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Sometimes the e-commerce underdog (not quite so full of death and hate I hope) is royally smashed into the floor by those big ‘retailers’ whom your buyers seem to instantly revere as the ‘good guys’

Even though you have been around for a while, carefully understanding your customer base and what they need (not quite subjugation I hope)……along come the ‘Avengers’, or as some know them ‘the outletters’ who completely wade in and become the law in your category.

But don’t forget even the underdog has fans and social media is one way you can get this loyal following. Even if your not the one in the shiny red iron suit.

Twitter is a great way to get quick messages across and start trends. If you are unsure about twitter and how to play it take a look at one of my favourites:

http://twitter.com/#!/mclaren_eshop

Being in F1 they know about fans, what they want and how to get purchases made.

Facebook is great for brand development. Sometimes you have to play the same game as these big branded retailers and carve yourself in the the conciousness of the people. Don’t be afraid to become a brand.

One of my favourite clients is becoming just that: http://www.facebook.com/Passion4italianfashion

Great giveaways, showing who they are as a company because they are a group of dynamic women who source and provide great fashion and discounts unmatched by outlet retailers.

So use the power of social media to create your army and take over your category! You were MADE to RULE!

On the flip side if you are one of the Avengers or eBay outlets if you don’t ‘bring it’ you will be trounced by the younger brothers in your category who could ‘outfox’ you as your swinging around the hammer of power.

It doesn’t always work, being the biggest and strongest…especially if you are late to this party.

Some of the big retailers had the foresight to integrate themselves into online marketplaces from the beginning (thinking of Littlewoods and Schuh) and like Iron Man and the Hulk have had plenty of story lines and incarnations to work with. Already loved by the public before the outlet programme was assembled.

Take a good look at how THEY use social media to engage. Schuh retweet their followers comments on purchases. I’ve had two re-tweets myself so with over 8000 followers (remember e-commerce business don’t have scream-y fan bases like actors so don’t expect 100K from a retailer too often) they still manage to read and retweet.

Social media DOES take time and time is money but with patience and management can be a great way to communicate who you are to customers, as this is what they like.

Try not to become a megalomaniac though and take over the world. Because even though we love twiddleston as an actor of evil guys…in reality balls of hate trying to take over the world by force are not generally a good thing!

However, one of my favourite eBay sellers ‘sold’ his eBay account to another and things have gone bad to worse.

The situation:

I bought two obi from said seller, each with a shipping of $24. As this seller inflates its shipping weights dramatically (previously I bought an item that cost them $4 in shipping but they charged me $17….that’s ANOTHER issue I won’t go into!) I went ahead and paid for both items adding on $24 for SAL shipping each item which takes around 2 weeks.

They refund me.

Huh?

Now they are asking for $49 ($1 more) for combined shipping via sea mail which takes 3 months. 3 months is WAY outside feedback or seller protection on eBay and with Paypal. If I want to pay $89 they will use a quicker shipping service….(er..so not worth it mate)

So, basically I am not paying. So they have opened and unpaid item case.

This is actually the first time I have been on the receiving end on an unpaid item case in about 14 year of eBaying…so when did eBay start speaking customers like this?

We have opened an unpaid item case for 6602# Japanese KIMONO SILK / VINTAGE WEDDING MARU OBI / WOVEN SEIGAIHA.

If payment isn’t received by 21-Feb-12, the seller may withdraw from the contract and you would no longer be entitled to receive this item. Additionally, an unpaid item may be recorded on your account, which could lead to your account being suspended.

It’s like a credit agency threatening to take you to court. They use the same language. Looking at http://www.cccs.co.uk/ a debt collection agency would typically say ‘We may take action if you fail to PAY THE FULL AMOUNT YOU OWE WITHIN SEVEN DAYS.’

I know sellers want to be tough on unpaid buyers but most would agree that this threatening language is a bit much if out of the sellers control (and the buyer will just neg you out of spite most of the time, I kinda felt like doing it too when I read it but I know the language is from eBay)

Most sellers I know would like to forget unpaid buyers and not get into nasty disputes as the negative feedback and bad DSR’s is crippling to an eBay business and eBay don’t ever do anything to control THAT part of the transaction.

I won’t pay of course, as I already did. The seller has lost a valuable buyer (used to spend up too $200 per month with said seller) and many other buyers in my circle who do the same.

A friend of mine sent a link through from a Chinese seller of seemingly fabulous looking shoes and this was the link: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Show-Story-Shop

Oh dear, I thought – I am supposed to be saving money…oh well just one pair….

So I took at look at the size 7′s. I have wide feet as a general rule so always look for measurements on width and got a bit of a shock..

All of the shoes have a width of 7cm, regardless of being a size 3 or a size 7.5.

