Shopster's Dropshippers, eCommerce, and Selling Online Blog

Best Practices for Selling on eBay

It’s been a while since our blog has focused specifically on eBay and selling products through their online marketplace. That being said, I thought today would be as good a day as any to give our readers a quick refresher and run over some of the best practices for using eBay to sell online.

Whether you’re just starting your eBusiness and are new to using dropshippers to sell on eBay, or you’re an old hand at selling online; test out the following tips and watch your sales sky-rocket!

Research
Before you list a product, confirm what other products have sold for.  Search completed listings and Terapeak for pricing and other eBay info to increase your sales success.

Pricing
Spend some time learning pricing strategies.  The bottom line with pricing is that you need to create buzz around your listing.  You need to price the item low enough to get people excited about what you’re selling, but high enough that you’re not undercutting your profits. Looking at completed auctions (and Terapeak) for historical pricing data prior to setting your opening bid is a savvy way to figure out your starting bid price.

Selling Formats
eBay has many different selling formats. Fixed price listings, auction style, etc.  Learn about them, learn the pro’s and cons of each and then make a decision call about which format works best for your niche.  If in doubt, experiment and see what works best for you.

Merchandise your item
When building your listing make sure that you’ve created an eye-catching title, have an effective and well-written product description and a clear photo of your product. Put yourself in a buyer’s shoes- buyers click and purchase items that grab their attention, so it’s important to spend the time and showcase your product to the best of your abilities!

Customer Service
The key to having a successful eBay business is customer service. Make yourself available to answer customer questions and queries. Good customer service will help you close sales and encourage repeat business. Don’t forget to ask for feedback either. Learn how you can better service your customers next time around – they’ll appreciate the thought and be more likely to buy again from you.

References:
eBay - http://pages.ebay.ca/sellercentral/bestpractices.html

Supersize me...not.

In the vast world of e-commerce, big used to dominate. Amazon is still the largest online retailer. eBay is the biggest online auction. Google is the search engine with god-like status. Big Matters. It pertains to grand scale economies.

But wait, that hotdog vendor across the street wants to be a CEO of his own company. He wants to be big as well. Is this possible? Can the "small" earn big? Does being "big" really bring big revenue?

Being big added value to the specialization of firms, large R&D personnel, efficient quality control, and widespread distribution were some requisites were value was added. Value came from having a broad sales force. This notion pertains to tangibles as well. An SUV is better than a Mini Cooper. A bigger office space can hold up a large number of employees. Heck, we even like having our meal at Mcdonald's supersized!

"Get Big Fast" was the mantra for startups because multinational firms can get more access to capital and utilize it to grow even bigger. Now that makes a whole lot of sense. A big company should get the auditing services of a big accounting firm. A big shoe company outsources its manufacturing operations to a big country. A big athlete should have a third serving of mashed potato. Being big requires big operations in order to succeed.

Really now?

Enron (big) was audited by Andersen (big, too) then failed (big). Mainstream advertising is plummeting (Thanks to Social Media). Big media web sites are being trampled by Gawker's Blogs and BoingBoing. People would rather buy a customized shirt from a friend’s online store. Small is rising. The Lilliput economy has emerged. Being tiny matters now.

There was a time in retail that you had to have a store, which needed a location; that needed capital to come up with large inventory; that required cash flow to hire personnel and buy ads to entice customers. And then you had to have a chain of stores to establish relationships with suppliers. Now, you can find suppliers and customers via eBay, Amazon, and Shopster. These sites are more than retailers; they are platforms for small online entrepreneurs where they can complement each other's e-businesses. Today, online entrepreneurs are increasing in numbers. Small online stores earn more than big companies. If you're a budding online entrepreneur, being small shouldn't hinder you from thinking big. After all, big companies start from scratch. Be small yet think big.

References:
Seth Godin, Marketing Visionary, Sethgodin.com, http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/06/small_is_the_ne.html

What do you Really Buy Online?

While eBay and other e-businesses have shown a solid performance in the past few years, one might ask: do people even bother to shop at brick & mortar stores like Wal Mart and Sears nowadays?

With a handful of substantial figures form the U.S. Census Bureau, online advertising firm Permuto came up with a great infographic chart analyzing the comparisons of people's purchasing habits online vs. in-store. The chart really gives as an idea which products would people rather buy from an online store and vice versa.

