How would you, as a seller, like to know what the top search terms are in your favorite top category? Great idea huh? Well, how would you like to drill down into a few sub-categories to see even more detailed info on what to sell on eBay? Finally, how would you like to use this tool to find niche products so you could sell what people really want? Sound good? Well, sorry you missed it.
The new version of eBay Pulse was released today with a small announcement by Dennis Goedegebuure of eBay Marketing. Dennis may be a great guy, and I hate to jump on new releases right away, but this product is pretty bad.
Evidently, they have taken away the most useful part of eBay Pulse, which is the ability to drill into several leaf categories to find more detailed information. The only top searches shown are for the main or "meta" categories. If this is just a test or beta or whatever, then they shouldn't have released it with such incomplete information. If this is the final version, it's basically useless. Based on the announcement, this is intentional. One of the new features is that:
New modules that display the most popular searches in each of our main categories, as well as the biggest movers.
The newest feature is "Internet Pulse" which according to the eBay Ink blog contains:
RSS feeds of online influencers, pull the keywords from these expert blogs, and build links to search pages on eBay. This methodology gives eBay a scalable way to get the hottest product keywords linked from the Pulse page and indexed by the search engines.
Couldn't I just use Google Trends or Google Insights to find out what's hot? Yes, as a matter of fact, I already do. eBay picks the "online influencers." Why would I rely on them? Who knows who they pick for me? Another example of "we know what's best for you."
David Steiner from AuctionBytes comments today on an interesting saga that is unfolding between AuctionBytes and eBay. It's well worth watching, and it is the reason for the Walmart post I wrote yesterday.
eBay's Double Standards
Basically, eBay has one standard for small sellers - toe the line or else - and one standard for big sellers. They can deny the details, through the eBayInk Blog, but any difference in the treatment of big sellers and small sellers is going to make people mad.
eBay has spent a lot of capital on the changes of the past year. Those changes have wrecked some sellers' businesses, angered many others, and caused buyers to quietly shop elsewhere. Supposedly, the new policies are to bring the current sellers up to higher standards.
But what about eBay's standards? I know I've paid a lot to eBay for a place to sell my stuff. Have they raised their standards? I don't believe they have.
They have been heavy-handed with small sellers, their customers. They take swipes at sellers on the site - while taking away the ability for those sellers to warn the community of nasty buyers.
They have taken the old eBay principle that "everyone has something to contribute" quite literally - you don't get much back these days...
They have made the site into a mine field of rules and restrictions, along with convoluted promotions. There is nothing simple about eBay anymore. It's nearly impossible to teach the (increasingly few) people that want to learn to sell.
Wise people will not sit and hope for change at eBay - it's time to take the training wheels off and strike out on your own. At least until eBay ups their own standards to the level they require small sellers to meet.
Since the early days eBay members have been referred to as a community. It really is a good moniker for the millions of people who trade with each other, help each other, and just get to know each other through eBay. Times have changed though, and the community is now taking on another characteristic of it's brick and mortar namesake.
The "Level" Playing Field
For many years, eBay has welcomed sellers of all sizes. Everyone paid the same fees, and played by the same rules. Much of the charm of eBay was the fact that small sellers could compete right along side big sellers, and everyone knew what everyone else had at stake. No one got special deals.
Additionally, if a seller -big or small- listed an item, it was pretty much expected that it would show up when a shopper searched for it. Search results were simple, not manipulated.
The community of buyers was kept in check by a feedback system that, while imperfect, helped the vast majority of members remain civil. The fact that the person we were transacting with could leave us a negative feedback comment made us think twice about being nasty to anyone.
The field is more level for some than others...
Things have changed. As eBay has matured, their philosophy has changed too. In an effort to please every little group that complains, or respond to every transaction gone wrong, they have taken a "we know what's best for you" approach to the community.
Just as government manipulates markets and social groups through legislation, eBay is doing it too.
Rather than let everyone pay the same prices, big business cuts special deals.
Rather than simply letting people find things unfiltered, eBay has begun censoring search results.
Rather than allow for the honest opinions of both buyers and sellers, eBay will only allow the seller's opinions if they are positive.
Last Spring, the eBay community became privy to a special relationship between eBay and Buy.com. eBay won't release the details of this relationship, but many are of the opinion that it involves Buy.com listing hundreds of thousands of items on eBay for free - or nearly free. Sellers were scared of the big box store, flooding the site with merchandise. At eBay Live! in Chicago a new Powerseller level was announced that immediately had one member - Buy.com. That level is the Diamond Powerseller. The requirements are at least $500,000 per month, and 4.8 DSRs across the board.
