What about that other, highly unusual source for merchandise that was mentioned in the preceding section? Can you get people to trade in their used equipment on eBay, so you can turn around and resell it on eBay?
Dallas Golf is one of the first merchants to do so through a pilot program being conducted with eBay’s approval. In each of the Dallas Golf listings, which invites customers to calculate the value of their old golf clubs. Once they find out how much Dallas Golf will pay for those old clubs, they’ll be more likely to purchase brand-new clubs from Dallas Golf, or so the theory goes. “We are trying out ways to get more merchandise to sell. If we can get these people to trade in their old merchandise, we can sell it faster; we can sell it on eBay for more than they can list it for themselves. Since a good deal of our merchandise comes from our competitors’ buyers, we are giving those buyers the same technology, only in modular form.”
Dallas Golf was, in fact, the first company to be allowed to use the trade-in feature on eBay; any other listings prior to December of 2004 that asked buyers for trade-ins were ended. “We came up with a technology that met eBay’s requirements to allow someone to solicit,” Smith says. “We advertise in the listing, we use a flash calculator to tell the bidder that, if they win, their golf club is worth X amount. If you win, you can use your club as this much credit toward your purchase. That way, buyers can tell their significant other they didn’t spend so much on their new equipment because they got money for their old equipment.” In the six months it used the trade-in feature, Dallas Golf saw a 30 percent increase in bids, page views, and selling price, he adds.
Dallas Golf is one of the first merchants to do so through a pilot program being conducted with eBay’s approval. In each of the Dallas Golf listings, which invites customers to calculate the value of their old golf clubs. Once they find out how much Dallas Golf will pay for those old clubs, they’ll be more likely to purchase brand-new clubs from Dallas Golf, or so the theory goes. “We are trying out ways to get more merchandise to sell. If we can get these people to trade in their old merchandise, we can sell it faster; we can sell it on eBay for more than they can list it for themselves. Since a good deal of our merchandise comes from our competitors’ buyers, we are giving those buyers the same technology, only in modular form.”
Dallas Golf was, in fact, the first company to be allowed to use the trade-in feature on eBay; any other listings prior to December of 2004 that asked buyers for trade-ins were ended. “We came up with a technology that met eBay’s requirements to allow someone to solicit,” Smith says. “We advertise in the listing, we use a flash calculator to tell the bidder that, if they win, their golf club is worth X amount. If you win, you can use your club as this much credit toward your purchase. That way, buyers can tell their significant other they didn’t spend so much on their new equipment because they got money for their old equipment.” In the six months it used the trade-in feature, Dallas Golf saw a 30 percent increase in bids, page views, and selling price, he adds.
