By: Charlene Davis
http://www.cdavisfreelance.com
© 2005
Thanks to the Internet, e-commerce has made its
indelible stamp on the business world by completely revamping
how various companies and industries operate. And under that huge
umbrella of "doing business on the Internet" falls a
legendary business success story: eBay. What began in 1995 as
a little website where approximately 10,000 individuals traded
goods with one another during the first year, now has more than
135 million registered users with a half million of those folks
making a full- or part-time living with businesses that sell on
eBay.
So the question that begs to be asked is: Should
you add eBay as a sales venue to your operation? Consider that
in 2004, eBay's annual gross merchandise sales exceeded $34 billion
and $1.2 billion of that was in the business and industrial category.
Statistics like this clearly indicate that eBay provides extraordinary
opportunities to reach a worldwide market with different products
and services.
Benefits of operating a business on eBay:
Targeted Traffic - Through eBay's superb
search engine optimization, customers who are specifically looking
for your product will be directed to a landing page featuring
your eBay store or auction page. With more than 79 million searches
conducted on eBay daily, this will be a much added boost to your
online marketing campaign. Listing your product on eBay will save
money traditionally spent on advertising, as well as eliminate
the difficulty of building and trading links or finding joint
venture partners to promote your product.
Increased Sales - eBay can be used in
conjunction with your existing business as an additional selling
platform by directing visitors to your non-eBay site. You can
sell slow-moving or discontinued inventory or promote a new product
to a huge audience by listing it on eBay. It's also interesting
to note that some retailers have closed their brick and mortar
stores in favor of operating a more profitable business on eBay.
User Friendly - Setting up as an eBay
seller is probably one of the easiest things you will do as part
of your business, as you will be guided through every step of
the process. Creating a seller's account is free, although you
will have to provide specific information that can be verified
as part of eBay's fraud-prevention measures. There are also helpful
communities and discussion forums on eBay and throughout the Internet
which will answer questions and help you enhance your online selling
skills.
Test Marketing - eBay is an effective
site to use for testing marketing to determine demand and price
points for various products.
Tools of the Trade - eBay wants their
sellers to be successful so it provides a large variety of tools
to make businesses as profitable and efficient as possible. There
are also many third-party tools available as a direct result of
eBay's impressive growth.
In addition to selling, many entrepreneurs buy
at greatly reduced prices on eBay every day. To target those shoppers,
eBay has designated a specific category for "Business and
Industrial" with hundreds of subcategories that range from
dental equipment to vending concessions to printing supplies.
Thanks to eBay's innovative feedback system, these buyers enjoy
a high level of quality customer service. eBay recommends that
their sellers maintain a feedback ratio of 98 percent or higher;
however, most sellers strive to keep their feedback above 99 percent
by making customer service their number one priority.
As exciting and innovative as eBay is right now,
the eBay of tomorrow will prove to be even more so as it shifts
and evolves to match the constantly changing world of e-commerce.
So jump on board and let eBay help to enhance your business and
expand its growth today.
Charlene Davis is a freelance writer specializing
in business, technical subjects, and e-commerce. Her book, Make
BIG Profits on eBay: Start Your Own Million $ Business (co-written
with Jacquelyn Lynn), Entrepreneur Press, 2005, was written for
entrepreneurs who want to build a highly profitable business on
eBay. For more information, please go to http://www.cdavisfreelance.com.
