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eBay's new Markdown Manager for Store sellers can be a useful feature when used strategically, as I reviewed in Part 1 of "How to Increase Sales with Markdown Manager." Once you have decided on your Markdown strategy, you need to let buyers know that you are having a sale. Currently, items that are on sale will show the new "sale" price in search, but there will be no other identification that the object is on sale. (A "Sale" icon in search results would be a valuable addition.)
Here are a few suggestions on how you can let shoppers know you have items on sale.
1) Select "sale" items as cross-promotion items so that customers who have just purchased one of your items or are looking at another open item will know there are deals waiting for them in your Store. (Here's how cross-promotions work: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/cp-intro.html).
2) Update your About Me page with selected sale items or news of a scheduled sale. One word of caution in regards to announcing upcoming sales: if you announce the sale too far in advance, you might encourage shoppers to wait until the sale to purchase. So make the lead-time a few days at most.
3) Make sure to promote the sale through your newsletter and mailing list. This may be a very beneficial tool for driving repeat business. Remember, a "sale" is a merchandising method to increase sales velocity, and just as Best Buy sends out mailers in the Sunday newspaper, you need to let your customers know by newsletter, email, or an insert in their package.
4) If you are listing Core items, redesign your listings to promote the "sale" in your Store. You will get the most eyeballs looking at Core listings. You might take one item from the category you have on sale and list it at .99 opening bid (don't add BIN because you want the listing to last the entire 7 days). Mention that you are running a sale in your Store (be sure to read eBay's TOS so you don't run afoul of the rules). Auction buyers are deal-seekers.
5) When selecting items to be put on sale, be sure to check your "Watched List." Select items that have the highest number of watchers for your sale. Also, try and avoid one-day sales because you need to allow enough time for watchers to check the items they are watching; three to five days should be sufficient.
6) When running a sale, make the first page of your Store the "Sale" page. That way when buyers enter your Store they will become instantly aware that you are having a sale. Also, be sure to add Promo boxes for items on sale and add the Sale to your Listings Header in your Store.
The Markdown Manager is a valuable tool for Store sellers and should become a major part of your Store merchandising plan. It may take some time to fine tune your Best Practices, but don't put it off - test it today.
Read Part 1 of "How to Increase Sales with Markdown Manager":
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y207/m02/abu0185/s03
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