PhuHV - Presentation - How To Sell On eBay

HOW TO SELL ON EBAY

Private Research, 2009

Hoang Viet Phu – eBay Vietnam Selling Team

eBay Inc. confidential2

Agenda

• eBay

• Cross Border Transactions - a World of Opportunities

• Getting ready to sell

• Sell your item

• After the listing ends

• Marketing & Merchandising

• Optimizing your item offer


Internet Adoption is Transformational

Global Internet Users (in millions)

Source: IDC

730M

1,300M+

The fastest rate of technology

adoption in history

3

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009


eBay’s Evolution

1995-98 US only, collectibles only

1999 Moved beyond collectibles, expanded

internationally (Alando, iBazar)

2000 Introduced Fixed Price (“Buy It Now”) and eBay

stores

2002 Acquired PayPal, removing friction and building a

huge new business

2004-05 Entered new marketplaces: Marktplaats.nl,

Mobile.de, Rent.com, Shopping.com, Kijiji, ProStores.

2005 Acquired Skype, removing friction and building

another business4


Payments

2007: a Broad Array of Online Assets

Marketplaces Communications

5

Provide a global online trading platform where practically anyone can trade practically anything.


33Markets

Asia/PacificAustralia KoreaNew ZealandTaiwanChinaSingaporeHong KongIndiaPhilippinesMalaysiaThailandVietnam

EuropeAustria BelgiumFrance GermanyIreland Italy Netherlands PolandSpain SwitzerlandSweden UK, Turkey…

eBay site or majority investment

AmericasUSACanadaArgentina*Brazil*Chile*Colombia*Ecuador*Mexico*Peru*Uruguay*Venezuela*

*MercadoLibre sites

Minority investment

eBay Marketplaces Around the World

6

Present in 40international

markets

eBay Vietnam


On an Average Day on an eBay Site (US/DE) …

. . . and an automobile is sold every minute.

. . . a diamond ring is sold on eBay every 2 minutes

. . . more than three watches are sold every minute

. . . five women’s handbags are sold every minute

7


Every day,more than 1 B. page views,

298 Mil. searchesand 17 Mil. bids= 14,1 Gigabit/s

USD 52 B.Trade volume (GMV)

2006(worldwide)

233 Mil.registered users

Worldwide

More than100 Mil. items

offered on the site(over 6 Mil. each day)

Every second, more than USD 1,800 worth of goods is sold

170,00 people in Europe and 1.3 Mil.

people worldwide make a significant portion of their living on eBay.

eBay - the World’s Online Marketplace


Cross Border Trade – Already Large, Huge Potential

(0.19)

Cross Border Trade currently accounts for 20% of eBay Inc’s business

However, Cross Border Trade remains a relatively underdeveloped area of eCommerce

We believe that real opportunity for eCommerce growth lies in opening international markets and providing smoother Cross Border operations

eBay Inc. confidential

• ■ How to get started selling

• ■ What it takes to be an eBay seller

• ■ Becoming ID verified

• ■ How to sell on eBay as a business

• ■ Basic selling rules and fees

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Getting ready to sellWhat you need to know to start selling on eBay


Getting ready to sellWhat you need to know to start selling on eBay

• Becoming an eBay seller– Register first to begin selling– Becoming an eBay seller– Becoming ID verified

• Registering for PayPal

• Selling as a business: – Registering as a business– Changing Business Seller preferences

• Selling rules & fees: – Rules for sellers– Check out Seller Central– What does it cost to sell?

• Insertion Fee ($0.0 - $.0)

• Additional Option Fee (Buy It Now, Gallery, Featured, reserved price, etc.)

• Final Value Fee

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• ■ How to get everything ready before you sell.

• ■ How to create an item description

• ■ A simple selling checklist to follow

• ■ How to sell your item step by step

• ■ How to change an existing listing

• ■ How to end a listing early if necessary

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Sell your itemSelling on eBay is quick and easy if we take it step by step


• Become a seller– Register first to begin selling

• Before you start: – Do your research

• Completed listings

• Starting bids, final prices, shipping costs, pictures, descriptions, return policies, and categories– Item & title description

• Collect the information you need for your item descriptionCompleted listings

Internet search engines

• Write the title (no more than 55 characters)

– Item pictures• Good pictures help sell your item

– Prepare for shipping (eBay's shipping calculator)– Choose how you want to be paid (www.PayPal.com)

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• Selling steps: – Start selling!

• Use Sell your items (on eBay)

• Use listing tools

– Select a category (keywords, kind of good)– Describe your item– Write the title

• Up to 55characters total

• Avoid words like "Wow" and "Fantastic

• Emphasize words that buyers are likely to actually use to search (model number)

• We may also want to add a subtitle for an additional fee

– Help is right at hand– Add pictures!

• The first picture is free, but there is a fee for additional photos.