Unfortunately in the UK, length is the only standard for shoe size but these dimensions are crazy, but being a scientist I need to make sure this wasn’t just MY assumption. So upon going shopping I decided to visit Next and measure the width of a ‘normal’ size 7 shoe.

It was 9cm.

So upon getting home I started to madly measure shoe widths and yes, the smallest shoe width for a size 7 was just over 8cm for my rocket dog wedges.

Now, if this seller (and sellers similar) wanted to clean up with their cut price fancy shoes they really need to think about the product and sizing. These shoes are too narrow for the western market after a size 4 and they are limiting themselves to people with very narrow feet. My sister is one such person, however at a size 6, 7cm width is still too narrow to be able to feel comfortable or not stretch the shoes.

For comparison Japanese Zori at 23.5cm long (UK size 4) are about 8cm wide, smallest I have seen have been 7.5cm wide. Japanese kimono zori are suppose to be smaller as it is ‘iki’ or fashionable.

The moral of the story is to check your product is fit for your target market. No marketing strategy or SEO techniques will gloss over that one. If it looks like a shoe, it doesn’t mean it will function like a shoe for you. Another one is always read the description, I would have been red mad if I had brought a pair and missed the width sizing.

For example, a client who had been surviving quite well on 30 day listings, saw his traffic/eBay sales plummet when TRS was introduced. For the first time his Amazon sales ‘out did’ his eBay sales.

So, what to do? Well we experimented with 5 day fixed price listings, and guess what – you give more money to eBay and you get more exposure.

Sales have increased by 400% and just in time for the Christmas rush really, so he is cashing in on eBay AND Amazon.

Amazon has been stonking this Christmas for all my clients, really come into this own this year. A lot of clients now match or exceed their eBay sales with Amazon and are investing more time on ‘off eBay’ channels.

So why do I think TRS is to blame?

Well one of my clients lists in two main categories. One with a few TRS sellers and one with none. His sales from one category have plummeted due to the presence of TRS, but the other excelled (possibly because his strategy is unaffected by any TRS dominance?)

Soon he will be a TRS and kill off everyone else in THAT category. All’s fair in love and retail but if shouldn’t really be this way. In effect, its not the eBay way.

So in short be a TRS soon or don’t bother with eBay as a business model for lower value items unless you are going to support the fees associated with shorter listings when your Powerseller discount reduces. Large ticket items that have a higher profit margin you can be more flexible with as always.

Use Amazon and your own retail site for the good stuff!

So auctions are back in the game and I hope will be the life line to my clients that have NOT become top rated sellers.

But according to a birdie at eBay, they are having lots of meetings about sellers who did not make the elite. Their sales have stooped dramatically and eBay is consequently loosing money because of a system that doesn’t work.

Watch this space.

Get your foot out of your chocolate whizzway eBay and sort it before we all move to Amazon….oh wait….we have…..my main clients Amazon sales have outweighed eBay for the first time yesterday.

Long may it last.

I will detail my exciting new Formula one based Amazon project soon, and how I am striving for the ‘Buy Box’.

But my main concern is HOW the whistle-blower got all of my clients (who happen to use said  software) email addresses?

Is this information widely available? Or is this a breach of data protection by an employee of said company? I know this company has made several redundancies recently and probably upset a few employees but still the contents of the email has rattled my clients. One is now thinking of moving away as the words ‘financially viable’ were suggested with respects to the companies future.

It is worrying times for small businesses that use eBay/e-commerce service companies. Personally I lost £50 due to a supplier (GotLingerie.com) going into administration before they could complete my order. In fact they KNEW they would not be able too and still took my money. Unless you pay by credit card you are kinda stuffed. Luckily you can recover from a small amount, but other companies have not been so lucky and it will cost THEIR business.

So with the recession getting worse who can you trust? *insert Morcheeba song here*.

A point about trust, a new review site keeps popping up:

Review:

Frooition : http://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.frooition.com
eBay: http://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.ebay.co.uk

or add other companies, couldn’t find anyone else.

Really should have bothered to find my affiliate links for that one.

Well my clients can trust that I won’t go bust in the recession, I am even having to turn my hand to eBay design due to failing companies.

Recession proof yourself:

- Host your own images/design and keep a local back up

- Back up inventory/sales/analytic’s and any data you have locally on a CD/Tape drive

- Check your suppliers and services providers and don’t let anything go on too long

- Don’t invest massively up front, pay through out the ‘project’ or when it is complete

- Have a plan B and C, possibly D if you have the time and inclination

Oh yes, the amount of points lost in translation on eBay can lead to confusion, upset and well…..a negative and a refund.

Inter-cultural Elements are experts in biscuits and international translation. They don’t just translate the words, they translate your business using their European market knowledge. They even set up your channeladvisor account for that country so it takes away the pain of set up.

