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wmlangs (2988), William S. Lang
Leveraging Specialty Techniques | December 2003 |
When you're selling rare, unusual items, it pays to be an innovator. That's stamp PowerSeller William Langs' trademark.
Since 1998, Bill Langs has sold a variety of specialty stamps on eBay, from errors and varieties to proofs and essays. The approach distinguishes him from other sellers, but also requires him to develop unique merchandising strategies to attract new collectors and establish the value of his items.
That's fine with Bill: "I like innovating," he says. "I look at ways to improve everything."
An idea of his that has caught on: Including scanned certificates of authenticity in listings. His scans even can be enlarged so that the grader's comments are visible. Thanks to this advance, serious collectors and novices can really verify that a legitimate company, such as The Philatelic Foundation, has graded the stamp.
Bill also has been a longtime proponent of including his business phone in his listings, so that inexperienced buyers can ask questions and be educated about his market niche. And, though his descriptions are brief ("You want it to be straightforward," he says), they always pinpoint the item's distinguishing feature, so novices know why it's significant or valuable.
"People don't know what these things are," explains Lang. "We've really tried to educate people about what a proof is, what an essay is."
Bill is also careful to include the catalog prices for his items in his listing titles. The upside: his lower Buy It Now price sits directly opposite the higher catalog price on category index pages. His clear, specific Store categories also are worth noting. They provide direction for specialist collectors and beginners and also underscore his diverse approach.
In the end, educating new collectors about his market only helps his business. "When this stuff starts disappearing," he says, "we will start to see some real movement in pricing."
Until then, it's a buyer's market, according to Bill: "A lot of my material is more rarer than the issued stamps, yet it sells for less," he says. "Only in this country does that happen."
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drbobstamps (851), Dr. Robert Friedman and Sons
Building an eBay Following | November 2003 |
Getting a business up and running on eBay is easy enough. The real trick is successfully building that business. That's exactly what Stamps PowerSeller Dr. Robert Friedman is doing.
With a 3,000-square-foot store in suburban Chicago and full page ads running regularly in Linn's Stamp News, Dr. Friedman still wanted to expand further. The lure of a wider customer base (including more potential international buyers) led him to eBay.
Today, Dr. Friedman is working hard to improve and increase his eBay sales, which consist of collections, covers, accumulations, and individual stamps. The goal is to generate 20 percent of the company's gross revenue within the next year via eBay.
"We're trying to build a following," says Dr. Friedman, who still practices medicine one day a week but devotes most of his time to the stamps business that he runs with sons Steve, 32, and Ken, 28.
To reach that mark, Dr. Friedman hired additional employees. Now onboard: Henry Grosch, a full-time computer specialist who handles the day-to-day eBay operations.
Besides increasing his workforce, Dr. Friedman implemented several selling strategies to spur sales and create a consistent buying base. First and foremost, the majority of his auctions start at just 1 cent. Additionally, none of his auctions ever feature reserves.
Each listing announces: "Bidders, you decide this listing's value!" It's a philosophy that Dr. Friedman strongly believes in. Embracing a true auction format, he says, works best for both his bottom line and his buyers.
"We don't spend a lot of time wondering what something is worth," reports Dr. Friedman. "We really like to let the collector determine the price."
According to Friedman, the strategy creates repeat customers, and that's what increases his revenue in the long run. So does his free-shipping incentive, which is offered in approximately 95 percent of his listings.
"We don't want customers to worry about shipping prices," says Dr. Friedman, who travels all over the country to purchase stamps and collections.
Dr. Friedman's efforts are starting to pay off. Customers are happy (drbobstamps boast a perfect feedback rating), and sales continue to climb. What's more, use of Seller's Assistant Pro, Selling Manager and PayPal has allowed the company to streamline its operations and easily handle the increased business.
But it's good old-fashioned customer service that perhaps defines Dr. Robert Friedman and Sons best.
"We want this to be a friendly place to do business," Dr. Friedman concludes. "It's a company where we interact with our customers. They want to know us and we want to know them."
