The other day my cousin was asking me what it was like on ebay at Christmas time. She has seen all the commercials pushing ebay buyers and sellers, and of course, everyone knows that this is the season for retail.
One of the things she asked was if I had my site set up with a wish list. Hmmm. No.
Why don't I have a wish list?
She said that she keeps her "wants" in Amazon simply because she may find something that she wants but may not necessarily have the money at that time and wants to remember it for when she is ready to purchase.
I took the opportunity to pick her brain about it a little. She was mainly talking about books and CDs (neither of which are my niche) so I asked her about when she actually came back and made the purchase, was it on Amazon? or did she just use their site to keep notes and then shopped around elsewhere? She said that most of the time she didn't bother looking around because "the prices are just about the same everywhere and why should I bother?".
WOW. What a great tool. How can I put this to use in my shop? I started researching. For my website I'd have to switch web hosts which is something that I will be doing after the new year anyway, so I'll add it to my list of things that are 'must haves' when I shop for new software.
but Ebay... they are the tricky one. They are pretty strict about links that you add into your listings so using a third party is pretty much a no-go.
But what about one of Ebay's own?
Guess What!?!? Ebay Express ALREADY HAS a WISH LIST!
Most sellers I've talked to think that EE is a flop and has not really brought enough business to the table to even worry with it. I feel the same. I was actually quoted in the Wall Street Journal back in '06 about how it really did nothing for the seller other than contribute to the rise of our listing fees.
Right now, for a change, I am actually excited about Ebay Express. I may change my mind next week, but I'm going to push this wish list idea and see how it goes. It is not costing me anything other than a little time in order to educate my customers on how to use it.
First off I went and used it myself and set up a wish list of my own. Then I set up a newsletter about it, teaching my customers how to use it too. Or a the very least, letting them know it exists!
My products are not really 'gift' type products and are mainly things that people will buy for themselves and being that my target market is late 20s early 30s, I went with the angle of planning ahead for what to spend Christmas money on.
I'll keep ya'll updated on whether or not it makes an impact
Here is how to use it:
- Direct your customers to www.ebayexpress.com
- If they click the Wish List at the top right side of the page to get to the Wish List main page they will have an opportunity to search other ebayer's Wish Lists too! (you can check mine out if you want... my ebay id is shelley-faye) this is a great too to let your customers know about.
- Any item that you bring up in EE has an opportunity to 'Add to Cart' or 'Add to Wish List'
- This is the url you'll need to send your customers directly to YOUR items on EE: http://search.express.ebay.com/merchant/your-user-id
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