SELLING BEYOND eBay ................. 15844$ $$FM 03-27-06 08:28:25 PS PAGE i This page intentionally left blank SELLING BEYOND eBay Foolproof Ways to Reach More Customers and Make Big Money on Rival Online Marketplaces Greg Holden American Management Association New York • Atlanta • Brussels • Chicago • Mexico City • San Francisco Shanghai • Tokyo • Toronto • Washington, D.C. ................. 15844$ $$FM 03-27-06 08:28:26 PS PAGE iii Special discounts on bulk quantities of AMACOM books are available to corporations, professional associations, and other organizations. For details, contact Special Sales Department, AMACOM, a division of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. Tel.: 212-903-8316. Fax: 212-903-8083. Web site: www.amacombooks.org This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Holden, Greg. Selling beyond eBay : foolproof ways to reach more customers and make big money on rival online marketplaces / Greg Holden. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-10: 0-8144-7349-0 ISBN-13: 978-0-8144-7349-8 1. Internet marketing. 2. Internet auctions. 3. Selling. I. Title. HF5415.1265.H654 2006 658.8Ј7—dc22 2005036479 ᭧ 2006 Greg Holden. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of AMACOM, a division of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. Printing number 10987654321 ................. 15844$ $$FM 03-27-06 08:28:26 PS PAGE iv Contents P A R T I : Preparing a Multichannel Sales Effort 1 Chapter 1 Should You Sell Beyond eBay? 3 Chapter 2 Creating a Solid Foundation on eBay 11 Chapter 3 Searching for Life Beyond eBay 27 P A R T I I : Branching Out to New Auction Venues 39 Chapter 4 Carrying Your Experience and Reputation to New Venues 41 Chapter 5 Accurately Valuing Your Merchandise 53 Chapter 6 New Strategies for Moving Inventory 62 Chapter 7 Finding More than One Way to Sell 70 Chapter 8 Selling Off High-Value Assets and Equipment 79 Chapter 9 Connect with Collectors at Specialized Auction Sites 90 Chapter 10 Reaching Local Buyers 99 P A R T I I I : Opening an Online Storefront 109 Chapter 11 Partnering with a Big Name 111 Chapter 12 Leveraging Amazon.com’s Customer Base 123 Chapter 13 Overstock.com 144 Chapter 14 Finding the Right Operational Partner 157 Chapter 15 Handling Payments 168 P A R T I V : Selling Through Your Own Website 179 Chapter 16 Planning Your Own Website 181 Chapter 17 Boosting Your Website’s Effectiveness 203 v ................. 15844$ CNTS 03-27-06 08:28:29 PS PAGE v vi CONTENTS P A R T V : Moving from Online to Offline Sales 215 Chapter 18 Opening a Brick-and-Mortar Store 217 Chapter 19 Trade Shows, Flea Markets, and Other Offline Sales Venues 230 P A R T V I : Supplying Your New Storefronts 239 Chapter 20 Finding New Sources of Merchandise 241 Chapter 21 Reaching Overseas Buyers 251 Chapter 22 Partnering with Other Sellers 261 Appendix A Online Auction Marketplaces 271 Appendix B Online Storefront Solutions 277 Appendix C Top Ten Tips for Moving Beyond eBay 285 Index 289 ................. 15844$ CNTS 03-27-06 08:28:29 PS PAGE vi SELLING BEYOND eBay ................. 15844$ HFTL 03-27-06 08:28:32 PS PAGE vii This page intentionally left blank PART ⅷI Preparing a Multichannel Sales Effort ................. 15844$ PRT1 03-27-06 08:28:36 PS PAGE 1 This page intentionally left blank CHAPTER ⅷ1 Should You Sell Beyond eBay? Why move beyond eBay? It’s a natural question to ask, even if you have picked up this book because you are thinking of trying different online auction marketplaces. After all, eBay is a comfortable and well-established commercial website. In fact, it’s one of the world’s most popular marketplaces. If you wish to put your products before the greatest number of ‘‘eyeballs,’’ you stand a very good chance of doing so on eBay. However, now that it’s been around for a full decade, eBay’s rate of growth is slowing down. Don’t misunderstand me: the heft of a giant is still impressive even if that giant is no longer growing like a weed. It is mind-boggling that eBay has an estimated 150 million members worldwide. According to an MSNBC report, an esti- mated $80,000 worth of transactions take place on the site every minute, every day.1 No matter what its size, every company knows the inherent dangers of sitting on its laurels. And there are more and more contenders nipping at the heels of eBay. The number of websites that let you buy and sell, create an online storefront, or post classified advertisements is growing steadily. Therefore, if