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genel (1817), Gene Liu
Selling in a Competitive Niche | October 2003 |
Veteran stamp dealer Gene Liu's online sales have increased five fold since he started selling on eBay in 1998. That can happen when you are an expert in a hot niche.
"We always try to sell quality stamps and covers, not just the common material," explains Liu, who specializes in Asian philately, particularly Chinese stamps. "We try to price the stamps very attractively, if not ridiculously low, while still guaranteeing the quality and genuineness."
Despite stiff competition in his specialty, Liu says he earns strong returns by effectively lotting and merchandising his stamps. That is, he strikes the right balance between offering singles and mixed lots or "accumulations." The upside is that he can turn some of the competition in his crowded category into customers.
"Our collections are very popular among dealer buyers," explains Liu. "The amazing sales we do are always for single stamps or covers, which is our strength, but collections and mixed lots do well, too."
Establishing credibility in one's specialty also is critical in a competitive niche, says Liu. To that end, he recommends joining specialty stamp associations. Liu is a member of the Postal History Society of China and China Stamp Society, which he references in all of his listings as well as on his About Me page.
"Quite a lot buyers belong to these stamp societies and prefer to do business with fellow members," explains Liu. "These associations also reassure buyers who have never bought from you before."
Liu also retains customers in a crowded market by developing one-on-one relationships with them. He posts his contact information in his listing so buyers can contact him before bidding. Additionally, he encourages new customers to send him their stamp wish lists so he can take part in building their collections personally.
Finally, just like his stamps, he understands not every customer is the same.
"We know that there are some good buyers out there that hate to wage bidding wars to obtain their stamps and covers," explains Liu, who applies Buy It Now prices to stamps with fixed-catalogue values. "They just want to buy at a fixed price."
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bobmill (21,272), Bob Miller
Creating Your Own Market | September 2003 |
PowerSeller Bob Miller has used his eBay sales to take advantage of an untapped market and create his own thriving niche within the stamps world.
Miller, 63, sells a wide variety of U.S. and international stamps, including full sheets and first-day covers. But it's his savvy handling of lesser-known, less-expensive "topical" stamps that has helped distinguish him on eBay. These days, he sells thousands of items per week and boasts a 20,000-plus feedback rating.
"Stamp collectors don't collect these types of stamps," he explains. "They might say they have pretty paper but they have no value. The real hard-core stamp collectors are not interested."
However, plenty of other buyers are interested. These stamps might not have a high market value, but they do have a high sentimental value. "On eBay they sell wonderfully," Miller reports.
Miller, for example, recently sold a set of unissued Bangladesh stamps that many other dealers would have considered worthless. The final bid was $46 to a buyer in their native country.
As Miller points out on his About Me page, topical stamps cover every possible theme and personality. There's something for every type of collector and buyer.
"More than half of my buyers are not stamp collectors," he explains. "These are people who collect Boy Scout items, or firefighter items, or royalty items. They stumble across my listings because of the search tool. These are people who ordinarily would never go into a stamp store."
Moreover, Miller's online sales have given him the opportunity to reach a much broader audience than his offline competitors. Stamp shows provide a target market of about 300 to 500 people, he says, while advertising in trade publications increases that market to possibly 100,000.
"My target audience on eBay is something like 50 million," says Miller, who takes advantage of eBay's Second Chance Offer service to sell items to under-bidders, as well as his auction winners.
eBay has made Miller a very busy man. Each day he posts 300 new listings and sends out 100 items in the mail. Yet he still manages to maintain intimate one-on-one relationships with his buyers, some of whom follow his daily schedule.
"I have several customers who know exactly when I'm going to be listing," says Miller. "They know I'll be listing at 6 p.m. Mountain time. So they'll start searching at 6:01. They want to see what I'm putting up every day."
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 | marlen-stamps (1,919), Marlen Stamp & Coins, Ltd.
Aligning With the eBay Brand | August 2003 | PowerSeller Marlen Stamp & Coins has created a strong brand during its three-plus decades of existence, servicing more than 40,000 collectors and dealers worldwide.
But eBay's co-op advertising program allowed the Great Neck, New York-based company to strategically align itself with another strong brand: eBay.