 
According to the Census Bureau's data, the old brick & mortar stores are still responsible for the majority of sales in most of the categories, save for a few notable categories, including books, clothing, and electronics. While Social Media and e-Commerce is the big nowadays, industry pundits still believe that most people would rather see a tangible product before they buy it. While this notion makes sense, some products always ran out of stock in brick & mortar stores causing people to shop online instead. Hence, giving online stores an edge. This chart can give you an idea before deciding which products to sell online before starting an online store.

References:

http://www.permuto.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/PER-ONLINE-SALES-R4.png

eBay’s Q1 Reports: A favorable sign for e-commerce

As an online entrepreneur, you have to be updated latest trends and news pertaining to vertical markets. It complements your annual planning for your online store. Furthermore, it gives you a heads up on how you will manage supply chain relationships in order to sustain your e-business. 

e-Commerce giant eBay recently announced its Q1 2010 results. eBay's annual report has been extremely useful for online stores and dropshippers. It has provided crucial data points for the e-business marketplace; however, market pundits are most likely to focus on the primary data point called Gross Mechandise Value (GMV). GMV is considered as the pulse of the e-business marketplace. While secondary metrics such as segment revenue, items sold, and registered users are vital data points, they don't focus on the business itself like GMV does.
eBay's overall GMV was $15.4b for the Q, but to get a true apples to apples for GMV, you have to pull out three pieces: 

• Autos - a drag on eBay's GMV growth and the economics are very different (more like a classifieds site) so they aren't applicable.
• Gmarket - eBay acquired gmarket and the gmarket is inorganically in Q110, but not in Q109.
• Currency (FX) - The GBP and Euro are fluctuating a good bit and their impact need to be taken out to compare year over year trends.

The following numbers are all ex-autos, ex-gmarket and ex-FX.

With revenue and profit margins skyrocketing beyond estimated figures, it only shows that eBay has seen a great first quarter. While eBay owes its Q1 win to PayPal, the Marketplaces division has been complementing eBay with its progress as well.
“Our first quarter results reflect another strong step toward achieving our three-year growth and profitability goals,” eBay President and CEO John Donahoe said.

“We are becoming a more customer-focused and technology-driven company, delivering more innovative products and experiences and driving operating efficiencies to reinvest in growth. We are improving the fundamentals of our business, strengthening eBay Marketplaces and aggressively growing PayPal to become the leader in global online payments,” he added.

Being more customer-focused and technology-driven means covering the largest network of potential customers – Facebook. eBay has signed a deal with the Social Media giant to become a payment option for its virtual currency called Facebook credits. So, what does this mean for online entrepreneurs and e-businesses? eBay is still the old reliable when it comes to e-commerce. And as an online entrepreneur, you need to complement your selling solutions on eBay, Shopster will be launching its supplier network soon which makes it even easier for importers, distributors, and suppliers to add their products into the Shopster network. Every online store will be connected to each other, establishing your product while bolstering your sales!

References:
Scott Wingo, eBay Strategies, http://ebaystrategies.blogs.com/
Lucian Parfeni, PayPal Processes $21.3 Billion in Q1 2010, http://news.softpedia.com/news

Tips for Staying Up to Date with the Latest Clothing Lines

If you’re a clothing retailer,  fun yet very important part of your job is to stay up to date with the latest in fashion. See yourself in the buyer’s shoes. You wouldn’t want last season’s items would you? Grab your buyers’ attention by knowing what clicks with the market.

To stay on top of the hottest items in fashion, check out these tips:

1. Browse online – The web is as real-time as it gets. This medium is the best way to track the latest happenings not just in clothing and accessories, but for so many other things as well.
2. Check the fashion magazines – The trimedia (radio, tv, print) are still as effective a channel for advertising than anything else. Focus on the most important aspect of this multi-media, the fashion magazines. I’m sure the designers would want their recent collection featured in these.
3. Attend product launches – This goes for accessories more than clothing. Shoe manufacturers, jewelry creators and other purveyors of accessories often hold product launches to get the retailers to notice their latest offering.
4. Know your style icons – Fashion icons are always around and whatever they wear become the thing everyone seems to watch. These people range from Jackie Kennedy of the 70’s to today’s Gossip Girl character Blair Waldorf. Their style may seem wild and unconventional, but by the end of the month, you’ll see stores sporting these.
5. It’s in the catwalk – Fashion shows are still the number one source for the latest designs. If you have the budget, go to Milan or Paris and see what they have brewing. If it’s a bit too heavy on the pocket, try watching the TV coverage of these shows instead.
6. Hollywood is always hot – Yes, the stars know what to wear. The awards shows seem to be the trigger for the hottest fashion fads so check out the red carpet before you see who wins what.
7. Be part of your market – This is the best tip you’ll ever read on staying in tune with the hottest fashion trends. Don’t target a market that you know nothing about, it’s better to be able to immerse yourself with a group that you can adjust to. The only way to truly understand your market is to be a part of it.

