Monday, November 21, 2016

Cyber Monday is a Week Away - Are You Ready?




What Exactly is Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving. The "cyber" part was created by marketers to refer to online shopping. The theory is that shoppers take advantage of online specials after the Black Friday weekend sales. This is a huge opportunity to take advantage of the presence of online shoppers, millions of whom will be on eBay. I'll make this Cyber Monday lesson easy for you with some cool infographics!

Consumers Like the Convenience of Shopping Online




Mobile Cyber Monday Sales Were Up 53% From 2014 - 2015


Women Out-Shop and Out-Spend Men 


Gen X is the Largest Segment of Buyers and Spends the Most as a Group


Consumers Shop from Work and Home


Average Order Value Holds Steady at $123



 eBay 3rd Most Visited Site in 2015


Are you ready for Cyber Monday? The #1 thing you can do to prepare is to list, list, list! A few tips to help you list faster:

Get off Facebook. It is a time suck.

Time block.  Plan when you will work, and make sure your family knows you are unavailable during those hours (if possible of course). Get your family on board with knowing you must get your work done.

Set realistic goals. Don't beat yourself up if you can't get it all done. You are only 1 person. Do the best you can.

Ask for help.  See who you can recruit around the house to help. It might be best to put kids in charge of chores or housework so you are freed up to work. Delegate and make it a team effort.

Hire help. My virtual eBay listers are available to help! We can list 7-10 items an hour. You just send us the photos and we do the rest after a few initial questions. Clients LOVE this service, it helps them make more money, and it is like multiplying yourself!



We are in the home stretch now - get those last items listed so you will be ready when millions of shoppers hit the internet on Monday. Get your piece of the Cyber Monday pie!

*Cyber Monday data provided by ComScore.com and PFSWeb.com



Sunday, November 20, 2016

Failure is the Opportunity to Begin Again More Wisely


Well, I have some bad news. Unfortunately the warehouse project isn't going to happen. First let me say that I really cared about this project and wanted it to be successful. I want everything I do to be successful. Sadly, the client and I have different ideas about how this mountain of inventory should be tackled so we have decided to shut down the project.

This is not because I was incapable or unwilling to do the work. I felt that my efforts were not making the measurable difference I had hoped for. After 5 weeks of listing I took a step back to analyze the progress and make suggestions for improvement.

My Concerns with Progress

Listing pace was very slow. Because of the nature of the items and the research needed, a maximum of 6 listings per hour was the norm. Much too slow to tackle 100,000 items in a reasonable amount of time. At this pace, it will take 16,666 hours to list everything.

The sell through rate (STR) on the items I listed was only 30%. This was discouraging as I understood the client's STR to be 80%. I was not even meeting half of their STR.

Dollar amounts on sold items were very low - most less than $20.

Revenue generated was equal to the amount the client had paid for my services to organize and list the items. There was no measurable profit after 5 weeks. As a service provider, that is not acceptable to me.

Unsold listings were accumulating. Handling unsold listings was not within the scope of my work. There were nearly 700 items in the unsold folder and that was a huge concern for me. I was very uncomfortable with listing more items until we had a process for handling unsolds in place. The client would be paying me for listing items, 70% of them would go unsold, and possibly drop off after 90 days of sitting in the unsold folder. Some might argue, "What does it matter, you are getting paid to list the items?" Well, it matters to me. I want my efforts to be successful and the client to be successful. I want the time I invest to mean something. I don't want to be a hamster on a wheel doing meaningless work.

I did not feel the client's money, or my time, was being spent well. My efforts were not paying off for the client. I brought these findings to the clients attention and proposed some solutions.

Proposed Solutions

I proposed to ramp up the listing by having a team of listers (experienced proficient eBay sellers) in the warehouse for several hours a week under my supervision. The client did not wish to have more people involved at this time.

I proposed to dedicate one helper to handling unsold items until we caught them up. The client agreed that this was a hole in the boat. Neglected unsold items means lost opportunities. The work is done, the items can't sell if they are sitting in the unsold folder. If the work is lost, sales are lost, and the work has to be done over again.

I proposed to lot together lower value items to get them moving.

