RSS Feeds & eBay

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.  People subscribe to Feeds just like they subscribe to a newsletter you would get via email.  When the ‘Feed’ is updated, the subscriber is sent an email notice to check it out. 

You should have your RSS feed activated already, as eBay provides this to you automatically as long as you have an eBay store.  When you update your store listings, your feeds are automatically updated as well.  Again, this only works if you have Store Inventory.

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If you’re not a techie, choosing where your website will live can be a daunting task. For you, making the right decision is paramount, because you’re not going to be able to pick up and leave like someone who knows how to backup a MySQL database, and that you don’t need a driver’s license to do it.

My #1 recommendation for choosing the right web host: Ask an expert.

And I don’t just mean any “expert.” Your friend’s brother who sells stuff on Ebay is not going to be the kind of web hosting expert that you need. Here are some qualifications for your expert:

• Needs to be a techie with experience in hosting websites like to yours. In other words, if your aunt sells a couple of hair ribbons in her Etsy shop, she’s not going to be able to help you sell $80,000 in products from your website each month without crashing the server. Ideally, your expert will have experience working with sites the same size (traffic, bandwidth, etc) as yours larger.
• Needs to have worked with more than one web host. I know, it’s tempting to go to that colleague who has a complementary, or even competitive site, and go with the host they are using. But if they’ve only used one host, and only hosted one site, they could be experiencing issues they don’t realize they have, like rude staff, or unusually long wait times for issues.
• Needs to understand the issues that can arise from bad hosting. If you end up with a bad host, you could find yourself without any customer service, customer support people who are rude, at best, and more downtime than uptime. (Downtime is where your site cannot be accessed from the Internet.) You could end up with a really slow website and no resolution from the company.
• Must understand your site’s unique needs. Do you need to host a podcast each week, with audio files that people will download and listen to frequently? Do you need a robust ecommerce solution that will put a lot of strain on a server? Make sure your expert understands these issues when recommending a web host.

When I talk to small business owners about their websites, I make sure I find out about their unique needs, how their website is performing now and what their goals are for the future. I then evaluate their website in terms of whether or not I feel that my team can provide the website hosting that they need. If not, I recommend that they go somewhere else.

Most often though, we can handle what the business owner needs, since we offer shared hosting accounts, VPS  and dedicated servers. Our support staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and we’re willing to go the extra mile to make sure you get what you need. We also offer at least two different options — we teach you how to do the task for free, or we offer to do the task for you for a reasonable rate.

If you have any questions about hosting your website, contact me today about your web hosting needs.

Sparkplugging is starting a new tradition called “Spark an idea Thursday.” As part of this tradition, I’ll be sharing with you my experiences and interpretations for each week’s topic for those of you who sell products or services online.

I invite you to grab our image over there to the right and carry the tradition through to your own blog. If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired!

The theme of this week’s Spark an Idea Thursday is: Spark an Idea about Email.

This is a great Spark an Idea topic!  In one of my previous posts, I spoke briefly about the eBay DSR (Detailed Seller Rating) Scores. 

Communication (one part of the DSR score) is such an integral part of everything eBay, especially as an eBay seller. 

It all starts with your first email to the buyer who purchased one of your items.  This is the email that will ultimately win the future relationship of repeat sales.  You’ll want to walk through every step of the transaction from the begining, to the end and beyond.

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One of the toughest decisions you’ll make in setting up your new business is deciding what software to use to power your site. It’s kind of like deciding what building to house your business in for brick and mortar stores.

Making changes mid-way can be expensive, or just downright impossible. So it’s very important to make the right decision upfront.

One of the main things I do when I talk to a potential client is figure out what they need in a shopping cart and which of the carts we work with will benefit the client the most. I know not all of you are ready to take the step to ask for a business consultation, so I’d like to put together a few reviews and a comparision chart for you.

And if you’re an experienced online seller already, I’d love to include your opinions. What are your favorite carts? What features do you like the most? What do you displike most about your cart?

