3

Sourcing and listing products

CHECK 20
      Create a target list of products

What is it?

Whether you have zero or 10 000 products currently for sale on eBay, you need to have a list of additional products you would like to source for sale on the site. Circumstances can change in an instant, requiring you to expand your range, change suppliers or move into a completely new category. For example, a sudden influx in highly competitive sellers may render selling a particular product unprofitable; one of your suppliers could go out of business or change their terms of trade so that buying from them is no longer tenable; or you may find yourself with additional funds that could be reinvested into the business by sourcing additional products to sell. In each of these (and many other) circumstances, you may be required to source supply quickly.

Three reasons to do it

1 Having a ready-made list of potential suppliers and their products will mean that you are ready to expand or change your inventory with minimal notice.
2 Create a wish list of products to help you realise goals within your business. For example, in year three I would like to have 10 000 products listed including x, y and z. Without goals you are unlikely to plan adequately for your business's growth.
3 Keep your list of suppliers and products within your categories current so you can stay abreast of pricing, sourcing and range trends.

Getting started

Most of the information you will need will be available via the internet. Look for keywords such as manufacturer, supplier, wholesaler, importer and exporter. Do not assume that all the suppliers you need will be located within Australia — in fact, locating an overseas supplier could mean higher profit margins for you. You may need to visit bricks-and-mortar stores or businesses to better gauge product quality, and remember that the products themselves often include information about the manufacturer or supplier.

Getting it done

Your target list of products (and suppliers) should be as comprehensive as possible and contain all the relevant information you need to make informed decisions about who you should be buying from, what range you should be stocking and when. Most of this information should be included in your business plan and can form the foundation for your eBay listing descriptions. Where possible, ask for samples of the products to ensure they are of the right quality.

Check 20: Create a target product list

Create a spreadsheet for your product list. Your column headings should be:
  • Category
  • Product Name
  • Product Number
  • Product Description (dimensions, materials and so on)
  • Product Photograph
  • Package Quantity
  • Minimum Order Quantity
  • Cost
  • Delivery Cost
  • Other Costs (taxes, duties and so on)
  • Lead Time
  • Supplier
  • Contact Name
  • Address
  • Telephone
  • Email
  • Website
  • Other Contact Details
  • Terms of Trade (payment terms, returns and so on)
  • Average eBay Sold Price
  • Forecast Monthly eBay Sales
  • List of eBay Sellers.

Detailed costs and time for check 20

10 to 60 minutes for each product type to compile all the relevant information.
1 day to several weeks to receive product samples.
Suppliers may charge for samples and/or postage costs.

Business impact

Creating a thorough and extensive list of potential products can lead to business efficiencies such as:

reductions in time taken to place and receive orders
a reduction in time taken to list products on eBay (copy and paste existing information into your templates)
faster reaction times to external pressures such as change in suppliers, price competition or lack of supply.

More information

The Queensland government has a great guide to finding suppliers at http://goo.gl/0ul1AF.

CHECKS 21 AND 22
      Create a supplier pitch

What is it?

While you may already have suppliers in place, as you expand your range, or perhaps when a supplier is no longer able to supply your products, you may be required to approach more suppliers. Not all suppliers will automatically accept you as a potential reseller. Most larger businesses want to retain control over their brand, which means influencing how their products are presented and which channels they're sold through. Having a template for a supplier pitch means you will be able to approach any company, any time, with a convincing argument for why you should become one of their resellers.

Three reasons to do it

Having a ready-made pitch document means you will be prepared for supplier communications at any given time.

1 Having a prepared pitch document means you will have had time to polish it, reducing potential for errors and increasing the likelihood that you know the content well and can answer questions or concerns more confidently.
2 A supplier pitch helps you refine your own brand — what your business stands for, who your target customers are and what kinds of products you would like to sell.
3 Stay current with a list of eBay trends and keep your pitch document updated. A highly polished and professional pitch can mean the difference between you or someone else becoming the reseller of a product, and could also lead to exclusivity arrangements.

Getting started

Your pitch needs to be in a format you're comfortable presenting in, but also one that is easily viewed by a wide variety of potential suppliers. PowerPoint, or a similar presentation application, is probably the most commonly used format. You could also consider printed and bound booklets, video or other more tactile formats, but better to choose one that can be quickly updated and use a template that allows you to slot in relevant information.

