Ok, so working in the Managed Service department at Frooition has proven to be a challenge over the last few months. Most of my clients are really trying to ramp up business early 2008 (like every other business that wants to succeed), which means more communication, new supply and more inventory. As any eBay seller knows, this creates quite a work flow for the team that actually needs to transfer all this excitement onto eBay and generate more sales.

With my work cut out, I’ve been steadily improving strategies on a daily basis for each account, and tweaking every item where necessary to improve sales. Normally the steps to improve an eBay business are relatively basic:

1. Improve Creative Branding.
2. Improve Inventory Information (item specifics, attributes and formatting all need to be clear and concise).
3. Devise / Improve listing strategies for each product group & format, based on Frooition marketplace research.
4. Streamline procedures (sales processing / status updates, etc).

However, with one account in particular, being TopUpTV (for which I actually run two separate eBay identities), the process has had to be modified due to the fact I only have 1 item to sell for each account. The process outline is much the same, but relying on eBay’s natural ability to display and expose your inventory (in the form of search results, feeds, eBay Shop pages, etc) is very difficult when you only have 1 item to sell.

Challenges:

1. Inventory breadth - Selling only a single item (with unlimited quantity).
2. Generating exposure / traffic.
3. Competing / dominating your main eBay category.

In light of the above challenges, you may be surprised to learn that this account is now the biggest seller in their category, with both TopUpTV & The_DTR_Store holding 1st and 2nd place as top sellers on eBay based on GMS (Growth Merchandise Sales) in their category. Based on my research, These two accounts are also the most healthy eBay businesses in the top 5 sellers for their category too.

In order to run a healthy eBay Business you need to know your eBay Vitals.

• What are your Close Rates (see my “Identifying and Optimising your eBay Close Rate” post)
• Low Fees
• Competitive pricing
• Good Sales Volume / GMS

In short, keeping close rates at their optimum levels, fees as a low % of selling price, have competitive pricing, and maintaining a good volume of sales, will ensure your eBay business is off to a good start.

Incase you haven’t already picked up on this, eBay are shortly set to Close eBay Express in the UK (www.ebayexpress.co.uk), and shift their main focus back onto the core site eBay.co.uk.

Based on feedback from our buyers and sellers, we’ve taken the decision to close eBay Express in the UK (www.ebayexpress.co.uk), and focus our efforts on the main eBay.co.uk site.

Many of the innovations pioneered on eBay Express have been integrated into the main site, helping us bring more buyers to our sellers and providing buyers with a better experience.

eBay Express sellers have always been required to offer excellent levels of customer service. Recent changes on the main eBay.co.uk website mean sellers with a great track record should now enjoy better visibility and traffic.

eBay struggled getting traffic to eBay Express since they first opened their doors back in early 2006. Many of my clients, whose accounts I helped to run on a daily basis, were very exited when this news first came about, but unfortunately implementing this feature into each account resulting in zero sales for a majority of clients.

I’m sure most will agree this is a positive move. eBay Express may have failed in gaining traffic > delivering paid orders, but it has played a large part in rolling out new developments and functionality - A lot of which we can now see on the main eBay site.

If you’d like to read more on this, eBay have a page dedicated to it right here: eBay’s Business Hub

So, once again Royal Mail are adjusting their rates, raising prices to:

• A First Class stamp for a standard packet weighing 101g to 250g will cost £1.45, an increase of 7p.
• A Second Class stamp for a standard packet weighing 101g to 250g will cost £1.24, an increase of 4p
• Special Delivery guaranteed next day service for items weighing between 100g and 500g will cost £5.05, a rise of 30p.

Increases aren’t exactly suprising, after all, Royal Mail like all other businesses need to adapt with inflation, but I am pleased to see some good pricing incentives put in place for large volume traders….

This plays hand-in-hand in conjunction with eBay’s latest updates on Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs). As a business seller on eBay, you have to be competative in various areas in order to survive. Sellers from every corner of the globe had clocked onto this and decide to almost ‘cheat’ buyers (and of course the marketplace software providers like eBay & ChannelAdvisor for example), by charging very low item prices, with extortionate P&P charges.

A prime example would be an item with say an RRP of £12, a BIN price of 0.95p, and a P&P price of £9.95 for Royal Mail Shipping.

This selling strategy saves on listing fees and order processing fees for various service providers (which means a happy seller), but most buyers frown on this activity and believe it is a dishonest way to trade. A high percentage of these items result in UPI disputes, as buyers simply don’t see the postage cost until after they have purchased, leaving the seller without payment, and the prospect of angry buyers just waiting to leave negative feedback.