Happy Selling! 

The Glass is Half Full, Because the Other Half is on My Pants

Guest Blog provided by KikScore

Optimism.  That’s the number one characteristic of most entrepreneurs.  Is it raining today?  No worries, because I look great in my raincoat.  No food at the party?  Not a problem, people just come for the beer.  The economy is on the verge of the second Great Depression?  Hmmm…I guess, no worries, because I look great in my raincoat. 

What made me think about the preponderance of sunshine in most entrepenuers’ outlooks?  Well, as usual, it began with a margarita (actually 2 and 1/2 margaritas).  My wife and I were having lunch at Rosa Mexicano.  And as the saying goes, “When in Rosa, order at least three pomegranate margaritas.”  It could have been the humidity, or the sheer weight of the glass, but as I gripped the drink and raised it to my mouth, it just fell into my lap.  I could have quit, but I started scooping the pooled liquid back into the glass (see above drink picture and realize most of that was sitting on my jeans prior to being salvaged).

So, how does this relate to small business and optimism?  I guess it’s a bit tenuous, but making the best of whatever the economy or marketplace throws you (or what you throw on yourself) appears to be a cornerstone for successful entrepreneurs. 

The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business did a thorough study on optimism as it relates to an investment standard for start-ups.  The outcome of the study is not shocking (but when you have a GSB study to back you up, you sound more impressive).  The overall gist was that entrepreneurs generally are overally optimistic in their assessment of their own businesses.  This has both good and bad implications for investors in these start-ups.  The Bad:  optimism makes it difficult for the founders to truly asses market acceptance and overall value of the business.  The Good:  Because of their optimism, most founders will work the required nights and weekends to make sure the business is successful.  Of course, the study hedges the overall take-away by claiming that “realistic” entrepreneurs will have a better ability to value the business.

So, is optimism a curse or a blessing?  And did I actually drink the salvaged margarita?

 

Power Merchant Tips: Selling Jewelry Online

Planning to set up your own online jewelry store? In the past, buyers were very wary of purchasing high-ticket items online, including jewelry. But some merchants have successfully broken that barrier of fear and have been in business for years. Trust is indeed a major issue any seller has to overcome.

Here are some simple tips you can follow to establish your credibility as a seller and start your own online jewelry retail business:

1. Start small – test your market with items that are in the lower price range. Silver and crystals (ie Swarovski jewelry) are good test items for an online jewelry store. Some first-time sellers prefer to start off in the lower-price niche markets such as body jewelry (tongue rings, belly rings, etc). Ceramic and wooden accessories are also relatively risk-free and are easier to sell to the younger market.
2.  Pictures paint a thousand words – When it comes to jewelry and online sales, nothing beats the power of photos.  Your customers won’t be able to see the actual products. Descriptions of how it looks just won’t cut it. The solution: post images of your product. Make sure they are clear, so adjust the lighting before taking product shots. You should also consider taking pictures from different angles. If you have pictures of the piece worn by a model, that would be a nice addition to the product’s gallery.
3. Be very detail-oriented – This applies to product descriptions. Indicate the right size and color of the piece. If it has precious stones add the cut and clarity in the product description. Special care instructions also need to be included in your product page.
4. Certifications – If the jewelry you want to sell online is made of precious stones or metals, it would be ideal to get those professionally assessed and certified. It adds to that much-coveted trust factor.
5. Be clear about your policies – Your customers need to know what they can do if they are not 100% satisfied with the purchase, so this should be reflected in your return policies. They also need to be made aware that their purchases are safe. You can communicate this through your shipping policy. Be detailed about how the item will be packaged to ensure protection. If insurance is included in the shipping, please indicate the maximum amount for coverage and if this will entail cost to the buyer.

As a parting tip, a well-presented product means nothing if you do not deliver on your promise. This applies to both the quality of the product you advertised and the actual buying experience. Fulfill the order in the terms you’ve outlined. Such that, if you say they can expect delivery of the item in 3 days, make sure you have the manpower, process and supplies to do so. Remember, this is a business that thrives on customer trust and loyalty.

Tips for Holding a Spring Sale

Sales and bargains can help draw in a lot of visitors to your online store. If you’re tired of the usual sales based on holidays, then how about setting up one for a season? Try putting together your first Spring Sale for a change.

