Monday, November 10, 2008

Ebay Top Ten Ways to Bring you holiday traffic!

We want you to ring in this holiday season with more sales and higher profits. So we're making big investments to bring shoppers your way, with hard cash reasons to buy on eBay. Massive coupon campaigns are hitting millions of eBay buyers, wherever they're searching--watch for our "pull-out-all-the-stops" Cyber Monday blitz. Up to 30% cashback deals reward buyers who get to your listings through a search on Microsoft Live. Irresistible "Daily Deals" on hot holiday items and a special holiday deals hub will keep shoppers coming back. Find out how you can cash in on all these great holiday programs.

(1) Get more exposure and a free subtitle


Offer your buyers free shipping

to help generate new sales. How? Until December 31, items listed with free shipping get a free subtitle. Plus, free shipping gives you a boost in search results. Most of all, buyers love it. And now, when buyers leave Feedback, they get a reminder you offered free shipping--a not-so-subtle hint that you deserve a perfect 5 for shipping cost.

(2) Buyer and Seller Protection


Just in time for the holidays: PayPal Buyer Protection now covers buyers' purchase price and original shipping costs with no coverage limit. See eligibility. PayPal Seller Protection for all US PayPal accounts is also improved. You're now better protected against claims, chargebacks and reversals for unauthorized payments, and items not received. Every eligible claim is covered at no additional cost. Coverage is extended to eBay purchases made by buyers in 190 countries including items shipped to unconfirmed addresses. See eligibility.


(3) Grab more buyers: 2 proven ways to boost holiday sales
This year more than ever, holiday shoppers want a deal. Two big ways to grab their attention and make the sale:
1) Entice buyers into action with Best Offer listings. Buyers can make you an offer. You can set your listings to auto-reject low-ball offers and auto-accept those above the price you want. Adding Best Offer to your listings is free.
2) Highlight savings by applying Markdown Manager to your listings. Strike-through pricing emphasizes savings and value to move your inventory fast. Markdown Manager is free with your Stores subscription.


(4) Make Best Match work for you
Best Match helps shoppers find just what they're looking for from sellers they trust. Bottom line, delivering great value and service to your buyers is key to getting a top position in Best Match search results.

Remember, Auction-style and Fixed Price listings are now sorted differently and then intermingled to give buyers a good mix of both. Auction-style gets a boost when the listing's about to end (time ending soonest). Fixed Price gets a boost based on recent sales--the more items that sell in a listing, the better position it can get in search results.

Number one tip to build recent sales: combine multiple identical items into one 30-day Fixed Price listing. See the top six ways to improve the position of your Fixed Price and Auction-style listings.


(5) Your listing "Featured First"
Give your Auction-style and Fixed Price listings a chance to appear in the featured spot at the top of the first page of search results with the new Featured First listing upgrade. It's an especially good way to jump start recent sales for new Fixed Price listings.



(6) Stand out on new product pages
We've made shopping for many hot holiday items faster and easier with new product pages--one for books, movies, music and video games and one for other categories such as cell phones and digital cameras. To make sure interested buyers find your items on these new pages, just list with pre-filled item information.

(7) 5 cent fees and a free subtitle
From now until the end of the year, when you list books, music, movies and video games in Fixed Price with pre-filled item information, Insertion Fees are just 5¢. And, when you list with pre-filled item information in either Fixed Price or Auction-style, you get a free subtitle--even if you don't offer free shipping.

(8) Turn negative Feedback into positive
Great news for sellers: now you can submit a request for a buyer to change a Feedback rating, Feedback comment, or detailed seller ratings when negative Feedback is left in error or when you've been able to resolve an issue with your buyer.

(9) More tips to get high shipping DSRs
Good communication goes a long way to get high shipping DSRs from happy holiday shoppers. Here are a few more proven strategies:

Clearly state shipping costs, service and handling time in
your listing.
Notify buyers when you receive payment, and inform them of
any delays such as waiting for their payments to clear.
Ship within 24 hours of receiving payment.
Stock up on packaging supplies before the holiday season.
Order free U.S. Postal Service shipping supplies.
Pack properly, and make sure the box can handle the item's
weight. Use recycled packaging that's in good condition.
Package fragile items well.
Include colored packing slip. It's a great opportunity to recap
your return policy, show your appreciation for their business
and encourage buyers to leave positive feedback.
Resolve any problems quickly and professionally.

Get more tips for getting top DSRs.






(10) Get exact shipping costs in no time
The eBay Shipping Calculator is a great way to accurately calculate shipping costs. When using the calculator, it is important to specify the right package size. The size and weight of the package will determine the shipping cost, so have an idea of what packaging you're going to use before you list. It'll often speed up your fulfillment once you make the sale.






BONUS: Need more time to update your listings?
You got it! To help you focus squarely on holiday selling, we're holding off on requiring a return policy and handling time until early 2009. And we'll give you at least 30 days notice before the requirement takes effect. Note, including a return policy and handling time is still a best practice so we encourage you to start listing with both now. Check the seller checklist to stay on top of the latest timelines and best practices. Take advantage of eBay's bulk editing tools to make all your required updates at once.





All Tips are thanks of Ebay.com