"It's great to have the opportunity to advertise eBay along with our product line," says Leonard Cohen, Marlen Stamp & Coins' president, adding that promoting his eBay sales and including the eBay Stores logo in his print ads attracts new customers. "They might not recognize our name, but they recognize eBay's."
Cohen first tried eBay's co-op advertising program late last year during its test phase. Ever since then, he's been pleased with the results and happy that eBay has extended the parameters of the program. His co-op ads have run in Linn's Stamp News, where Cohen hopes to reach that all important "traditionalist" buyer.
Besides supporting Marlen's brand image, Cohen says the program improves his company's bottom line, too. "We're doing a lot of print advertising anyway," explains Cohen. "So we can defray some of the cost, and it helps bring people to us on eBay. It's a can't-lose situation as far as we're concerned. We're reducing our advertising costs by 25 percent."
Having the opportunity to draw greater attention to the company's increasingly important eBay Store was yet another compelling incentive: "Everything that we list on eBay, we now list in the Store," says Cohen. "We're trying to build up the traffic."
The store enables Marlen Stamp & Coins to showcase a broad array of merchandise and appeal to collectors and non-collectors alike, says Cohen. What's more, the company introduces novices to the entire world of stamp collecting. In one convenient location, buyers can find Israel, Western Europe, and British Commonwealth stamps as well as new issues, including Disney, entertainment, and personality-themed releases.
"It's just good for the hobby," says Cohen of customers who purchase a stamp solely because of its affiliation with someone like Marilyn Monroe or Elvis Presley. "It brings in new people and exposes them to a new collectible entity."
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| rubystamps (3,326), RubyStamps
Serving an International Market | July 2003 | PowerSeller Steven Rubenfaer of RubyStamps doesn't just fill a few international orders a month. International buyers generate more than 50% of his company's sales.
The company has made an impact on the international for two primary reasons, says Rubenfaer. For one, it's partnered with renowned expert and wholesaler, Davitt Felder, who travels the world buying exotic lots and collections in bulk. That's enabled it to build a large, diverse inventory of scarce material, targeted at specialized collectors around the globe.
Equally important, it now has a viable channel for reaching distant, niche markets-one that has 68 million users.
"The really great thing about eBay is its ability to open up foreign markets," explains Rubenfaer "Davitt now has a home for all these fun odds and ends, which normally are hard to find buyers for in the states."
Interestingly enough, many of Ruby's unique international items are sold back to their countries of origin. "If we put a specialized Italian cover on eBay, it's going to go Italy, most likely," says Rubenfaer.
Low, wholesale pricing also has attracted a loyal international clientele. Ruby's buyers pay about half of what they would from a local dealer, says Rubenfaer, even with shipping.
"If we can buy a collection at price where we can sell it at a wholesale level, we buy it," explains Rubenfaer, adding that Felder searches out uncommon stamps, not the rare and expensive.
Ruby also has kept its prices competitive by developing business in bulk lots and collections, reducing its labor costs. Moreover, it uses Buy It Now to sell in greater volume at lower margins.
Favorable terms and solid customer service, evidenced by its 100% feedback rating, have also paid off with international buyers, who can be wary of overseas purchases.
Every item comes with a "no-hassle" return policy. In addition, Ruby encourages customers to have their own specialists review obscure, expensive stamps. If an item has been misidentified, Ruby will refund the price of the stamp, the authentication service, and shipping.
For Rubenfaer, there's no other way. "We are really dedicated to building a loyal base," he explains. "We see every buyer as a reoccurring customer, not just a one-time sale."
He adds: "We know there are only a finite number of stamps collectors out there and we want everyone of them buying from us, so we'll go out of our way to make sure they're happy."
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| eric@revenuer.com (7835), Eric Jackson Revenue Stamps
Driving Buyers to Your Listings | June 2003 | Established dealers have the ability to drive collectors to their eBay sales. That opportunity hasn't been lost on veteran Stamps PowerSeller Eric Jackson.
"We have introduced many customers to eBay," explains Jackson, who actively promotes his eBay sales on his website. "On the other hand, we have also gained many new retail customers because of eBay. It is a win-win situation for all parties."