Sellers who do exploit this loop-hole, will now begin to be punished for their actions, by having their listings blessed with “reduced search visibility”, and as a result reduced sales, reduced success, and - eBay hope - an increasingly buyer-happy marketplace.

You can find more information on Postal Prices here: Royal Mail Website
You can fond more information on eBays DSR updates here: eBay Announcement on DSR

OK, so over the last couple of years, I’ve been asked many times what our clients can do to further optimise their ChannelAdvisor Stores, their eBay Stores and listings, and alas their existing ecommerce websites and blogs. Not a bad question, but there was a catch.. they all wanted this for FREE.

I found myself giving out the same websites and useful tools over and over, and realised there wasn’t an up-to-date reasonable list out there to suit this purpose, so decided I’d start one here…

What is it?
“A tool to check at-a-glance the link popularity of any site based on its ranking (Google PageRank, Alexa Rank, Technorati etc.), social bookmarks (del.icio.us, etc), subscribers (Bloglines, etc) and more!”

OK, so why would I use it?
I like this site as it’s very fast at giving you an overall “popularity” view of any site according to a whole host of different sites. This is great to find out how your site performs against your competitors too!

Overall Rating: 9/10

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What is it?
“SnapShots are smart profiles of the websites we visit. Simply enter a domain (e.g. amazon.com) and SnapShot will provide traffic history, a trust assessment and a list of all available coupon codes.”

OK, so why would I use it?
A product from Bill Gross (founder of GoTo search engine, which then became Overture, created paid search and was acquired by Yahoo), which allows for an ‘alexa-like’ experience of site ranking and traffic data for both single sites and site comparison (again good for competitor analysis).

They also have a couple other features thrown in which I like:

First, it shows ‘Deals’ that a site may be offering. (Coupon Mountain who specializes in finding and collecting promotion codes and they gather the majority of deals available every day)

Second, it shows a ‘Trust’ element for websites, which is based on community trends and third party secutity services.

Overall Rating: 7/10

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What is it?
“Website benchmarking is a score of your website’s performance within a large range of tests. The EC-Plus website benchmarking test is a free online website benchmark utility that allows anyone to quickly assess the performance of their website, without extensive knowledge of website development.”

OK, so why would I use it?

If you’re looking at taking out some form of SEO service, I’d recommend checking this out first to find out; whether you need it; what areas your current site(s) are falling down on.

The report is very detailed and will give you a good indicator of website strengths and weaknesses, and of course again it’s very useful to find out whether a competitors site scores higher than your own (i.e., if a competitor uses the same shopping cart software, and they’ve taken an SEO package to gain traffic, you could test to see whether it has made a difference..)

Overall Rating: 8/10

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What is it?
“A sitemap is a data file which references pages of your website, and assists search engines in indexing / storing your pages in their databases faster and more easily. By placing a formatted xml file with site map on your webserver, you enable Search Engine crawlers (like Google) to find out what pages are present and which have recently changed, and to crawl your site accordingly.”

OK, so why would I use it?This is a great site, very fast to use, and of course totally free. I would recommend you invest 3 minutes in getting this done and dusted! Totally automated and makes creating a sitemap almost too easy.

Overall Rating: 10/10

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What is it?
“The Keyword Tool generates potential keywords for your ad campaign and reports their Google statistics, including search performance and seasonal trends. Start your search by entering your own keyword phrases or a specific URL”

OK, so why would I use it?
A fantastic tool from Google that allows you to find relevant, high traffic keywords and key phrases for.. well, any form of online advertising, oh and of course maybe your Adwords campaigns?

Overall Rating: 9/10

Do businesses really appreciate how much an eBay presence is complementary to their e-commerce strategy?

The answer, until recently, has been no. But times are changing, corporates, SME and sole traders alike are embracing eBay, accessing not only the 14 or so million registered ebayers in the UK but also a massive international market.

The real problem up until now has been to do with skill sets, cost, and time - Has anyone really got resource to throw at setting up an entire business unit specifically for eBay? The answer generally is no, it is generally the case that most businesses will “dip their toes” first but rapidly it becomes clear to most that eBay represents a vast revenue stream. So where next? Well, to grow and scale really are the challenges that present most businesses with “blockers”, moments in time where it really would be easier to “put on hold until we are ready” - I have seen this many times - yet 6 months or a year on I have also seen businesses panic about being left behind and therefore scrambling and making mistakes.

