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The Changing Face of eBay
Listed under: Retail Clinic
Published: Tuesday, April 05, 2011
As more and more retailers take to the web to explore other ways to bring in extra revenue, you could be saving yourself time and money if you did a little research into selling on eBay.
As the UK's biggest online marketplace and with over 50 million users, there really is a world of customers waiting to be wowed with your product range. Since 2008, retailers' perceptions of eBay have really started to alter and now more traders are realising the business benefits involved in using eBay to their advantage. People are starting to realise that there is much more to the online marketplace than simply the selling of second hand goods – it's a great way to shift old stock too.
Now a year on since the launch on eBay's fashion Outlet, designed to slightly shift the focus away from being just an auction site, eBay continues to grow from strength to strength and could be exactly what you need to help boost sales and pull you out of a bleak recession.
Speaking to Craft Business, Mukhtar, owner of M&A Stationers in Wigston, Leicestershire said that selling his stock on eBay is a big part of his business. “Our eBay sales are good, and it accounts for almost half of our overall revenue. We have a our shop here in Leicestershire and sell all the same stock on eBay also; without eBay we just wouldn't survive as a business.”
So why take to eBay and not just create your own unique website? According to Mukhtar it all comes down to saving on money costs. “eBay is simple, it's a ready-made website there to do one thing and that's sell your products. Ultimately that would be the primary function for your own website, but with double the costs and twice as much hassle, and hard work. eBay obviously takes a percentage of what we make but we are selling our products on a website that already has a huge following and customer base, so it really is worth it.”
Just like all good investments, everyone needs to start somewhere, and it's important not to find the process too daunting. Start of small and see how customers react with your products. “It's not easy at first, but if you start off with a few small simple products and build up your portfolio from there, you will soon start to realise just how beneficial eBay can be. Personally I've found a lot more customers would rather sit at home in front of their computer than actually make the effort to come to the shop and we find we reach a much wider customer range this way,” comments Mukhtar.
Now a year on since the launch on eBay's fashion Outlet, designed to slightly shift the focus away from being just an auction site, eBay continues to grow from strength to strength and could be exactly what you need to help boost sales and pull you out of a bleak recession.
Speaking to Craft Business, Mukhtar, owner of M&A Stationers in Wigston, Leicestershire said that selling his stock on eBay is a big part of his business. “Our eBay sales are good, and it accounts for almost half of our overall revenue. We have a our shop here in Leicestershire and sell all the same stock on eBay also; without eBay we just wouldn't survive as a business.”
So why take to eBay and not just create your own unique website? According to Mukhtar it all comes down to saving on money costs. “eBay is simple, it's a ready-made website there to do one thing and that's sell your products. Ultimately that would be the primary function for your own website, but with double the costs and twice as much hassle, and hard work. eBay obviously takes a percentage of what we make but we are selling our products on a website that already has a huge following and customer base, so it really is worth it.”
Just like all good investments, everyone needs to start somewhere, and it's important not to find the process too daunting. Start of small and see how customers react with your products. “It's not easy at first, but if you start off with a few small simple products and build up your portfolio from there, you will soon start to realise just how beneficial eBay can be. Personally I've found a lot more customers would rather sit at home in front of their computer than actually make the effort to come to the shop and we find we reach a much wider customer range this way,” comments Mukhtar.
