Thursday, September 9, 2010

On Location with eBay at San Jose, California

As an eBay seller Keen Eye Deals attended the On Location event held by eBay September 1-2.  It was eBay's 15th birthday celebration!  I attended the kick off and birthday celebration party on September 1st.  I met several eBay sellers Mr. Bigfoot, AHOT Stores, REBA702, and Starlet Susilo from Page Mage to name a few.

The first speaker on day two was Mike Michalowicz who let the audience in on The Art of Customer Attraction.  His main points were:

  • Turn negatives into positives, use negative feed back and spin it into a positive
  • There is no sweeter word than a customer's own name, use it!
  • It isn't about price unless you let it be, differentiate yourself through better pictures, warranties, video trainings, a certificate of authenticity
  • Better than expected, with the old saying under promise over perform
  • Let me in the club, make your purchases special, let your customers in on secrets
  • Help them defend themselves, give your customers key bullet points to make them feel good about their purchase
  • Never forget you, follow up with your customers, make sure you remember them, provide excellent customer service
  • The secret, let them in on inside information, make them feel privileged and special
Next I went to Strategies to Grow Your Business by eBay's own Sarah Brubacher.  She spoke about reducing costs, maximizing search visibility, delighting customers, and optimizing your effectiveness.  EBay has finally changed their fee structure to reflect 9% flat fee.  To maximize your search visibility do an ended auction search.  Look at other successful auction titles.  Offer free shipping, it will bump your listing up.  Top rated sellers also get a boost in search results.   Use fixed price with the option for best offer.  This allows sellers to advertise retail prices while allowing offers to come in.  Keep all the important information on your listing at the top.  Clearly state shipping costs and time frames.  Make sure to upload ship tracking to eBay this will eliminate many questions from buyers. 

Shipping must haves.  Sarah promotes free and expidited shipping.  Clearly state your stores policies.  Set buyers expectations about when you will ship a purchased item.  Offer discounts for multiple purchases.  And don't forget to clarify your return policy.  To lessen customer questions set up a frequently asked questions options. 

Customers are interested to know who they are dealing with.  Tell them your story and go global.  Allow international orders.  This will increase your sales.  And as always when you meet people be prepared with a 20-30 second elevator pitch about your eBay store.  You never know who is looking for your products. 

And remember Sarah told us that, persistence is the number one characteristic of successful millionaires.