eBay PowerSeller Goes Her Own Way…and Thrives!
Brad Schepp
October 20, 2006
You don’t always get what you pay for when it comes to marketing advice, if you sell on eBay. At least that’s what PowerSeller Cindy Walker, of Superiormats, learned.
Cindy’s family business provides custom car, van, SUV, and truck mats. Buyers can choose their own colors. It’s a great business and so in 1998 Cindy started selling her mats on eBay.
She was a success! But like most of us she wondered if she couldn’t do even better. One year she went to eBay Live, which is eBay’s annual confab for buyers, sellers, and others with some sort of stake in eBay. She met someone who knew a lot about web page design who had some ideas for how Cindy could make her auctions look “more professional.”
Guess what? Sales actually decreased when Cindy rolled out the new designs. Turns out people liked buying car mats from a family-run business. Customers preferred a more personalized site, one that said, “We’re here to help you.” In this case the fancier auctions worked against her.
The lesson here is a familiar one but like so many, it gets lost in all the noise of everyday eBay buying and selling. You should always target your listings to your market. That means not only taking into account the language but the look and feel of your auction as well. People buying car mats aren’t buying the Mercedes to go with it. They’re just like you and me.
Cindy’s still looking to grow her business but there’s a new problem. Hiring employees can be challenging. “People are more interested in playing on eBay,” than they are in selling her products. We understand. EBay is still great FUN.
For more great tips (and stories) see eBay PowerSeller Million Dollar Ideas, just published by McGraw-Hill.
Cindy’s family business provides custom car, van, SUV, and truck mats. Buyers can choose their own colors. It’s a great business and so in 1998 Cindy started selling her mats on eBay.
She was a success! But like most of us she wondered if she couldn’t do even better. One year she went to eBay Live, which is eBay’s annual confab for buyers, sellers, and others with some sort of stake in eBay. She met someone who knew a lot about web page design who had some ideas for how Cindy could make her auctions look “more professional.”
Guess what? Sales actually decreased when Cindy rolled out the new designs. Turns out people liked buying car mats from a family-run business. Customers preferred a more personalized site, one that said, “We’re here to help you.” In this case the fancier auctions worked against her.
The lesson here is a familiar one but like so many, it gets lost in all the noise of everyday eBay buying and selling. You should always target your listings to your market. That means not only taking into account the language but the look and feel of your auction as well. People buying car mats aren’t buying the Mercedes to go with it. They’re just like you and me.
Cindy’s still looking to grow her business but there’s a new problem. Hiring employees can be challenging. “People are more interested in playing on eBay,” than they are in selling her products. We understand. EBay is still great FUN.
For more great tips (and stories) see eBay PowerSeller Million Dollar Ideas, just published by McGraw-Hill.
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