Doug Feiring at AuctionInsights has an interesting post on how he was able to improve his S&H DSR and while it might not work for every seller on eBay it may help some of you.
“First, I knew I didn’t want to offer free shipping, because I knew from two published university studies that combining shipping and handling into the cost of the product actually lowers revenue on average for auction sellers. So I decided to offer significantly reduced shipping and handling charges.
I went with $0.99 shipping. I figured this amount would be obvious to the buyer that I was offering shipping and handling below my own costs and they would recognize the value in that.”
Please read his entire post
Now before you go slamming the idea because it would still give eBay more money in FVF, why not take 30 minutes today, to see if the Math works for […]
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We’ve all heard Confucius’ famed quote “a picture is worth 1,000 words” at least 1,000 times.
Online, pictures are worth more than words, they’re worth dollars. But how many dollars depends on how effectively product images *speak* to customers. We’re talkin’ details. Just like textual product descriptions describe a product in detail, enlarged images and alternate views better describe your products. And many products cannot be fully described with words.
According to a 2007 survey of online shoppers by the E-Tailing Group:
77% are “very to somewhat” influenced by the quality of content (descriptions, copy, images and tools) when deciding to purchase from an online retailer
79% “rarely or never” purchase a product without complete product information
76% believe content is insufficient to complete research or purchase online “always,” “most often” or “some of the time”
When faced with incomplete information, 72% go to a competitor or research further
Future Now did […]
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There are some very smart people who post on eBay’s discussion boards and there are certainly some kooks as well, but I enjoy reading the posts to get a feel for what smaller sellers are saying.This quote came from [a comment on a Seeking Alpha post and was re-posted by] serious_coder on a thread called: Great blog post from Randy Smythe on eBay Execs (are you wondering how I came across it?)
“A few thoughts about “radical change”:In my schooling as a Systems Analyst, I took a course called “General Systems Theory”.The basic principles are simple:
A system will always tend to stabilize itself.
If changed, a system will always attempt to adjust.
If changed too often and/or too drastically, a system will thrash trying to adjust.
The more complex the system, the more severe the thrashing.
If the system cannot stabilize it will thrash until it destroys itself.
Summation: Radical […]
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A few action items for you before we digg into the links for the week:
Future Now is teaming up with the Google Website Optimizer team for a series of webinars dubbed “Always Be Testing“. Don’t miss the first installment: “Landing Pages: Confidence & Trust Building Elements” on July 9th at 12:00pm EST.
You can also catch Sitebrand’s webinar replay of Email Marketing: That was then. This is now. in Sitebrand’s Webinar Archive.
Jason B took the plunge into the Twittersphere, follow Jason and Linda on Twitter if you tweet.
The lovely Jennifer Osborne from Search Engine People explains how to plan a website transition with search engines consequences in mind.
One of my favorite blogs just underwent its own transition from Retailemail.blogspot.com to RetailEmailBlog.com. This blog points out the best of breed (and sometimes worst) email campaigns of top retailers and is worth the subscribe. Here’s an example: HP is using […]
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It is finally summer here in Seattle and I’m trying to get out of the office as early as possible today. Here are a few cool things that have recently landed in my inbox:
Don MacAskill wrote to tell me about his new product, SmugVault. This new service extends the existing image storage capabilities provided by SmugMug, allowing users to upload a wide variety of image files, as well as files of other sorts, for safekeeping. Don used Amazon’s DevPay system to implement a usage-based fee structure — $1 per month and 22 cents per GB of storage, along with fees to transfer data in and out. The entire contents of a 2 GB memory card can be stored for just 44 cents per month. SmugVault can create finished products from raw video and image data, and it can also bundle together alternate formats of an image (GIF, RAW, and so […]
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Are you tired of Best Match when you search for things on eBay? The next time you have a problem search on eBay.com, before bailing completely, try it again at Getitnext.com and then tell me what the results were.
I don’t shop on eBay, so I just can’t test these things out very extensively and I would really like to get feedback from those of you who are heavy eBay users.
Either use the comment section of the blog or eMail me at rksmythe at yahoo to let me know what you think.
Update:
I emailed GetItNext CEO Ron Stewart for an explanation on why GetItNext was presenting more items than eBay’s own search and here was his response:
“The reason for the discrepancy in the number of results returned by eBay and GetItNext is that GetItNext integrates Core and Store listings in our search results. As a result, we will frequently return more […]
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Yesterday we posted a Q&A session with Sally Lowery of Bronto Software on trigger email campaigns. Today we have 2 real-world examples from Amazon. These emails followed up the purchase of a camcorder:
Amazon doesn’t wait for you to come back to the site to push recommendations at you. 10 days post-purchase,
Notice the low price point relative to the camcorder (about 10% of purchase price)
Notice the 2 star customer rating - not too persuasive, eh?
It would be more persuasive to auto-recommend the highest rated relevant accessory, with a snippet from and direct link to the most helpful positive review
The link to “improve your recommendations” is a good idea, especially if it was just a gift. Adjusting preferences now means more relevant suggestions next time you log into Amazon.com
15 days post-purchase, Amazon sends another plea to buy more
Gone are the star ratings
Amazon’s pushing categories, not specific products - there […]
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Microsoft acquired the Jellyfish CSE and has used it as the core of their rebate program. Pundits have dismissed this as futile, but over at eBay Strategies, we have some new information and thoughts that could change your opinion.
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Are you tired of Best Match when you search for things on eBay? The next time you have a problem search on eBay.com, before bailing completely, try it again at Getitnext.com and then tell me what the results were.
I don’t shop on eBay, so I just can’t test these things out very extensively and I would really like to get feedback from those of you who are heavy eBay users.
Either use the comment section of the blog or eMail me at rksmythe at yahoo to let me know what you think.
Just my 12%
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I recently caught up with Bronto Software’s Online Marketing Manager Sally Lowery to chat about trigger-based email campaigns. Think sending welcome emails, reminders to repurchase or hey, “you haven’t been interacting with us for a while and we’d like to win you back” emails.
Q: Can you explain trigger-based email messaging?
A: A real-time message, or triggered message, is one that is generated based on a meaningful change or event in a customer behavior or profile. Trigger-based messages can create a truly relevant email campaign to customers that yields a greater ROI, because it is a customer-facilitated exchange that triggers the campaign.
Q: What are some things to consider when implementing a trigger-based email program?
A: To be successful with a trigger-based automated email program, consider the following:
Define Business Rules. A well defined trigger-based program can create a significant return. Be certain to recognize where it’s appropriate to create trigger-based […]
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