Increasing sales for the holiday's may just be as simple as offering added "perks" for both consumers and resellers...

While many an experienced eBayer may cringe at the thought of allowing their pictures and descriptions to be used by those who buy on eBay to resell, the offer to allow buyer's the option to use your pictures and descriptions is an added plus to any listing. Those who are reselling product, seek to save time and money (especially if they're new to eBay). In many cases, those new to eBay are "testing the waters" and are just getting started. Many newbies like to "jump right in" and start listing however, they have to navigate through "eBay help sections" or jump onboard message boards in order to get a leg up.

No doubt, many sellers may think to themselves "hey, I paid my dues and as should everyone else getting started on eBay". However, those who are just getting started on eBay are seeking to "get into business" and all the help they can receive by the seller is valued.

Identifying those who resell on eBay (or anywhere else on the net) is paramount to effectively retaining a repeat customer for months and years to come. Half the battle of reselling product on eBay or through another online venue, involves two important factors:

• Taking quality pictures
• Creating descriptions

Those who are new to eBay may own a digital camera however, there is a learning curve in operating digital cameras when it comes to setting the white balance and using macro features (not to mention other built-in features, which may take weeks to learn).  Allowing those new to eBay to use your pictures and descriptions (on the proviso that the description text be modified) is viewed by "NEW to eBay" resellers as an added "perk" and is appreciated. The offer alone is worth its weight in gold and whether they take you up on the offer or not, you MADE the offer and that's what counts.

We are in the jewelry manufacturing and liquidation business and we allow all resellers the use of our pictures and descriptions. Has it worked for us? Absolutely! One look at our the Feedback proves the results, as while we have over 2000 unique Feedbacks, our total Feedback is over 8,300 (plus another 2000+ Feedback ,which has not been left as those new to eBay are selling under the same I.D. under which they purchase). These numbers translate into "repeat customers".

Holiday Services to Consumer's...

Another edge is to offer to FREE Gift Wrapping during the holiday shopping periods. Sounds like a lot of work (and it is) but, it's another "perk" which is only offered to Consumer's (not resellers). Now, if you don't like the idea of Gift Wrapping then offer to sell the Gift Wrapping (plus tape) and ribbons or bows (with name cards) at cost!

I have stated time and time again that those selling on eBay should always remember that if you treat your Virtual Store as a Brick and Mortar store, customer's will flock to you.

Customer Service...

How many sellers offer a toll free number for customer service? Think that communicating through email is the most cost effective way to communicate with your customer? Think again...

There are many services available (including Skype) which allow you to communicate with your customers for pennies. Yes, we communicate with our customers through eBay email however, customers need (and want) to put a voice with the name. Our customer's know our names, many know how many children we have, others know they can call and ask for FREE advice on how to sell on eBay and even more know that they if they don't receive that package within five days - to call their own post office to see if the package had a delivery attempt and find their package may be sitting at the post office waiting to be collected.

Discounts for Frequent Buyer's...

Those who resell or buy on eBay are looking for a "deal". If they're loyal customers and come back time and time again, we offer great discounts like FREE shipping and percentage discounts off of their final invoices. As we have earned their business and their loyalty - they have earned ours.

eBay a Better Place to Be...

The final goal of all resellers should be to make "eBay a Better Place to Be". Yes, there are so many other selling and buying venues on the net however, there's just ONE place like eBay. However, it's up to us as sellers to make it the Place to Be, the Place to come to Buy, to Sell, to Trust, to Gain Customer Loyalty and to Help those who are just starting.

One famous quote says it all...

God, thy ocean is so great and my boat so small...

This may be how all those who are just beginning on eBay feel. This may also be how many of those selling on eBay feel as marketshare shrinks however, it's our boat and a helping hand to anyone (everyone) is always returned with a smile and a "Thank You".