Trying The eBay Method

Coursedesign wrote on 2/6/2006, 11:01 AM

The biggest mistake in marketing is when people think that they will be the first ones in history who don't have to test their offers.

You have a beautiful presentation of the product, and it appears to be high class. The price is right.

Note that many people who start selling a new product start selling it with no reserve. NR is always more attractive, and as soon as you get a few bids, more tend to follow (lemming response).

You can make money even if somebody were to win at $0.99 say, with an appropriate S&H fee of $4.95 that covers in your case your entire manufacturing cost and first class mail shipping, with a bit left over even towards the production. And that was at $0.99! You need to build a bit of volume first, then you'll see better prices, and also have no problem with BuyItNow, which can also be combined with NR so that you start with no reserve, then after somebody places the the first bid, the BuyItNow offer disappears. Common on eBay and effective.

So what else could you do (besides putting some color into the oakleaf "hole" on the DVD cover that has an unfortunate effect on your beautiful design)?

#1 is to provide a benefits description in the title, rather than a features list.

"CANADA WEST DVD - Simply Stunning!! (Dolby 5.1 Audio)"

I couldn't care less if your product features Dolby surround, if I am not interested in the product otherwise.

"Canada West", is that a hockey team? Or something else that I couldn't even guess from just seeing this title in a long list of titles?

"Simply stunning!" A simply stunning WHAT? A penile implant? Well, no can't be, those don't have Dolby 5.1 Audio. What else is on eBay today?

There are a bunch of books about selling on eBay, but they are best used for lighting a potbelly stove.

eBay Hacks is the only one I have seen that is worth the paper it's printed on.

Try different titles for your product, and measure the success of each by how many views you get, then when you think you have maxed that out, by how many sales you make. This is not perfect due to eBay having different amounts of traffic different days of the week, but it should help you improve your title to the point where a larger number of relevant prospects click on your title to learn more.

The "All Regions Apply" designation, can you change that to just "All Regions"? (would be less confusing).

dibbkd wrote on 2/6/2006, 11:26 AM

I agree with Coursedesign, the subject title of your auction isn't very descriptive. All those views you got on your auction were probably from people searching for something else.

I think you'd get some bids with a better title.

tygrus2000 wrote on 2/6/2006, 11:36 AM

Course,thanks for the tips. You seem to know ebay. I'll try to tweak it some.

Steve Mann wrote on 2/8/2006, 1:48 PM

Remember - you asked for it...

Your description is fine, but when you get to the technical, you have a few problems:

"All Regions" - WTF? The customer DOESN'T CARE. If they even know about DVD regions, they will assume and expect that the DVD you ship will play for them.

Shipping - if you get the $15 for the DVD, then throw in free shipping.

This whole paragraph goes -->
"Your version of CANADA WEST is mailed to you in a slimline DVD case and shrink wrapped. We send it regular mail to keep costs as low as possible. It will arrive in a 9.5” x 5.5” regular envelope. The DVD cases are robust enough to ensure that your disc arrives in perfect condition. Your version will look exactly as depicted in the graphic above. "
Again, the customer DOESN'T CARE how you package and ship as long as they get a good disc. Also, saying why (... to keep costs low...) hurts your image.

"Contact me directly for shipping on multiple quantities."
Confusing and unnecessary. Who are you expecting, a distributor? A tourist store? No, yhey will buy one for review, then contact you. You can subtly say: "Volume pricing available" and leave it at that.

"Payment Details"
Why don't you just say: "I don't trust you"?
Nothing, and I mean nothing will turn off a sale faster than calling your customer a lying, thieving scum.

"Payment must be received in 5-days", but I'll take my sweet time to send you the DVD when I am sure that you aren't a thief.

Paypal - what do you care if the address is confirmed if the money is in your account? I can see the value of a confirmed address if you were selling something like a camera, but a DVD? Gimme a break!

Cashier's Checks - WTF?? Who the heck is going to go to the bank to get a cashier's check for a $15 DVD?

Look, if you really lose sleep worrying that someone will write a bad check for $15, then simply state: "PayPal only, please".

farss wrote on 2/8/2006, 2:40 PM

I'd really have to agree with the last comment. Oddly enough people will buy things on eBay for more they can it at a local store. Why, because they don't have to think about it or get off their chair, no wonder we're all so obese.
So you have to make your experience match that expectation, no one will spend half an hour of their time making a transaction for a $15 item. It has to be dead simple and it has to look and read like it's going to be dead simple.
Bob.

tygrus2000 wrote on 2/9/2006, 7:00 AM

I keep getting conflicting advice on using ebay an honestly I dont know what to try anymore. If the customers on there are that flaky, its probably not the right place to be.

I see the point about some of the shipping details being too detailed and the strategy of just giving it a flat price with free shipping, or a very low price with a little higher shipping. My cost is $5/disc so I would like to get at least another $5 in profit from each sale.

Others have said, my opening title needs work and the so does the description. Most of the description I wrote was in response to advice saying you need to jack it up a bit.