One of the Sparkplugging interns and I are in the process interviewing people who are familiar with the under-the-hood portions of the carts and we’re putting together the chart as well. We’d love to have your input to add to the mix.

Please reply to this post, letting us know what you think. Your advice may save another small business owner from making the wrong decision. Thank you!

If you’ve been managing auctions on eBay for a while and you are ready to kick things up a notch, opening your own eBay store is crucial to taking your e-business to the next level.

Having a store will save you time and money. Currently, store listing fees are only .03-.05 cents per listing, depending on your asking price. If you elect to use the GTC (Good ‘Til Canceled) option, this will enable your items to automatically re-list at the end of 30 days, giving you more time to concentrate on making sales. You can list hundreds of items to your store inventory for practically nothing, as opposed to maintaining auctions all of the time. With store items, fees will still apply when your item sells, but the over-head for stocking your store is a lot less than constantly running and re-listing auctions each week. An added advantage is that you will be saving time by stocking your store rather than bothering with listing auctions. By listing all types of items throughout all seasons, you are opening yourself up to a wide variety of buyers. Shipping worldwide will also allow unlimited potential for buyers in other parts of the world who are in opposite seasons and in need of items that may be difficult for them to find at the time, but readily available for you to sell in your shop.

A major key to having a successful store is to continually keep it stocked. This lets you build your inventory to include hundreds of items. The more you list, the more you sell - it’s been proven time and time again. Why? eBay is a wonderful generator of automatic traffic, built in for you to harness without the needed technical experience of running an actual separate online store.

Having an eBay store is your own slice of the Internet. Buyers will check out your store, and by cross-selling other items within each item description, you will be able to recommend items in your store that may interest them. If you offer combined or discounted shipping for multiple
items purchased, customers will be compelled to buy more from you at one time. A store also allows sellers to use features like the Markdown Manager which is not available to non-store owners.

eBay offers tons of additional features at no additional cost. These added features will help you build up clientele for email marketing and more. This will allow you to keep in touch and let your personal email list know of special discounts available to them first before it’s open to the public.

Your store gives you your own unique style. Having a personal, unique design allows you to build your brand and specialize, which encourages repeat buyers. Once you master the features of your eBay store, then it’s time to break out and take advantage of outside opportunities to attract more buyers to your product.

Ask just about anyone who has run their own website at any point in time, and you’ll hear at least one web hosting horror story.

The last thing you need as a new business owner is your own horror story. Those bad experiences cost time and money. And sometimes at least a small bit of your sanity.

So how can you avoid the whole mess in the first place?

Before I share that tidbit of information with you, let me tell you a little bit about myself and my web hosting experiences. While many people have worked with multiple web hosting companies over the years, I’ve actually run my own hosting company. I know the inside story on what web hosting clients want, based on what my own clients have told me. And I know the inside story on what it takes to run a web hosting business, because I’ve been in the trenches, so to speak, for more than 7 years.

I’ve helped clients leave other hosting companies and cleaned up their messes. I’ve had a few clients leave my company for other hosts, for various reasons. And I have a lot of happy clients, including those who have been with my company since the beginning.

I have a unique view from both sides of the fence, and I’d like to share what I know to help you make better decisions, whether that means you choose my web hosting company, or someone else’s.

The #1 most important thing I recommend you do is ask your colleagues or a trusted web designer with sites a little bit bigger in size and traffic to yours to recommend the host. A personal referral from someone who runs or builds similar websites will go a long way in protecting you from ending up with a lemon.

Now, there is a caveat to go along with this. Asking one friend for a referral is not the only step you need to take. Don’t take the recommendation and buy a hosting account in the very next step. You still need to do your homework.

