Simplx Blog

Last week we talked about some of the ways eBay can benefit an established web store simply by adding to your sales without having to dramatically change your marketing efforts. Selling on eBay doesn’t just have to be about increasing short-term sales, however. If done properly, it can also be a tool for leading customers to your website.

A note of caution before we go on, though: eBay has very specific policies about how sellers conduct their auctions. All of the suggestions that we give you here are fair and legal according to those policies, but if you want to adjust these techniques in any way we strongly advise you to review the Rules and Policies section on the eBay website beforehand. Getting an eBay account suspended, even temporarily, is a huge hassle.

Do Not Include Links from your Auction to your Web Store
You might be tempted to simply put a link to your online store in your auction listing. “Like what you see? Visit my store here!” YOU CAN NOT DO THIS. Such a link is a violation of eBay seller’s policies, and will probably get your account a warning or suspension. However, there are a couple of things you can do:

Informational Link
eBay allows sellers to link to outside websites that provide more information about the product they are selling. That can be an information page on your web store, as long as there aren’t any purchasing links on it. The page must provide additional information (like pictures or text) about the product.

About Me Link
Every auction you run will have a link to your eBay “About Me” page. You can use your About Me page freely to promote your online business and the products you specialize in. An upcoming snippet will be addressing how to create a good About Me page.

After-Sale Contacting
Once someone has won an auction from you, you have the opportunity to gently steer your new customer toward your web store for future purchases as long as you follow two simple rules. First: you cannot initiate contact with an eBay buyer unless they have either won an auction from you or contacted you first for some other reason. Second: When you do contact them, it can not be with an attempt to sell then any other products directly. The purpose of an after-auction contact is to thank them and verify information for shipping. There are two things that you CAN do however….

Thank You Notes
Sending a Thank You note to someone who has won an auction from you is just plain classy. A customer who feels appreciated will always be more likely to come back than one who doesn’t, especially if the note includes a small, courteous invitation to your web store.

Coupons
In the same thank you note, you could include a coupon that emphasizes what a valuable customer they are to you. This will encourage your eBay customer to not only visit your store, but also to buy from you again in the future.

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