| She started by selling things around the house. Soon she was looking for new inventory, and found wholesale suppliers for the items she liked best-purses, belts, and all kinds of trendy accessories.
Shonna's sales started as a hobby to keep her busy when her husband was out of town, but as her sales increased, the listing process took more and more time. She opened an eBay Store in December '03 and found that the Store Inventory listing format saved her lots of time as she listed item after item. She got some help from a Web designer, and soon her eBay Store was as "pretty" as its name suggested. And the sales just kept rolling in. "I have a full-time job and work on my Store mainly at night. It's taken on a life of its own, really. The promotional features really work-they're so easy to use, and my sales have grown without my trying very hard to make them grow."
Now the Shonna's Pretties product line has expanded to include sunglasses, rhinestone ball caps, lingerie, shoes, compacts, and more. Shonna is always on the lookout for the latest trends and testing new items in her Store.
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"I love the new Markdown Manager," says Shonna. "The graphics are great-buyers can see the line through the old price and the new price in red-it really screams 'SALE!'"
Shonna Cartmell |
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"Friends often give me ideas on what to sell. I try to follow the trends and watch what people wear, from neighbors to celebrities in magazines. I look at my competition, too, and try to find niches that aren't overpopulated."
New features and smart listing strategies make sales soar
"I love the new Markdown Manager," says Shonna. "The graphics are great-buyers can see the line through the old price and the new price in red-it really screams 'SALE!' I advertise my Sales on my eBay Store home page with Promotion Boxes, and find that this helps drive up sales. One listing strategy that has been hugely successful for me combines several eBay Stores features. I run my most popular item as a Featured Plus! auction. It doesn't matter if the item is expensive enough to justify the cost, because it's really just advertising to draw people into my store-$19.95 for an ad is cheap! Then I use my sale items as Cross-Promotions for that listing. I find this brings lots of new customers and traffic into my Store, and gives me a big bump in sales. I got this strategy from the eBay Stores Community Discussion Board-it's a great resource for sellers."
Building the Shonna's Pretties brand on and off eBay
Shonna creates a consistent brand image for More >> |