1. Get four or five recommendations from different colleagues or your web designer.
2. Do a search on Google for reviews of the company.
3. Check out the company’s testimonials and contact some of those clients to see how happy they are with their hosting.
4. Contact the company itself to ask about their usage policies, their server specs, how they manage bandwidth overages, billing and client communication. Make sure their servers can handle the software you plan to use for your site.
5. Read the company’s terms of service, acceptable use policies and any other legalese they have. If they don’t publish that information on the web where you can find it easily, find another company. Make sure you understand what you’re reading. If you don’t, find someone who does.

If you’ve followed these instructions and still aren’t sure, tune in next week for the next installment of this series: What do web hosting companies and cheese have in common?

And if you don’t want to wait that long, contact me for a 1-hour web hosting consultation and I can help you figure out to get the services you need and the quality you expect at the price you can afford.

Sparkplugging is starting a new tradition called “Spark an idea Thursday.” As part of this tradition, I’ll be sharing with you my experiences and interpretations for each week’s topic for those of you who sell products or services online.

I invite you to grab our image over there to the right and carry the tradition through to your own blog. If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired!

The theme of this week’s Spark an Idea Thursday is: Spark an Idea To Finish What You’ve Started.

From Jenn:

Happy Selling! 

It has been a little while since eBay put their Detailed Seller Ratings into effect, and so far it’s pretty easy to keep up with the flow of things. Nice to keep on top of a good rating, and take pride in your feedback. DSR’s do not impact the overall Feedback Score, but provide a more complete picture of the member’s performance as a seller. You want to strive for 5! Here are some really solid ways to keep your DSR performance high.

Item As Described -

Start at the top and work your way down. Describe your item to the best of your ability without missing any flaws. Also, make sure to use your own photos!! Take a few different angles and close ups and elaborate on them in your description.

Communication -

Very important! eBay has all sorts of email notification preferences at your finger tips - use them! Once an item is purchased, send an invoice, send an email when payment is received, send an email when item is shipped, and you can thank them on the invoice you packed carefully with their item. Keep the lines of communication open every step of the way.

Shipping Time -

As soon as you have a bid, your item should be packed and ready to go within 24 hours. Then, remember communication!

Shipping & Handling Charges -

Specify any shipping and handling directly in your policy so it’s easily found. Offer a shipping discount on multiple items, or free shipping if orders exceed a specified dollar amount. Calculated shipping makes it easy to accurately figure out shipping rates.

 Here’s a nifty 5 Star Service Banner that you can use in your listings:

http://boutiquebargains.com/blog/ebay-5-star-service-banner/

Enjoy! 

I am sooo looking foward to going to my local Get Motivated seminar. One of the reasons why is because Zig Ziglar will be there. One of his many quotes is my favorite:

You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want. — Zig Ziglar

That quote just hits home for me. In a nutshell, it says what your business should be about. In reverse — if your business isn’t helping people get what they want, then it’s going to fail.

I look at my every piece of my business and ask myself: Is this helping someone get what they want?

What do you think?

Are there pieces of your business that aren’t helping other people get what they want?

What are you going to do today that will help someone get what they want?

After MANY years researching thousands upon thousands of items on eBay to find out what sells and what doesn’t, here are some key tips to remember:

These will help you get  through those Buying Boo-Boo’s (we all have them!):

1. Just because it’s on sale - doesn’t always mean it will sell well. You may have a time or two when you’re going to have to mark an item down to your cost, or returning it.  As much as we try, unfortunately it does happen.  If you’re not sure whether or not to purchase an item - write it down and research it FIRST.
2. It takes time, patience and trial & error to set up maintain and esablish yourself. Throwing in the towel after a month or two isn’t the way to build yourself in business.  The same holds true when purchasing items to sell in your eBay store, it should be a thought out process and something that you’re excited to sell.
3. Buying off season may require you to hold onto some merchandise a little longer, but still list it in your store as soon as you purchase. Especially if you sell worldwide - You won’t sell it, if they don’t see it!!!  There are plenty of Countries that are on opposite seasons then the U.S.A - turning to eBay for something that may not be available to them.  Stock your store with all seasons, all the time.

Happy Selling!