>> If
you were to look through eBay, or any other online
auction site for that matter, you would find that many
people make some very basic mistakes. And, they repeat
these mistakes over and over again. As indicated in my
book "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" with a little
common sense these mistakes are completely preventable.
So to prevent you from making these very same mistakes I
have put together the Top Ten Tips For Auction Success.
10. Shipping
Always state what your shipping price will be. And, Do
Not try to rip off your buyers by inflating the shipping
price to increase your profit. Believe it or not, people
do have a fair idea of what shipping costs should be. If
they feel you are inflating your shipping price they
will not bid on your item and may not look at any of
your other auctions either from fear of being ripped off.
9. Customer Support
You must respond to all emails regarding your auctions.
Yes, responding to emails is time consuming. But, if you
don't, that potential bidder will look else ware for the
product and you will have lost yourself a customer.
8. Reserve Price
Do your research on the price for your item. If you must
use a reserve price keep it real. If you over price your
item you will not get as many bids. And, while all good
marketers know there is a time and place for the Reserve
Auction, you may actually get more bids using no reserve
pricing at all. Do your research to help you make this
decision.
7. Item Condition
You must let bidders know what condition your item is in.
Is it new and in it's packaging, or used but like new
condition. Does it have any imperfections they should be
made aware of.. A potential bidders will want to know
what condition your item is in before making any bids.
6. Terms
This could come under the heading Customer Service. If
you have terms on your auction page that read something
like this "Not Responsible For Item Once Shipped" or
"Item Sold As Is" you will lessen the number of bidders
for that auction. Be a responsible eBayer, have
insurance on the item that your buyer can purchase. And
be sure to have some sort of guarantee on your products.
5. Feedback
One of the most important parts of your eBay Business.
Feedback is a method eBay uses to allow buyers and
sellers to record their experiences with each other.
Then, others can check out the feedback of any eBayer
they wish to deal with, to see if there has been any
negative comments left. Therefore, it is extremely
important to keep your feedback rating positive.
4. Auction Start/Close Time
You must plan your auction start/close time around the
bidders you wish to attract to your auction. If the
product you are selling appeals to the working woman,
the best time to start/end your auction would be in the
evening or on the weekend. Always create a profile on
your product and what group of the population you are
selling to.
3. Item Description
Not enough information or too much rambling of
information will discourage people from bidding. So too
will to many typos. Your item description must be clean
and concise. Succinctly provide all the information
required to describe the item sufficiently and create
buyer interest.
2. Image
You need to use an image on your auction page. Remember
a picture is worth a 1000 words! Potential bidders will
want to see what the item looks like before they make a
bid. With digital cameras, being so affordable these
days adding a image to your auction page is easier then
ever. But, make sure the image is clear and well lit to
show it's detail or any imperfections it may have. Also,
keep the image at a reasonable pixel size so your
auction page doesn't take to long to load.
1. Headlines
This is the most important issue for getting more
bidders to your auction page. You must include words
that people will search on eBay. And, you must make your
headline enticing, so potential bidders will click it.
If you are selling an antique make-up table a headline
saying old vanity table would not pull in a lot of
bidders. But, if you said something like "Vintage Vanity
Table - Mint Condition - Collectors Item" not only would
you get more potential bidders to view your auction, you
would also be using words people would search eBay for.
Your auction title would appear in searches for Vintage,
Vanity Tables, Collectors Items. Therefore, allowing
even more potential bidders to see your headline.
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