Be Nimble, Grasshopper

So this is very Sun Tzu - or if Yoda is more your cup of tea - its something he might say to any good eBayer too: "be nimble, grasshopper!"

What do I mean? I mean - if your competition includes giant massive sellers with all kinds of power, and you're small, and the whole situation seems daunting - think like this:

They are big and lumbering, you are small and nimble
They are mammoth and slow, you are gazelle-like and fast
They are impersonal, you provide a personal touch to your customers
The have a huge inventory, your inventory is small and very niche
They have the lowest price, you provide tons of value

...as with so many things, size matters - but bigger isn't always better on eBay.

Is this useful? If so, sign up for the Evenger Secret Library and find out lots more!

A Moment for Momentum

Have you ever noticed that it is usually easier to get a lot of things done when you're really busy than it is when you have all sort of time on your hands?

I find this to be very true when listing new items on eBay.

If all my orders have been shipped and the PayPal payments are just rolling in, its harder to bear down and list even more - though that is exactly the time when a good eBayer DOES list a ton more.

On the other hand, if things have sort of stalled, there is a big pile of orders that need to be shipped, and a bunch of customer emails that need to be answered - being productive is much easier.

Watch out - don't fall prey to the easy going times. Be disciplined (it takes practice - work on building the habit) and list a ton of stuff regardless of whether things are feeling productive just then, or not.

God's True Light

Do your eBay photos look like this?

If so, you’ve got a LIGHT problem! I don’t know about you – but I’m a person who likes light. One of the reasons I’m not a huge fan of winter is not because of the cold, but because of the light! It’s not just that there are fewer hours of light, but winter light has a narrower spectrum (that’s one of the big clues trees use to know when it’s time to shed their leaves).

I digress. The point is that in order to have great photos on eBay, one big thing you can do is to take photos with a full spectrum of light. What is one of the best sources of the full spectrum? You guessed it – that big yellow thing in the sky…..the sun.

If you’re eBaying in a cave – take some of that stuff outside, find a nice plain background, and try taking photos in sunlight – you’ll be surprised how well they turn out.

Is this useful? If so, sign up for the Evenger Secret Library and find out lots more!

Ask and ye shall receive...feedback on eBay

Feedback got you down?

You do everything right - you ship like a superhero, you do everything perfect...and then your customer leaves you no feedback? Bummer right?

Well let me ask you this...did you ask your customer to leave feedback?

Now I don't want to encourage you to be one of those sellers who sends like 10,000 emails saying - "please leave me feedback! I beg you, please leave me feedback!"...because frankly, that's just annoying.

But how about, when you send your final "thank you" email (you send one, right?) you include just a simple line like this:

"We strive for 5 star feedback from all our customers! If you had a great experience, please let me know. Or, if things could have been better - please contact me ASAP so we can make it right! I want you to feel good about leaving 5 star feedback across the board!"

...something like that. If you'd like feedback from your customers, make sure you ask for it.

Selling other people's stuff is easier

You know, most people (not everybody, but most people) have a lot of s$#t.

They've got stuff they don't even know they have. Boxes and boxes of it.

Have you been to an Estate Sale lately? Every time I go I swear to myself that by the time I'm ready to check out - I'm not going to have all those books and all those boxes of stuff.

Why do people collect so much stuff over their lives? Well...memories of course. Each item a person owns has a memory attached to it - so there is always the fear that if I get rid of this item, then I'll lose the memory I have attached to it. Of course, that's not true....and of course - who is to say that you won't forget the memory even if you hold onto the object?

The other thing is - the longer a person owns the item - the more they have "invested" into keeping it - and the harder it is to get rid of!

Think of all the piles of stuff that people don't use, that they could sell and get $$$ for - but they are reluctant to get rid of extra stuff?

Try this mental exercise:

Think about selling your extra stuff. Stuff that you never use, but is really border-line in terms of your willingness to give it up. Got that feeling?

Now - pretend a total stranger owned those exact same items, and asked you to sell them. How does it feel now?

My point is that it's a lot easier to sell stuff that you are not emotionally attached to. So, if you've got stuff that you know you should sell but are emotionally attached to - just understanding the dynamic that is happening can help you get to a place where you can pull the trigger on that auction (and then the cool thing is - once that auction is going - you won't think about it a bit...much less when you've shipped the item and you have $$$ in hand).

Or, if you know somebody who is wanting to sell some stuff but having a hard time breaking up with it - offer to swoop in and do it for them. It'll be much easier for you to do it than it will be for them to do it.

Is it pretty?

As a cyber superhero, I'll be the first to admit - I'm usually not too worried about whether most things are "pretty"

The thing is though, some of my customers - actually most of my customers - well, let's be honest - ALL CUSTOMERS like things to be pretty when they open their order.

Let me give you two scenarios:

Scenario 1: You buy something on eBay and open your order. The box kind of smells funny (someplace between mothballs and cigarettes) and is filled with strips of yellowing newspaper. On some of the newspaper there is some kind of stain - is it blood? Looks like blood. Oh! There is the thing I ordered - it's fine I guess - but was that blood? And what's that smell?

Scenario 2: You buy something on eBay and open your order. The box has that nice new plastic smell and is filled with fresh bubble wrap or foam or stuff that looks cool. My order is wrapped in fresh tissue or papyrus - I don't know what it is but I'm so glad I bought this cool thing.

I'm kind of exaggerating, but you get the idea. Don't use newspaper to stuff your packages. I understand the environmental argument - but honestly...using the right packaging makes your item weigh less which means less energy is used to transport it - and if you purchase recycled materials - you're still being pretty green.

Repeat Repeat Repeat if you can!

So when you're looking for stuff to sell on eBay, if you have the choice to get 10 different things to sell or 10 things that are exactly the same to sell - all else being equal - definitely choose 10 things that are exactly the same...

Why?

First of all, instead of having to write 10 listings descriptions and taking 10 photos, you'll be able to use one listing description and one photo 10 times!

Second, you'll only have to figure out the best way to ship that item once. No need to get a bunch of different sized boxes and so forth.

Third, if its a really hot seller and you have multiples of the same item - you can always offer second chance offers to bidders who come in just behind your highest bidder.

So re re re repeat if you can!