As a retailer, the holiday sales season can sneak up on you if you’re not prepared months in advance. Many times, sellers are set in their ways of how they conduct business but the online sales business is ever-evolving. This is why we are giving you the 4 reasons to use multiple sales channels this holiday season.
1. New items sell well on Amazon
(Disclaimer: not all new items but there’s a vast majority)
With new items, eBay makes it pretty easy to sort by lowest price. It’s nearly the first thing potential buyers do and sellers consistently chop their price to make sure theirs is the first to grab. Buyers who shop on Amazon generally don’t look on other sites to compare prices and items sell higher than on eBay.
What about their fees? I heard that Amazon takes 15%
This is where you want to compare what you would make on eBay, tack on the Final Value Fee combining your selling amount and shipping, then take the PayPal fee from the total paid amount too. It probably comes close to 15%.
2. Local listings for large items live on Craigslist
When shopping for something that weighs over 20Lbs, I’ll look local because paying for shipping is not something I enjoy doing if I can pick up an item within 10 miles from me. As a buyer, I’ll think about the total amount I would pay for the item plus the shipping amount. If I can save $10 or more, I’ll consider buying locally on Craigslist.
I hate dealing with all of the emails of people saying they’ll buy but never come by
This is where having a storefront is key to being a Craigslist seller. Don’t list an email address but only a phone number or just an address to come by and view the item. Don’t use templated wordage either. Simply explain the item, condition and where to get the item. Don’t sell outside of your immediate area and don’t try to up-sell within a Craigslist listing. Keep it simple and use our Secrets to successful posting on Craigslist.
3. eCommerce Storefront puts you in control
As mentioned earlier when talking about Amazon and eBay, roughly 15% of your sales are going to the channel you’re selling on. When using a SellerVantage Storefront, you choose which items you want listed even adjusting the price LOWER than the other channels since you will save on fees. You can also offer discounts when buyers go to checkout.
How would I advertise my eCommerce Storefront?
To start, we recently blogged the 5 Tips to Maximize eCommerce Traffic. Make sure you email previous buyers, mass mail current consignors from within SellerVantage, create business cards or post cards with your website and even a discount code. Discounts always interest people to visit your site. Create separate discount codes for every place you advertise so you can see where your traffic is coming from.
4. eBay for the majority
Most likely, 98% of all readers of this post are already listing on eBay and are generally leery of using other channels. With SellerVantage you can cross-promote the same item on these other channels listed above with separate prices and descriptions. If an item sells on one channel, it’s automatically removed from eBay, Amazon or your Storefront. Don’t miss out on potential sales this year!
Start using these other channels today by simply activating them. To activate Craigslist or Amazon on your account, there’s no additional charge just to activate it. To activate the Storefront, there is a small additional charge to activate.
If you’re not currently using SellerVantage, there’s no cost to create an account and have your Success Manager walk you through the setup and listing process.
Signup and start listing today. It’s time to partner with a solution that will work with you.