How to beat the competition on eBay
So you have created your first online shop, you have researched your product, and you are ready to start selling! That is great news, but being a successful seller on eBay means standing out from the competition, and this can be tricky. There are thousands of sellers out there, some who have been making a successful living through eBay for many years. They have fantastic reviews, have proved themselves to be reputable, sell high-quality products and engage with their customers, while you are just starting out. It can be overwhelming when trying to understand how you will successfully draw buyers to your online store over bigger, more established competitors, but luckily there are a few tricks and tips that you should pay attention to, and, with any luck, you will see sales slowly but surely start to increase.
1. Research Thoroughly
First, if you have any chance of standing up to your competitors you have to know who they are. Research your market thoroughly and get a proper understanding of the types of businesses you may be inadvertently pitted against, who are they? what products are in their range, do they have physical shops, a separate website, or do they just sell through eBay? Understanding firstly the volume of competitors out there, and then how they operate is a crucial first step in understanding how you will be able to stand out amongst them.
You may want to know how to find the great products to sell on eBay?
2. Do Competitors' Analysis
Once you have established the range of competition you have, it is time to focus on the ones who are the most successful. Look at how they have positioned themselves and their product in the market? What have they done that makes customers pay attention to them over other sites selling the same or similar products? Do they describe the product in a certain way that makes it sound appealing, or do they offer guarantees, free delivery, or simply just the lowest price? Pay particular attention to the product, title, description, and pictures. Are they being noticed because they have made clever use of keywords, so when a customer searches for that type of product, they come up first in the results or have they taken particularly attractive photos of the product which makes it more visually appealing, and seem higher quality that other sellers pictures? Taking these details into account and using them when creating your own product listing will give you the best chance of standing out.
3. Listing Trick
Another clever trick is to pay attention to the duration that other sellers list their products for? Look at which days they end on, are they automatically re-listed? If you can find a gap where a top seller has ended their item, make sure yours is still available that way buyers at that particular time are more likely to come to you.
4. 'Free' Always Attracts
If you have only just created your online shop you might like to employ some more unusual tactics to get you noticed and see you fight off the competition. Offering a free gift with your product, for example, is an interesting and unique way to grab a buyer's attention, and who like something for nothing right?! Free shipping also always goes down well as people like to know exactly what they are paying for an item, and shipping prices can vary wildly from seller to seller so making allowances for this and including it in your product price instead is actually hugely appealing to buyers.
5. After Sales Service
Offering excellent customer service is also key. It may take a little while to get your eBay store off the ground buy once you do and those sales start coming in you want to make sure you can offer the best customer service out there. Listen to your customers, answer any questions that come in quickly and fully, offer a returns policy (this shows you are confident in the quality of your product) and make sure you resolve any discrepancies with your buyers as quickly as possible. The eBay feedback tool is the quickest and easiest way a potential buyer can see whether your business is reliable and trustworthy, so make sure you receive positive feedback with each and every sale. Here are the tips on getting excellent feedback on eBay.