 Here are some tips for your online store’s Spring Sale:

1. Spring starts between February and April. So prepare at least a month before this period.
2. Consider selling items with a Spring  or Summer theme.These have a better chance of selling out quick as they are for immediate need and can be used right away.
3. Create banners for your website’s home page or find other ways to highlight your potential top selling items. If your sale is going to last long, change your highlighted items weekly to keep it fresh.
4. Notify people about the event ahead of time. If you have a loyal customer base, start communicating with them via emails – don’t spam them though.
5. Separate the items that are on sale from those that are priced at the regular rate. Just like in a brick-and-mortar store, you can add tags to your sale items. Keep the virtual “tags” consistent. You can even color code based the percentage of the discount. (ie Red tags for 50% or more, orange tags for 30% off, green tags for 20%, etc.)
6. Refine your pricing strategy. For consumers, a sale is about getting the best price for a product.  For retailers, you can use a sale to rid yourself of extra inventory. You can also move items that are in regular stock faster. To do this efficiently and effectively, make sure you set your inventory’s price point just enough that you still make profit on top of the cost of the goods.
7. Keep proper inventory of what was sold and at what price. Proper records can help you plot out your marketing events for the future. It can help you keep track of your most effective sales.

Good luck with your sale! Don't forget to stock up on inventory for your online store from Shopster.com

Online Sales: Finding Your Platform

The most basic thing anyone planning to enter online retail can ask is this: where do I sell my products? In most cases, entrepreneurs exploring this arena for the first time already know what product they want to sell online. What sets them back from implementing their business case full force is the knowing which selling platform to use.

In this post, we’re discussing the different selling platforms available online. We’re also providing you with the top players in each category.

1. Auctions: Ever heard of eBay? I bet you have. It is one of the most recognizable brands today. eBay is a selling site that lets buyers bid for the item they want. The seller can determine the start price of the bidding, the number of days the item is live and can even add a “Buy Now” option. 
2. Classified Ads Sites: Craigslist is the prime example for this. Before the peak of the internet, selling items via classified ads was the best way to do it without incurring a lot of overhead cost. Today, online classified sites are still very much alive. They not only offer the same cheap/free listing advantage as their traditional counterpart, they also have a wider and more global reach now. 
3. Social Network Sites: Multiply is user-friendly social networking site that can easily be transformed into a site that sells products online. It has a blog module, an area for photos and pages that can be customized for practically anything. People using this site for sales often take advantage of the photo album functionality. They use it such that one album is one product category. We’ve also seen some people use Facebook to sell stuff online. They usually create pages, add fans then use the photo section for product display. Social network sites are the easiest to break into when selling online because you already have existing contacts you can trust – your online friends.
4. Membership Sales Sites and Shopping Communities: Amazon, Kaboodle and Overstock are examples of shopping and sales sites that allow individuals to become members and build out their own channels. Then, there are also selling sites catering to niche markets, such as Etsy.com, which is a network for handmade items.  
5. CMS Plugins and Templates: A Content Management System, like Joomla, has available plugins and templates that easily renders the site into a eCommerce platform. This is something you can do yourself with a little bit of html knowledge and good graphic layout skills. Other CMS to check out include WordPress, Drupal and Mambo.  
6. Custom-built Online Store: Your final option is to build an online store and customize it for your needs. This may entail cost, especially if you want to host it in your own domain name (www.YourDomainNameHere.com). You can contract a web designer to do this for you and pay him or her maintenance for future updates. Some companies will offer a free web store as part of a package for their other services.

Selling online line can be a productive and financially beneficial endeavor, if you know how to do it correctly. Watch out for more tips on selling online, setting up your virtual store front and marketing your own brand here at ShopTalk.

Creating an effective eBay Listing with Shopster's Listing Manager for eBay

Hi everyone, today's blog is going to be a bit different. Previously we've talked about building your online store and some things you can do to get it going. But once your online store is firing on all cylinders, you may want to consider getting into dropshipping and selling on eBay.

Listing on eBay is a very lucrative revenue stream for those that are selling online. If you already have a presence in an online store and want to expand your sales through dropshipping, eBay is the perfect place to go. Although there are several advantages to listing onto eBay, one of the biggest ones, in my opinion, is that eBay already has the traffic and market penetration you're after. Hundreds of thousands of people are going to eBay daily to see if they can score a deal on an item they've been looking for. But how can you catch their eye?

