Beat eBay.com at their own game by staying creative!
Wednesday, February 14th, 2007 - 12:55 pm
If you ask the average eBay seller what complaints they have against eBay you’ll hear things like this:I’m sick of the fee increases, changes in policy, unclear policies, inconsistent enforcement of policies, lack of attention from support etc.Sound familiar?
Stop your whining!
Put on your big boy (or big girl) pants and let’s think through this…
Admittedly it can be frustrating dealing with eBay as a seller, but the benefits of the exposure you get from eBay still FAR OUTWEIGH the negatives - especially if you are CREATIVE!
(NOTE: If you DON’T yet have an eBay account you still really NEED TO READ THIS!)
One of the main purposes of this newsletter is to help my readers adapt and benefit in spite of the difficulties.
For example…
Recently I’ve again heard some rumors (nothing official) that eBay might do away with “about me” pages in the future. From the perspective of a creative eBay seller the “about me” page is a great marketing tool that allows you to expose your business or website to steady streams of TARGETED eBay traffic. I won’t go into detail on how to use your “about me” page as a marketing tool because this topic is covered in detail in my book “The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay” (link below).
Each time I’ve looked into the issue of eBay canceling or changing the “about me” page though I’ve been reassured by eBay that the “about me” page isn’t going anywhere.
One of my stronger arguments for why I think they WON’T delete them:
Let’s assume for a minute that eBay DID decide to change the “about me” page policies though (they always have a surprise up their sleeve). I really don’t think they would ever just “delete” them all. If they delete them all we are talking about millions of pages of indexed content going away (that means millions of search engine links pointing at eBay disappearing). EBay would be crazy to delete all of these pages that are giving them free exposure on the search engines. Are they THAT CRAZY? I’d like to think not, but even if they did pull the trigger there are still MANY ways to creatively market with an eBay account!
If you want my full opinion on “about me” pages and why I think they WON’T go away you should read this blog post from late last year:
A more likely scenario though is that eBay would implement a policy of “No New About Me Pages”.
EBay could decide to STOP ALLOWING NEW “about me” pages. They would “grandfather in” all old “about me” pages and leave them alone while at the same time they could stop offering this feature to all NEW accounts. Sound crazy? Maybe it is, but this is the same way they’ve handled some tough issues in the past.
One example of “grandfathering” can be found in the policy surrounding “Seller ID’s”. A few years ago you could pick any Seller ID you wanted including an ID that directly promoted your website. Look up the ebay seller ID “restaurant.com” for example. Now eBay is MUCH more restrictive about what ID you are allowed to choose and unless you picked a good ID before the cutoff date they can ask you to change it!
Sound unfair? ABSOLUTELY it’s not fair! But it gives you proof that there can indeed be two sets of rules.
TAKE ACTION : Even if you have no plans to sell on eBay in the near future AND even if you don’t see the need for an “about me” page right now you should go get an eBay account NOW and set up an “about me” page! This way if eBay ever “grandfathers” in all old “about me” pages you are “on the inside”. The same line of thinking applies to having multiple eBay accounts. Right now you can set up as many accounts as you want, but will eBay change this policy as some point? Why not set up a few accounts now just in case?
Here’s a link to register a new eBay account:
Here’s a link for more info on about me pages:
Please leave your comments and thoughts by clicking the “comments” link below!
Jim Cockrum
http://www.JimCockrum.com
The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay
http://www.SilentSalesMachine.com
(The most creative and all time best selling eBay eBook in the world)
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ebaY is just becoming less and less relevant to where I acquire items for my collection. If they get rid of ‘about me’ pages, I won’t worry too much because I’ve already cultivated a lot of other sources with whom I can spend my money (some came from ebaY’s about me pages and some from many other sources). So I guess I’m not all that broken up about the idea of ‘about me’ pages vanishing.
That decision will of course hurt a less experienced collector who can’t mine information from about me pages if it is gone. But it will lessen my competition and keep prices lower. Therefore I kind of hope ebaY ditches about me pages
Hi Jim,
It certainly is inconvenient when ebay start changing their policies about things and I think you’re right about the ‘about me’ pages.
I hadn’t thought about the multiple id thing but that would be a real pain. It’s amazing though how many people - including powersellers - seem to use just the one account. Still, it’s interesting to see what they have been buying themselves!
Keep up the good work, it’s always an interesting read.
Alexi.
I have had what could have been an incredible resource (one that has nothing to do with eBay, though) for my business that I’ve procrastinated over for a long time now. Who knows how much I could have made off of it if I had just buckled down and made full use of it. Now it’s about to go away and I’m kicking myself because I’ll have gotten nothing out of a resource that a lot of more agressive marketers would have killed for. Jim’s right. It never pays to put things off.
Hi Jim,
Again, a beautifully written post..
Boy, I sure hope eBay takes your advice about not doing away with “About Me” pages.
I myself have taken the advice you’ve written in your great ebooks, and monetized three of my own eBay “About Me” pages.
I bring in a nice amount of income and new opt-in newsletter sign-ups just by funneling visitors from my “About Me” pages to affiliate programs I promote.
To give you and your readers an idea as to what I do with the eBay “About Me” page, check one of them here.
Click Here To See How I’ve Made Good Money Thru My About Me Page On eBay.
I would not have even thought about doing this until I read your Silent Sales Machine ebook..
And I thank you for a great deal of my online success.
You’re a real winner in my book Jim.
Warmest Regards, Sandy Hall
www.misspellingsmakemoney.com
Hello Jim,
As Alexi wrote, it is a pain when Ebay starts changing their policies.
That is why I think the information you provide in your eBooks should be taken to heart and in a timely manner.
Like in most businesses though, the only constant….is change. Either be prepared for a change at a drop of a hat, or suffer the consequences.
The Ebay About Me Page has been a great source of traffic, but not the only source, to my websites. Any source of traffic that has thousands of potential visitors should not be overlooked.
Once again Jim you have hit on a great topic. Keep up the good work.
Steve Dougherty
steve@how2info4u.com
http://www.how2info4u.com