• Gallery, Gallery Plus, Supersize Pictures, and the Picture Pack, which includes multiple services

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• Description tips– Pay attention to your description!

• Use spelling checker, and type styling functions

• Use eBay’s listing designer, free counter

– Tips: For better listings follow these rules: • Don't use all capital letters

• Use bullets to emphasize key points

• Don't write one endless paragraph

• Anticipate buyer questions; include that information

• Choose format– Choose your selling format and starting price

• Online Auction (traditional auction-style, reserve, or Buy It Now format)

• Fixed Price listing

• Payment & shipping– Select your payment method (PayPal – a great way to boost prospective buyers!)– Specify shipping charges

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• Enter a return policy– A generous return policy is a strong incentive for many buyers.

• Promote your listing– Value Pack - Scheduled Listings- Subtitle– Gallery - Gift Services - Bold– Gallery Plus - Border - Featured First– Listing Designer - Highlight- Home Page Featured– List in Two Categories

• Review & submit– See how your listing will appear in search results

• Changing a listing: – Revising a listing

• Sometimes we need to change your listing after it starts (Revise and Add to Description)

• Ending a listing early

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• ■ Standard checkout and payment procedures

• ■ Good communication practices

• ■ Efficient ways to manage shipping

• ■ How feedback fits into successful transactions

• ■ What to do if something doesn't go as planned

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After the listing endsCooperation and communication make for smooth transactions



• Checkout & payment:– Seller notification: Congratulations, your item sold!

• Send Invoice

• Answer buyer promptly

– Speeding payment: PayPal speeds payment process (stated the shipping cost)– Use My eBay to track sold items

• Shipping process:– Avoid confusion over shipping– Calculating shipping (Using the Shipping Calculator)– Tips for better packing & shipping

• Careful packing is important

• Select a box slightly larger than the item.

• Properly label the item with return address.

• Pack with bubble wrap, foam or paper.

• Use wide packing tape, never masking tape.

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• Leaving feedback:– Feedback completes the sale– When should you leave feedback?

• Handling issues– Opening the Dispute Console– How to handle an unpaid item– Second Chance Offer

• If the buyer doesn't pay, try a Second Chance Offer

• If the item sells the second time, eBay will refund the Insertion Fee for relisting.

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Marketing & MerchandisingBuild your sales by learning how to draw in more customers

• ■ Strategies to drive sales

• ■ How to develop and build a brand

• ■ Ways to make your listings stand out

• ■ Innovative ways to promote your products

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• Attracting customers– Five strategies that drive sales

• Attract buyers from leading sources for less money

• Capitalize on seasonal buying patterns

• Offer consumers compelling reasons to buy

• Measure and optimize traffic and conversion

• Drive repeat purchases– Attracting customers

• Capture search real estate to make customers aware of you

- List on comparison shopping sites (Froogle is free)

- Optimize listings for natural search by including keywords in metatext

- Paid search ads (Google Adwords, Adbrite, …)

- Email marketing broadens brand awareness.

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• Attracting customers:– Identify seasonal opportunities

• Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentines Day, …

• Use a four-pronged campaign with:

- Special offers

- Email marketing campaign

- Paid search campaign

- Package inserts– Compelling offers

• Think like a buyer to develop compelling sales offers

- Put myself in the buyer’s mind find out why buyers buy

- Their reasons might be different from our assumptions

- Keep high-level messaging simple and immediate

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• Attracting customers:– Learn what works by always measuring conversion

• Four basic parts of the buying/selling process: traffic sources, entry pages, browsing, and successful sales

• Traffic Reporting: Keep track of page views, unique visitors, referring domains, search engine traffic, paid search and keyword traffic, visitor profiles and visitor geography

• Page Reporting: Track most popular pages, category pages, item pages, and landing pages

• Path Reporting: Study entry and exit pages, path length, time spent per visit and per category

• Conversion: Measure conversion, order revenue, carts, and checkouts

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• Attracting customers:– Drive repeat purchases

• Email is the best way to do that

• Third-party programs: Marketworks Mail, WebLoyalty.com, …

• Building a brand:– What’s in a name? Ask yourself:

• Who are you? What do you sell?

• What are your policies and terms?

• How do you present yourself and your item?

• Would your buyer want to shop with you again?

• Does your buyer remember you by name?

• Are you making it hard for people to find you again?

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• Building a brand: – What's in a name?

