Are you in a funk over the economy? Lots of sellers are reporting lower sales this season so far. The changes at eBay have caused many sellers to try other channels, with disappointing results. The general economic news is bad nearly every day. Here are some things we know for sure:
- Increases will not happen by waiting for eBay to "come to their senses."
- Small upstart sites like eCrater, Etsy, and Bonanzle do not generate the same sales as eBay and/or Amazon.
- Sellers cannot depend on just one channel for income anymore.
Multichannel sellers have to focus on four areas to streamline and improve their sales:
- Platform - Lose the emotion and figure out the best places to sell.
- Products - Grow your product line
- Visibility - Make sure people see what you have to offer
- Customer Service - Be the best at what you do
I sat down to put some thoughts in a small report, and it turned into over 40 pages. You can get the ebook at no charge when you sign up for my newsletter (see below). Here are the ten points covered:
- Change the eBay-only mindset to a multi-channel mindset
- Pick the top three to five marketplaces, and learn everything you can
- Stay focused on business, it's not personal
- Increase your product line
- Get your products in Google Base
- Blog! (that's a verb)
- Build a list of regular readers
- Standardize your selling processes
- Standardize your policies
- Set up a "funnel" for customer service
It will take diligence and a cool head to make it in this economy. Many will fall by the wayside. If you work hard, and work smart, you'll still be able to do what you enjoy when things improve.
I hope you enjoy this eBook and I'd like to hear your comments.
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I loved the 10 points you wrote….especially the ideas of increasing product line and getting products into Google Base.
I also wouldn’t rule out the possibility of building your own niche site. With proper key wording and some good solid SEO practices one could probably sell quite a bit of inventory while significantly adding a strong additional profit source to the bottom line.
Thanks for writing this.