Lots of eBay businesses (like the other business profiled in this chapter, Creative Paper) send e-mail messages to their customer database, informing customers about new promotions. Dallas Golf takes this concept a step further and tells shoppers about eBay auctions that are about to end that same day.
“We don’t send out a newsletter, but rather, a ‘featured products’ list that contains one-shot-opportunity type buys. We might get a limited run like 50 putters or 10 woods. Golf is an ultra-competitive category on eBay, so to stay ahead of the competition, we do a daily e-mail that highlights auctions that are about to close. ‘You want to take advantage of the poor performance of this sale . . .’ we might say. ‘This item is currently selling for 99 cents, no reserve. Auction closes at 8 p.m.’ When I send the e-mail out at noon, I might have a $100 driver about to sell for $6. I can guarantee you that, when the sale ends, it will sell for more than $6.”
“We’re Always Trying to Say, ‘If You Don’t Like This, Here, Look at This’”
Dallas Golf’s sales descriptions are long compared to those of other sellers. Along with the Trade-In utility and the See More Great Items box, they have another feature: they provide shoppers with a table that lets them see the entire inventory that’s for sale by Dallas Golf on eBay.
“We’re always trying to say, ‘If you don’t like this, look here, look at this,’ ” Smith comments. “We generally display only the items that are live on eBay; that list is expandable by category. It’s a short list, but you can click folders to display a menu and submenu.”
Tips : You don’t need to turn to expensive programming to tell your customers about other items you have for sale. You can take the low-tech approach and type a note at the bottom of your description, saying “See my other auctions for similar items, other models of the same item,” or something similar.
“We don’t send out a newsletter, but rather, a ‘featured products’ list that contains one-shot-opportunity type buys. We might get a limited run like 50 putters or 10 woods. Golf is an ultra-competitive category on eBay, so to stay ahead of the competition, we do a daily e-mail that highlights auctions that are about to close. ‘You want to take advantage of the poor performance of this sale . . .’ we might say. ‘This item is currently selling for 99 cents, no reserve. Auction closes at 8 p.m.’ When I send the e-mail out at noon, I might have a $100 driver about to sell for $6. I can guarantee you that, when the sale ends, it will sell for more than $6.”
“We’re Always Trying to Say, ‘If You Don’t Like This, Here, Look at This’”
Dallas Golf’s sales descriptions are long compared to those of other sellers. Along with the Trade-In utility and the See More Great Items box, they have another feature: they provide shoppers with a table that lets them see the entire inventory that’s for sale by Dallas Golf on eBay.
“We’re always trying to say, ‘If you don’t like this, look here, look at this,’ ” Smith comments. “We generally display only the items that are live on eBay; that list is expandable by category. It’s a short list, but you can click folders to display a menu and submenu.”
Tips : You don’t need to turn to expensive programming to tell your customers about other items you have for sale. You can take the low-tech approach and type a note at the bottom of your description, saying “See my other auctions for similar items, other models of the same item,” or something similar.
