Why the Ebay Strike shouldn’t have happened!
Brand yourself, not Ebay
In the beginning Ebay was used by the average person looking to get rid of that item that has been lingering around the house for a while. A nice fit, if you think about it. Ebay supplied a great tool allowing for the average computer user to post their products and start making money online from the comfort of their own home.
Next, online marketers and store owners caught on to the Ebay trend and started creating their own ebay stores. This is my eyes is where it all started to go wrong.
Yes, Ebay is very well known, and one of the most visited sites on the Internet, but all of these users are promoting Ebay’s brand instead of their own.
Some problems associated with Ebay’s online growth
- Inflated Shipping Charges
- High Risk Merchants
- Increased Fees
- Items Listed Above Retail Cost
- Ebay Product Sniping (Gixen, EZSniper, AuctionSniper)
- SPAM
What should current Ebay sellers do?
- Create a Website
- Perform SEO (search engine optimization) / SEM (search engine marketing)
- Invest in a PPC (pay per click) campaign
- Promote their own brand
- Learn from the mistakes Ebay has made
- Provide Excellent Customer Service
Performing the steps above will create an online presence for the Ebay sellers and help them to be less reliant on ebay. Should you still list your items on ebay? Yes, if your currently having a good ROI with Ebay I would continue to list my items, but start to promote your new website to your existing customer base. Offer promotions or special discounts to shoppers who purchase from your site rather than Ebay.
Ebay will be around for years to come, regardless of how many times they increase their fees, or make feedback changes. What’s going to change is how people & businesses use Ebay in the future.
