Saturday, September 22, 2007

How to Get Traffic to Your eBay Store



The photo above is a screen shot taken on 9/25/07 of my eBay page views report. As you can see, my store receives approx 650 page views a day. (Click on the report to get a closer look.) I do alot of things on the internet to drive traffic to my store. All of these things are FREE and you can do them, too.

As many of you may know, I also write for another blog called Moms in Business. I recently wrote a post about generating traffic to your blog. These techniques can also be use to drive traffic to your eBay store - just leave your store or eBay home page link when applying these techniques on the internet. All of these techniques are free, and they all work. The key is to do these things frequently and consistenly. Click here to read the complete list.

Thanks to everyone for participating in the $20 holiday tips contest. All the entries were great and it was very hard to choose a winner. I think everyone enjoyed reading all of the entries and we are all getting geared up for the holiday selling season.

The winner is April, of You are Loved Children's Resale. April entered 3 tips, but the winning tip was this one:

Slip a Christmas or Holiday card with a nice greeting in with the invoice to your customer. It will make their day! Or better yet attach a packet of hot cocoa to it. Thanks again to everyone who parcipated - and stay tuned for another contest in October with anohter fun prize.

Have a good week, and if you haven't joined us over at the eBay Coach Forum, come check it out - it is free to join. Unlike other forums, we have a "you will not be ignored policy" - everyone is there to help!

Regards,

Suzanne Wells
The eBay Coach

Friday, September 7, 2007

What to Sell on eBay - Mens Blazers and Sport Coats



Mens blazers and sport coats are a wardrobe essential. Men wear them to work, for business casual days at work, out on the town, or even casually with jeans. A new designer blazer or sport coat can cost up to $400 or more. There is a huge market for blazers on eBay since buyers can find these items so inexpensively. Selling mens blazers and sport coats is easy, fast, and profitable once you know what to look for and use a few simple tricks.

As with all types of clothing on eBay, you will want to stick with designer brands. Tried and true brands that have been around for years, such as Ralph Lauren, Burberry, and Hickey Freeman always do well. You can count on these types of blazers selling in the range of $25 - $60, even used. (I routinely find them at thrift stores for $4-$5.) I have sold some Ralph Lauren blazers for over $100. Used blazers do incredibly well if you find the right size, color, style, and fabric combinations. See a complete list of my top selling brands of mens blazers at the eBay Coach VIP Library.

As for fabrics, you will want to select wool, wool and cashmere blend, camel hair, and silk and wool blends. Make sure that the jacket has a full lining on the inside. You will see some blazers with a half lining – avoid those as they are usually low quality. Also, turn the blazer inside out and inspect the lining to make sure there are no rips or stains.



You will notice that solid color blazers and sport coats are typically seen in 3 colors: black, navy blue, and camel. These are the colors I look for when shopping at thrift stores and garage sales. I have sold some plaid styles, but I have a short cut for selling the solid colored blazers. It is just easier to sell the same type of item over and over again because you can use the same pictures. And we all know that preparing the item, photographing the item, and editing photos can be time consuming.

I have created my own library of stock photos to use for many items that I routinely sell on eBay. In the mens blazer category, I have photos for black, navy blue, and camel blazers in both single and double breasted styles with different button styles – black, gold tone crested buttons, or neutral colored buttons. These pretty much all look the same so you can just use the same photos over and over again.

Now for the good news! You can use these photos, too. Ok, wait – why would you want to use my photos? I have acquired this collection of photos over several years of selling the same styles and colors of blazers and sport coats on eBay. My photos, like the ones shown in this blog post, are taken with the blazers on a mannequin and with a contrasting tie. (Yes, I took these actual photos.) I have done all the work for you. Fitting the blazer to the mannequin, cropping and editing the photo, offering several color and style selections, and adding a handsome tie. So all you have to do is pick up mens blazers when you are out shopping, come home, write up your listing, choose a photo, and wait for the money to come in. Well, you'll have to ship the item when it sells - but think of all the time you will save using stock photos.

You can access this collection of photos at the eBay Coach VIP Library. Membership is $5.95 a month, however, think of all the time you will save in the future! Visit the library to see a wealth of information in addition to a large selection of stock photos in many categories.

Be sure to listen to my podcast for more information about selling mens blazers including what sizes to look for, how to measure blazers for your listings, and other key information.

Happy selling!

Suzanne Wells
The eBay Coach