According to Jackson, eBay enables him to reach new markets economically, dispose of surplus items, and also sell products that were traditionally outside his focus. That's increased his operating capital significantly.
"eBay guarantees cash flow—if you list items for sale on a regular basis, they will sell," explains Jackson, who auctions some 500 revenue stamps from around the world per week. "For a minimal cost, there are a lot of potential customers for our material."
Jackson keeps his volume up by leveraging eBay's inventory and sales management tool, Seller's Assistant Pro, which also features a bulk-listing feature.
"It's a huge timesaver for our eBay sales," comments Jackson.
In short, eBay has helped Jackson broaden his sales and brand, enabling him to modestly diversify his inventory and serve new and existing clients more fully. He communicates this to his customers by promoting completed eBay listings on his website's homepage. The promo includes an attractive image, lively description, and link to his current listings.
Directing customers to eBay serves several ends, says Jackson. For one, it allows him to educate and pre-qualify his eBay buyers, making them more likely to buy his material. Moreover, on eBay he can offer them a reduced price, increasing customer loyalty. Simultaneously, he reduces his slow-movers.
Jackson continues the education process on eBay, selling philatelic literature with his specialty stamps.
"Doing business with knowledgeable collectors is a real pleasure," explains Jackson. "They know what they want and are prepared to do what is required to obtain those items."
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| stukatz@attbi.com (3388), Stuart Katz Stamps for Collectors
Marketing Your Specialty | May 2003 | Specialization allows sellers to focus and serve a dedicated audience, however, it can also narrow your buyer base. The solution? Active promotion, says stamp PowerSeller Stuart Katz.
A 20-year veteran of the business, specializing in Disney issues, fancy cancels, and entertainment stamps, Katz says his specialty focus has served him well on eBay. "I believe that eBay buyers are looking for people who specialize in a certain area," he explains. "After all, many collectors turn to eBay because there's limited availability for what they collect in their area."
According to Stuart, his primary challenge has been educating eBay's diverse market about his different areas of expertise. He has succeeded by applying eBay listing upgrades, including Featured Plus, to his best items, giving them priority on category index pages. The payoff: he drives awareness for his business niche and individual stamps, often listed at competitive Buy It Now prices.
"eBay's special features have worked out well for me, especially Featured Plus," says Katz. "It gives excellent exposure to all my listings, even those in my eBay store."
Katz also leverages his eBay Store to generate exposure for his specialty focus, creating individual categories for his different niches, including "U.S. Errors and Varieties," "U.S. Stamps Mint," and "Back of the Book."
Being able to maintain a consistent number of listings is another store benefit. At five cents a listing, Katz can afford to market hundreds of items a day and constantly reach out to his target customers. Additionally, it provides him a venue for his narrow-margin material.
"It's a great way to sell lower-priced stamps that would be too costly in eBay's traditional auction-style format," says Katz.
His store provides one final intangible: It markets his business name to the collecting community.
As a store seller, his trade name appears on his homepage with a promo for his membership in the APS & ASDA. This enables him to develop name recognition with new enthusiasts as well as validate his eBay listings with seasoned collectors.
"Name recognition is very important in this hobby," explains Katz. "People like to know who they are dealing with."
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| hadleigh (4316), Hadleigh Stamps
Acquiring and Maintaining Customers | April 2003 | When PowerSeller John McDonnell formed Hadleigh Stamps a few years ago, eBay was part of his business plan. Today, eBay is crucial to his customer acquisition efforts.
"We now have 7,000 customers from all around the world," reports McDonnell. "Pretty much all of those—99 percent, I'd say—we have acquired through eBay."
With a staff of five and a specialization in British Commonwealth stamps, Hadleigh Stamps counts itself among the largest sellers of philatelic items on eBay, routinely averaging 3,000 listings. Recent updates to eBay's Seller's Assistant Pro have made overseeing such a high volume of inventory even easier, according to McDonnell.
