicable to Ebay which I also use.
The headline
Be prepared to change the headline if something does not sell. A different headline may show up in the site’s search engine when previously it didn’t. If for example you are selling a book and use the book’s title as the headline you could instead use the author’s name as the headline.
The photo
Make sure the photo you are using to sell the product perfectly represents the item and is of good quality (the photo)
Shipping costs
Items that do not include a shipping cost do not sell as well as ones which do. There really is no excuse for not letting potential customers know how much the item will cost to ship.
Auction or buy now
Should you place a “buy now” option on your site? The answer is a “yes” because it gives potential buyers the opportunity to purchase immediatel, and when they have the money ready to pay for the item. This may not be the case if they receive an unexpected email to let them know they have won the auction; one which they had not budgeted for.
Placing feedback
Don’t be in too big of a hurry to place negative feedback on someone because other customers will see this and be reluctant to do business with you. I only place unfavourable feedback in exceptional circumstances. Some people who receive a bad feedback will retaliate by giving you bad feedback so be wary of this. It will affect your rating and may cost you. The alternative is to not leave any feedback on anyone you are not happy with.
Selling ebooks?
For goodness sake make it easy for customers to download an ebook if you are selling them on ebay. Some sellers make the process of download so complex that it would challenge the mentality of Einstein. This is the biggest problem I have experienced when purchasing ebooks from ebay. Just send me the PDF thank you.
Auction sites