What they DON’T translate is your mistakes.

If you employ the services of ICE, ask for biscuits. They will know which ones you mean.

10 Reasons from their website to expand with ICE:

1. Outsourcing specialized tasks makes business sense – we do it quickly & correctly the first time, so you sell more/sooner than by doing-it-yourself
2. Intelligent, personal service & care from ChannelAdvisor experts
3. We charge 1 flat price, with no commission on sales, and discounts on multiple products
4. Start listing into new marketplaces in 2 – 6 weeks. How long would it take you to do yourself?
5. Trump your competition by developing your own international business
6. Quarterly sales statistics & analyses reports
7. ChannelAdvisor flat monthly fees are equal whether you sell into 1 marketplace or 25
8. Increase sales quickly by simply selling the same products to new buyers
9. Use the same item translations for eBay, Amazon, Pixmania & your website
10. Take advantage of exchange rates and sell in currencies like € and $

So far with my business I have seen no economic slowdown, not even the usual summer slowdown. It will hit all business in the end even the very small freelance sole traders. There are things you can do now to save money and ride the storm.

1. Find out how YOU are affected.

Do not believe sweeping statistics from the media. Christmas is coming up and will be a great indicator of how your category is going to fair against last year. You did get your stats together finally last year didn’t you?

2. Be wise with investment.

Invest for longevity, don’t just take the cheapest investment as a quick fix. 9 times out of 10 you will need to re-invest sooner than you think! If you don’t have the money for what you want now, don’t invest yet. Take your time.

3. Invest in yourself and your employees.

Trained employees are more productive and motivated, but how about yourself or if you have no employees? How about a book keeping course? The less time your accountant has to fiddle around with your invoices the cheaper their bill. Stuck with numbers? How about a Learn Direct Numeracy course? You have seen those weird hand adverts right?

4. Be eco-friendly and pocket friendly.

Invest in energy saving light bulbs, only buy the most energy efficient electrical goods. Start a ‘switch off’ campaign in your business. Switch off your PC when going to lunch, and most importantly over night and at the weekends. This means no standby lights, and switch off at the plug. Invest in re-usable items, glasses for the water fountain and not plastic cups. Cut down on paper, and print heavy invoices. Printer ink is more expensive than oil, and do you really need all those fancy colours on your invoices? Would black and white do?

5. Re-evaluate subscriptions.

Do you really use your subscriptions? Have you in the last 3 months? If not, they are not worth it. Don’t be lazy, cancel and save a few pounds.

6. Be more strategic.

Fees are a killer, eBay fees, marketing fees, fees to third party companies. Be strategic with the fees you can not afford and take some time to learn about managing your own marketing. Lots of SEO is free, and only takes time. Could you or one of your employees build the skills to take it in house?

7. Go global.

No one has mentioned a global recession have they? If you don’t already, advertise and ship goods/services abroad.

8. Be transparent with employees.

If you are doing well, share the love. If you need to make savings, make sure your employees know this so they can help with savings too. They will have some great ideas to save money.

9. Hold a stationary amnesty.

You would not believe the hoarding of stationary that goes on. Get it all together, see what you really have and only order when you are low, not just when people have raided the stationary cupboard and its all in their draw unused.

10. Finally, adopt a no credit policy. Keep a good cash flow.

If you have not made the money to cover the next purchase of stock, then either don’t buy as much or re-evaluate what sells and what doesn’t. If you have some dead stock and even eBay won’t shift it, don’t waste more fees and just car boot it. Get back the cost value to re buy effective stock.

Do you accounts every month (hopefully yourself?) so you can save exactly what the tax man needs. If you are a sole trader then this site http://www.listentotaxman.com
is a great resource to see how much the tax man wants year on year.

Above all be positive, don’t waste and be money smart. Do you REALLY need all those different coloured return address labels professionally printed? Can you print your own?

Happy credit munching and look forward to a sustainable future!

The listing design (ebay item template) is very important as it is the first impression your buyer will see. Buyers search for items on ebay more than they would search for your shop itself.

Great branding will make that listing stand out and memorable, but you need to make it for the right reasons. You need to make sure that your buyer has all the information needed to make the purchase. Your information has to be displayed for ease of navigation ( say, breaking up large amounts of text or specifications with bullet points etc) and also communicated to the buyer in their own language.

When you are drafting up an eBay design project make sure your professional ebay design company can consult with you on the features and functionality specific to your product type.

Plan the steps of your buyer as if making a purchase yourself and tailor the content so they see exactly what they expect to see. The stunning design should be enough attraction for the client in the first instance giving you the wow factor, but then you need to think on functionality and information.

Give the buyer all the information they need and they won’t hesitate! The visual aspect of a professional design is only touching the surface of what your design should do. eBay design needs function, and purpose.