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Author: Laura_Brito, Contributing Editor
| YOUR SIGNATURE FILE IN EMAIL
Another very important item is your signature file which attaches to every email that you send. Mine reads like this: --Links that may be of interest to you. Please check out our web site Mya Art Glass We have borosilicate beads available there and I LOVE to do Custom Orders! Mya Art Glass at Borosilicate Beads For Sale My Family Beadful Things ebay account is: Beadaholic Laura's ebay account is: Mya Art Glass Our ebay store is FULL of beautiful Jewelry and Unusual Items, PLUS more Borosilicate Beads that are not in our Auctions! Check it out at Our Ebay Store We also sell on Just Beads Auction Site and our ID's there are mya art glass and bluerain. Laura Brito, 8502 W Moses Dr, Tucson, AZ 85735 --------- You need to promote yourself as much as possible. I receive many emails thanking me for the links. Most think that I sent them these links personally without realizing that it is just my signature file. I often get sales off of my website the moment I email people notifying them of shipment. It is important to email each time you ship a box. This is promoting yourself and helps you sell more. It is easy to do since I use a template and all I have to do is respond to the payment notice I get from PayPal. The text I include in my message is as follows. Hi! Your item ships today via US Regular Mail Insured. I know you will enjoy your item! Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you. I love to do custom orders. Just let me know what you would like. Please let me know when you receive your item! Thank you so much, I truly appreciate your business. Sincerely Laura Here the signature file is inserted. |
| PAYMENTS
Payments can be a bear at times. But if you plan things it can be the least of your problems. I accept payments any way I can get them. Too many sellers make it hard on the customers and introduce negativity into their sales. I often see statements like We will NEVER accept Paypal or Money Orders Only; both of these are limiting to you, the seller, and especially to the buyer. Customers will often not make it to a place to buy a money order or they will forget to write a check! Most will use PayPal or some other electronic payment system. I take any form of payment, even cash. I do not encourage buyers to send cash, but I have gotten cash many times over the years. Sometimes a lot of it! With familiarity of the internet, more buyers choose to pay online. Providing several options for payment allows you to reach more customers. Paypal(which is now owned by Ebay) is one of the primary ways people pay for things today online. As time goes by I receive fewer checks; this is good for me because I don't have to wait for a check to clear (I don't anyway and have never recieved a bad check or a check that wasn't made good immediately by the customer). I would say about 96% of payments made to me is via Paypal. You get your money much faster thru PayPal often within 5 minutes of an auction closing. Greater convenience in paying helps to cut down on deadbeat bidders (customers who do not pay for their item). And it helps you by saving the time of reporting non-paying bidders to Ebay. PayPal also insert logos into my auctions automatically which allows my customers to click a link and pay me faster as well as sending detailed personalized emails to my customers at the close of auctions. Again saving me alot of time and work! Your customers can also send you an electronic check if they do not have a credit card. It is safe and secure, and I have never had an issue with Paypal. Paypal works well for me because I have their ATM card (you need to be with them 90 days for them to issue the Mastercard ATM card) and this is how I get paid myself. I use the ATM card all over town, to pay my bills, to withdraw money to deposit into my bank account. Paypal gives me 1.5% back on purchases so each month I get a substancial amount of money back. Everything I use the card for ends up costing me less. My Ebay fees, my electric bill, groceries, anything at all. For me it is a way to recoup my listing fees and commissions paid to Ebay. Paypal has many other features that make using it even more desirable. You can set up a shopping cart through PayPal for your personal website also. There are other methods of electronic payments available, Ebay's Billpoint (which is being phased out by the end of 2002), Yahoo PayDirect, Western Union's Money Order System, C2it by Citibank, plus more, but all of these lack in popularity and many people do not want to have multiple accounts with different payment systems. I do have an account with most of these services, they charge approx the same amount as PayPal. I haven't had one customer ask to use them as of this date. |
| SELLER ASSISTANT
I sell a lot of items (800 plus right now)! For me, it is essential that I have a way to manage my auctions and pictures. Some Seller Assistants offer email options and track your customers purchases en mass. I have tried a few of them, and, for the most part, they end up costing a lot of money. I try to save without losing options and speed if I can. I like Ebay's Seller's Assistant Pro program. I have over 1500 items in my copy. I have approximately 4500 images, as well. All of this would be a mess unless I used something to help me stay organized. The reason I use this program is the flat monthly fee ($15.99) and I do not have to pay any commissions on my sales apart from the regular Ebay commissions. I have used Auctionwatch's services in the past but at times ended up paying upwards of $100 a month for my listings. They also cost me money when Ebay had a free listing day and their system got bogged down. Not all of my listings posted on time so I was charged listing fees by Ebay. Auctionwatch did not reimburse me for these fees even though it was their fault. |
| ARTIST GROUPS
Joining an art group that uses a common search term can also be helpful with sales. An informal group banned together here at WetCanvas! and uses WC! in their titles. The requirements are membership at WetCanvas! and a text line in the description of your auction to acquaint viewers with the group. You will find all the information about membership for WC! HERE! Different groups have different requirements for membership. Most are free but some have membership dues. By being accepted into these groups and putting the WC!, EA@ (Ebay Artists) or SRA@ (Self Representing Artists) into the title of the auction, you gain viewers who search and view the auctions for the entire group. This might lead people to other members of your group instead of you; but, at the same time it might lead a new buyer to your art as well. Overall, I think it is beneficial to be part of a group. Art Search Groups sometimes hold live events, sponsor charity work, and generate other activities geared toward creating sales. Forums and a website create community and a resource for information for many of the groups. Some are juried, but all of them expect that you keep selling on Ebay. Acceptance into a group means you agree to abide by its rules; if you do not, your membership will be removed. Ebay allows some groups a clickable logo, but it must be verified as a third party link by Ebay. If someone other than a member uses the group's identifying initials, Ebay's VERO program will remove those auctions. Ebay protects these groups via the trademark initials and their membership. Some groups also ask that you send a Certificate of Authenticity to each person that buys your artwork. Other groups are altpop, AOA, CORE!, OW@, SRA+, iS@, EA@, SRA@ and EBSQ. You might notice other initials in the auctions of some artists and use it as a search term to see if its a new group forming. |
| THE GALLERY IMAGE
I cannot stress the importance of adding the Gallery Image to your auctions. The Gallery Image is a small thumbnail that appears next to the title of your item in the listing pages on Ebay. Many viewers use the Gallery only option for searching! I find that if you add the Gallery Pic, your sales will improve greatly. My sales increased by 40% when I began using the Gallery Image! Remember your #1 picture in your auction needs to be of excellent quality without a lot of space around the image. When this pic is reduced for the gallery pic, you want the most clarity possible. This feature costs .25 cents and it is well worth it! |
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