| Home > Seller Central > 2007 Holiday Selling Guide |
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| Holiday Selling Guide |
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 Top Holiday Selling Tips Find out what's hot and in demand, learn how to attract more buyers, and discover the top tips for earning extra cash this holiday season. • Take Advantage of eBay Holiday Promotions • Increase Your Chances For Success • Stand Out And Get Noticed • Get Holiday Shipping Tips • Boost Your Business  Take Advantage of eBay Holiday Promotions We've pulled out all the stops to promote eBay holiday buying on TV, online, and in print. It's our biggest season yet, so get the inside track on what's selling like hotcakes—and cash in! • New advertising campaign: We're putting a fresh face on our national advertising campaign--holiday shoppers will see eBay ads an average of 15 times this season! • Holiday Hot List: Discover this season's hottest and hard-to-find items with the eBay Holiday Hot List. We analyze recent buying trends, gather predictions from eBay industry experts, and identify perennially hot products to give you the inside scoop. • eBay Holiday Catalog The full-color eBay Holiday Catalog is in production now, and it's set to go out to eBay's most active buyers at the height of the buying season. • Holiday Gift Guide: We'll highlight hundreds of top gifts in our 2007 Holiday Gift Guide. It's not just the gifts inside the Guide that are hot—interest in the Guide itself can also generate buyer demand and help you sell more. • Sneak Peek: Get an inside look at the future of eBay.com. You'll learn about things we're working on right now to make eBay more profitable for you—and how we've made it faster and easier than ever to list your item for sale on eBay. Increase Your Chances for Success Create "the perfect listing" to encourage bidding and increase your final selling price. • Maximize Profits with Low Priced, No Reserve Auctions: Getting that first bid is critical, as buyers are more likely to jump in if there are already bids on an item. Similarly, reserve prices can cause buyers to lose interest if they assume an item is overpriced. Many successful sellers set a low opening bid with no reserve to jumpstart bidding and increase their final selling price. • Include Reasonable Shipping Costs: Specifying reasonable shipping and handling costs in your listing is essential--and improves your search ranking when buyers sort by total cost. eBay's free Shipping Calculator provides real-time shipping costs to buyers all over the world, so you can expand your market and increase your chances of success. • Maximize Your Item Title Be sure to include key words that buyers will search for, unique or descriptive attributes, and always check your spelling. If your item is new, consider using keywords like NEW, NIB (New In Box), or NWT (New With Tags) in your title. Your item title is critical in helping users find your items, so use each character wisely. • Describe Your Item in Detail: A good description is concise, well organized, and easy to read. Create bold section headlines, bulleted lists, and be sure to include item style/type, brand, condition, estimated value, your return policy, and any other attributes a buyer might need. You can even insert videos that highlight the unique features of your item. Stand Out and Get Noticed The more visibility you get and the more you differentiate your item, the better your chances for a successful sale. Try these top tips from eBay's most successful sellers: • Add a Gallery image: Add a Gallery photo to your listings. Gallery can increase final price by an average of 12% and increase the likelihood of selling by up to 10%.* • Use Subtitles: Highlight unique features of your item: accessories, specifications, guarantees, specials, or shipping deals that set your item apart. • Promote free shipping: Free Shipping is a hot holiday service--the big "extra" to send your holiday sales right over the top. When you list the first item, just enter "0" in the first service under Payment & Shipping. "Free" will appear in the shipping cost field of your listing. • Offer Gift Services: Offer gift wrapping, direct shipping to your gift recipient, and/or gift card services in your listings, and flag your services with the Gift Services icon. • Create an About Me page: About Me pages increase your visibility in Internet search results and boost buyer confidence by showcasing your unique story and helping them get to know you. Best of all, creating one is fast, easy, and free. • Write Reviews and Guides: You're the expert! Write reviews and guides for the types of items you sell. Educate your potential buyers about key features and drive more traffic to your listings. • Promote items on your blog or Web page: eBay To Go is a slick, easy way to insert your eBay listings into blogs or personal pages. Potential buyers can look through—and bid on—your items right away. There's even a real-time countdown clock! • Sell For a Cause: Buyers are more willing to purchase and often pay more for items that benefit a non-profit. Support your favorite cause, gain increased exposure, and receive a receipt for your tax-deductible donations! Take Advantage of Holiday Shipping Tips Save time, money, and a trip to the post-office! • Get Free Boxes: Ship your items safely and easily with free supplies from the U.S. Postal Service®. They'll even deliver your supplies directly to you! • Print Postage and Shipping Labels: After the sale, you can print postage and labels on your home printer. The service is free; you pay only the cost of the shipping. • Schedule package pickup: The U.S. Postal Service® offers FREE Carrier Pickup™ right from your home. Just prepare your Priority Mail® and Express Mail® packages with eBay's Online Postage, then go to usps.com/pickup to request next-day carrier pickup. Same-day pickup can also be scheduled for $12.50 with Pickup On Demand. • Offer combined shipping to encourage multiple purchases: Shipping discounts let you offer buyers savings on shipping when they purchase multiple items from you. Listings with shipping discounts appear to buyers with the message: "Save on shipping." • Offer rush shipping to attract last-minute shoppers: Everyone loves a quick shipper, especially during the holiday season. Tell buyers how often and quickly you ship, and be sure to offer rush shipping options. Providing shipping deadlines and options for last minute buyers can be a big competitive advantage. Remember that holiday gift shoppers need to know that their packages will arrive in time. Here are the December deadlines: December 11th: Priority Mail International service to Canada December 14th: Parcel Post December 18th: Global Express Mail International service to Canada December 19th: First Class Mail December 20th: Global Express Guaranteed service to Canada December 21st: Priority Mail December 23rd: Express Mail Boost Your Business The holiday season is a great time to give your business on eBay a permanent boost by finding new customers and encouraging their loyalty! • Sell more and extend your holiday selling season: Try listing options such as Best Offer, 1-day listings, or auction-style listings with Buy It Now to turn last-minute shoppers into holiday buyers. Include combined shipping rates to encourage multiple purchases and offer special promotions to repeat customers to thank them for their continued business. • Bring them back with great communication: The more customer-friendly your policies, the more you will be able to convert holiday shoppers into loyal customers. State your Return Policy directly in your listing--just knowing you have one will increase buyer confidence. Display custom FAQ's on your Ask a Seller page and respond to emails quickly. Include extras or a handwritten note in the box to really surprise and delight your customers! • Open or Spruce up your eBay Store: There's no better time than the holidays to open an eBay Store or give your eBay Store a holiday make-over. Only eBay Stores sellers get cross-promotion on all items, including placements on Bid Confirm and Purchase Confirmation pages. Store owners can also send customized emails to buyers at no additional cost—there's no better way to build your customer base! |
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