The first important piece is the price. I know that when I go to eBay and take a look at products, I'm usually sorting by the price. When using the Listing Manager for eBay in your Shopster account you can set your starting price of your auction to whatever you want it to be. To play on the safe side though you should set your starting price at the Network Price of the product - this is what you'll be paying the supplying merchant for the product. This way any bid that you receive on the item is profit. Once you have your pricing set, you need to make sure your listing's title is clear and attractive enough to catch your customer's eye.

Having an effective title that catches your customer's eye and lets them know what you're selling will make their job as a buyer a lot easier. There are a number of things that you can do to make sure that your eBay listing title is descriptive enough to catch your customer's eye. Here are just a few things that eBay recommends you do:

• Include the item's brand name
• State the condition of them item - New? Used? Reconditioned?
• Include any specific attributes of the item - color, size, etc.

Once you have an effective title for your eBay listing and your customer's clicked to view the auction, they'll want to read over the description. Another advantage of using Shopster' Listing Manager for eBay is that this already included in your listing when you make it! That's right, whatever is in the description for the product you're listing is already included, no work needed on your end. eBay has a full help page on how to write a good title and description and includes some examples of a good title and description. Click here. Make sure to read that over as well. Once you've drawn the customer in with your listing, they'll make their bid and you're on your way to a sale.

Happy Selling!

Sell Online with Shopster for the Holiday Season

We’ve mentioned this a couple times now and we’ll probably mention it a couple more in the coming weeks: Christmas is just around the corner.  As we've already discussed changes you should address on the policy side of things, we thought now might be a good time to throw out some sales tips.

 

One of the easiest things to do this holiday season is to add some seasonal touches to your store's design. By changing the aesthetic of your store to reflect the holiday season, you let your customers know that you’re ready for Christmas. Customers doing their holiday shopping want to be surrounded by the sights and sounds of the season. It keeps them in the giving mood and adds a little falala to their experience (please note that we’re using “the sounds of the season” metaphorically in this instance- music on a storefront is never a good idea!). Some things to try are: changing your stores logo's text to red and green, adding seasonal graphics to the top of your home page and spicing up your site content to match the mood of the season.

 

We also recommend that you scour the Hot Holiday Products List we’ve got available for members in the warehouse (we update it regularly). Find products that match your niche and then add them to your store as feature "Holiday Specials". Chances are buyers are already looking for these products, so highlighting these top sellers and placing them front and center on your site makes it easier for store visitors to buy them. Remember, the easier you make it for someone to buy, the less time they have to convince themselves that they don’t reaaallly need to pickup that Wii Resort for their little nephew Billy.

 

The closer you get to Christmas and holiday shipping deadlines, consider offering coupons to aggressively push for last minute sales. People are looking for deals and being able to use a coupon to further their savings will help draw in those last minute shoppers and make you more money.  Wal-Mart and Amazon do it, why can’t you?

 

Finally, if you are selling on eBay or using eBay as a secondary sales channel, make sure your regularly check our Hot Holiday Products List for top seasonal sellers. It’s very common for local bricks and mortar stores to sell out of key products early on in the shopping season.  This doesn’t mean that shoppers are going to give up on finding these products, it just means they’re going to look online.  And eBay is usually the first place people turn. So jump on this bandwagon and make sure you’re listing these products. You’ll up your sales volumes make harried Christmas Shoppers very happy.

 

Happy Selling!

Sales Channel Holiday Stats - eBay vs Amazon

By Michael Topham

So, how exactly did eBay and Amazon stack up against each other this Christmas?  comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, released some numbers back on December 30th.  (Read their full press release here.)

There are two interesting takeaways (for our purposes):
1.  eBay had more unique visitors than Amazon properties (85442000 versus 76240000)
2.  Amazon's traffic grew 7% over last years while eBay's fell 4%

So, eBay's still the leading buyer destination, but Amazon is catching up.  We do have to take that little tidbit with a grain of salt, though.  Those stats are for all Amazon "sites" (I'm not sure of what all that entails, but there are a few different consumer destinations owned by Amazon).  They're not just stats for Amazon Market - which is where the average retailer can sell.

What does this mean for retailers?  eBay is still a great third-party sales channel.  Don't abandon it just because Amazon is capturing a larger consumer share.  However, don't be remiss in investigating the potential that Amazon Market can offer your business.  More and more consumers are heading there - and the sellers won't be far behind.

New Year, New Sales Channels to Consider

By Michael Topham

I've talked a little about alternatives to eBay (here).  It seems like with a new year, we should consider new ways to make money online.  But, I'll get to that after a quick change in topic. It looks like there's going to be two trends as we wade through the economic worries.

