Falling in Love on Ebay

"An immature love says I love you because I need you, but a mature love says I need you because I love you."
- Unknown 

Are you curious yet?  Did you open this up to see what in the world did falling in love have to do with Ebay?  Perhaps the article is about online relationships that began as sellers conversing on the boards….      Screech!!!

No.  What I am talking about today is methods to get your customer to open up your listing.  This is about knowing when to leave a little mystery in a title and how to show your customer the value of your item. Today we will talk about:

Scraps

No not the kind of scraps where you nudge your significant other and say, “Babe Puleeease take out the scraps!”   

I’m talking fabric scraps.

I was talking with someone the other day about fabrics.  Have you ever checked on Ebay at the sheer number of fabric listings?  The competition is fierce!  Some people have an edge when they have vintage fabric, and some when they have a designer fabric or large quantities.  What do you do when you have a generic fabric (but cute) and it is a remnant?

Most listings have the yardage in the title.  If your amount of fabric is small, try NOT putting the yardage in the title.  The idea of this is to have your customer FALL IN LOVE with the beauty of the design first.  

·         Use descriptive nouns in your title that identifies the components of the fabric. 

·         In the listing  identify the fabric size not by yards but by actual inch dimensions.  If the items has been cut on previously, measure usable area in square or rectangular sections.  Why? Because if you item is a remnant, you are taking the emphasis off of $ per yard.  You are now having the crafter think in terms of “how many items can I make out of this fabric”

·         When taking your pictures of the fabric offered, make note of the dimensions.  This gives your crafter an idea about “scale”.  This is especially important if your fabric has objects.  I’ve had crafters ask, “How many strawberries can I get to a square foot of fabric?”  (this customer was making handkerchiefs)

·         To illustrate, here is a remnant that I recently sold    http://tinyurl.com/4e2asfr     You will see that this fabric isn’t anything special, however I was able to give the piece “perceived value”.

·         Put “Cutter” into your title on remnants.  This is a frequent term used in searches for the crafters looking for unique fabric to cut up for various purposes.  Remember you are trying to be found… and you are trying to get READ!

Falling in Love” with your listing means, clear pictures in good light.

It means folding your fabric so the full effect of the design is show cased and it also means that you do not give your customer a reason NOT to open the listing.   If the yardage is small, give them time to salivate over the design, color and texture so they will need to open to find out how much is available!  

Make them need it BECAUSE they love it!

Are you an Ebay seller?  We would like to invite you to join our Ebay Underground group on Facebook.  This is the one group where you will not be asked to purchase information!  What you will find is a large group of sellers, eager to share their expertise to insure the success of ALL of its members!

eBay Mentoring Program - Part 2

My last post was about our eBay Underground mentoring program so I wanted to let you all know how that was going. If you remember, we offer FREE store or listing reviews for all of our group members. We have had both new store owners, who need a little direction, as well as long time sellers who need a fresh perspective.

I had the pleasure of reviewing a couple of stores and it was a fun learning exercise for me. I’ve always checked out other sellers because I think that’s a good habit to get into. Why not see how other professionals do it and strive to better your “look” on eBay, as well as your bottom line?

Here is a sample of some of the feedback we have received so far:

Dana P.
“Just want everyone to know that I got my review yesterday and it was full of great advice. These gals are wonderful. Everyone that is new to selling should really get their stores analyzed. Special thanks to Lesley and Dana, you guys rock!”

Patricia K.
“I too would like everyone to know that I also got my review back from Michelle & Shannon on my store and it was very professional and impressive. I very much appreciate all the great information, tips and areas pointed out that I really need to work on and change. What a wonderful gift of their time and expertise…Thank you both very much!”

Kathryn V.
“Thank you Ginger and Rachel for my review! Even though I am on the ‘Analyzing Team’, I knew I could benefit from the review! I have already started making changes!”

Kari S.
“Seriously…WOW on the review Tina gave me. I can not rave enough on how much valid information I was given. I highly recommend anyone doing this. She really will change how I run this business and I’m betting it will be for the best. Thank you Tina!”

Needless to say, seeing the interest generated from our members who want to take advantage of this service, coupled with the glowing feedback has been amazing.

If you would like your own store or listings reviewed, simply join eBay Underground today and leave a comment on this thread.

PLUS, join our FAN PAGE and you won't miss another news feed!

Happy eBaying!
Lesley

eBay Mentoring Program

When I first started selling on eBay in February of 2008 I would have loved a personal mentor. I had to learn the ropes myself, figure out how to make professional listings, price my items effectively as well as stand out from the competition. Now I’m lucky to have that learning curve behind me, but a personal team to help me strategize would have been a dream!

There is a lot of great information to be learned from various eBay groups and boards, but many so called “experts” are willing to help for a fee and I’ve seen many new sellers disappointed with the subpar information.

Do you ever wonder if your description is doing the job or if your pictures look professional? Are you sourcing the right products? Is your pricing strategy getting the results that you want? Do you want to take your business to the next level?

I’m happy to announce that our eBay Underground group on Facebook has formed an expert team of experienced top rated sellers who will be willing to look at your store and listings and offer up helpful comments and tactics to help you succeed. This is all part of our Free Analytics eBay Mentoring program that all members of eBay Underground enjoy.

Click here to get started!