• Be open to change

• Change can bring you:

- More brand recognition

- Higher conversion of shoppers to buyers

- Higher ASPs

- More Store traffic

- Customer loyalty—buyers remember you

-Buzz—buyers tell a friend about you

- Choosing or changing a name- Allow you to be consistent with eBay user ID, Store name

- Refer to yourself in a listing, and your email address

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• Memorable * Hard to remember– aswas -- dlevitt_140887– As Was Marketing Consultants -- Jane Smith– As Was Puppy Loves -- Mommy– [email protected] -- [email protected]

• Consider not using:– Words people find hard to spell (embellishment, melisma)– Homonyms (there, their, they’re—or high, hi)– Words that are incorrect or unconventional spellings of common words (sportz,

dealz, shooz)– Made-up or nonsense words– 4 (for “for”), 2 (for “to”), letter u (for “you”)– Non-alphanumeric characters (*, !, -, _)– Non-English words, unless your target audience speaks another language– *high-fashion_4u*com — WHAT?

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• Building a brand: – Good design makes sales– If two sellers have the same item, same pricing, same policies, and

roughly the same feedback, design will make the difference. – Design do’s and don’ts

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• Building a brand: Design do’s and don’ts– Do:

• Edit descriptions, policies, terms, Store page(s), and About Me text to sound friendly.

• Use colors that complement each other.

• Use contrast to improve readability.

• Cut elements that waste load time!

• Move any galleries to the bottom.

– Don’t:• Write long-winded descriptions.

• Center paragraphs.

• Use clip art or graphics that don’t enhance the experience.

• Use music files unless you sell music!

• Set voice or video to auto start.

• Use very busy templates with a lot of patterns or images that are confusing and distracting.

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• Learn to innovate: Marketing essentials– That includes the “Four Ps” of marketing: Product, Promotion, Position, and

Price

• Product: Know the life cycle– Introduction– Growth– Maturity– Decline

• Position: Know your customer– Demographics– Buying history– Brand preferences– Service expectations

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• Promotion: Tell your story– That helps to bring customers to your store and gets them ready to buy

• Price: Select a strategy– Cost-based pricing and tend for high volume Buy It Now listings– Targeted pricing, sales are in lower volume Auction-style listings with reserve– Everyday low price systemStandard auction-style listing

• Drive traffic to your site– Good keywords– Email marketing

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Optimizing your item offerMake your listing stand out!

• ■ How to select the right categories

• ■ How to write better titles and descriptions

• ■ How to optimize your listing for search

• ■ How promotional options can boost sales

• ■ About picture options that boost listing sales

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• Improving your listing:– Choose the right category!

• Think like a buyer!

• Good keywords for SE– Better titles bring in buyers

• Use descriptive keywords to clearly convey what you are selling.

• Include item brand name, artist, or designer.

• State exactly what your item is, even if your title repeats the category name.

• Avoid words like "wow" or "look." Buyers don't search for words like these.

• Try to use all 55 characters allowed for the title.

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• Watch out for title trouble spots

– Titles that don’t say what the item is. – Titles that contain Web site addresses, email addresses or phone

numbers (except when selling domain names) – Titles containing profane or obscene language – Titles that use the following words in an attempt to market or advertise

their item: "prohibited," "banned," "illegal," "outlawed,“ or any other word which may bring into question the legality of an item by either governmental or eBay standards.

– Titles with brand names other than the specific brand name used by the company that produced or manufactured the item you’re listing

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• Better descriptions - Good descriptions really sell!– What is the item? – What material is it made of? – When was it made? – What company/artist/designer/author made it? – What condition is it in? – Is the item new, used, or still under warranty? – Be sure to mention any flaws or repairs. – What are its dimensions? – What country/location is it from? – Does it have any notable features or markings? – Does it have a special background or history?

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• Better descriptions - Go beyond the basics– Do not include:

• Anything that is not true

• Keywords that are unrelated to your item

• Prohibited and restricted content

• Responding to Handling questions– Go to My eBay Preferences. – Under the Ask Seller a Question section, click the Edit link. – Select the options you want to display on the Ask Seller a Question

page. – Enter your questions and answers, and then preview your FAQs. – Click Submit when you are finished.

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• Use Skype for direct communication with buyers– Build trust with buyers when selling complex or high-priced items – Answer questions quickly, easily and on your own schedule – Connect easily with buyers and turn them into repeat customers

• A good return policy is a strong reassurance to buyers– Refund type (money back, store credit, etc.)– What returns are accepted – Time limits (for example, days) – Are shipping and handling charges covered?– Acceptable return condition (i.e.: unopened box)

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• Optimizing product search - Help buyers find your item– Use as many searchable keywords as possible (for example: 2, two, II)– Use a format of keyword [space] keyword [space] keyword– Create a search-effective title, for example: "14K Gold Vintage Elgin

Pocket Watch 1907 Antique“– Avoid ineffective titles, such as:L@@K best watch on eBay…Wow!– The only searchable word is "watch,“ (thousands of listings with "watch"

in the title on eBay)

• Promotion techniques: Cross-Promotions– A buyer bids on your item – A buyer wins your item – A buyer views your listing (for eBay Store sellers only)

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Thank You!

Technology

PhuHV - Presentation - How To Sell On eBay