1. Retailers pouring less money into their businesses.
2. More amateur retailers coming online to make a couple extra bucks to compensate for the effects on their wallets.

That's where the savvy retailer will see opportunity this year.  First off, keep building your business.  While fair-weather sellers remove themselves from the market, take their place and build a legitimate, lasting business so you're all set up when consumer confidence returns (and it will).  Second, know your competition.  There are going to be droves of inexperienced sellers coming into the market.  Create your business strategy with that in mind.  Put in the due diligence, hard work, and perseverance and you'll realize real profit in 2009.

There's a great opportunity for motivated sellers right now.  Anyone getting the Shopster monthly newsletter will see a great quote from Thomas Edison: "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."  I've been using that tidbit of wisdom to represent the theme of building a thriving business in a down economy.  But, I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't give you some advice on how to capitalize on the opportunity ahead.

The following is a list of eBay alternatives borrowed from a recent ecommerce-guide.com article. (Editor suggestion: Subscribe to their RSS feed - it has a ton of info for anyone selling online.)  You can extend your sales reach by using Shopster as your product source to sell via these growing channels:

1. eBid.net
2. iOffer.com
3. Atomic Mall

Try not to focus all of your effort on building a single sales channel.  While your own branded online storefront is the best bet for lasting business, diversify your income potential by utilizing the buyers that visit the above sites.  Think of it as bringing your business to the consumer until they know where to find you.

Have other ideas or feedback on the suggestions above?  Please help us out by leaving a comment.
To read ecommerce-guide's article, January 14th's "This Week in Alternative News", click here.

eBay is having a sale

Good news for all you retailers that sell on eBay, eBay is having a sale!

For the rest of the month eBay is offering sellers who list 1 and 3 day Auction-style items 50% off the Insertion Fees per item listed. That can mean huge savings if you are listing multiple products.

The only caveat is that the seller must have a 12 month Detailed Seller Rating of 4.5 or higher on all criteria. But don’t worry if you are a new seller, you may still be eligible.

If you haven’t sold on eBay before this may be a great opportunity for you to get your hands wet. Shopster makes selling on eBay easier by giving you access to over 1,000,000 products, and an eBay listing manager tool. Sign up for Shopster’s 7 day free trial and give it a try.

Fraud and Dropshipping: What you need to know

As with any business, businesses that sell items online are not immune to fraud. If you utilize a service that aggregates suppliers that will dropship products, such as Shopster, you need to be aware of the risks and take steps to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud.

Shopster offers protection to retailers who sell items out of their Shopster hosted storefront. We review all orders and put them through our robust fraud process. If an order is deemed to be fraudulent we cancel it, and the retailer does not have to sacrifice their own money to pay for lost product.

Shopster is able to conduct a full review of orders placed through Shopster hosted storefronts because the customer uses the Shopster system to order and pay for the item. We receive all the information necessary on the customer to make a judgment on whether the order is legitimate or fraudulent.

But if the retailer’s dropship products are sold from another website, such as eBay, the end consumer does not use the Shopster system to order or pay. They use the retailers. Because the Shopster system was not used, the Shopster Fraud Prevention Team does not have all of the information necessary to conduct a full review.

That is why it is important for you, the retailer, to conduct your own review on orders that you accept from other sites.

A simple first step to avoid fraudulent orders is to learn more about your customer. Do a quick background check into their reputation on eBay or the site the item is being purchased from. If you want more information, or if you want to confirm their identity call the customer. Sometimes a phone call is the simplest and most effective way to verify if a customer is legit.

You should also understand how your payment service can protect you. If you accept credit cards, make sure your merchant account supports AVS and CVV2 checks. And you may want to consider only accepting PayPal transactions if the user is verified or confirmed.

PayPal is in the business of making financial transaction secure. It is one of the safest ways to transfer money, and they take fraud very seriously. For small business owners, or eBay only users, I strongly recommend that you only accept payment through PayPal.

Selling dropship products on sites such as eBay can be very lucrative. And if you are diligent, and review each order carefully, you may never experience an act of fraud. But it’s important that you educate yourself on what to look out for and take pre-cautions when ever possible.

Top eBay alternatives

ecommerce-guide.com has released their top picks for eBay alternatives, and I have to agree with their choices.

In first place is Wigix. I have reviewed Wigix in this blog before, and if you read the post (which you can find here) you know that I am a supporter of Wigix.

For those who haven’t read my post ecommerce-guide.com offers a nice, condensed summary of what Wigix is.

