The most frequent errors during sales via eBay Motors

Many professional providers believe that they should test eBay motors on their own – which, unfortunately, in general means amateurish – in order to be able to measure their commitment and success. One tries to transpose the behavior of a private person in a C2C transaction to a B2C transaction. In general, such attempts turn out to be a failure. It might be compared to appointing a trainee to supervise the opening of a new branch. For professional providers, eBay motors is a new sales channel with its own rules, and not a playground.
What lurks behind in the case of many companies is, on one hand, distrust towards many of eBay success stories, and on the other hand also a hope for a ‘big deal’.

Tests, to be conducted as professional pilot projects, are a must. Nonetheless, these must be conducted proficiently and under ‘real life’ conditions before you might appear at eBay as a professional provider. In order to ensure that your eBay debut is a success and not a flop, the errors listed below must be avoided by you at all cost.

Experience shows that not a single penny is saved through ‘cheap start’. The losses caused by impaired corporate image and unsuccessful eBay activities are higher than one might care to think.

In the following, we would like to present a selection of typical ‘beginners’ errors’. If you avoid these already in the planning phase, you have very good prospects of having this new sales channel live up to your expectations.

1. Errors and success criterias during preparation phase

2. Errors and success criterias during launching phase

3. Errors and success criterias during production phase

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1. Errors and success criterias during preparation phase

Error ‘Offline business’ is perceived synonymously to ‘online business’.	Success criterisNothing is like one knows it in the ‘offline world‘. The behavior of ‘online customers’ may change faster than weather. Therefore your website needs qualified control on a continuous basis. This begins already in the planning phase and must be consistently maintained during the launching and afterward during the production phase. Say farewell to classical empirical values of ‘offline business’ – you enter a new ground.
Error No ‘online strategies’ and ‘online goals’ are developed. There is no clear corporate eBay strategy or coordination with sales activities in other sales channels.	Success criteriaYou have to integrate purchase processing in your sales goals, and synchronize these with the traditional sales channels.
ErrorB2C is underestimated, under the motto ‘My brother-in-law also was able to sell a lot at eBay’	Success criteriaWhat makes you think that your online image communicates less professionalism and seriousness than your ‘offline’ image?. You have to transfer your CI and your image, as this is what qualified customers pay particular attention to before taking a purchase seriously into consideration.
ErrorThe development und operation of the new sales channel is left to trainees, interns and/or other laymen. It is assumed that – just because these individuals handle eBay in their private time – that they will be able to deal with this matter on a business scale and to evaluate properly the consequences of their activities.	Success criteria Let us put it straight: eBay is not really a place for trainees or laymen, even if they have mastered it for private transactions. After all, you normally do not appoint these individuals to supervise critical tasks of your organization either, do you? Optimally, you should introduce the topic to such individuals for support purposes.
ErrorProfessional providers often underestimate the legal particulars or their significance and consequences for online business. Little or even no importance is attached to this issue.	Success criteriaA professional provider must provide a sufficient description of its company on the About Me page, and comply with legal requirements (cancellation policy, general terms and conditions of trade). Please consult your competent legal advisor and make sure that the latest principal judicial decisions are taken account of in your items.
ErrorMany participants seem to assume that items sell to some extent by themselves. ‘I list my items at eBay, and then they are purchased.’ ‘eBay makes the marketing for me.’ ‘All these 18 million eBay users have just waited for me.’	Success criteriaYour new customers must be informed of your items. Without emphasized/highlighted advertisement, nothing can go on. Do not rely on the communicativeness of eBay but draw attention to your new activity with your own PR measures. In order to succeed at eBay, one also has to make use of external communication.
ErrorAdministrative workload of eBay production is often underestimated. In many places, one seems to assume that orders land in the in-tray by some magical way. One also underestimates the personnel demand which arises as a result of sound growth.	Success criteria Make sure that your sales channel is supervised by at least one competent and committed employee. If you do not wish to develop new sales channels, outsource your production.
Error It is a prerequisite that your goods/services offered at eBay be known to and sought for by drivers at all!	Success criteria Search for comparable items at eBay. Check the market place and shop items as well as the sellers, their sales, prices and feedback.

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