Life Beyond eBay
Yes there is Life beyond eBay. Before I get letters and emails, do not panic, I am not leaving eBay and will not stop writing about eBay and giving you tips and ideas on how to take your business and eBay store to the next level. And it is the next level that I want to talk about to you today about. So don’t panic, grab your self a cup of coffee, sit back and let’s see if there is life beyond eBay.
As you look around the internet there are more and more sales channels opening up, that allow you to sell your goods and services on. Some are hear today and gone tomorrow, while others have grown week by week. Ok these sites are not as big as eBay (or Amazon), but they are growing and some serve a niche such as Etsy – Craft, and Vintage market.
Now if you are new to eBay I would not suggest signing up for every site that you can find and see, you can do, but this will only lead to disaster. One thing the fees could kill your business and if you do not have a process in place you will sell an item on one site and forget to delete it off the other sites and so you could double sell an item and if you only have one of that item……………… there is trouble.
For an example, let us say you are selling books and Cd’s on eBay, once you have got the basics down and know how to list and ship items out after a few months start to list on Amazon and then when you have learnt the basics and feel happy, branch out to another site. Now although the basics seem the same, selling items, the way the sites work are all different.
Always be on the lookout for new sales avenues and see if they will work for your niche. Again if you are selling CD’s, a site like Etsy might not work as it is a craft site……………………but think out the box. You sell Cd’s, and you always have a btach that are scratched or do not play, normally you just skip these. Stop and re-think, your wife, daughter or yourself are good at craft, and you have a talent of turning a Cd into a clock or coaster.
In your spare time turn those scratched Cd’s that are worth zero money, and turn them into something you can sell for say $20.00 and sell it not on eBay but on Etsy.
The above was a silly example, but it is an example that can work and can make you money. But if eBay is your main earning channel, keep selling on there, fine tune what you ,do, tweak when needed, but always keep that eye and ear open for other selling methods and see if there is really Life Beyond eBay, and if there is add it to your sales channel.
Andrew Milburn is an eBay Consultant Based In Lichfield Staffordshire