Wigix offers users a stock-market style method for buying and selling goods. Instead of auctions, Wigix.com, the "Want It, Got It Exchange," uses a price-matching system similar to that of Nasdaq — buyers and sellers list desired prices for merchandise and the system will alert them when they match up. Or, buyers can offer an alternative price, with both parties having the option to accept or reject the bid.

Bonanzle came in second place. Prior to reading this article I had never heard of Bonanzle, so I had to check it out.

The site is simple and easy to use. If you would like to sell an item you simply create an account and list the product. The prices are set, so there are no auctions or bidding. Bonanzle offers the seller tools that will allow customers to easily contact them, creating an environment in which discussion about the product is encouraged. 

Bonanzle’s success is rooted by their commitment to building an active user community. The site promotes the community with tools such as instant messaging, forums and message boards, and the ability to create a unique profile. ecommerce-guide.com describes the Bonanzle community as “almost fanatic”.

Bonanzle is getting great coverage in newspapers, on radio shows, Web sites and blogs, thanks in part to a hardcore group of sellers who pitch this site and its features.

Finally, ecommerce-guide.com recommends checking out Etsy as an alternative to eBay, especially if you are an artisan or part-time craft maker.

Ecommerce-guide.com explains:

One of the most popular niche alternative sites is Etsy, a selling platform for all things handmade. The goal of the site, launched back in early 2005, is to actively support those who choose to create and buy alternatives to mass-produced objects. Etsy, by bringing together artisans, has also grown a community of people who support each other, in contrast to sellers on eBay who tend to consider every other seller in their category a competitor. While Etsy promotes its community as a place to buy and sell handmade items, you can also list vintage items (over 20-years-old) and commercially-made supplies.

If you have never checked out Etsy before, I highly suggest it, even if you have no handmade items to sell. It is the perfect site to purchase unique items, and many of them make great gifts. I personally love Esty, so much so that this Christmas I have requested money to spend on Etsy so I can get myself some great purses and jewelry. 

Regardless of what you buy or sell, there are alternatives to eBay out there for you. Take the time to check them out; I am sure you will not be disappointed.

Product research, hard work, and Terapeak

Contrary to popular desire, selling online isn't easy. If it were easy everyone would be doing it, which would make it harder.  If you want to establish a successful, long-term business, you have to be willing to put in the time and effort.  Sure, you can make some sales for quick wins without putting in a ton of effort.  Sure, there are solutions out there (like Shopster) that can help make some parts of online selling easier - in fact, utilizing them can save you some time so you can focus on the hardest parts of selling online.  But, you'll never create a lasting income stream without working for it.

Anyone who tells you they have a way for you to make money without putting in hard work is probably lying to you.  Of course, the corollary is that anyone who only tells you it can be hard, isn't helping either.

"So, what should I do?"  For a start, you need to do some research.  Roll up your sleaves and start reading.  Know thy products.  Shopster's virtual warehouse integrates with Terapeak's data.  That means you can check all kinds of stats for the products you want to sell that Shopster has sourced: Average selling price, best time of day to sell, best day to sell, top promotions on listed products, etc.

Take this data and apply it to your sales strategy.  Successful businesses constantly analyze data.  Before you start a campaign, do some research.  Once the campaign ends, analyze the heck out of it.  You need to think about:

1. What's going to sell? What's been selling? For how much? When? 
2. What could you sell for if you tried really hard?
3. When does enterprise fall into loss? (Your cost-benefit analysis)
4. What are you doing that's working?
5. How are customers finding you? What are they doing on your site? What pages have a high bounce rate?
6. Do your numbers jive with industry standards? If they're too low - what could you take away from best practices?
7. Who's your competition?
8. Can you make better margins on the products you're selling? Are you offering enough complementary product lines with moderate-to-high profit margins to balance the lower margins of highly competitive products like electronics?

And that's just a start.  These questions should give you an indication of the amount of work you need to do both upfront and after you've launched your sales strategy.  This is the step a lot of online sellers forget.  You can get all the help you want building your store, creating listings on eBay, optimizing for organic search engine traffic, sourcing products to sell, and setting up a shopping cart... but if you don't understand what you're doing and how it contributes to your success, you should seriously reconsider what you're up to.  Do the product research with tools like Terapeak.  Do the competitive analysis.  Analyze your campaigns.  Check your site analytics.  Research your competitors.  And keep doing it - especially if you want to be successful this holiday season.

Happy selling!

A caveat: Terapeak only utilizes eBay's sales data - that means that everything you see there was true for eBay - but might not cascade across every sales channel.  However, it does give you a starting point for non-eBay sales channels like your own online storefront or Amazon Marketplace.  Sign up for a 7-day free trial with Shopster to do some product research.