The Walmart Effect
Walmart is the biggest retailer in the world. When they want to move into a town it usually causes a stir. Why? Because they have low prices, a huge selection, everything in one place, big parking lots, greeters, and on and on. Small mom and pop stores may specialize in one product line, they can't get their products at the same low-rate levels as Walmart. Walmart, whether perceived or real, has a reputation for crushing the little guys out of business. They are thought of as community killers in that they draw the business away from downtown to faceless, no-personality shopping centers.
eBay is inviting these same big sellers to their community. Just as when a Walmart moves to town, eBay is offering "incentives" to bring them into their community. They claim the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. eBay says the big box sellers will bring their loyal buyers along with them. This is supposed to spill over into the rest of the eBay seller community and help everyone make more. The problem is many sellers on eBay are selling the same merchandise as Buy.com. Will those small sellers be able to compete side-by-side with a seller that:
pays less for their products?
offers a big well-lit store with one-stop shopping?
has such a variety of inventory they show up virtually everywhere?
It's not likely. Besides - eBay has just not figured out that perception matters. If people FEEL like they cannot succeed due to the big sellers moving in, they will not succeed. They won't list on eBay.
Community Leadership
The difference with your real community, and the artificial eBay community is the leadership. Where you live, if Walmart or another store wants to move in, you can go to the city counsel meeting and stand up and speak. Your voice will be heard. If you don't like the results, you can vote the leaders out, and try again. Not so with eBay. You only have your dollars to vote with. No one is obligated to listen to you.
Rather than look for responsibility from leaders of an artificial community, where you have no rights, why not forget that whole idea and go sell on your own? Learn how to set up a website, and a blog. Gather and use the tools that get people to visit your site. Admit what is happening to eBay and establish yourself before your real competitors do. Take the lead in your own business, it's going to take learning, and hard work, but people do it all the time.
Just ask yourself - what would you do if you had a cute little store in your town, and Walmart moved in on the edge of town? Which way will you go broke faster? Protesting the Walmart in hopes they'll change their mind and go away? Or figuring out how to get people into your store and working hard to do it?
Mitch Hedberg was one of the funniest people ever. He passed away in 2005, but today he lives again with his new CD called "Do you believe in Gosh?" So why can he make you rich? Do you think like this?
When people ask me for ideas on what to sell, how to sell, or where to sell - I can usually come up with some kind of an idea. Why? A few reasons really.
For one, it's easier to think of ideas when you have nothing on the line. It seems like the mind is freed up to imagine, without the limits of worries, and obligations.
Second, it's a good thing to practice being silly. You don't have to say things out loud. But treat ideas like they were a Rubik's cube. Turn them, mix them up, see them from every side. Mitch Hedberg did this. He took regular things and just looked at them differently.
If you're trying to figure out how to make money online, find a niche market, get a girlfriend, or lose weight - do something different than you've been doing. Do something different than everyone else is doing. Loosen up. Be silly, if only in your own mind.
And if you see a duck, in a convenience store, with a loaf of bread - just let him pass.
Ok, I'm showing my age. I have managed to keep up with what is trendy for a while now, but I have fallen behind. What is this Gossip Girl thing? Wikipedia says:
The Gossip Girl series revolves around a group of teenagers, three of whom live on the fabulous Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. They gossip, but they also deal with sex and relationship problems. They attend elite private single-sex schools, where their lives are watched by the unseen title character who writes a blog about them.
Now I know why I don't watch it. I've already been a teenager, already lived in New York (fabulous Brooklyn Heights), actually that's about where it ends for me. Unless I had an unseen title character blogging about me...
That's just a little creepy. So anyhow, I found the Gossip Girl scarf on eBay is selling for an ungodly amount. I'm no fashionisto, but I'll bet if you could get your hands on some of those, you'll be in deep cotton through the holiday season. That's your eBay trend tip for the day.
I knoowwww!!! I never thought I'd talk about Britney here. But I'm trying to post something every day for September, that relates to Google Trends. Today, Britney made a low-key re-entry into the spotlight on the MTV Video Music Awards. (Does MTV still even show videos?)
In any case, I got to looking to see what Britney items are doing well on eBay. I found her promos do quite well with a 54% sell-through rate. The Britney dolls also do alright at nearly 50%. Not bad. Maybe someone will start a Britney niche store with Build a Niche Store. You sure wouldn't hurt for content ideas...OOOPS.
Take a look at the latest Britney promos. See you tomorrow right here. I will bet Ike will be a topic for discussion in the days to come.
In my month of posts, I'm pulling a top ten term from Google Trends (when there's nothing else to write about) and taking a look at current merchandise offered online.
Today is the 120th football season opener for Notre Dame University. They're playing San Diego State in South Bend, Indiana.
Other facts about Notre Dame's Stadium you might not know:
Today's game was the 400th game inside the house that Rockne built.
The stadium’s first game was in October of 1930 when Knute Rockne guided the team to victory over SMU.
