Earlier this week, I had the extreme privilege of being interviewed by Dan Miller, author of 48 Days to the Work You Love, No More Dreaded Mondays, and co-author of
Add value and increase selling price
Years ago, I sold used printers on Ebay and printing supplies on my own website. At the time, the used printer market was very competitive. One way I set my listings apart from everyone else was I added value without increasing my costs. Here’s what I did:
Since I was selling related products — ink cartridges, toner cartridges, photo paper, etc., I had a vested interest in turning one-time used printer sales into repeat supply customers.
I created a “Frequent Buyer Program.” On my website, I sold a membership for a one-time fee of $9.95. From that point forward, members would receive a discount on their ink and toner orders. The discount got bigger as the orders got bigger. My members wanted to get on the positive side of that deal as soon as they could to reap the benefits of saving in the future.
I offered this membership for free on all used printer purchases on Ebay. I automatically added $10 of value to the printer without adding any cost to me. Many of the printers I sold went for $30 to $50 dollars. On a $30 printer, that extra $10 of value was essentially a 33% bonus.
What can you do to increase your value to your buyers?
Who is your perfect buyer?
If you aren’t marketing toward a specific type of person, chances are you are marketing toward everyone. That’s a losing proposition.
When you are too generic, nobody feels like you are talking to them specifically. No connection is made. No trust is built, no relationship is built, and no sale happens.
Decide who your perfect buyer is and write your titles and descriptions with them in mind. Your copy will be more concise and better written. Your photos will showcase what your buyer wants to see.
Take a look at your stats — I bet your auctions start closing at higher values and your fixed price listings start selling with a lower page view-to-sale ratio.
Be human
Ebay facilitates transactions between a buyer and a seller. Both are human. Act like it.
Don’t hide behind your username. Respond to questions with real answers. Corporate-speak doesn’t work.
