So many ecommerce sellers want to expand their sales and profits We see it day-in day-out on Tamebay: in the comments and our inbox is often full of enquiries too. It’s a heartening sign of the overwhelming health of the industry. Most people still see a huge opportunity.
eBay businesses want to sell more, more effectively and more profitably. There’s huge interest in Amazon and maximizing sales there. What about branching out to other marketplaces or establishing an independent webshop? There’s a huge hunger for help and expertise.
The good news is that there is plenty of help out there. We’ve been astonished by how much the eBay and ecommerce ecosystem has developed in the last year or two. There is is a dizzying array of choice. We reckon that you need to concentrate on what you do best and outsource the rest.
And we practice what we preach at Tamebay: we have web developers and designers that we use to keep our site running and also use a third party for business measurement and emailing our thousands of readers.
It’s because there’s so much choice out there that we publish the annual Tamebay eBay and Ecommerce Guide . We detail the services our readers recommend and we know already serve thousands of ecommerce traders.
Here’s a small selection of what you’ll find in the Tamebay Guide.
#1 Multi-channel management
Ecommerce is a tricky business and seeking automation to as great an extent possible is important. It becomes even more critical if you trade on more than one marketplace. We’re often asked: “which service is best.” But that’s a strange question. The answer is: “it depends on your business and what you sell and where.” They all have merits and shortcomings. But they all do one thing: save time and effort. You need to work out what will work for you.
#2 New ways to ship and fulfil your orders
Royal Mail offers a plethora of services and you need to choose which of their offerings suits you best. Then there are dozens of couriers and other suppliers who might suit your need too. Or go the whole hog and outsource either all or some of your fulfilment to a specialist company who can deal with everything from warehousing to returns. Push the envelope and seek out the best solution for you.
#3 Timesavers
An ecommerce sellers’ job is never done. You’re a picker and packer, a business strategist, the person in accounts and chief bottle washer. The trick is not to waste acres of time on things that can be relatively cheaply outsourced to a more efficient third-party whether it’s keeping your accounts or designing your listings. Help someone help you save time.#1
#4 International rescue
Tamebay’s prediction is that international trade is going to be the big story of 2014. The potential for expansion is huge if you can sort out the practicalities and mitigate the potential pitfalls. It’s a daunting frontier for many, that’s not unusual, but seek out experts to help you take your ecommerce business on an international voyage to growing profits. There’s everything for optimising your eBay Shop and listings for overseas buyers right through to overseas couriers translation services in the Tamebay guide.
#5 Small business lending
Even healthy businesses need a financial helping hand from time to time to help them grow or invest in stock or equipment. In the UK, small business lending from banks is still on the decline and that’s not helpful to SMEs. But a new generation of small business lending companies honed to the needs of ecommerce businesses trading on eBay. They’re worth checking out.
Dan Wilson is the Co-editor of Tamebay.com and the author of Make Serious Money on eBay UK.