My advice to any corporate, SME or sole trader would be this - Include eBay into your e-commerce planning now - this is essential as eBay represents the largest on-line marketplace in the world. Correct planning allows you to establish and scale out an eBay operation complementary to existing e-commerce routes to market, the next e-commerce planning session you organise should have this on the agenda!

The buzz word of 2006 was web 2.0. ‘Oh its so Web 2.0′ you might hear at conferences and seminars. My take on web 2.0 is building a community for your buyers based on the product type on offer. Your customers are moving to on-line sales but they need your advice. Truthful, simple advice without the hard sell. First magazines, gossip columns and newspapers caught onto the blog wave, but now product sellers are paving the way to help the customer make the right purchase.

Adverts may be boring and invasive at times but Blogs are not, take ‘Innocent smoothies‘ they have a web log that provides an interesting insight to their origins, ethics and the people in the company. A blog like this takes of the lid off a large company letting the consumer take a look inside. This is what corporate blogging is all about.

For instance Bluefly.com a fashion designer and retailer launched their blog http://flypaper.bluefly.com to raise awareness and keep customer informed of new styles and movements in the fashion industry.

Top free blog providers out there include Blogger.com, Typepad and Wordpress. Wordpress is also one of the most popular open source blogging software, with a new release at the end of January and a unique ‘Multi-Blogger’ system dubbed ‘Wordpress Mu’ so you can provide your employees with a blog of their own linked to your main domain.

As a new ‘blogger’ I would suggest a free hosted blog before you integrate a blog into your main domain. A ‘news’ blog needs to be updated with new content everyday, but a corporate blog only needs feeding 3-4 times a week. If you don’t update your blog your customers interest will wane and the point of the blog will eventually be lost.

We hope to see you in the blogging revolution!

Liz Kidson - Frooition Support

In this article I just fist want to mention what the differences between these three entities are. A lot of my clients get confused between these three formats, which causes misinterpretation of what functionality is available to them.

Firstly, an eBay shop:

This is part of the eBay marketplace where all of your listings on eBay can be collectively viewed. You can make this look very much like a website (like the guys from creativebay.co.uk) but it is definitely NOT a website. You have 2 ‘marketplaces’ under the eBay umbrella. Core Listings which get a larger proportion of traffic and seemingly cheaper ’shop’ listings which do not form part of the eBay main search and depend very much on core listings to bring in traffic. Within an eBay store you have custom pages, categories and promotional boxes. With a shop on the eBay marketplace, search engine optimisation is done for you by eBay and your have instant traffic.

A Website:

A website can be custom built to any specification and purpose, as long as your budget allows. Websites need optimisation and maintenance usually by your design company to insure the security and smooth running of the site. As long as you are willing to pay for it (Some full e-commerce websites have been fabled to cost around £7000) a website can be built to perform any task and tick any box. Currently toast making websites are not available; you will always have to do that yourself. Get a toaster.

A Storefront;

Storefronts are commonly part of a bigger picture, but have certain limitations with functionality with regards to a custom built website which is built solely for your purpose. Two ’storefronts’ that spring to mind belong as extra functionality to a complete e-commerce solution. Channeladvisor and Marketworks are both auction and shopping feed inventory based order management systems which have the added benefit of a storefront to showcase your product.

Functionality will always differ greatly. For example, Channeladvisor provides a matrix inventory (product with dropdowns) whereas a Marketworks storefront does not. A storefront is part of a complete solution that you can market and treat as a website, but you will need to check with your provider if the particular storefront will give you the functionality you need.

Examples,

A Marketworks Storefront http://www.findingking.com

A Channeladvisor Storefront http://www.bling-bling-online.co.uk

These guys also have matching eBay dealings:

Marketworks: http://stores.ebay.com/FindingKing

Channeladvisor: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Bling-Bling-Online

Whatever you choose to sell your product please check testimonials of the stability of the sites and services and make sure you can attract a suitable amount of traffic. If you pay £7000 for a kick ass fully functional website but you have no buyer traffic…..well don’t make the mistake many have already!

The massive optimisation of myspace of late means that in around 2 days, your myspace account is optimised within google and showing up within search listings! Just search for frooition in google and two myspace accounts will appear where two employees have marked frooition as where they work. That happened in 2 days! What else gets into googles search index in a mere two days? Many sellers are now promoting their auctions through myspace and adding ‘freinds’ from relevent groups of people. The primary age for myspace is between 16 and 34. So if your product hits that age range then a bit of free myspace advertising can’t go a miss can it?