Check 21: Find or create a pitch template

Start by creating or finding a template that you're comfortable with. You can download a free one via the internet or create your own. The template should clearly reflect your brand, be simple yet striking and be carefully pitched at the right level of decision-maker. For example, if you intend to pitch to the CEO you may need your information to be more concise, whereas an accountant or business development manager may want to see more granular information. A good template will allow you to create and edit multiple versions as you go.

Getting it done

Once you've created or located a pitch template you're comfortable with, the next step is to fill in the various parts in a way that engages and convinces all potential suppliers. Avoid lengthy details around your negotiable terms, such as cost of purchase and delivery. The pitch document should be about convincing the supplier that (a) there is a complementary market for their product on eBay and (b) yours is the right business to be reselling it.

Check 22: Write the pitch

Complete the relevant fields within your pitch by concentrating on one supplier and one product type. These should include:
  • a brief description of who you are
  • a history of your business and its success (particularly on eBay)
  • a comprehensive summary of the category/industry and its current challenges and successes
  • data around current eBay trends for the category/product
  • an outline of the sales potential on eBay complete with forecast and timeline
  • an example of how you think the product/brand should be positioned on eBay
  • a checklist of how the relationship between the supplier and you as reseller will work
  • next steps — a complete timeline of what should be decided when and by whom.
Tip: Practise presenting your pitch to a range of colleagues and friends, and be receptive to their feedback. Ask for a critical appraisal and look particularly for inaccuracies. Always remember to carefully check every tiny aspect of your pitch when you update it for a new supplier or product — the last thing you want is the supplier thinking you're too lazy to update it for their business.

Detailed costs and time for checks 21 and 22

1 to 3 hours to create your own pitch template from scratch or locate a great one on the internet. Some downloadable templates need to be paid for.
1 to 3 hours to populate the template with the relevant information for each new supplier.

Business impact

To gauge potential impact, measure if there's:

an increase in the number of suppliers who allow you to resell their product
an increase in the number of products you list on eBay
an increase in the number of items sold.

More information

For inspiration visit Board of Innovation at http://goo.gl/h8r4KY.

CHECKS 23 AND 24
      Improve your titles

What is it?

There is no such thing as the perfect title. This means there is always room for improvement! Your titles need to be the best they can be, when compared with competitors in your category, and bearing in mind how buyers look for products such as the ones you sell. Furthermore, you need to stay informed of eBay's changes to how your listing titles are referenced within eBay searches, because often your placement in search results relates directly to the quality and accuracy of your listing titles.

Three reasons to do it

Next to photographs and price, item titles are among the most important things your buyers look at when assessing whether to click through to your eBay listing and purchase from you or one of your competitors.

1 Great titles result in a better placement in search results.
2 Current and optimised titles will attract more buyer attention — avoid filling valuable title space with redundant characters.
3 Skilful titles may attract more clicks from potential buyers and provide you with a competitive advantage.

Getting started

The best listing titles need to be highly relevant, respond to buyer needs and be optimised for eBay's search system.

Check 23: Compare competitors' titles

Start by looking at your competitors, both on and off eBay, and make a list of the top 10 and worst 10 titles across three of your key products. In your opinion, what makes a great title and what makes a bad one? Make some notes on how you think your listing titles could be stronger.

Getting it done

If you already have a sales history from your listing you will not be able to edit your listing title on eBay. You need to make a judgement on whether you think updating your listing titles by creating new listings will be worthwhile. Bear in mind that one of the most influential factors for determining your visibility in an eBay search result is your recent sales history, and how frequently buyers have clicked on or watched your listing. In some cases, creating a new listing with a formidable title can result in a superior position within an eBay search. If you're unsure, test this in a handful of listings to gauge whether the new title drives greater success.

Consider the following factors when creating your listing title:

  • Choose relevant keywords relating to your product. Use as many keywords as you can and include as many product features as you can think of, such as brand, size, colour and materials.
  • Occasion-related keywords may also be helpful (such as ‘novelty' or ‘wedding').
  • Avoid repeating the same word, even if it makes your listing title less grammatically correct. For example, ‘wedding dress party dress formal dress' in your title includes two redundant uses of the word dress when it comes to how eBay's search references your listings. Instead, consider ‘wedding party formal dress'.
  • Avoid only loosely associated keywords. This will mean your listing receives impressions for broad keywords not applicable to buyers and may result in your popularity score within Best Match being negatively affected. For example, if you use the words ‘garden, gardening' when selling seeds, the chances of a buyer searching for a broad keyword when they really want a packet of seeds is small; and similarly, anyone searching ‘garden' is unlikely to click through to your listing for seeds.
  • Avoid keyword spamming — using words not directly applicable to your listing. For example, if selling seeds, don't use a title such as ‘strawberry seeds jam sauce'. While you may grow seeds into a plant that can be used to make jam and sauce, you're not selling jam or sauce so you should not use these keywords. For more on eBay's strict policy against keyword spamming go to http://goo.gl/qGgk4V.
  • A good example will include strong keywords, such as: ‘Brand New Size 32 Waist 33 Leg Men's Black Diesel Faded Denim Jeans Slim Fit'.

Check 24: Update or create listing titles

To update your titles for listings with no sales history go to My eBay, click Active under Selling Manager Pro, check the box next to the relevant listing(s) then, using the drop-down next to Edit, click Edit selected or Edit all. On the next screen check the box at the top of the page to highlight all listings then, using the drop-down next to Edit, click Title and subtitle then select Edit listings individually. Make your changes then click Save and close. Alternatively you can double-click on the title column to make your changes directly on the page.
To edit listings with a sales history you will need to end your listings by going to My eBay, clicking Active under Selling Manager Pro, then checking the box next to the relevant listing(s), then using the drop-down next to Action click End. Once ended, click Unsold under Selling Manager Pro, update your listing titles as per the above then relist your listings.

Detailed costs and time for checks 23 and 24

1 to 2 hours to research and compare great and bad listing titles.
1 to 2 minutes per listing to create optimised listing titles.
Ended listings will need to be relisted, which may attract an additional insertion fee.

Business impact

To gauge potential impact, measure if there's:

an increase in views (or clicks) to your listings
an increase in the number of items sold
an improvement to your position in an eBay search.

More information

For more on bulk edit see http://goo.gl/8dIviq.

CHECKS 25 TO 27
      Increase your relevance

What is it?

Appearing higher up in eBay's search results depends on much more than just your listing title. In order to maximise your chances of being first in any search result, you need to attract the most buyer attention, and also to ensure eBay can read your listing as being relevant for any given buyer search. You do this by utilising features such as choosing the most accurate category and eBay's item specifics or product attributes.

Three reasons to do it

Relevance is a critical determining factor in where your listing appears in eBay search results, and for some buyers it can make the difference between finding your listing and never seeing it at all.

1 It will increase your chances of appearing higher up in search results.
2 For buyers who use refinements after they search, using the most accurate attributes will help ensure your products are found.
3 Using the right features may mean your listings are shown in more types of buyer searches.

Getting started

Before you begin, conduct a quick comparison of your listings and those of your main competitors. While this will take a little time, it's important to ensure that you are maximising relevance for your particular category rather than making assumptions about what your buyers want.

Check 25: Compare competitors' listings

Make a list of your top 10 products and the categories and item specifics you have chosen. Next, find three to five sellers of the same (or similar) products and note the categories and item specifics they have chosen. Pay particular attention to any listing that appears higher than yours in search results. Once you've created your list, look for where your details are different, and how they might be improved. Remember to think objectively and put yourself in your buyers' shoes.
Tip: You can also use the third-party research tool Terapeak at www.terapeak.com to view the most popular categories used by sellers and top-performing listings.

Getting it done

The two main areas to concentrate on are your use of category and of item specifics.

Check 26: Category update

Update your categories by completing a bulk inventory edit, as detailed in check 19. Avoid using categories called ‘Other' as these are generally used only when there isn't a more accurate category to use. Buyers tend to avoid filtering by these categories. It's also important to stay up to date with category changes made by eBay — visit http://goo.gl/Vibljj and look for ‘Seller Release' announcements.

Check 27: Item specifics update

Update your item specifics by completing a bulk inventory edit, as detailed in check 19. Item specifics are also a critical component of determining whether your listing is relevant to any given buyer's search. Where they are available, you should always use them. Buyers often narrow their searches using filters, and many of these are populated by a seller's use of item specifics. It's crucial to use them properly: enter single values only, and do not use redundant words.
Correct use Incorrect use
Blue Blue & Red
Blue Blue with Red Dots
Hen's Night Hen's Night Party
Green Lime Colour
Unisex Boys, Girls

Detailed costs and time for checks 25 to 27

$19.95 to $49.95 per month to subscribe to Terapeak — there is also usually a free trial period.
1 to 3 hours to research comparable listings on eBay.
1 to 10 minutes per listing to update — faster if you use bulk edit.

