Five Basic Things An Ebay Store Must Do Right
Author: Jason Griffith

Having a store on eBay is an exciting venture, at least at the
outset. You have visions of millions of eBay buyers who will be
visiting your store, buy from you, and the money will just pour
in.

Anyone who has had an eBay store knows better. Competition is
very tough. It takes hard work and a lot of marketing to drive
traffic to your eBay store.

Then, when people do arrive at your eBay store, what do they
see? Do they see the run of the mill, the "me too" look, the
amateurish storefront that many, if not most, eBay stores
present to the world?

You have only one opportunity to make a first impression. In a
second or two, the eBay buyer is going to categorize you into
professional or amateur, into trustworthy or dodgy.

Here are five basic things you must do right to give you the
best chance of survival.

Number One: Treat Your eBay Store as a Serious Business

So many eBay stores appear to have been hastily bolted
together, almost as if it were something that the eBay seller
did late one Sunday evening. Nobody wants to buy from somebody
who appears to be in it just for the money. An unprofessional
eBay storefront gives the impression of an unprofessional eBay
seller who simply wants to take people's money and run.

Number Two: Portray Yourself as a Knowledgeable Professional

It is astounding how few eBay sellers make use of the About Me
page. That one page has the ability to either establish or
destroy your credibility. The page gives the eBay seller the
opportunity to tell the eBay buyer why she should buy from him.


Look at it from an eBay buyer's perspective. You would much
rather buy an item from somebody who clearly knows something
about the item, than from someone who doesn't. More
importantly, you would much rather repeatedly buy from someone
who is knowledgeable about the particular item or category of
item.

You might be a guru. Nobody will know it if you do not tell
them.

Number Three: Give all the Necessary Information to Facilitate
Buyer Decision

Remember, the eBay buyer is forking out hard-earned cash for
your item. You need to give them the required business
information to ensure them that: a) they are paying a fair or
better price, b) they are getting value for money, c) they
won't get any nasty surprises of hidden costs, and d) they can
get their money back if they are not satisfied with the
purchase.

That's the purpose of eBay Store Policies.

Number Four: Give Special Attention to your eBay Storefront
Above the Fold

It's that first impression issue again. What do eBay buyers see
when they land on your main storefront page? Do they see a tacky
image? "Unprofessional, see ya," hit the back button! Do they
see the most expensive items at the top of the list?
"Expensive," hit the back button! Of course, YOU would want an
eBay buyer to see your most expensive item first. However, is
that what the eBay buyer wants to see? Probably not.

Number Five: Make It Easy for the eBay Buyer to Find Items

You are one amongst thousands. Unless you are selling something
completely unique, nobody is going to take an hour, or half an
hour, or ten minutes, or even one minute, to try and find an
item in your eBay store that they could also find somewhere
else.

Wisely use the categories and promotion boxes of your eBay
store. The categories are like aisles in your eBay store. You
do not want to force people to rummage through the entire store
if they came for a specific item. Why not? Won't they see other
things they might want to buy? The answer is, because they
won't. They will just leave and look somewhere else until they
easily find what they are looking for.

Conclusion

It might sound very tough, but if your eBay store is failing or
is struggling to get off the ground, the reason is probably you.
Are you treating your eBay store as a serious business? Are you
portraying yourself as a professional and knowledgeable
business person? Are you presenting the best image possible and
are you making it as easy as possible for the eBay buyer to buy
from your eBay store? Think about it.


About The Author: Jason Griffith writes eBay Store reviews for
http://BestAuctionStores.com at
http://www.bestauctionstores.com/, a site dedicated to
providing eBay Store Owners with reviews and feedback about
their stores.