Moreover, eBay's global reach has allowed McDonnell to cater to stamp enthusiasts everywhere. In fact, approximately half of the company's clients reside outside the United States. "This truly is a worldwide marketplace," notes McDonnell, who leverages the eBay listing upgrades Bold and Highlight to increase his products' visibility with domestic and international buyers.
Given the company's international focus and the nature of its merchandise, it's no wonder that high-quality images are extremely important to McDonnell. To ensure that his stamps are accurately presented, with proper detail and coloring, and that his overseas buyers have a high level of comfort when purchasing them, he employs a professional graphic artist to shoot and prepare his images.
Another key strategy: quick turnaround for the customer. "We ship everything the same day," explains McDonnell. "Very few dealers do that. For instance, we had 140 sales this morning. Every single one of those will go out in the afternoon."
That might not be possible if Hadleigh hadn't invested time in developing a well-articulated shipping policy and graphical price chart, which assesses manageable flat rates to both domestic and international purchases of multiple stamps.
This kind of service, and a steady, diverse supply of product, results in repeat patronage, says McDonnell, particularly at his eBay Store. Just consider the company's feedback rating. More than half of its feedback is from return buyers.
"Once we get new customers we tend to keep them," McDonnell says.
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| wmlangs (2473), William S. Lang
Leveraging Specialty Techniques | March 2003 | When you're selling rare, unusual items, it pays to be an innovator. That's stamp PowerSeller William Lang's trademark.
Since 1998, Lang has sold a variety of specialty stamps on eBay, from errors and varieties to proofs and essays. The approach distinguishes him from other sellers, but also requires him to develop unique merchandising strategies to attract new collectors and establish the value of his items.
That's fine with Lang: "I like innovating," he says. "I look at ways to improve everything."
An idea of his that has caught on: Including scanned certificates of authenticity in listings. His scans even can be enlarged so that the grader's comments are visible. Thanks to this advance, serious collectors and novices can really verify that a legitimate company, such as The Philatelic Foundation, has graded the stamp.
Lang also has been a longtime proponent of including his business phone in his listings, so that inexperienced buyers can ask questions and be educated about his market niche. And, though his descriptions are brief ("You want it to be straight forward," he says), they always pinpoint the item's distinguishing feature, so novices know why it's significant or valuable.
"People don't know what these things are," explains Lang. "We've really tried to educate people about what a proof is, what an essay is."
Lang is also careful to include the catalog prices for his items in his listing titles. The upside: his lower Buy It Now price sits directly opposite the higher catalog price on category index pages. His clear, specific Store categories also are worth noting. They provide direction for specialist collectors and beginners and also underscore his diverse approach.
In the end, educating new collectors about his market only helps his business. "When this stuff starts disappearing," he says, "we will start to see some real movement in pricing."
Until then, it's a buyer's market, according to Lang: "A lot of my material is more rare than stamps, yet it sells for less," he says. "Only in this country does that happen."
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| garyposnerinc (1080), Gary Posner Stamps
Acquiring New Customers | Feb. 2003 | After 25 successful years in the stamps business, Gary Posner was looking for a way to revitalize his company. The answer was eBay.
"About a year ago, I began losing customers," Posner recalls when reached via cell phone from a stamps show in Anaheim, California. "It was for different reasons -- the general economy, people losing jobs. But the number that I lost was just too high. My business was off 30 percent. I couldn't accept that. I needed a way to get new customers."
And that's exactly what has happened. Since turning to eBay, Gary Posner Stamps has acquired more than a thousand new customers and earned a PowerSeller rating.
Leveraging his existing name and reputation has been the key, according to Posner. He "brands" his listings by including the company's acronym (GPS) in each auction title. Additionally, his username features the company name. He also has opened an eBay Store, allowing him to include his business name at the top of each View Item page.
Another priority: shipping items quickly. Orders go out within 24 hours, unless Posner is attending a stamp show. Posner further distinguishes his business with listings that feature not only images of the stamps themselves but their certificates of authenticity as well. According to Posner, any stamp that's over $100 includes the additional certificate image.
Although this takes more time, Posner says it's well worth the effort: "I want people to feel comfortable. If you buy a $1,000 stamp, you want to know what you're getting."
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Must use Buy It Now and PayPal.
