In my article series on
144 products to sell on eBay,
I wrote about the business idea of eBay consignment – with a twist!
That twist is adding video to your listings!
Why video?
Read this article from Jamie Parkins of
vzaar.com
and you'll understand why adding video to your listings can take your auction services to a whole new level.
Why You Should Add Video To Your eBay Listings
When you're a seller, success doesn't just depend on what you're selling. Customers also judge you by how you sell and the techniques you employ to engage and persuade them.
In an eBay context, this means that quality listings with winning titles, great pictures and amazing descriptions are as vital as setting the right price.
Indeed, better listings can often get higher prices than identical products from other sellers, so it's essential to review your listings regularly to make sure they're working as hard as they possibly can for you.
The eBay marketplace is more crowded and competitive than ever before and, with the recent slew of changes, there's never been a better time to make sure you have an edge over your competitors.
On eBay, even a small change to the way you display your items makes the difference between a browser turning into a buyer or looking elsewhere.
Including a video in your eBay listings should be on your list of things to consider as you review your listings. Not only are videos easy to make and a quick way of connecting with buyers, they're also used by a relatively small number of sellers.
According to research we've done at vzaar, fewer than 1% of listings include a video, so it is an easy way of standing out from the crowd and clinching additional sales.
Jack Fitzgerald of Industry Recycles has been using videos in his listings for a few months and is convinced they are helping him attract business from his competitors:
"Videos are attracting 43% more visitors and as a result are gaining us more bids and more sales. We have sold every item we have placed on eBay that contains video."
What Buyers Want
In a nutshell, eBay buyers want a swift, trouble-free transaction with no surprises. When they view a listing they are looking to see if you have what they want and whether you are a seller they feel safe buying from.
A seller's task is to provide all that information quickly and clearly. This is where video comes in: it's an ideal complement to words and pictures and an easy way of delivering lots of information quickly.
But video can also do so much more than static images. If you want to see an engine or moving part working, a video is ideal. It's also great if your item makes a sound, because sound can be captured in a video too.
This video of a guitar player is a perfect example:
'About Me' Videos
If you're selling hundreds, or even thousands, of items a week making individual item videos for each and every item you're selling could be too time-consuming. Consider making videos for your top ten lines or make a generic video that you can use across all your listings.
An 'About Me' video is a great way of showcasing your business, telling buyers why you're a great person to trade with and about your brilliant customer care.
A video can show off your premises, introduce buyers to you and (if you have any) your staff, highlight the range, value and quality of the items you sell, and just generally inspire trust by being a real, trustworthy, honest seller.
Once you've made your video, you can easily include it in all your listings by making it part of your template.
It's the best of both worlds: you get many of the benefits of including a video but don't have the hassle of making one for every item.
Cargiant.co.uk has been using videos in their listings for a few months and is pleased with the trust they inspire:
"Our video lets us talk directly to people who are about to spend hundreds or thousands of pounds with us," says Darren Miller. "Making them feel confident enough to buy and trust us as good sellers is vital. So we use our video to show off our business, premises and staff. Buyers know we're a bona fide firm from our video and they buy with confidence."
Video Tips
You don't have to be a whiz kid to make a great video. In fact, you probably don't have to even buy any additional equipment; your digital camera almost certainly has a 'movie mode' and that means you can use it to make videos that will be more than adequate for use on eBay. For a more professional feel, you can use a digital camcorder.
Here are some tips to help you create great auction videos:
* Show off your Item. Plan what you want to film before you get started. Think like a buyer. What would a buyer want to see that would persuade them to make a purchase?
* Speak up. Videos have sound as well as vision so describing your item, greeting people who view it and providing a commentary can give your listing a personal touch.
* Don't distract the viewer by having a cluttered background or excessive background noise. Make sure that their attention is focused on your item.
* It's vital to ensure that your video is well lit so draw the curtains, switch on the lights or even go outside if it's a lovely day.
* Keep it short and sweet. It pays to be brief and concise.
Vzaar is the power behind 100,000 videos a month on eBay.
The player focuses solely on the video content and there are no 3rd party links or pre roll advertisements to distract the buyer.
There are a variety of packages for eBay sellers to select from. They start at $10 per month and go up to $200 per month depending on the video bandwidth requirements. There is also a free package for the light users.
Visit
vzaar.com
to find out more about you can use their services to add video to your eBay auctions.
Now that you have the “secret sauce” to make your auction listings stand head and shoulders above the rest, here are a few pointers to help you get this business idea started and to make sure you succeed as an eBay consignment seller.
First of all, you really need to have some experience as an eBay seller, and especially need to have acquired some excellent feedback.
If you are just getting started, practice with items you own, or from friends and family to get selling on eBay experience and rack up feedback.
Practice your video presentation and skills, if you are not comfortable talking on the video yourself, find someone you know who could do “the voiceovers” and/or even model and point out the features of the item you are listing.
Be sure to read Terry Gibb’s
Auction Revolution ebook
so you really know what you are doing as a seller.
It’s my number one recommendation to help you on your way to expert eBay seller status.
As you start listing for friends and family, your business may just start to grow by word of mouth alone. But if you need to attract more business, start getting the word out by printing flyers and posting them in public places where allowed.
Make sure to use a good headline and detailed brief information about your service.
Something like “Do You Need Some Spare Cash Now? – Let Us Turn Your Unwanted Valuables Into Cash For You”, will be more likely to appeal to the emotions and immediate needs of a prospective customer.
And don’t insult them with titles such as “Sell Your Junk Now For Cash!” Nobody likes to be told their stuff is junk – even if it is.
And this leads to another important piece of advice for success with this business idea...
Don’t accept junk to sell! You should develop a quality service and target customers with high end collectibles or big ticket items that will be more likely to sell and bring in larger sales prices.
You will be offering this service on a commission basis so the larger the sales price the more money you make. And by targeting high end quality items you won’t have to list a ton of auctions to make a good living.
15% is a good commission fee to charge, and if you list a few high quality items a day you can easily make a full time living with this business idea.
Make sure you put in your flyers that there is no fee if there is no sale. This will make customers even more inclined to do business with you as there is no risk for them.
And stress the benefits of your service (briefly!) in your flyers, especially the fact that you offer video listings and that you offer a mobile service.
Offering this business idea as a mobile service has a lot of advantages. The customer doesn’t have to bring the item to you; you go to their house instead and do the video at their home. You collect all the information you need about the item and then you just go home and list it.
This way you don’t have to keep the inventory at your home, and if for some reason the item doesn’t sell you don’t have to take the trouble of bringing it back to the seller.
There will be no need to have to take out extra insurance to cover valuable items, or worry about damaging them while they are in your care if the item stays at the seller’s house.
When the item does sell you simply bring a check for the sales price (minus your commission) over to the seller, collect the item, pack it to ship and send it out.
Make sure to bring a copy of the final auction stats to the seller so you can prove the selling price of the item in case they didn’t follow the auction on eBay themselves.
Selling on eBay with consignment sales is a great way to solve the “what to sell on eBay” dilemma.
And this business idea could provide you with a full time living very easily once you get established and start to cultivate a steady stream of clients.