Business impact

To gauge potential impact, measure if there's:

an increase in views (or clicks) to your listings
an increase in the number of items sold
an improvement in your position in an eBay search.

More information

CHECKS 28 TO 30
      Optimise for Best Match

What is it?

Best Match is eBay's default search order. It is a complex set of algorithms that are constantly changing. The simplest way to think about Best Match is that your listing's visibility is a combination of the following factors:

  • buyer engagement: how many times your listing is viewed or clicked, how many buyers watch your item, and how many times you sell a product from your listing or a bid is placed on an auction
  • relevance: a combination of the words you use in your listing title and use of features such as category selection and product attributes (see checks 25 to 27)
  • seller performance: how your history as a seller compares with others in your category (as measured by your feedback score, detailed seller ratings and your compliance with all of eBay's policies).

Three reasons to do it

You can have the best product and offer the best service in the world, but unless your visibility is optimised for eBay searches your listings may never be seen. Being optimised for Best Match can make a critical difference to your business's turnover.

1 Increase your chances of appearing higher up in eBay's search results.
2 Ensure your complete product offering is highly competitive against those of other sellers in your category.
3 Ensure your listings appeal to as many buyers as possible to improve your search-to-purchase ratio.

Getting started

Used in conjunction with checks 23 to 27, it's important to remember a few additional details about how Best Match operates.

  • For any given search result, it compares your performance versus other sellers and listings.
  • Many factors lead a buyer to choose to engage with your listing. You need to remain competitive on a range of details including item price, postage costs, postage services, handling time, quality of item photograph, quality of item title and description, and your terms of trade such as payments and returns. It's crucial that you compare your experience objectively with that of other sellers in your category.
  • If your position in search changes, don't automatically assume that the algorithm has changed. While it's true the algorithm is being continually refined, it is largely determined by buyer behaviour. A change in your position is most likely directly related to a change by your competitors.

Getting it done

Optimising your listing title and the relevance factors of your listing (such as category and item specifics) are two ways to improve your visibility in an eBay search result. The following three checks are also critical components and you should revisit your performance of each on a regular basis.

Check 28: Update listing duration

List in longer duration formats such as Stores' Good Til Cancelled (GTC) 30-day duration. By listing in longer formats, you're optimising your recent sales history (or buyer engagement) and ensuring your listing remains live continually. Any time your listing is not live is a lost opportunity for improving your buyer engagement scores. You need to be subscribed to eBay Stores to access the GTC listing format and you can update your live listings by using the bulk editing tool, as outlined in check 11.

Check 29: Use multi-variant

Duration is one way to maximise your exposure on the site, but another way to attract more buyers to your listings and to further boost your buyer engagement scores is to combine similar product types into one listing. Known as multi-variant, this allows you, for example, to have one listing of the same style dress but to include multiple sizes and colours. Rather than having one black size 12 dress in your listing, therefore, your multi-variant listing will appeal to people searching for a black dress in size 8, 10, 12 or 14, or red, blue and white versions of the same style and sizes. You can see that in this way you are increasing your potential buyer base 16-fold. You can upload different photographs for each variation, and each is also cross-referenced by eBay's search even if they are not included within your item title. You can update your listings by following the instructions at http://goo.gl/1I9rpO or use eBay's multi-variation merger tool at http://goo.gl/O1WuwF.

Check 30: Check your performance

A final important part of the Best Match algorithm is your seller performance rating. This is a combination of your feedback score, detailed seller ratings, number of disputes lodged against you and eBay policy compliance. To stay current with your seller performance, it's important to check your status on a regular basis. Make yourself a calendar reminder now to check your seller status at least fortnightly. You can view your seller dashboard within My eBay: click Account then Seller Dashboard. If there are issues with your performance you will receive notification here along with tips or actions on how to improve.

Detailed costs and time for checks 28 to 30

$19.95 to $499.95 per month to subscribe to Stores and access 30-day Good Til Cancelled listings.
1 to 3 minutes per listing to update your duration (less if you use eBay's bulk editing tool).
1 to 5 minutes to create a multi-variant listing (less if you use eBay's Multi Variation Merger tool).
10 minutes each fortnight to check your seller dashboard.

