Creating an eBay Marketplace Management Strategy

Before jumping in, let’s take a look at some essential eBay stats:

• Market dominance – In the US market, eBay boasts a massive 4.7% of the eCommerce retailer market.
• Significantly increase your audience – With over 135 million eBay users worldwide, it’s easy to see why top brands focus their eBay branding strategy to increase their audience.
• It’s the place to be – eBay features a massive 885,000 stores and 18 million sellers!
• Offers a crucial mobile channel – On mobile, the eBay app has been downloaded over 599 million times.

Why Should You Sell on eBay?

Reach New Audiences with your eBay Marketplace Management Strategy

eBay has a massive audience. The platform attracts over 100 million visitors each month. That’s a potential 100 million visitors looking at your products. Another reason is eBay’s active audience will include shoppers who you wouldn’t traditionally reach via other channels. So, it makes sense to create a solid eBay selling strategy.

Given eBay provides both eCommerce store functionality and a range of seller tools, it means you can put focus on nailing your eBay digital marketing strategy. We’ll get into this a bit later on.

Sell Excess and End-of-Line Stock

eBay is the perfect channel to focus on your growth strategy by shifting end-of-line stock. eBay has a ready-made audience, snapping at the bit to get a great deal. But, there are different opportunities available to make this approach work in your eBay strategy.

With eBay, you’re able to sell products through a single store – or create alternative stores for different product lines. As an example, a brand wants to start selling surplus stock direct to consumers. Doing so will complement their other distribution channels, which aren’t appropriate for this type of stock. They’ll achieve this goal by setting up an eBay store as an outlet store, or under a different brand altogether.

Build Brand Reputation

eBay’s famous reputation system system isn’t just for small businesses. In fact,  enterprise-level eCommerce businesses – such as Dyson, JD, and River Island – harness eBay’s reputation system as part of their eCommerce social proof strategy.

Put simply, the more positive feedback you have as a seller, the more likely a consumer will see you as reliable and trustworthy. By displaying your reputation at the top of your eBay storefront, you’ll develop a positive relationship with your customer base – and your conversions will skyrocket. Although the mechanism has changed over the years, the fundamentals remain the same.

There are also seller ratings, which are stars awarded by buyers across a number of factors. These include Communication, Shipping Time and Shipping Costs. A key rating is also the Item Description, so accurate, rich, up-to-date product information is key to ensuring buyers get the knowledge they need before they make a purchase. The bottom-line is high-quality product information will make your products stand out in a busy marketplace. Remember, eBay is very competitive!

How an eBay Marketplace Management Strategy will Achieve eCommerce Success

Standing out in a crowded eBay marketplace

eBay gives you brand-building tools in the form of custom storefronts. With a range of options to build online stores, it’s easy to market your eBay store to suit your needs. Consequently, eBay’s customizable custom storefront is regarded as a vital touchpoint for buyers to connect with your brand.

Take advantage of eBay’s own seller tools – such as Terapeak, eBay’s insight tool – to access demand and pricing data across millions of items. Terapeak also enables you to research competitors’ listings, too. These insights are used to make refinements to your product listings, getting them performing to a high standard.

Maximizing your store’s visibility on eBay

The opportunity to make your store stand out on eBay is linked to your product data. A key first step is to ensure all required product information and digital assets are correct. You should use the best content, including high-quality images and rich product descriptions. Product descriptions should include accurate details, specifications, benefits, and item condition. Evidently, product information is a vital part of your wider eBay advertising strategy.

Your team will need to understand eBay’s best practices, too. eBay’s customer service and Seller Center is very detailed, with an active community ready to answer your questions.

The quality of your product data also contributes to your eBay SEO strategy. Search engines, such as Google and eBay’s own Cassini, love high-quality product information. Search engines present highly relevant, well-optimised listings at the top of their results. Subsequently, ranking highly increases the chance potential buyers will click through to your listing. It’s worth remembering when you list products on eBay, they’re submitted to Google Shopping search results, too. This increases your audience even more!

Optimize for Mobile

Let’s talk Mcommerce – or mobile commerce. With over 60% of eBay’s GMV involving mobile, it’s a key eBay marketing strategy to get right. This is unsurprising as analysts forecast Mcommerce will nearly double its share of total retail sales by 2025, reaching $728.28 billion.

Mobile app usage continues to grow and is a major contributor to increasing sales. Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen A are incredibly tech-savvy, so are more likely to shop on their smartphones. By optimizing items on eBay for mobile shopping, you’ll improve the buying experience and keep shoppers coming back. You’ll be receiving plenty of eBay offers in no time!

Broaden Your Horizons With Amazon

Yes, you should absolutely consider an eBay marketplace management strategy. With millions of active buyers, you can’t go wrong. But, it’s only the second-largest marketplace. It’s exceeded only by Amazon, which receives 5.6 billion visitors on a monthly basis. Setting up on Amazon gives you access to an even larger worldwide audience, complimenting your eBay business strategy.

Key Takeaways

• eBay provides a huge, ready-made audience and a lucrative revenue stream. By utilising high-quality product information, you’ll stand out in a busy marketplace.
• It’s a fantastic channel for moving surplus or end-of-line stock. With customizable storefronts, you’ll be able to make the process a breeze.
• You will be able to build your brand and reputation further, increasing awareness across an entirely new customer base.
• The best eBay strategy includes mobile. More and more consumers shop on their phones, so it’s essential to optimize your products for mobile shoppers.