Whaaaaat? I hear you say? Well companies such as Red Bull are using myspace to attract new customers to their product. Want a bigger example? Adidas are also giving myspace a whirl!

Since the auctionbytes article ebayers have been taking advantage of this new channel to gain brand control ( you would not want anyone else to use your brand!)

Myspace has a networking feature also which will help you market too and reach new customers.

With myspace attracting 200,000 new registrants a day who can afford to miss out on this marketing and SEO oppotunity.

Join the race, get on myspace! ( I really could be a 70’s children’s TV presenter sometimes)

eBay express is everywhere, on myspace.com, pretty email and literature to exsiting eBayers…..eBay express in the UK is attracting the cream of the sellers. Only one problem is the lack of buyers. The states suffered the same downfall. One seller quoted only 3 sales in about 300 were from the eBay express marketplace.
I personally fail to see why. Ebay express is a potentially great marketplace for buyers! Why?

-All items must have a returns policy
-Sellers must have a 98% or more feedback on eBay
-Be genuine business sellers bound by distance selling regulations ( no fakes as well guys!)
-Items must be shipped within 3 days (no pre-ordering here)
-Payment by credit/debit card is taken by eBays Express Checkout
-Buy from multiple sellers and have a shopping cart like expereince!

eBay express is going to be the biggest e-commerce deptartment store of all time! But we need buyers! The sellers are up for it.

As said in a previous post eBay is running a TV ad for its main marketplace but not its new eBay express, and so far not attracting the new buyers it needs.

I am a new convert to the ways of eBay express and wish it the best. When your looking to buy on eBay remember to check eBay express. Its a better customer experience!

E-Commerce is one of the most important aspects of the Internet. Under this umbrella we have websites with shopping cart functions, marketplaces and shopping comparison sites.

Ecommerce allows people to carry out business without the restraint of time or location. A traditional website can serve anywhere in the world that can log on! The cost per sale is reduced when you’re talking about e-commerce. No human interaction is needed, and errors are reduced as the customer provides all the information.

Customers can search for niche products in an instant, and if you are a seller of niche product, reaching out to the world can increase your sales volumes thus decreasing the cost of the item for you, the business.

The customers experience can be streamlined, they will spend less time over order discrepancies and there is an increased chance of cross selling as the products are just another click away.

So when as a business would you choose a marketplace such as eBay?

Marketplaces are great for customer acquisition; a marketplace such as eBay will spread your branding across the web quicker than any pay per click scheme. Marketplaces have high velocities, great for brand new stock and finishing lines. Marketplaces can also be places to test ideas or new products, you will soon know on whether a product is not going to do well or fly off the shelves.

Protecting your bricks and mortar:

Many traditional companies are afraid of marketplaces and the fierce price wars between competitors. They are afraid of a detrimental effect to the brand, their brick and mortar shops not being able to match the prices and keeping up with the demand of a high volume marketplace. Fear is a great controller, and you must know your enemy. Many high street businesses trade under a pseudonym, access to the product, but it causes no cross over in their high street stores.

As for prices, well the competition for the product types are already there. Many will browse shops muttering that they can get it cheaper on eBay. I know I do. You have to join the race, not shy away from it to stop your competitors getting ahead. Brands are more dilute when it comes to e-commerce; smaller brands come into their own. This trend could start creeping into the high street as broadband gets faster and cheaper and the payment gateways more secure.

Protecting your brand!

As with any new route to channel, you have charlatans to go with it! Is someone trading as you? Using your brand awareness to gain sales? Even if you are not e-commerce active you need to make sure you regularly check your brand on the internet. Reputation is everything to a business and with the anonymity of the internet is easy to impersonate a leading brand.

Advertising on the Internet

Back in the days of the dot com boom all you needed was a website and the traffic was yours. But the giants like Google and Yahoo forced us to search their ay and the fight for natural search was on! To fund their world domination these two titans have their own search marketing schemes or pay-per-click advertising to drive traffic using keywords. Large advertisers can spend thousands on pay per click advertising (probably wasting a lot of it due to bad management) Marketplaces are an active way to do this. For instance on eBay you are advertising as well as physically selling an item. The marketplace has done the hard work for you!

Elizabeth Kidson - Frooition Support