We started working on the second edition of our book "eBay PowerSeller Secrets" with both enthusiasm and concern. The enthusiasm was understandable. We're big eBay boosters, and probably always will be. But concern was a new feeling. Things had gotten almost bleak since the first edition published in 2004. Now everyone wanted to talk about fraud. Sellers seemed disenchanted and were searching for new and greener pastures. With competition on the site greater than ever, and fee increases, listings growth had slowed. We wondered: was anyone making money on eBay anymore? We pride ourselves (yes, writers do have big egos) on not sugarcoating facts. We try to lay it all out, the good, the bad, and the not so pretty. So how could we write a new edition without depressing our readers?
We'd spent a great deal of time moving among the biggest of the PowerSellers, now called the Top Sellers. These are the Platinum and Titanium PowerSellers; the big dogs with the big bones to pick with eBay. We'd even seen some of our friends, who had been wildly successful on eBay just three years earlier, either bankrupt or off eBay for other reasons. "Greener pastures" was the goal among so many of them.
It was only when we started interviewing some of the newly emerging PowerSellers - not the superstars who have been around for years, but those who lay just below the radar - that we discovered that remarkable stories are still there to tell. We saw that for many, eBay was still the greatest business incubator the world has ever known. eBay can still change lives for the better and open doors to opportunity like nothing else ever has. One example is Ben Thompkins, who took his experience and in-depth knowledge as a PowerSeller and turned it into an opportunity to help other PowerSellers succeed.
Ben Thompkins started his first eBay store with a couple of his friends when they were all still in college. Back then, they'd decided to sell electric scooters. When they discovered that the scooters they'd sourced were falling apart, they abandoned their original plan and set out to become the "Wal-Mart of eBay." Their plan was to offer a huge selection of merchandise at low prices. They soon expanded to include selling on Amazon and started working on their own web store, too. They discovered that some of their prices were so low they had customers who were interested in buying quantities of hundreds of products. This led them to implement a system that could give their prospective customers price quotes based on quantity discounts. And that was the beginning.
Today, Ben works as the Operations Manager for five eBay stores, and his client base is growing monthly. "My job should actually be titled, "Marketing Manager,"" said Ben. "I'm responsible for generating sales, seeing what trends are happening on eBay, handling keywords, and overseeing the general operations for the stores. New stores are managed on a micro level and then progress to a macro level where I just monitor the product to make sure customer service and sales are perfect." So, Ben has turned his early interest in online sales into a successful consulting business, helping other create successful online stores.
Ben believes you can take two approaches to selling on eBay, and online retail in general. "Either you sell a small number of items that have high margins, or you sell tons of items with low margins." Ben reports that many people get so caught up in selling that they fail to track what doesn't sell. That's the only way to determine which of your products are working and which are not. It's not simply of matter of what you can earn for a particular item. You have to also track how much you're spending to make that sale, including fees and handling. Sometimes, however, you can use those products that are not selling as advertising to drive customers to your more profitable wares.
Because online marketing is still so new, Ben believes it's important to experiment as much as possible to find out what your customers want and how they perceive you. He finds email campaigns to be a great way to get your business name out there and offer deals to your customers. He also believes that repeat customer discounts can be very useful.
This article is adapted from material in the second edition of "eBay PowerSeller Secrets."