I proposed to continue to schedule out listings as far as 3 weeks. Scheduled listings can hold 3,000 items. The client could still review the listings, change pricing, or make other tweaks before listing. With a team of listers we could knock out 100+ listings a day.

The client has always been concerned about keeping up with shipping as items sold. I proposed a shipping center in the warehouse where we could assist and help catch up on shipping daily as needed.

Unfortunately, the client and I have different ideas about handling this project and that is perfectly fine. I am honored to have been included and maybe some of things I learned during this experience will help me in the future. Refer to the quote above.

If you need help getting caught up on your backlog of listings, or want to list eBay items faster, check out my eBay Virtual Listing Service.

Monday, November 14, 2016

My Holiday Gift to You!


This time of year is not only rejoicing, but reflecting. As I reflect on this year, I can count many blessings that have come into my life. In the spirit of giving, gratitude, and appreciation, I am offering a 50% off special on all of the information products in my online store so that you can get the information you need to grow your business. You can choose from:

Virtual Picking - Find Items Online to Resell on eBay

The Art of Selling Preowned Women's Shoes

The Profitable World of Selling Women's Clothing Level 1

The Profitable World of Selling Women's Clothing Level 2

eBay Basics

eBay International Shipping

Etsy for Beginners

Keep Your eBay Business Growing

Supplier eBooks

Selling Groceries on Amazon

The Golf Shirt Bible

What to Buy at Thrift Stores to Resell on eBay

If you have been thinking about learning something new, take advantage of this special now. All items are instant downloads so you can start learning right away. You'll be ready for Black Friday sales at thrift stores! Remember, thrift stores are packed full in January since people donate heavily at the end of December to get the tax write-off for donations. (Consumer advocate Clark Howard even says so!) You can be ready to hit the ground running in January armed with new knowledge to explore different products you may have been passing by and grow your eBay business for 2017.

Use coupon code  


to get your 50% discount. There is no limit on the number of items you can purchase and the discount applies to everything! Discount is for 3 days only - November 14, 15, and 16.

Feel free to share this information and discount code in your groups and with anyone who wants to grow their eBay business. There is more than enough out there for all of us to prosper.

Remember, Einstein said, "If you always do what you have always done, you always get what you've always got."  Today is a great day to learn something new!

Happy Selling,

Suzanne A. Wells

Monday, November 7, 2016

Hatchimals Selling for Twice the Retail Price on eBay

Looking for the hot toy to flip on eBay this year? Read all the details here.

Will you get in on the Hatchimals frenzy?

Happy selling!

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

eBay Listing Assistant Success Story - eBay Store Bepie's Odds and Ends



I wanted to take a moment to show you how my Virtual eBay Listing Assistant Program is helping sellers make money. Here are screen shots of actual items that my VAs listed for one of our clients and the items sold in just a few days. Remember, unlisted items can't sell!

Our client Beth sells clothing, toys, and other items from thrift stores. (Her eBay store is Bepie's Odds and Ends.)  Beth loves to shop and is a very good picker. She knows her brands, and she is an Anthropologie expert. She has taught me a lot over the years. Take a moment to look through her store, you will see brands you have never heard of before - she is always teaching me something.

Beth lives in Metro Atlanta, less than 10 miles from about 8 thrift stores, so picking is plentiful. She pays between $2 and $6 for her items, depending on the store, the sale, and the brand. She can focus on finding great inventory at super low prices, and we help her list the items quickly, so she can make money faster. Here are a few things that have sold in the last month - and they sold within just a few days of listing.




 

We have been working with Beth off and on for about 2 years. Beth is married to Jimmy, and they are they parents of 3 boys - one recently got married, one in college, and another in middle school. Her eBay money helps pay for private school for her youngest son, and household necessities. Beth is able to make money on a flexible schedule doing what she loves! We help Beth list between 20 and 50 items a week.

If you have a backlog of items to list, or are ready to outsource part of your eBay business, find out more here. We are ready to help you list eBay items faster and make more money!

Interested in becoming one of my virtual assistants? I offer great hourly pay, you can work on your schedule, and in the comfort of your own home. Use your eBay skills to make money from home, while helping other sellers at the same time. Contact me here for details.

http://ebaysellingcoach.blogspot.com/2016/10/new-virtual-ebay-listing-assistant.html