Business impact

To gauge potential impact, measure if there's:

an improvement to your position in an eBay search
an increase in views (or clicks) to your listings
an increase in the number of items sold.

More information

To see my video on understanding Best Match go to http://goo.gl/4BxEoi.

CHECKS 31 TO 33
      Create professional listings

What is it?

Online, you're expecting a buyer you have never met to send you money for a product they have never seen. There is a high degree of trust required when selling online. To increase buyer confidence in your products and services, and to provide a competitive edge in your category, you need to create listings that are as professional as possible. So how do you define ‘professional'? One way is to imagine your listings are required for a catalogue of the best retailer in the world. Professional listings take account of:

  • photograph(s) (see checks 48 to 50)
  • the amount and quality of product information
  • your postage, payments and returns policies
  • the tone of the language you use
  • the layout of the listings (including order of information, overall design look and feel, spelling and grammar)
  • the services you offer.

Three reasons to do it

Buyers expect professionalism and often choose one seller over another based solely on how professional (or trustworthy) their listings appear.

1 Attract more buyers to your listings.
2 Set clear buyer expectations to avoid disappointment, which can lead to negative ratings.
3 Remain highly competitive by providing outstanding professionalism and service — this can often mean you do not have to be the cheapest in the marketplace to attract more customers.

Getting started

Creating professional listings can be one of the most time-consuming components of optimising your eBay performance, but the time investment will be worth it. As with most elements of measuring your success on eBay, you need to ensure the level of professionalism of your listings is better than that of your competitors. You can certainly outsource the creation of your listings to a design agency or freelancer, and remember that once you have created a base template to use you can simply cut and paste product information into each listing. Consider Frooition (www.frooition.com/au) or Dzine (www.dzine-hub.com) to redesign your listings, or conduct an internet search for other agencies.

Getting it done

Even the best design agencies will require a clearly written brief. You need to create the best possible listings for your buyers, so remain objective. The final results should be as polished as a page from one of the best product catalogues in the world and leave no questions unanswered for your potential buyers.

Check 31: Find a designer

When choosing a designer or agency it's important to work with the one you feel most comfortable with. Price should be a deciding factor but not the sole one. Make sure you ask to see a range of projects completed by the company or person and submit a full outline of your requirements to receive a complete quote. You could also visit a site such as Freelancer (www.freelancer.com.au) to find a professional designer.

Check 32: Create great descriptions

While there's no such thing as perfect, you can strive to get as close to it as possible! Here are the critical components of a great eBay listing description:
  • First, include as much information about the product as possible. Consider bullet points of information in order of importance. Stick to the facts, and only after you have listed all of the product's features should you consider including additional information such as uses or other expressive language.
  • Include multiple photographs of the product.
  • List the payment methods you accept.
  • Outline your postage services and the cost of each.
  • Outline your handling time to give buyers a clear indication of how long it will take for the product to leave your premises.
  • Provide a thorough returns policy that gives buyers peace of mind.
  • List your contact details clearly.
  • Use a consistent, simple, normal-size (at least 10 to 12 point) font, avoiding multiple colours, sizes or styles.
  • Left justify your paragraphs — it's easier for people to read.
  • Avoid overly expressive or aggressive language.
  • Remember to brand your listing professionally to help build buyer confidence.

Check 33: Spellcheck

Once you have a listing template for one product and are happy with it, it's time to review every single listing to ensure there are no spelling mistakes. These can deter some buyers and make your brand look unprofessional. Ask someone with impeccable spelling to check your listings or else run them through a spellchecker. Though this is time-consuming, it can make the difference between a sale or no sale.

Detailed costs and time for checks 31 to 33

Around 5 minutes per product to take world-class photographs but you will need the right equipment. Professional photographers will charge a few hundred dollars per hour or you could hire the equipment and do it yourself.
Around 1 to 3 hours to create an item description template in HTML. Agencies will charge between $1000 and $3000 to do this for you, or a freelancer will charge $100 to $300 per hour.
10 to 30 minutes per listing to paste relevant product information into each.
Around 5 minutes per listing to carefully spellcheck.

Business impact

To gauge potential impact, measure if there's:

an increase in views (or clicks) to your listings
an increase in the number of items sold
an improvement in your conversion of visits to sales.

More information

See eBay's selling best practices tips at the Seller Centre: http://goo.gl/cALV1R.

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