June 09, 2006
News from Channel Advisor
“While English people are notorious for complaining about their jobs, they now have no excuse for not taking the plunge and setting up their own business,” comments Jennifer Gibson, General Manager at ChannelAdvisor. “Thousands of eBay businesses are doing very well and it is really very easy to do!”
ChannelAdvisor has highlighted ten of the most common mistakes that eBay traders make - avoid these and you will be on your way to building a successful eBay business:
1. Imprecise descriptions: The product description forms part of the contract of sale - clear descriptions will attract relevant bids and ensure a satisfied customers
2. Wrong title: Don’t use vague and unclear product titles in the hope that this will lure in more potential customers - buyers go for listings that directly address their needs
3. Wrong starting time: The majority of bids are placed when an auction is about to end so the duration is irrelevant. Much more important is that the auction ends during peak bidding hours - between 6pm and 10pm
4. Private profiles: Anyone who does not make their feedback public has something to hide and prospective buyers will go elsewhere
5. Missing images: An image says a thousand words and is a must have on eBay. The first image is free but traders should also consider paying extra for the additional eBay gallery option
6. Overlapping: If you are offering the same items for auction regularly you should ensure your auctions do not overlap as bidders will move to the later auction in pursuit of a lower price
7. Delivery costs: These should cover postal charges as well as packaging and handling, but should not be an opportunity to make additional profit
8. Feedback revenge: Do not seek revenge for unfair negative feedback as this can escalate - stay calm and focus on future sales
9. Wrong trading tools: A lot of trading tools are aimed at occasional sellers - regular sellers should consider auction management tools to reduce admin
10. Wrong platform - eBay is a highly competitive and commoditised trading environment. You should consider whether your product portfolio would be better suited to alternative or additional online platforms such as Kelkoo.
Posted by Dave Bromley at 11:22 AM
May 26, 2005
An Alternative to Parcel Force
If you have a branch of the Staples stationery store near you
then you can take advantage of their Parcel delivery Service.
In conjunction with DHL they are offering a next day delivery
for just £8.
Parcels can be up to a maximum weight of 31.5kg with a
maximum of 4 cubic feet per item and a maximum length
of 4 feet. Parcels have to be delivered to your local Staples by
12p.m . For extra charges delivery can be guaranteed before
10.00 am or 12pm.
Parcels sent using this service carry an insurance liability of up
to £100. Additional insurance can also be purchased. Next time
I have a big parcel to ship I think I will give it a try. If you have
Any experience of this service let me know what you think
Posted by Dave Bromley at 01:26 PM
May 19, 2005
Spoonfeeder
One of the first major online auction software companies to show any interest in the UK market was Spoonfeeder. Gene Chandler the CEO of Spoonfeeder is very keen for his company to become a major International player. As a result they are continually updating and improving their program.
To give it its full title the software is called Spoonfeeder Professional Management System and the developers claim that it is designed to make the lives of on-line auction sellers easier.
Currently the system has many unique features such as the ability to generate professional advertisements, auction listings, and items for sale listings using pre designed, eye-catching templates. It also includes an integrated free picture hosting .
Other useful tools included in the program are a photo enhancer, a facility to load, save, print, organise and reuse listings. It also has a spell checker and thesaurus included.
At first I found the program a little daunting but thanks to instructions on the CD I quickly got use to it. There have been a lot of new features added lately and I am seriously thinking of making it main submission tool. If you have a lot of items listed on eBay you will find the managements tools particularly useful.
This listing software, which is being constantly updated, has been around for some time and is now available for purchase directly from e-Bay auctions. Just go to eBay.co.uk and type “spoonfeeder” into the search box. As I write this the eBay.co.uk version of the program is available on CD as a Buy It Now item for £6.95 + £2 postage.
Rating : ( out of 5)
Effectiveness: ***
Value: ****
Ease of Use: ***
Posted by Dave Bromley at 02:55 PM
