How to Grow Your eBay Business

Building positive feedback and ratings can help grow your business. In addition to clear photos, describe the items accurately and don’t make false or misleading claims. Your customers will appreciate your integrity and leave positive reviews and ratings, which can attract and convince more potential buyers.^[2]

Providing a great service will help your business succeed. Make sure your customers receive their items and answer any questions that they have. Go above and beyond to make sure they’re satisfied. The happier your customers are, the better your business will do.^[3]

• For instance, if a customer receives a damaged item, replace it for them. Show your current and potential future customers that you care about them.

Decide whether Auction Format or Fixed Price is better for your items. Choosing the right format is important because it can attract or deter potential buyers. Some people may not be interested in bidding on certain items, for instance. Go with the Auction Format when you’re not sure of the value of your item or you have unique and hard-to-find items. Fixed Price is better for when you have multiple items you can place in 1 listing, you know the value of your items, or you have a lot of inventory. Choose the format that works best for you and your business.^[4]

• Some buyers may not be interested in getting into a bidding war over a pair of headphones. However, if you have a rare baseball card, you can potentially sell it for more money by letting interested buyers bid for it.

The right location and keywords can make a big difference. It’s important your items are listed the right way so people can easily find them. Look through the list of categories and choose the ones that most closely match your items. You’re allowed 55 total characters to create a descriptive title for your listing. Use all of them to include relevant words people might search for to find items like yours. Include keywords that are specific to your item and choose categories that are appropriate. Look up keywords that other sellers are using for similar products as a model.^[5]

• For instance, if you’re selling an old Super Nintendo game, you’d want to include it in the “Electronics” and “Gaming” categories. You could use a title like “Super Nintendo Legend of Zelda Game Great Condition.”

Take advantage of all of the tools eBay has to offer. An eBay Store is a subscription program offered by eBay that allows you to use exclusive marketing and merchandising tools. You can also customize your store to make it look more visually appealing, which can help attract more buyers. Additionally, you can take advantage of eBay’s Promotions Manager, which allows you to create ads and track your sales and analytics.^[6]

• You can open up an eBay store by visiting: https://www.ebay.com/sub/subscriptions.
• Opening an eBay Store requires you to purchase a subscription. There are different subscription packages with different pricing options you can choose from.
• Use the “Search Visibility” tool in your eBay Store to make it easier for people to find you. Include keywords and search engine optimization (SEO) terms related to your items.
• Access the Promoted Listings tool in your eBay Store and choose listings you’d like to pay to promote so more people see it.

It’ll help keep your items at the top of people’s searches. When a potential buyer searches for items on eBay, the most relevant and most recent will appear at the top of the list. It can be tempting to list a large batch of items at once so it’s all done. But a better approach is to list your items one at a time so your business consistently appears in searches and in people’s feeds.^[7]

Create pages for your business and use them to promote your business. Make a business page for your business on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Post your listings on social media as well as eBay so more people can see them and purchase from you.^[8]

• Social media is great because people can also share your listings, which can lead to more sales!

Customized discounts and coupons can encourage potential buyers. Use the Promotions Manager to craft special discounts and coupons. Tailor the discounts to specific items and people to help convince them to make the sale. Use discounts and coupons to also encourage people to buy multiple items from your store.^[9]

• For instance, if you’re selling wireless headphones, you could also offer a discount on headphone cases that you sell to people who buy the headphones.
• You could also offer promotions such as 2-for-1 sales to unload some of your inventory and encourage people to buy from you.

Take your business international and reach more potential buyers. The GSP program offered by eBay is a paid subscription service. Shipping items overseas can be costly and time-consuming. Fortunately, eBay’s GSP makes it easy and affordable to ship your items to your buyers no matter where they are. You simply ship your items to eBay’s Global Shipping Center in Kentucky, and they take care of the rest and make sure your shipment is delivered. Join the GSP program when you’re ready to take your business international.^[10]

• You can sign up for GSP at http://www.ebay.com/prf/GspOptIn.