Your customers are at Amazon. Why are you at eBay?

Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration.  But it just might be true soon.  According to AuctionBytes (where I get all my auction selling news - and where you should, too), Amazon Marketplace's market share is growing... and eBay's is shrinking.

Amazon saw an almost 8% increase in the number of unique visitors.  eBay saw an almost 10% decrease in the same.  The same article goes on to mention that Amazon customer traffic peaks in December, while eBay's peaks in November.  This comes back to consumer trust.  Consumers are beginning to trust that shipments from Amazon will come on time, whereas ones from eBay sellers will not.  While eBay sellers (especially PowerSellers) are not factually more likely to ship late, that is the perception of consumers.

That means you should be looking to include Amazon Marketplace in your sales efforts - especially as we get closer to Christmas.  As your customers start to look more and more at Amazon, you should look at moving, too.

Read AuctionBytes' full article on Amazon's growth.  Or read about selling on Amazon Marketplace.

Happy selling!

Best selling products for Christmas 2008

As you may know, Shopster does weekly updates to our Hot Products page. Every Tuesday we go through sales numbers for the previous week and post some interesting high volume items - along with the top four selling products to date.

I took a look through the list this morning, and had a startling revelation - It's tough to guess what the top selling products are going to be. There are products in the list I haven't even heard of. And they're outperforming proven sellers. While it's not entirely unfeasible that some liberties are being taken with the order of products on the list, products won't show up there unless they are making sales... and they'd better appear on the first page of our sales reports.

My grandpa tells me any time I see him that "you learn something everyday". He insists on hearing what it was that you learned, too. To wit: Your best guess isn't always a reliable indicator. Even if you scour the Internet everyday picking up rumors and industry speculation, nothing can replace the value of looking at actual data. We've got some smart people working with our data, so if they tell me something's a "hot product", I tend to believe them... even when there are some big surprises.

So, take a look at the list. Check it weekly (updated Tuesday afternoons). And don't be too surprised if electronics - that oh-so-reliable refuge of the online seller - aren't in all the top positions. Maybe electronics like Garmin 350 GPS, Apple iPod Touch, and Motorola W375 will get replaced by Burberry London, stuffed animals, and Bratz dolls. Well, if that happens, you should be a little surprised.

Check out Shopster's list of the top selling products going into the holidays!

Happy selling!

PS: The Nintendo Wii, Wii Fit, Wii Music, etc... are all still safe bets, though.

How to Sell in a Sluggish Economy – Part II

Thankfully some things remain predictable. At Shopster we expect sales to be gearing up right about now, and our reports are stating that we were right. In the last week alone I have seen a significant increase in sales.

Let’s keep that ball rolling and start to concentrate on how to make even more sales.

There are several tactics you can utilize to drive traffic to your store. But some are better than others.

The number one way to drive traffic to your store is through a search engine. comScore reports that a search engine is still the greatest lead generation tool, with over 52% of website traffic coming from a search engine. And Google is leading the pack as the search engine of choice.

This means you will want to make sure your website appears in Google searches. There are two ways your store can appear in a Google search: organically or as a paid search.

It can be challenging to get your store ranked high organically. You need a strong SEO plan and you have to put a lot of focus on your keywords and man hours into customizing your content. But an organic search strategy is paramount for long term growth.

For a quick win you can utilize a paid search strategy right away. If you are wondering what a paid search is it is simple: when a customer searches a word, the pages that are listed on the right hand side of the Google page are websites that paid for advertising on that keyword.

To get your website on that list simply create a Google AdWords account. Once your account has been created you will want to do some research on what keywords you want to advertise on. With your keywords in hand create a campaign for each keyword.

Google AdWords is awesome because it provides some great analytics. You will know if your campaign is working or not working quite quickly. Once you do a quick analysis of your campaigns you can edit or delete any that aren’t working.

While your campaigns are running (as they run on their own once you set it up) you can turn your focus to your multi-channel selling strategy. comScore explains that multi-channel retailers continue to expand their market share at the expense of single channel retailers.

Shopster makes selling through multiple channels easy by being integrated with eBay. Using the Shopster e-Commerce package you can sell from your own storefront, eBay, or any other 3rd party website. I suggest Amazon.com as most of our warehouse prices are much lower than the listing prices found in the marketplace.

In the next segment (next Monday) I will discuss two more tactics you can use to increase the traffic to your site this holiday season.

Until then Happy selling!