Today is also the 200th consecutive sellout of Notre Dame Stadium.
Every seat has been sold since the 1973 Air Force game.
Fifteen head coaches have led the Irish through the tunnel and onto the field.
Only eight road teams have won their first game inside Notre Dame Stadium.
Since I grew up about 30 miles from there, I thought I'd dig into what can be found both on eBay and on Amazon. Take a look at the difference in the merchandise on the two sites. eBay has the collectibles and hard to find items, such as game tickets. Amazon has the more common commodity products. Both good. But where will you sell?
Have you ever wondered what the top sellers on eBay are? Well here are the top 20 for the first half of August. All of these products had a 100% sell-through rate. The price ranges are from $354 (#1) to $158 (#20).
There are a lot of calculations that go into this list, but based on the success rate and average price, these are the tops.
There are several things that can help online retailers. Notice that not every keyword is a product per se. For example, #16 & #17 are both searches for warranties. But the warranties are within relatively specific categories. Whether you sell on Amazon, eBay, or your own site, you can see that a warranty is very important to shoppers looking for digital cameras and Garmin GPS systems.
Digging for Niche Products
This list is also a way to spot niche markets. The broad categories that stand out are: iPod, Garmin GPS, Laptops & Notebooks, and Digital Cameras. Few of the top products are the actual product, most are associated products or "long-tail" products. That's where you can start to focus in on niche markets.
In just twenty lines, looking at the search terms, along with the specific categories, you have a goldmine of information.
The Number One Selling Product on eBay
If you sell Dyson vacuum cleaners - good for you. The DC17 is the top seller. Notice the F/S in the keyword. That means Factory Serviced. Here are the DC17s ending soon...
Randy Smythe mentioned eBay's third quarter for this year, and that layoffs are rumored to be in the works. It's possible.
Linked to the exit of several middle and even upper-middle eBay managers is the term "operational efficiency." Evidently moving some people out makes things more efficient. They've certainly been efficient with their sellers this year.
In any case, eBay has had layoffs before. But they tend to do it very quietly, over a period of time. If people are departing, watch for them to trickle out. And just like in the movie "Office Space," eBay handles the dirty work on Friday.
Peter Gibbons: You're gonna lay off Samir and Michael? Bob Slydell: Oh yeah, we're gonna bring in some entry-level graduates, farm some work out to Singapore, that's the usual deal. Bob Porter: Standard operating procedure. Peter Gibbons: Do they know this yet? Bob Slydell: No. No, of course not. We find it's always better to fire people on a Friday. Studies have statistically shown that there's less chance of an incident if you do it at the end of the week.
No kidding. If you're an eBay employee, stay home on Fridays - at least get your TPS Reports up to date.
A country music legend has died. Yesterday it was announced that Jerry Reed passed away last week. He is known for songs such as When You're Hot, You're Hot, She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft), and the theme from (and starring in) the movie Smokey and the Bandit - East Bound and Down.
Jerry Reed is in the top ten Google trends today. In fact, when I looked, he was number one. Who knows, maybe the last time he reaches number one as his star fades. My little boy will likely never know what it's like to feel the excitement of a new Jerry Reed tune.
In my month of posts I'm going to have to get creative some days. Today is the big day Google is set to release it's new browser, "Chrome." So today's eBay items, will feature "chrome" in the title. (see below)
Download Chrome, and see how it treats your eBay listings, your blog, your ecommerce website, etc. Make sure as people adopt this new browser that what you've worked hard to build will appear normal.
Conspiracy Theorists! On your mark...get set...
Let me just take this opportunity to tell the people who (have already begun to) say Google will use Chrome to take over the world. They are already saying how Google will peer into your computer and get your top secret information. They'll no doubt read every one of your important "please pass this on to ten people" emails. They will look at the pictures of you, dressed as the Riddler, at the comic book convention. And there's no question that Google will steal your credit card and banking information, they need the money.
This mind set has two big problems. First is, you are a geek. You are not that important. No one wants to look at your stuff. You are in more danger when you're up gaming with your BFF in Romania at 2AM. Calm down.
The second point is, no one is forcing you to use it. But you will...because Google and Microsoft have put things in your water.
Look at all the cool chrome things on eBay. Shiny - you're getting sleepy - veerrrry sleeepy...
Ok, I'm getting bored with almost a week of no changes from eBay. Can you believe it?
I've decided to try a month of posts - all based on Google Trends. In the old days, almost anything could be found on eBay. It was fun. It's still pretty rare to come up completely empty-handed when searching for an item on eBay, and it should be fun to try.
Follow me as I look for something every day, related to the top ten Google searches of the day.
Today's search is obvious, with Hurricane Gustav making landfall today: Hurricane items on eBay.
Conspiracy Theorists! On your mark...get set...
