ComputerHunter.org

 

Sell Your Items at Cost and Make a Fortune on eBay!


Like all ebay sellers I wanted to sell all of my items at a profit and what I found was that when I was getting to the end of line items that I was ending up selling them at cost, even though the items were finally selling at a profit price, because I was having to factor in the ebay relisting fees etc.

So I took a moment and sat down and thought how I could deal with these items and still make money. What I ended up doing was thinking outside the ebay sellers box and coming up with selling them at cost to make a fortune.

What I mean by this was that I was going to sell the items at no loss to me on ebay but then use the opportunity to build a relationship with the buyer that could be used to build long term profit for me. Think of it as :

A loss leader without the Loss!

Let me use a couple of examples :

Scenario One

Item sells on ebay for £20 profit, buyer buys the item and pays and thats the end of it. Your total profit is £20.

Scenario Two

Items sells at cost, zero profit but you use the sale as an opportunity to build a relationship with the buyer and lock them into your business. The buyer then buys one item a month (maybe more!) for a year giving you a profit of £240 (minimum). If these are from your website not ebay your profit will be greater as you will have no fees. Over the lifetime value of a customer this could mean thousands of pounds profit...

It is common knowledge that when a customer is locked into your business or product then they are more likely to repeat purchase, which is where the fortune part of the equation comes in. The principle can also be used when you sell at full price but as you are selling at a bargain price the customer is more likely to be interested in your offer as they will put your product and value into the same sentance.

What I am asking you to do is to take a critical look at what the true worth of ebay actually is, is is not just in instant terms but the long term possibilities far outway the short term profits.

The question is now, 'How do you build this relationship?

There are a number of ways but by far the most successful that I use is by using a simple email!!! No harder than that this building a relationship idea...

Once the customer has bought my ebay item I send a simple receipt via email thanking them for thier purchase and making them aware of my website and offering them the opportunity to join my mailing list so that I can contact them with furthur offers they may be interested in.

I make it very clear that I have no intention of flooding them with spam and give them the choice of the number of times they will be contacted in a month. This has two effects, they gain trust in your professionalism as you are seen not to be just harvesting emails and it also makes them feel in control as they set the frequency of contact.

It does mean that I have to operate a number of mailing lists but this is a small price to pay to lock customers into my products.

The majority of my customers (approx. 90%) join the '1-4 times a month list which is great as this means that I can contact them once a week with offers if I needed. This is a frequency that I feel is adequate to maintain the relationship between me and my customers as I am not seen to be spamming them but still seen to be offering products of interest to them.

It is also important to note that I do not always send out one mailing a week as it is dependent on the product you sell as to whether the customer would want to purchase once a week. i believe greatly in the relationship that I have with my customers and can see the long term benefits of maintaining this and therefore I refuse to jepordise it for a quick profit.

A point to remember, if they choose not to take the opportunity to join your list then do not keep emailing them. this is SPAM and will do no more than tarnish your company, website and products image in the eye of the buyer.

What I am saying is Think outside of the ebay box, ebay offers a massive opportunity in terms of potential customers and long term profits as opposed to short term profits.

How much would it cost to get the number of page views, that ebay listings get, on your website using your own traffic generating methods, use ebay and use it good.

Mike - Webmaster and ebay Power Seller
Online Auction Trader - an ebay sellers bible.







Google News - Top Stories

Boston Globe

Hurricane Gustav Approaches Cuba, Winds Reach 180 KPH
Voice of America - 1 hour ago
By VOA News The US National Weather Service says hurricane Gustav has increased in intensity, with winds reaching 180 kilometers per hour as it crosses the Caribbean towards Cuba.
Gustav strengthens off west Cuba BBC News
Gustav strengthens to Category 3 hurricane United Press International
The Associated Press - CNN International - KXMC - AHN
all 6,510 news articles


BBC News

Gov. Sarah Palin: A Surprise Breath of Fresh Air
Boston Globe - 28 minutes ago
Breath deep my friends, some real change just blew in. We were all surprised at McCain's pick yesterday of Gov Sarah Palin of Alaska.
Video: Moms React To Palin Selection kcratv
Obama ad: Despite Palin, McCain isn't change agent The Associated Press
Los Angeles Times - Washington Post - Reuters - FOXNews
all 6,044 news articles


Telegraph.co.uk

Georgia says Russia troops blocking refugee return
Reuters UK - 33 minutes ago
By Mark Trevelyan GORI, Georgia, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Russian troops deep inside Georgian territory are stopping thousands of refugees from returning to their homes, a Georgian official said on Saturday.
Transcript: Georgia's Saakashvili Georgiandaily
Spiegel: OSCE observers fault Georgians in conflict Monsters and Critics.com
RIA Novosti - Times Online - Voice of America - Reuters
all 6,434 news articles


BBC News

Thai PM consults king over escalating protests
AFP - 34 minutes ago
BANGKOK (AFP) - Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej consulted the king over escalating protests Saturday, after demonstrators forced Phuket's airport to close indefinitely in their drive to force the premier from office.
Thai PM vows to stay on despite mass protests Xinhua
Anti-government protest puts Thailand in crisis available (Roundup) Monsters and Critics.com
BBC News - Bloomberg - Telegraph.co.uk - AHN
all 2,672 news articles


AFP

Bomb blast in Sri Lanka capital wounds nearly 50
AFP - 49 minutes ago
COLOMBO (AFP) - Suspected Tamil Tiger guerrillas detonated a bomb in Colombo's commercial hub on Saturday wounding nearly 50 people, officials said, as government forces kept up a major drive against the rebels.
Bomb injures dozens in Sri Lankan capital CNN International
Explosion in Sri Lankan capital wounds at least 44 The Associated Press
Press Trust of India - Monsters and Critics.com - The Press Association - RIA Novosti
all 323 news articles

Google
 

Copyright © 2006 Computer Hunter - A Division of Arthur´s Job Base