The Unearthed Secrets Of An eBay PowerSeller
By: Seth Chong
Have you seen any sellers on eBay which shows a "star" and the word "PowerSeller" by the side of their names? PowerSellers are eBay's top sellers who have sustained a consistent high volume of monthly sales, a high level of total 98% positive feedback or better, and have met a threshold of compliance with all marketplace policies.
Sounds hard? Nope, not at all, in fact anyone can do it. Shortly, if you want to qualify for being an eBay seller you need:
To be an active member for 90 days.
Average a minimum of $1000 in sales per month for three consecutive months.
Achieve an overall Feedback rating of 100, of which 98% or more is positive.
Have an account in good financial standing.
Now we'll learn about the methods used by our fellow eBay PowerSellers. A successful auction has three elements which are: the title, a description and pictures of your selling item.
When listing, always write a clear, attractive and concise title. The first thing any potential buyers see will be your title so you should grab their attention once they enter. It should tell what the buyers want, make them nod their heads when they read your title. Some descriptive words like old, vintage, runs, works or condition statements like "New in Box", anything that is appropriate can get you better results than a bold headline.
Many people left a lot of money on the table when they depended just on "see photos" instead of writing a good description. A large number of auctions are filled with paragraph after paragraph of information about where to send the payments, how to send the payments, when to send the payments, who can bid and who can't which sometimes clutters the auction.
It's really simple to include a good description which can make your potential buyers stay glued to what you say right until they make a bid or purchase your item and everyone in the world should do it!
By writing an accurate description you will make bidders more confident about your item. Not certain on what to describe? Search for similar items on eBay, and read the description, take down the catchy words then use it in your listing. The confidence can translate into higher prices.
As for your auction's pictures, use big clear photographs. The best way to get nice and clear photos is to take them using a digital camera. Other than that, it is also easier for you to upload the photos into your computer with a digital camera. Try and improve your pictures by adding suitable lightings as well, it can help produce better results in your picture's quality.
Now, all of us know that feedbacks are based on the seller's customer service. Whenever we go out somewhere for a meal, customer service is very important. Let's say DOME, people likes going there because the food has low calories, and of course, it tastes great. But what makes people feel comfortable eating there is the customer service. Good customer service is always defined by: a smile, fast service, and simple.
We'll need to always be pleasant to our customers. Don't be shy, be more humble than your customers and treat them as though they're your boss. When people know you have good customer service, they won't mind considering buying more items from you. Since you are a trusted person and easy to communicate with it, being your repeated customer in time to come will be great. If you have excellent customer service, it just hurts if I don't write you a good feedback and keep your items, right?
Selling the item to your customer doesn't mean he or she is done for good. There are a lot more ways to benefit from your current customers. After they've purchased your item, try to offer a bonus, like a free e-book or something that is useful. But first, they will need to sign up for your newsletter, or subscribe to your opt-in list. You can instead not only offer the bonus for the buyer, but all the other bidders. This way, you add up your opt-in list, make everyone happy, and all these current bidders can be potential buyers of your items in the future.
In your auctions, you can always put a link to your other auctions in your description and inform the surfers that you have more items for sale. By telling the viewers you have similar items for sale and can offer cheaper shipping & handling cost, it urges people to buy more items from you.
A guarantee is always part of the most important factor in your auctions. This can be a simple statement like if the item is not as represented you can return it for a refund. Using a strong guarantee can greatly increase your response. If you offer a guarantee you need to honor it, but if you're diligent, you will definitely not have many returns. If you want to know how a good guarantee statement sounds like, you can refer this one:
"100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEE - IF YOU ARE UNHAPPY FOR ANY REASON JUST RETURN YOUR ITEM FOR A COMPLETE REFUND INCLUDING SHIPPING BOTH WAYS."
How does it sound? Safe enough to buy definitely! It doesn't matter if they refund your item in the future, you just need to sell your items to your customers and let them make their choices after receiving it. 863 words
At the end of your auction's description, always make it easier for surfers and maintain their urge of buying by listing the shipping & handling costs for your items. Refrain from letting them do the math or turn to other pages just because it's troublesome inquiring for the fees. A good example is:
"$5.00 shipping to US Destinations by Priority Mail. I will pack with care and ship with delivery confirmation for your protection. International shipping are sent by Airmail letter Post. I will combine items that end on the SAME day to lower your shipping cost."
This is absolutely clear and to the point. When you include this information, surfers will not have to figure out anything extra or look at other pages to find out the shipping information, and it can help increasing your response in sales!
People have many different opinions when it comes to how long they should list an auction. There's no definite answer to it, but five to seven days are the peak ones. Search results are presented by newly listed items or those items which are ending on the same day, which means the first and the last 24 hours are when most people will see one's auction.
Pack well! By packing nicely you inflict the message of how valuable your item is, and it increases your customer's satisfaction for the product. Chocolates like Ferrero Rocher or Kit Kat have nice packing and that urges people to buy it as well, noticed it before?
To be an eBay seller isn't hard at all, it takes a little time and effort, but that's it. Slowly build your customer database, keep the opt-ins, add up your positive feedbacks, continue providing good customer support, and you're almost there.