Coursedesign wrote on 2/9/2006, 7:18 AM

Don't fret, there are millions of people making a living from eBay.

Everything you do needs to be tested, but that is very simple for anybody with more than a room temperature IQ.

Get "eBay Hacks" immediately at your local bookstore (yes, it is widely distributed) or at Amazon. It really is the only book I have seen that is truly a must-have for this.

[The Dummies books, etc., are useless fluff.]

If after you understand eBay somewhat, you want to take it further with improved copy, contact me offline, I have some of the best resources available for learning about human perception, er, marketing.

fwtep wrote on 2/9/2006, 12:26 PM

Here are some more comments:

1) It's not really rated "G" since that's an official rating in the US and can't be used unless it's actually been given that rating by the MPAA. Minor quibble, I know. Anyway, I don't really think you need to mention a rating, because it's pretty doubtful that anyone would expect anything other than "G" for a travel video.

2) In the yellow star splash it says "Inspirational & Evoking." What do you mean by "evoking?" That's not a word that can be used alone. (Think of it as "causing." Would you say "inspirational & causing?") Do you mean "evocative?" Even so, I'd go with something like "uplifting" instead, even though that's slightly redundant.

3) "Creating that definitive Western Canadian experience has come together" is a sentence that doesn't make sense.

4) Should be "acousitc" instead of "acoustical."

5) "...evoke your emotions" doesn't really make sense, because in that context you need to state what emotions. For example, "evoke emotions of joy."

6) "a conversation piece with friends" is wrong. "A conversation piece for friends" is better, but really I'd just drop it because a video isn't really a conversation piece, at least as the term is commonly used.

7) TV's should be in caps ("plasma and LCD TV's.")

8) "Its" should be "It's" in the sentence after the one mentioned in #7.

Besides that stuff, I think you should consider giving the video (and Ebay heading) a different, more descriptive name. For example: CANADA: THE GREAT NORTHWEST

Some of the stuff (maybe all) I've listed may seem minor and nit-picky, but remember, you're presenting yourself as a company and should want to seem as professional as possible so your customers have confidence in you.

Cheers,
Fred

bullshark wrote on 2/10/2006, 8:11 AM

I agree with most of what have been said, but I also think a link to a web page of the product where a short trailer can be found would go a long way in helping sales; it's the first thing I looked for when I viewed the item, and was surprised to find nothing.

Web presence, featuring a trailer of about 1 minute of your best shot and a single musical piece playing on the background, would go a long way in reassuring potential customers of the professionalism of the production.

My 2 ¢ (CDN) worth, and best of luck.

tygrus2000 wrote on 2/10/2006, 10:02 AM

I bought ebay hacks last night and there are some good presentation ideas in there as well as some selling strategies with reserve, buy it now and shipping.

One hack shows how to put video and audio into the auction without having to link outside. I am going to try a few of these in the next auction plus clean up some of the description as was mentioned above.

tygrus

[r]Evolution wrote on 2/10/2006, 6:57 PM

eBay Hacks - where do I get that? I'd love to add Video to my auctions.

Coursedesign wrote on 2/10/2006, 7:44 PM

You could click on the link in my first reply above = Amazon, $16.47 with free 2-day shipping for Prime members.

goshep wrote on 2/10/2006, 8:39 PM

I just hope ebay hacks isn't what's inspiring people lately to charge 500% of the actual item cost in shipping fees. (i.e. Wacom Graphics tablet only $19.00! Shipping & Handling $350.00)

One seller went so far as to admonish would-be buyers about shipping complaints. He was selling beer signs for $19.00 and charging $150.00 in shipping & handling fees and there were STILL numerous complaints about items being broken on arrival! For $150.00 the item better arrive intact, unpack itself and take the empty box out to the recycling bin!

I've had marginal success with a few fly-by-night ideas on ebay but lately it's getting sketchy. They need to get a better handle on things.

It's a great place to be seen by alot of people but alot of those people are paste eaters.

tygrus2000 wrote on 2/10/2006, 9:33 PM

I agree that ebay has some "low end" appeal for some and seeing crank items selling over real products doesn't inspire my confidence. That being said, I promiosed myself I was to to give 3 college tries to see if I can find the right formula. Its not my only avenue so if it fails it won't be a hardship.

As far as the shipping for $150, that is outrageous but ebay hacks doesn't say anything like that. The idea of recouping some of my costs through shipping was mentioned before in this thread. If my cost per disk is $5, then someone mentioned list it at $5 and change to cover the ebay fees, then charge flat shipping at $4 or 5 dollars. If you item bids higher then you are making good margin, but if you get a dead auction my disc will probably still move, cover its costs and put a few dollars into the profit column.

Coursedesign wrote on 2/10/2006, 10:48 PM

The bullshit shipping rates were created for generic products with a lot of competitive sellers.

This lets the abusers show the lowest selling price and then hit the customer with astronomical shipping charges that magically apply even for local pickup (real life example for Dell 24" LCD).