you focus solely on eBay for your online auction sales, you might be selling yourself short. Some auction sites are less expensive and more user-friendly than eBay. Plus, you can reach dedicated collectors through a wide variety of niche auction sites. And you can increase your profit margin by moving some—if not all—of your sales from eBay to other venues. Consider the computer and accessories whole- saler Exel-i, Inc. This company used to sell 100 percent of its merchandise on eBay under several user IDs, including LaptopBroker.com. When eBay raised its fees for Gallery photos, Buy It Now sales, and eBay Stores, the company decided to save as much as $55,000 per month simply by not using Gallery photos and Buy It Now fixed prices. Then, the company began to move its merchandise away from eBay. Now, eBay accounts for only 30 percent of Exel-i’s sales. The rest comes from sales on the company’s website, Amazon.com, other online venues, and direct sales to 3 ................. 15844$ $CH1 03-27-06 08:29:02 PS PAGE 3 4 PREPARING A MULTICHANNEL SALES EFFORT business customers. It’s to your advantage to look beyond eBay to save money and find new customers. And this book will show you how to do it. Online Auctions Are Growing For many years, eBay really could claim to be the only viable game in town. Hopeful challengers rose up, only to slink away in defeat. In just the last year or two, however, several other auction sites have begun to gain traction. Their success can be traced to factors such as eBay’s fee increases and to more individuals around the world acquiring access to the Internet. Sites such as Alibaba and TaoBao in China and iOffer, Bidville, uBid, and IronPlanet in the United States are attracting more and more customers, thereby enabling these sites to diversify. Who Will Benefit from This Book This book is for several different types of sellers, all of whom are ready to expand their horizons beyond eBay. They don’t necessarily feel compelled to leave eBay altogether; they simply want to look for new options and new customers: • The first group can be described as The Dissatisfied. These sellers have estab- lished themselves on eBay; they have a steady supply of merchandise to sell; and they make sales every week. But they are tired of watching the number of potential buyers dwindle. As a result, the number of bids on their items is going down. And their sell-through rates (the number of items they put up for sale compared with the number that are actually sold) are becoming increas- ingly dismal. In other words, they are hitting the wall in terms of profits and sales. • The second group is The Disgruntled. They are beginning to feel that eBay is taking lessons from the federal government in how to undercut their profits. They love the feeling they get when they sell lots of merchandise at a good price, but then crash into despair when they get a bill from eBay. They growl every time they estimate their profits, only to realize that eBay’s fees have cut into them severely. • The last group is The Discoverers. They are in business to stay and want to fish off all sides of the pier. They realize that a successful online business doesn’t depend on a single service provider like eBay for success and want to ................. 15844$ $CH1 03-27-06 08:29:03 PS PAGE 4 SHOULD YOU SELL BEYOND EBAY? 5 keep their options open. They want to sell directly to the public through as many ‘‘front doors’’ as possible, whether these are websites or brick-and- mortar stores. Whether you are angry with eBay or just looking for more sales, if you are reading this book, you are ready to move beyond the friendly confines of eBay and explore new ways to connect with customers and build your business. This Book Is for Sellers Selling Beyond eBay moves beyond the basics of shopping and buying on auction sites and doesn’t get bogged down with topics like comparison shopping. Written with ambitious sellers in mind, this book: • Describes popular auction options other than eBay and how to get started with them • Explores ways to balance your eBay sales with sales on other marketplaces • Shows you how to maintain your security and privacy even as you increase your visibility around the Web • Provides you with a general overview of the auction scene outside of eBay • Suggests ways to market your sales and your business through your own web- site Indeed, you can get just as much profit selling on your own or through other auction venues as you can on eBay.