How Other Merchants Are Using eBay to Increase Their Sales There are many merchants, large and small, who have built businesses that incorporate both traditional and online sales. Let's look at how some of these businesses use eBay to supplement their real-world sales. Example One: Selling More of a Good Thing If you're selling commodity merchandise, eBay can be a great way to sell more of what you're already selling. After all, if you're selling digital cameras (for example), does it matter to you where you sell those cameras? If you can increase your sales by 10%, 20%, or more by running regular eBay auctions, why wouldn't you do so? The key here is to build an eBay business that supplements your existing brick-and-mortar enterprise. You're not looking for eBay to replace your existing sales; you're looking for eBay to provide additional sales that you wouldn't have had otherwise . You're also not looking to sell items on eBay that you don't already sell at retail. If you currently sell gift baskets, you don't want to branch out and start selling hot dog makers on eBay. No, you want to sell gift baskets ”just more of them. The nice thing about this type of operation is that you don't have to change anything about the purchasing part of your business ”other than making larger buys, of course. You will need to set up auction listing and shipping operations, but all inventory- related operations should be able to run pretty much as-is. The advantage of using eBay to increase sales of existing merchandise is two-fold. First, you generate higher sales. Second, you may be able to reduce your costs, by purchasing your merchandise in larger quantities . If you're now purchasing 150 items at a time instead of 100, that extra quantity may qualify you for a higher discount ”all the better for your bottom line. Example Two: Selling Slow-Moving Merchandise Other merchants use eBay to help them move merchandise that isn't moving otherwise. If you have no takers for that last-year's model gas grill in your home town, why not offer it to the world on eBay? With millions of potential buyers logging in every day, you may be able to unload that slow-moving merchandise a lot faster online. I know of one music retailer who uses eBay to move instruments that aren't selling at retail like he anticipated. In his case, he purchases his inventory on 90-day credit terms. If a particular item hasn't sold in 60 days or so, he puts it up for auction on eBay. Thus eBay has become his bargain center; he doesn't sell his first-line goods there, but does a good job moving less-popular items before he has to pay for them. Other merchants use eBay to move their surplus , closeout, and returned merchandise. eBay is also a good place to move used goods you take in trade, or goods damaged in delivery. Just make sure you accurately represent the status of this merchandise in your item listings, and you'll find a whole new market for these former problem items. Example Three: Reaching a Wider Customer Base If you sell collectible items, the challenge you faced in the pre-Internet days was finding enough collectors in your area to make your business worthwhile. You may have had the largest comic book collection in the region, but if the region was in the middle of Montana someplace, your potential customer base was pretty small. Thanks to eBay, however, you can now sell to collectors anywhere in the world; your business is no longer constrained by geography. eBay is a collector's paradise , and a boon for dealers everywhere. There are thousands of formerly small dealers who have gotten quite big, with the help of eBay auctions. And it doesn't matter if your base of operations is Iowa or downtown San Francisco; your customer base is just as wide, no matter where you're located. If you have the inventory, you can grow as big as you want, while still staying a "small business" in your community. | 