Business owners have discovered the power of capturing the eBay segment of the market for building their customer base and generating leads for their non-eBay businesses. You might be wondering why a large business would bother with eBay – can it really add profit to your bottom line? Let’s look at the big picture.
As an eBay consultant and Power Seller since 2003, I strongly urge all businesses who sell products or services online to experiment with selling on eBay. Many business owners do not realize that there is a segment of the consumer market that begins their search for all products and services on eBay – before looking anywhere else. Keep in mind that eBay has over 247 million users worldwide. (eBay shareholder's report, October 17, 2007.) You want to be able to tap into the market of eBay users who are all congregated on one website, ready to buy.
Businesses and entrepreneurs offering consumer goods and services can capture the eBay segment of the market if they have a presence on eBay. Many large retailers use eBay as their clearance center – not for the profit on their sales – but for increasing their customer base and for post-transactional marketing opportunities. These savvy businesses understand that once they have completed a transaction with an eBay buyer, they have the opportunity to market to that customer – forever.
For example, the seller can include marketing information about their own website, such as a business card, special offer, or coupon in the eBay customer’s order. The seller also has the customer’s email address, and can tastefully and professionally encourage the customer to sign up for email alerts or a company newsletter as a way to communicate with their customers.All eBay sellers are permitted to place a link to their own website on their About Me page. This is the only place on eBay that a seller may post outgoing links to non-eBay websites. Whether you are selling tractor tires, wedding invitations, graphic design services, or personalized baby products, take some time to learn about the eBay selling system so that you can use the world’s largest online marketplace to your advantage. eBay goes beyond just generating income – eBay provides access to millions of customers worldwide who are ready to buy and ultimately become your customer forever.
I have found this to be very true. Almost all of the major purchases that I have made over the last two years started on eBay. When I search on eBay I at least get some Idea of what I can expect to pay but in most cases I have been able to find what I was looking for at a good fair price. Keep up the good work!!
Posted by: Bob G | December 12, 2007 2:10 PM | Permalink to Comment